Thank you for providing this ARC!
My review has been posted on GoodReads:

“I adored this dang book.
I don’t always love a second-chance romance because I seem to hold a grudge better than the protagonists, but this? This book was a delight from start to finish. I laughed, I cried, I kicked my feet a bit, and I just couldn’t put this book down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this ARC for my honest review, and I look forward to reading more from this author!”

“I want to feel the wind on my face and taste the salt in the air and smell the boggy soil. I want to go on a journey.”

📸✍️🏞️🥾📚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I love good “journey” book. Where the characters take a literal journey and it shows them something about themselves and it turns into an internal journey. Love it. If you loved books like Happiness for Beginners or You With a View you probably will like this one.

It started a little slow for me, maybe because it goes back and forth to the past and present. It’s a good medium for a second chance romance because it makes it a bit heavier and mysterious not know what went wrong when they were together the first time. I thought that was well executed, and after the initial slowness (only a few chapters) I liked how it panned out.

The feeling is a bit heavy, some heavy topics, and the sadness of their past. It was an enjoyable, emotional read, with 3-4 sex scenes. The end was sweet.

I tried hard to like this story- but not even the amazing setting of the Scottish highlands could win me over. The general concepts of the story would usually tick many of my boxes:
- second chance romance
- forced proximity
- Scottish MMC
- FMC who's a writer

YET, I didn't find their reconnection and rekindling of their love to be very convincing, or the characters all that likeable.

What an adorable romance that makes you want to travel to the far-off land of Scotland!

Brooke and Jack have history. While Jack was teaching a writing course at university, Brooke was in another section of this course. As a romance blossomed between the two of them, they realized what was at stake and knew they had to keep their romance private. Fast forward to today, Brooke is cowriting her mentor Mhairi’s (who happens to also be Jack’s aunt), memoir. The photographer Mhairi hired for her memoir had an injury, so who else was there to call? None other than Jack.
As Jack and Brooke set out on an adventure through Scotland to document Mhairi’s most meaningful moments, we discover why things didn’t work out the first time, and whether or not these two are meant to be.

This was such a cute romance! I will admit the beginning was a bit slow for me, because there were a lot of characters and I was confusing the past and present timelines, but once I got to the 40% mark I was determined to keep reading. I recommend this one for any romance reader looking for a heartfelt story with beautiful depictions of the Scottish Isle.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.

Kiley's sophomore romance is another great dual POV love story set in Scotland that sees two former university flames getting a second chance when they are forced to hike a trail on the Isle of Skye in order to help finish a dying Professor's memoir.

Brooke is a ghostwriter struggling to find her own voice and wants to make her mentor, Mhairi proud but when she learns her ex, Jack, is the new photographer assigned to take photos for the book, she's less than pleased. Jack betrayed her in University and she's never forgiven him. Full of second chances, forced proximity and flashbacks to their time at Edinburgh, this was a deliciously sweet and spicy romance that is sure to deliver all the feels.

I especially enjoyed it on audio and highly recommend it for fans of other ghostwriter romance books like The dead romantics by Ashley Poston, Business or pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon, The perfect rom-com by Melissa Ferguson or Love at first book by Jen McKinlay. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

CW: side character with pancreatic cancer

This was such a fun read! I absolutely loved the setting and all of the details about Scotland included in the book. Jack and Brooke were wonderful protagonists and I enjoyed the alternating narrators as well as the two time periods that slowly revealed their past alongside their present. Mhairi was such a good character and this book was an emotional ride but so sweet. I’m looking forward to reading the author’s first book set within this world!

Thanks to Canary Street Press for an advanced copy of Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley.

I love Scotland, so I was excited to read this book mostly set on the Skye Trail. Brooke wanted to be a published author, but when she was expelled from the University of Edinburgh she became a ghostwriter. Now she's co-writing for her mentor's memoir and she agrees to hike the Skye Trail which the memoir is about to be able to write more authentically. Of course, the photographer, is Jack, who broke her heart and shattered her writing career at university.

Told through flashbacks to their university days and the present, we see Brooke and Jack in university and as they work out their differences on the Skye Trail. I loved the descriptions of hiking and the Skye Trail in this book. I didn't quite feel the romance in this one, this was a second-chance romance but I found Brooke immature and the miscommunication a little too much for my liking.

The title does not do this book justice! Crack open the cover for a romantic romp and get swept away by a sweet, thoughtful story that maximizes a gorgeous setting!

My poor little romantic heart is bursting after finishing this book.

I cried. I laughed. I giggled. I did it all.

Oh how I love our main characters, Jack and Brooke. This book is a second chance, it is growth, and love, and loss, all wrapped up in a tartan bow.

As a lover of Colorado and Scotland, this book feels like it was made just for me. Take a hike through the hills of Skye, and take a break from real life to explore the highlands.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

✨Thank you, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley, for this eARC! All opinions are my own.✨

Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. This book pulled so many emotions for me! It was cute and lighthearted at some points and then sad and tearful. Brooke is aspiring to be her own writer, but with being kicked out of college, it added more challenged in her path. She took a job being a ghost writer, but receives an opportunity to write about the beautiful landscape of Scotland and it's most challenging hike. She takes this adventure with a handsome photographer, Jack. When taking this adventure with Jack, Brooke opens up her heart again to Jack after he broke her heart before.

This is a wonderful story of second chances. The description of Sky and their travels on the trail were breathtaking. Two people are torn apart in their youth, and are afraid to reach for their dreams. They are unsure what it is they are looking for in the future. A very wise auntie that guides them. Just loved this story.

I just found my new favorite second chance romance!
Brooke and Jack must embark on a journey across Scotland 7 years after their break up. There's tension, flashbacks and so much emotion!!! It was an emotional Rollercoaster but in the best way!
They way the author described the trail of Skye had me feeling like I was hiking it with them!
Tropes:
Forbidden love
Second chance love
Family drama
One bed/tent
Scottish Highlands setting
American Author
Scottish photographer

A beautiful second chance romance that was worth every minute!

I have to be honest, I was unsure going into this book. It wasn't until around the 15% mark where it hit me that I was falling in love with book, and there was no stopping me. This book was a wild ride of emotions, and it felt very very relatable. This book felt very human, and I found that to be quite refreshing. I will say there were some logistical imperfections, but it's also a work of fiction so do with that information what you will.

Brooke and Jack were such emotional characters who compelled me into their love story. I don't always love a second chance trope, but I think it worked really well between these two individuals. I feel like they didn't just fall right back into love. I feel like there was a nice subtle slow burn aspect and forgiveness that had to earned.

I really enjoyed this read, and it was definitely one that jerked on my heartstrings and made me feel. 100% recommend this book to my fellow romance lovers. This one will have you in your feels!

I would like to give a big thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.7/5

3 stars. This one didn’t hit the way I hoped. The dual timeline kind of bored me and took me out of the story, and the romance didn’t feel very strong.

I don’t DNF books because I’m one of those people who NEEDS to know how the story ends.. but I almost did with this one. I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series but this one just felt like it was trying too hard. Every chapter had multiple insightful moments/thoughts and it just got to be too much. 🤷🏻‍♀️ HOWEVER… the last like 30% of the book saved it, in my opinion. The palpable longing, the obvious heartbreak, and inevitable reunion was done really well.

So would I recommend it? Not to my dark romance girlies, but to my fluffy romance fans? Absolutely. 👍🏻

I think this book will be for a lot of people, but unfortunately, it was not for me.

I am super picky about a second chance romance, and I just did not believe in Jack and Brooke. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two and I just did not care if these two really got back together or not.

I was so excited to get approved for an ARC for the sequel to Kilt Trip, which I adored. I love Alexandra Kiley's writing; it's so poetic and atmospheric, and her descriptions of Brooke and Jack's journey on the Isle of Skye was incredibly evocative. The vibes were fantastic. Unfortunately, I just could not get fully bought into Jack and Brooke's love story. This could be a "me thing" -- I don't always love dual timeline second chance romances just because I can sometimes find the reading experience to be a little disjointed. But I also just struggled to connect with the two characters in the way that I connected with the MCs in Kilt Trip. Their early timeline felt a bit too insta-love for me; as a reader, I personally felt like I wanted to better understand what initially drew them to each other and what continued to pull them back to each other.

I am very grateful to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. If you want to follow Brooke and Jack on the Isle of Skye, Scot and Bothered releases on 3/4.

A second chance, forced proximity, dual time line novel set on the Isle of Skye, Brooke was bounced from Uni thanks to her relationship with Jack but she's built a life as a ghostwriter, although always missing what might have been. Jack's a travel photographer and now his aunt Mhairi has engaged the two of them to hike Skye for her memoir. This moves between their time at uni and the present, with Mhairi uniting the parts. There's all sort of tropes here, including miscommunication, but it's got a good heart. And Scotland! Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Good storytelling makes for a good read.

Scot & Bothered is a beautiful story of intertwining journeys of self discovery and perseverance. The dual timeline narrative style takes the reader along on this second chance adventure that elevates the moments of forgiveness, grief, and love in just the right ways to evoke all of the emotions. As almost all of this story takes place hiking on Isle Skye or in Edinburgh, it’s abundant with stunning scenery that made me feel like my feet were back on the paths staring up at Scott Monument.

I really enjoyed the writing style and tone, especially the humor that was embedded throughout a lot of the internal monologue. I think my only hesitation was that there were some components that felt oversimplified but as is the way of modern fiction in our overly complex world! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Scot and Bothered! What a lovely follow up to Kilt Trip!

This book was a really enjoyable read. I thought the dual timeline and uncovering the past as we went was very well paced and helped really develop the characters. The love for Scotland and its natural beauty tied in with how harsh the reality of hiking through that land made it feel so real. Despite dealing with really sad subjects including death, grief, regrets and lost love - it felt so easy and comforting to read. Definitely will be reading anything Kiley releases based in Scotland in perpetuity!