I unfortunately found this one difficult to read. The storyline and premise is interesting, however I did not connect with the characters.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book follows Jack, Logan’s brother, and his ex girlfriend Brooke. This book can be read as a standalone. This book is like an advertisement for Scotland- it made me really want to go there and see the beautiful country. This book switches timelines from present day back to the start, progression, and ending of their relationship. I think the growth and maturity that each experienced in the years between seeing each other was essential in their second chance. And you can’t help but love Mhairi.

It was difficult for me to start this book, but once I immersed myself I enjoyed it!

-Dual POV
-Dual Timeline
-second chance
-forced proximity
-forbidden relationship

I enjoyed that this story was unique! She pursues him, they both lost their futures, but come together at the end for the very person who had a hand in ending their collegiate careers. I don’t typically like dual timelines, I like just having one story. I wish that there wasn’t so much “before it happened”, and not saying what “it” was until over halfway through the book. There was too much repeating of that to me. But I like that there was hiking, and an adventure in this book. Makes me want to take a trip to Scotland even more! The scenery is a beautifully set! Over all, good book! Loved that they came together for a memoir of one of their favorite people, and that it bonded them again.

Scot and Bothered was a fun and adventurous second chance romance! I enjoyed Kilt Trip, but the history between Brooke and Jack and the adventure of the trail kept me intrigued through this entire book. After reading Kilt Trip, this book helped me to understand Jack better and some of his attitude from Kilt Trip.
This book is a dual timeline and goes between their relationship in college and the present.

Jack and Brooke meet at Edinburgh University where Brooke is a senior undergraduate student and Jack is a grad student. They almost instantly fall for each other and begin dating in secret because Jack is a TA in a class Brooke is taking(not her TA though). The alternate timeline allows you to know that something happened at University that changed the trajectory of Brooke's life and ended their relationship.

In the present, Brooke is a co writer for Jack's Aunt Mhairi's memoir. In order to find a better voice for her memoir, Brooke decides to hike the Skye Trail that Mhairi founded. Unknown to her, Jack is the photographer for the memoir and it joining her. On the trail they found themselves drawn back to each other and learning more about Mhairi and themselves.

I really enjoyed the journeys in this book! Both the personal journey's of Brooke and Jack and the journey on the trail itself. Such a great story about dreams and really living!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommend to readers who enjoy an inspirational second chance romance and a Scottish setting!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the premise and liked the growth we saw from writer to ghostwriter to branching out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

This novel isn’t my usual fare as its closed door, but I still rather enjoyed it anyway.
I loved the reference to the holiday as one of my favorite films and found the characters quite lovable.

Thank you so much to Alexandra Kiley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press for the eARC of this book. I absolutely love Kiley as a writer and this did not disappoint. Like i've said before second chance romances aren't my favorite but Kiley hit this one out of the park. It's also a closed door romance so it each their own. It's also an enemies to lovers which is a favorite trope of mine!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

“Collect stories, capture details, live presently through the feelings and experiences you encounter. Build your well of adventures and failures.”

The moment Jack was described as having “Jude-Law-in-The-Holiday-glasses” I knew I was done for. This was a delightful second chance romance full of adventure, unrequited love, and healing. I seldom like sequels better than the first (Kilt Trip) but Scot and Bothered delivered.

🩷 Second chance romance
💘 Enemies to lovers
🚪 Closed door romance
📅 Alternating timelines

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I do have to admit, this book was a bit slow to drag me in but once I was in I couldn’t put the book down! Brooke and Jack’s then and now relationship kept me guessing and wanting to know more! Seeing their journey between the “then and now” made the ending even more special. And when the one bed (well in this case one tent) trope is done well you know you are in for angst! The main characters definitely deserved a second chance and a guaranteed HEA! I devoured this book in a day!

I love a second-chance romance and this one didn't disappoint. Brooke, an American ghost writer, and Jack, a Scottish photographer, find themselves thrown together for a book project seven years after a break that deeply impacted both their lives. While the romance between Brooke and Jack takes center stage, I enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Mhairi and how she influenced everyone around her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of such a perfectly sweet and steamy book.

✅ Brooke, American, ghostwriter & Jack, Scottish, photographer
✅ second chances; dual timeline
✅ set in the same Universe (and same family) as Kilt Trip
✅ travel adventure (they’re camping across Skye)
🌶️: not really

Like Kilt trip, this will make you want to plan a trip to Scotland.

This was so tender??? Not necessarily surprisingly, but also, kind of surprisingly given the title.

There is so much earnestness and compassion and love. The relationship between Mhairi and Brooke alone had me on the verge of tears from the very beginning. Mhairi clearly saw Brooke as a kindred spirit immediately, and the two fit so well into each others lives even without Jack.

And Jack, you sweet summer child. You well-meaning idiot. You precious baby. His genuine care for Brooke in their separation was so sweet and heartbreaking. He respected her space even when it devastated him, and wanted to be in her life in any way she’d allow it. Even if it wounded him.

I love a good second chance romance and duel timeline, and this book did not disappoint!

The slow burn and familiar banter as Brooke and Jack get to know each other again was perfect, all while set in the beautiful backdrop of trails in Scotland.

While their romance was a main story point, I also loved the story of Mhairi and her impact on everyone around her. How traversing the trail was more than the place and an adventure, but a way to build community and value life. She touched so many people with her life and contribution of the trail, and I love that that storyline came through the entire time.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Two people struggling to find their way after university. I loved the setting and feeling like I was hiking in Scotland. I also loved their mentor, Mhairi, and what her relationship with the two main characters brought to the story.

I felt like this book offered quite a bit more than the very silly title suggested. A super sweet and touching story about figuring out what matters most in life.

Thanks to Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

An okay read, I was a bit disappointed. I mean, it's in Scotland and the second chance trope, so expectations were high. Brooke and Jack have a history, and unfortunately, this drags on for quite a bit in the book, which impacted the pacing. This was also definitely not a rom com.

#netgalley #ScotandBothered

I went into this book not having read Kiley’s previous novel, and not knowing much about this premise of this new one. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a second-chance romance, which is one of my favorite tropes!

Overall, I liked this story - I found that I related well enough to Brooke, and did find Jack to have a good amount of depth. The overarching story was believable, and there were plenty of good elements to this story. I even liked the prose! But sadly, this book still fell a tiny bit flat for me; I didn’t find myself deeply immersed in the story.

I would recommend this book to friends, especially as a good example of a character-driven plot and a second-chance romance. However, I would urge the publisher to solve their ARC formatting issues for future readers, as this e-ARC was very disorganized.

Huge thanks to Canary Street Press, Alexandra Kiley, and NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alexandra Kiley for the ARC!

I had high hopes for this book - second chance romance (love), Scotland, the adorable title. While the writing was great, the story just didn’t do it for me. It was surprisingly serious/intense for what I expected to be a cute little rom-com novel, with a lot of emotional depth that I wasn’t prepared for. I think this is a very good book for someone who wants something entertaining and introspective, but it wasn’t necessarily for me.

That said, I do think Alexandra Kiley is a talented writer and I would read future works by her!!

I came into this book thinking it was a forced proximity Scottish romcom. It's definitely forced proximity, and situationally Scottish, but I can't characterize it as a comedy. Even the romance but was angsty.

Like the beginning of so many contemporary romances, our heroine Brooke is in a low point in her life. She is a ghost writer, and immerses herself in a Scottish hike reminiscent of the Appalachian Trail in order to get the full experience of her client so she can write ... better. Then there's Jack, the photographer who goes with her. There's history here and it's not good. Brooke is mad, and Jack is in love and apologetic.

Pacing:
Unfortunately, the "Brooke is mad, and Jack is apologetic" theme lasts a solid half of the book, without the reader ever figuring out what the hell happened in their past. It was difficult to get through the first half of the book, tbh. I felt like I was watching friends fight and being a third wheel and wanting to get the hell out of the room.

The latter half of the book moved a bit faster, with a little more expected romantic angst, poignancy, and growing up.

Characters:
I found it difficult to like Brooke - for her age, she seemed petty and childish. She held a grudge for several years and then poof, she sleeps with Jack and it's all lustfully ok but not really resolved.

Writing:
The writing was a bit choppy for me. That could have been the language (idioms, cultural slang) itself and may not be a problem for other readers. It felt like dry skin snagging on a sweater at times. I had to put the book down several times to take a break because the words were hard to read - not emotionally, it just took concentration to make sense of overly long sentences or previous references.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Brooke Sinclair always knew how her life should go: MFA in Edinburgh, Fellowship, successful writing career! But life doesn't always go as planned. 7 years later Brooke is a writer, but a ghostwriter, never able to fully celebrate her own work. When her writing mentor Mhairi Macallister asks her to co-write her memoir Brooke leaps at the chance. Mhairi's memoir celebrates the nature trail she founded not he Isle of Skye and the only way Brooke can truly write about it is to experience it herself. What she is not so ready to experience? Having to follow the trail with Jack Sutherland, photographer, Mhairi's nephew, and the man who broke Brooke's heart and ruined her future.
If you love Emily Henry and Scotland you will love Scot and Bothered!

I waffled between 4 and 5 stars for this book. First of all, the initial book I this series started off strong for me, but Peter’s out a bit in the end. This one? I loved. The author showed a lot of growth a maturity in her writing. I could envision the scenery as easily as I could the ardency of the characters’ feelings. It was vivid and poignant and heart rending. I’ve read a lot of romance, and this one hits the mark, for something beyond smut and tropes (although those are there if you’re seeking them).