Having not read the first book of this series, I wasn't sure what to expect, but really enjoyed this! I listened to it so quickly because the characters were engaging and the story was a delight. I love the black cat/golden retriever energy of the two main characters and the added mess of being on tiny island full of family and over-involved locals was just added fun.

The audiobook was great with fabulous narrators who kept good pace and excellent characterization.

Really enjoyed this and will definitely pick up more!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

This book is by far one of the best books I've read in 2025! I loved everything about it!

And the narrators were simply incredible!

The tension between Callum and Juniper is unmatched. I listened to this book in one go because I just could stop.

If Scotch on the Rocks is not on your TBR, I suggest you run to the nearest indie bookstore or audiobook provider.

If I could give this book a million stars, I would!

Really liked this. The characters were great. I liked this one much better than the first. The characters were complex. The story was interesting. Will recommend this one to others. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to read.

This was such a good love story. He fell first... and HARD! There wasn't any unnecessary drama and the characters were relatable. The narrators for the audiobook were perfect. The banter, the tension, the nicknames (Harpy and Community Ken), the spice!!! Definitely add this to your TBR.

Thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the audio ARC!

This one was a bit of a bust for me, I was frustrated for most of the story. I really wish Juniper was better at ignoring people, hearing her inner monologue was embarrassing almost the entire time. Not to mention the scene where she cried in front of her ex-fiancé and his family.

I don’t think I’ll pick up the next book, since I think it will be about Alistair and I could not stand him.

This was such a sweet and playful story! The narrators did a fantastic job, and I appreciated that they had appropriate accents for the setting of the book. The ex fiancé’s brother aspect was really fun and interesting, and I felt that the dynamics of the characters throughout the book were pretty realistic for the situation. Also plenty of spice is spread throughout the book that complements their relationship as it progresses.

Thank you to Harper Audio for an early copy!

Thank you so much for this ARC! This was my first time reading a book by Elliot Fletcher. It was a fun time and I couldn't help but root for the main characters to find their way to each other. I think romance readers will enjoy this book.

I loved Whisky Business so I’m not particularly suprised that I loved this sequel. It was so fun to get to know these characters more and unravel the mysteries presented in Whiskey Business. The tension in this book was wonderful and the characters were everything I imagined them to be. I love that the characters (specifically the dogs) from book 1 were so prevalent. The narrators were so great. 10/10.

Happy Release Day!

Scotch On The Rocks
By @elliotfletcherwrites
@avonbooks
I also had the ALC
Narrated by Russ Bain and @rebecca_mcclay
@harperaudio

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this as a standalone and I will definitely be going back to read the first book now because I loved all of the characters!
I went to uni in Glasgow and visited a fair few of the isles, Skye specifically for 2 weeks and it was amazing.
Though the photographic evidence of Skye didn’t survive a careless flatmate’s tea mug onto my laptop. I have such fond memories of the time spent there, many of the locations I visited while there are mentioned in the book.
As soon as I saw the covers I remembered seeing the fairy pools.

While listening to the audio, I think I spent the majority of the time cackling! The banter between the mains was great!
You can listen to the audio at all speeds but it goes go a little funny at 3 speed.
Listening to the book with the native accents really brings another level to the book.

I loved the strangers, almost family, to strangers, to almost lovers, to enemies, to reluctant fake dating, too…. Well I’m gonna run out of space if I keep listing all the iterations of their relationship! Suffice it to say, there are levels 😂

You’re gonna love them and all the side characters too!

Thanks to Elliot, Avon, Russ, Rebecca and Harper Audio!
Special thanks to @nydia_m82 and her husband Eddie for their scotch collection and letting me take some cute photos, saving me from trying to take a photos at the ABC store 😂

#happyreleaseday #scotchontherocks #elliotfletcher #avonbooks #scotland #isleofskyescotland #russbain #rebeccamcclay #harperaudio #arc #alc #arcreview #alcreview #selkiereader

I started this story 2 different times and I just couldn't get into it. I made it about 25% and just didn't care about anyone. Sucks I love the idea of this story. I will re try at a different time. but right now, it's a no for me.

Thank you Net-Galley for this Audio-Arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Callum can love me at first sight. He was just amazing. He really, really fights his feelings for Juniper when he meets her, she ends up being hia brothers girl and then fiancee. A few years later, he puts Callum and Juniper back in the same sphere, and this time, she's unattached, and he's going after her.

Juniper was a bit wishy, washy. I think she could have done with a psychiatrist to get over her hangup. She's really puts Callum in a wringer with her back and forth.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The narrators did a good job, especially Russ.

#netgalley #ScotchontheRocks

⭐ (Story) 3
⭐ (Narrator) 5
🌶️ 2
🥵 Spicy Chapters: prologue-ish, 18, 23, 29, 34, 35
📚 Tropes/Themes: ex's brother, bickering, it's always been you, pining, small town, vet MMC, black cat x golden retriever, age gap
👀 Single POV 3rd person
🎙️ Dual narration (Russ Bain & Rebecca McClay)
⏰ Approx 10 hours
💔 Triggers: adoption, dementia, terminal illness, parental death, parental abandonment, toxic parent
🛍️ Available: Now

💬 Scotch on the Rocks is the second book in the Macabe brothers series, and while it's technically a standalone, I think it would be best to read the first one (Whisky Business) before this.

As for my review welllllllll..... This was a let down. I LOVED Whisky Business, it was an easy 5⭐ read and then this one was just not there.

I mainly listened to the ALC (I was given both the ARC and ALC), and I think that was the only reason I was able to finish the story because Scottish accents 🤤🤤🤤🤤 The narrators did an amazing job!

The story itself seemed to take forever, but nothing really happened. And idk I'm pretty ambivalent about forbidden/taboo romances but I just don't think it's that bad for her to be interested in her ex's brother, especially since her ex was the one who ended it YEARS AGO. Maybe if she had been the one to end the relationship? And when you finally find out the reason it ended it seemed like a lot of drama for no real reason.

Along with that the build up to their relationship was just so....weird? Juniper is super immature, which, I do understand why, but again I think because the main drama of "ex-fiances-brother" wasn't that big of a deal, the immaturity fell flat. But it was like they were edging each other IRL and it wasn't sexy.

I'm sure it's just a personal preference but I'm also getting kinda tired of the trope where he gets her off and that's it, he refuses/denies himself enjoyment as well, and that kept happening in this book. Maybe it's because I'm married but I'm sorry fingers and dry humping only get old after a while 😂

I do want to say though, that I'm really happy to see that the author included adoption in the triggers, and made it a point to highlight adoption trauma 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

✨ex-fiancé's brother
✨black cat / golden retriever
✨age-gap romance

This one was...messy. Not necessarily in a bad way, but definitely not in a good way either 🤷🏻‍♀️

The audiobook was well done and the Scottish accents were chef's kiss!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for the advanced listening copy in exchange for a review!

The dual narration by Russ Bain and Rebecca McClay was absolutely fantastic for Juniper and Callim’s story. This being the second book in the Macabe Brothers series, it was great getting to see familiar faces of April and Mal from Whisky Business. As we follow along Cal and Jun’s story, the tension was tensioning with these two, making the slow burn extra satisfying with their banter and chemistry.

Going in to this, I’d never read a book with the FMC being an ex of a brother so I was cautious about getting to connected to Callum’s crush but as we learn more from their thoughts and feelings, their relationship history adds to their tension and chemistry, as opposed to deterring.

🎧 ALC Review 🎧
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Narrated by Russ Bain and Rebecca McClay
HarperAudio Adult

Scotch on the Rocks, the second book of The Macabe Brothers, is a contemporary romance that takes place in a small village, the Isle of Skye. The fictional community brings life to small towns, bringing in the "small-town" drama, gossip, and nosy neighbors.

Juniper is a guarded, independent woman who was raised in foster care. Her reluctance to ask for help and her every decision are woven as a result of her upbringing. Callum, Juniper's ex-fiancé's brother, is carrying the burden of his father's worsening Alzheimer's - he refuses to share this truth with his siblings.

Juniper and Callum's relationship was slow, as there was some hesitation on her part, because well... it's her ex's brother. Their relationship begins to build through Callum's assistance with plumbing repairs, sarcastic banter, and unhurried trust. When they finally give in to their tension, whewwww.🤤 What I loved most was that Juniper and Callum saw each other's pain, and they met that with empathy.

Tropes:
🌈 Forbidden Romance
🌈 Small Town Romance
🌈 Forced Proximity
🌈 Dual POV
🌈 Slow-Burn Romance

"Don't look at a Macabe brother. Don't talk to a Macabe brother. Don't even think about a Macabe brother."

Someone who likes a lot of heat and doesn't mind the language may rate this higher. It was an interesting premise, but it lost me when she asked ML to do her better than his brother had. I can skip over smut for story, but not the gross attitude they had for the brother.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for a copy of *Scotch on the Rocks* in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in The Macabe Brothers series and if you enjoyed Whiskey Business, you will love this book. Callum and Juniper's story is full of spectacular banter, character growth and spice set in a remote Scottish island setting. This was a lovely read with a deep yet funny story and I definitely recommend it!

Things to love about this book:
✓ black cat/golden retriever
✓ wonderful MCs
✓ forbidden romance (ex-fiancé’s brother)
✓ enemies to lovers
✓ age gap (9 years)
✓ he falls first (and hard!)
✓ slow burn
✓ Scottish small town setting
✓ spciy

Also important to mention since I received an audiobook copy is that the narration of this book was very well done and I enjoyed listening to it. It was a little at ×1 speed but most audiobooks are for me.

I was unsure about the whole brothers ex fiancé vibe but tbh this book was well done, I definitely like this one more than book one. This series has been giving hard core small town vibes down to all the gossip, knowing everyone, and of course the drama that comes with it all. This has been a f̆̈ŭ̈n̆̈ contemporary romance that takes place in Scotland which I always love when listening to audios. I look forward to continuing the series. Thank you Harper audio adult and NetGalley for this alc in exchange for my honest review

I've said it a thousand times, I am a sucker for Scottish romances. This one was refreshing in that they were both locals, no 'big city gal finds her way in a slow Scottish village' trope which is drastically over used. I found the characters immensely likable and appreciated that the actual issues keeping them apart were real and not reliant on a miscommunication trope. I also appreciated the realness of the characters lives outside the romance.

I really loved this story! Loved the black cat x golden retriever vibes. The forbidden love. You could really feel for the characters. Their connection was so strong but their circumstances holding them apart. I was truly rooting for them throughout the book.

For narrators i think they captured these characters great and it was easy to follow along!