Member Reviews

This book definitely had me hooked from the beginning. It was witty, flirty, charming and touching. Cassie and Logan have an amazing connection. The author brought the characters and scenery alive. This is my first book by Melonie Johnson and I wasn't disappointed. It was a fun read and I highly recommend it to anyone!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

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As the first book of the series, this is really good. The wit, the charm and the way it was written is well written. The same with the sub characters. They add charisma to how the story unfolds. The convo of Ana, Delaney,Sadie, and Cassie makes things so up beat. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

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This is the first novel by Melonie Johnson. And - even if it is not yet a 5-star book - it is an excellent debut.

"Getting Hot with the Scot" is the first book of the series "Sometimes in Love". This book is mainly about Cassie Crow and "her" Scot Logan - but at the beginning we also get to know her four other girlfriends (who are probably the focus of the next four books).

Who wouldn't be pleased if a handsome Scotsman in a kilt kisses you? But can a holiday flirt develop into a great love?

The story was nicely developed - at some points Melonie Johnson gets lost in unimportant details, though.
And even if it's fiction - I always stumble a lot when some things are presented in such a simple way that are not possible in reality (no - you can't just fly to the USA and start a job there - you need a visa - and you don't just get it like that and certainly not fast).

Logan seemed to me in many places unfortunately not very "mature" - one would like to shake him and say: Wake up!

But overall it was a nice book - and I don't think I'm telling you too much - Cassie gets her Scot.

I can hardly wait for " Smitten by the Brit".

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This one was a bit dry and lagged in parts. I didn't like how rigid and uncompromising Cassie's character was. She wanted to appear all business like for a talk show?? Loosen up lady. What was a video of a kiss going to do except make her appear human. When Logan was being romantic and celebrating a one month anniversary Cassie's response -" is that all". Where is her heart, mind, and soul??? What a crass fool! I loved that Logan was such a romantic- somebody had to be b/c Cassie sure wasn't! Cassie had me frustrated and just sick of her hardheadedness, selfishness, self centered attitude, immaturity, and self righteousness for most of the book. True to form. Cassie was a biotch to the very end- the proposal- rude and ignorant of her. WTH!

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Debut novels are a little like trying out a new restaurant. You can’t know if it’s any good until you’ve eaten there. So I was thrilled at the opportunity to read Melonie Johnson’s “Getting Hot with the Scot” which is the first book in the Sometimes in Love series. Cassie Crow is a pop culture TV talk show reporter who dreams about being a serious journalist but, for right now, she and her gal pals are on the last leg of their long-awaited UK tour. They’re finally going through an honest-to-goodness castle, complete with all its medieval accoutrements. Cassie is a bit tipsy from the tour’s whisky tasting and she’s searching for the loo when she stumbles across Logan Reid. Decked out in all his kilted glory, Logan could have stepped off the cover of a romance novel and Cassie, in her scotch-filled haze, moves in for a steamy panty-melting kiss. No fool he, Logan is definitely “up” for Cassie’s adventuresome spirit. Logan speaks with a burr that could charm the knickers off any female from 14 to 90.and he loves to pull others into the kooky pranks he pulls on the unsuspecting. Cassie unwittingly falls “victim” to one of his practical jokes and what follows is a wonderfully imaginative and original plot with perfect pacing, fun-filled characters you’ll fall in love with and a romance with enough heat to steam up the windows AND curl the wallpaper. This little gem is skillfully penned with well-turned phrases, fresh wit and a wickedly funny sense of humor that had me grinning and laughing out loud. Johnson’s writing is articulate and expressive with no wasted words or “fluffy” fillers. I read “Getting Hot with the Scot” in one sitting and have already started a re-read. A rare occurrence for me. Melonie Johnson may be new to the party but I can see her being quickly catapulted to the top of the romance genre.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC (Advance Readers Copy) and the opportunity to review this delightful novel.
#SometimesinLoveGettingHotwiththeScot #NetGalley #FacebookSandraGarlandHardy #GoodreadsSavsandy

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Getting Hot with the Scot is the first in a new series called Sometimes in Love by Melonie Johnson. The story starts with a group of girl friends taking a European adventure. They agreed to go visit 5 different countries/area and they are on their last leg of the trip, the UK. They are on their second to last stop in Scotland and Cassie still hasn’t gotten one of her most wanted souvenirs. She has a charm bracelet full of memories and now all she wants is a hot romantic fling.

This book was amazingly cute. I loved the whole thing. It has everything I want in a good romance: a super cute couple, some steamy sexy times and a lot of laughs. Any book that has all three is an instant winner for me. But this one had all that and a lot of heart too. I throughly enjoyed every last page. It was well written and always kept me wondering when this set up or that set up where going to come out. It was more then just a travel romance and I can’t wait to get a physically copy for myself when they come out. I just hope that they send me the rest of the series too.

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What's better than an epic vacation with your besties? Meeting a hot highlander in a kilt to tilt your world!
A little cheesy, a little romcom, a little good for those days when you just want something nice to read.

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Cassie Crow works for a Chicago Cable TV
channel as a pop culture reporter. Cassie and
her friends set off for a European adventure.
Logan Reid works for an Internet Channel. He
and his sister have set this up. Dressed in a kilt,
he is filming for his internet sketch show.
Cassie stumbles into the kilted Highlander and
kisses him. So this sexy, humorous story begins.
These two have an immediate, undeniable lust
for each other. Will this lead to a deeper
relationship?
Come have fun in a interesting, well described
European adventure with a good group of vivid,
very colorful, well define and extremely likable
characters to see what develops.
I volunteered to read Getting Hot with the Scot.
Thanks to Net Gallery and St Martin’s Press for
the opportunity. My opinion is my own.

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So I actually read the second book in this series first, and to be honest I'm glad I did. If I would have started with Getting Hot with the Scot I probably wouldn't have continued with the series. This book is okay, it just lacks some special that book 2 has. However if you liked this book you will ADORE books two in the series. I just wasn't sold on the chemistry between Cassie and Logan. They both seem to be playing the other one at times and it was hard to root for them. I'm happy to say they are much more likable in book two!

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Cassie Crow is a young reporter working to become a serious journalist when, during a vacation in Europe with her girlfriends, she meets a real Highlinder…kilt and all.
Logan Reid is an internet celebrity trying to make his mark and having his online show picked up for a TV spot when he comes across the sassy American girl that makes him forget himself.
Their meeting will lead to what should be a one-night stand, but neither one wants to leave at that. Vacations will come to an end and reality will come knocking taking each of them to their previous lives and pursue of their dreams.
This is a great debut for the author. An original story, filled with smart and witty characters, fun to read and well written. I loved the Cassie and her merry band of friends, each amazing in their own right and Logan, his friend and the sister are just a perfect lot to make a good rom-com.
I was nicely impressed and happy I gave this book and new author a chance.

4 stars
*A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley*

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4.5 Stars!

This debut author surely surprised me. The Scottish hero in this romantic comedy had me going for a second. All of the sudden, in the first chapter, I thought I missed something in the blurb and was reading a whole different romance genre. I won't ruin it for future readers, but it was such a fun and fabulous opening to this romance between Logan and Cassie. From that point on the story and romance moved at a perfect pace with realistic conflict and I enjoyed every moment. This was a wonderful debut and I will not hesitate to pick up the next book in this series.

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Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson has a great setup - with a reporter who is trying to transition into serious reporting and a web-show MC who is trying to transition into actual television meeting in Scotland accidentally. I felt as though Cassie in particular felt a little flat as a character. Logan came off as more three-dimensional, but I still didn't get a fleshed out version of him. I am, however, very interested in Bonnie and Theo, two of the side characters in this one. 3 Stars.

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I was provided an ARC of Getting Hot with the Scot by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed reading this first book in the Sometimes in Love series. The story of Cassie and Logan was a fun read with just enough saucy, but not raunchy bits to make you feel just a little naughty.

We begin with Cassie and her group of friends on an amazing European vacation. Cassie hopes to let loose a little on this vacation and do some things she wouldn't normally do in her "real life". Thanks to a little whisky, she finally does, but then she discovers that maybe it wasn't the best idea after all... or was it?

We got a brief introduction into the individual personalities of Cassie's friends, who I assume will each get their own story as the series continues. I had a tough time keeping some of the friends straight, so I hope best-friend-Bonnie gets her story next.

I enjoyed the writing style, and the character development of our main characters. While parts of the story line were a bit familiar, I enjoyed the mixture with other parts that were less common. Overall, a fun read.

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Do you like romcoms?
Do you like kilts?
Do you like a thick Scottish accent?
Do you like a hunky man?
Do you like a hunky man with a thick scottish accent wearing a kilt?
THEN YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS ROMCOM STORY! (Assuming you answered yes to all of those questions...)

FIRST OF ALL, Melonie Johnson, where have you been all my life?? A Star Wars junkie redhead who loves dogs and used to be an English teacher? PERFECT! I am also a Star Wars junkie, love animals, and look better with red hair (in my opinion...). Though I never ended up being an English teacher, but I really wanted to! Let's be friends! Maybe I'll just book a flight to Chicago and show up at your door... or is that too Italian stalker type creepy?

Alright, alright, enough of me fan-girling over the author. We're here about a book.

Cassie is heading out on a girls trip with her very best friends. Her main goal on this trip: find a hunky man and have a fling. She's packed a giant box of condoms and is ready to find herself a man to have a one night stand with. After all, she deserves it as she works so much back home and doesn't have time for a fling much less a real relationship. Her condom box remains unopened until the next to last destination on the girls trip where she runs into Logan, a prankster in a kilt, a handsome one at that. She's found her fling, she's gotten what she wanted. But does she want this to be more? Does Logan want more? Soon, the two can't get enough of each other. But what are they willing to risk to be with one another long after the fling is over?

Alright, now don't hate me... I really do hate to give this book such a low rating as I have a slight crush on the author and just want her to like me... buttttt... this book wasn't for me.

That being said, there were definitely parts of it that I liked! I feel like if this had been a story about the girls and their trip, I would have liked it a lot more than I did. Cassie and Logan just didn't do it for me. I never really connected to Cassie. Though, I did connect with a few of her friends. I also hear there are books set to release about Bonnie and Sadie and I am actually thinking I may need to pick those up. (Bonnie & Theo fa life!)

Anyway, there was a moment about 60% of the way through the book where I thought it was almost over. My tablet told me I was only 60% of the way through it but my brain was like, "Mmm, I don't knowwww, it seems like we're wrapping things up." Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the book being written a little more realistically. Not every romance can be sugarplums and gumdrops and fairies ALL the time. But we went through THREE fallouts with the couple. I was becoming so agitated at the fact that they couldn't just talk to each other. Then, when Logan finally DOES start to let things fly with Cassie, she cries. He says four words and she cries. (It may have been more than four words... I may be exaggerating.)

But again, I don't think this book was for me. All of my friends are guys. And my best friend is a girl but she's also... kind of like a guy. We just don't relate to the emotional, squealing, obnoxious type friendships. Mind you, I enjoyed reading about Cassie with her friends. That part was fun. I had issues with the way she handled things throughout her relationship with Logan, though. It bugged me that her solution every time was to disappear and not even TRY to talk to him. It also bugged me that she had HIM change aspects of himself but never thought to change anything about herself. Sure, she said sorry, but then she just turned around and disappeared again when things got sticky. (Not that kind of sticky... ya perverts...)

Her friends? LOVED them. All of them actually. I enjoyed the scenes where they would meet up for margaritas and talk with each other about life. Those were the best parts of the book in my opinion.

Which leads me to my next issue with the book: too much detail .
I love a good detailed story where I can accurately picture the author's vision in my head as I go... but I was reading about the way a Kit-Kat tasted on someone's tongue and that's about the time when I thought to myself, "Ok, this is a bit much." I like a book to leave SOME things to my imagination. I sort of figured this would be the case when I saw how long the chapters were. I'm the kind of girl who likes shorter chapters. That means I'm getting everything I need and not a heck ton of extra things that aren't relevant to the story at all. That's usually how it goes, anyway.

I know I've pretty much just given you reasons why I didn't like it, but I did actually enjoy it a little! Really I did! What girl doesn't love a good romance novel where the man gives chase? If you're a girl and you say you DON'T love that (at least once in a while) you're lying. It was fun at times, light-hearted, touching, and a little dreamy. I finally know what "You ken?" means now. So that's cool.
Not a bad book. And again, I really think it was a "it's me, not you" kind of situation in my case. Red-headed Scott with a rather thick brogue? Eh, not really for me. But it wasn't a bad book! Obviously, as it made me have all these emotions. Look how crazy this review is after all!

Anyway, don't take my word for it, try it out for yourself. This book has received some RAVE reviews so far and I can see why, given Johnson's writing style. Her writing is so smooooooth. She doesn't make reading her books hard at all. I've definitely got my eye on Mrs. Johnson now that I've discovered her.

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Good characters and a good solid story! I enjoyed the escape it provided.from my life. It was just the right amount of plot without worrying about it being too complicated.

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This is a super fun and super sexy read! I can't wait for more from this new author! She has a great writing style and a fun imagination. I love Logan and Cassie's characters so much and all of Cassie's friends seem pretty great too. Ooh and I can't forget about Theo. I definitely have a new appreciation for kilts.

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Excellent and entertaining contemporary romance. A group of girlfriends go on a trip of a lifetime together. Cassie decides she wants a fling. Logan is a Scot who is working to get a network spot for his show when he meets Cassie. There’s serious fireworks between them but also divides as far as their careers. I received a complementary copy of this book via Net Galley but chose to write a review. I look forward to reading future books by Melonie Johnson.

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Cassie Crow, on vacation with her girlfriends, is on a tour of a Highland castle when she gets lost and stumbles into a Kilted Scot who lays a kiss on her that makes her think a Highland fling for one night might be just what this serious-minded gal needs. Meanwhile, Logan Reid, all charm and tomfoolery, decides one night with this irresistible all-American is not enough. And the chase is on.
If you like sexy, fun, sensual, and a page turner that will make you laugh out loud, Getting Hot With the Scot is for you. Great secondary characters. I see a series in the making for this debut author. Nicely done.
I received a NetGalley copy of Getting Hot With The Scot in exchange for an honest review.

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This was an entertaining book with a fun twist on the Scottish highlander story line which is common in romance novels. I did think it was a little drawn out which made it drag in the middle.

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Five close girlfriends on a European tour hit five countries in five weeks.
Cassie Crow, talk show interviewer on ChitChat only wants one souvenir from this trip...a hot affair to remember. She tours a castle in Scotland, and becomes a victim of the prank show, Shenanigans.
She realizes almost immediately and leaves the scene of the prank to rejoin her friends, but is followed by the host, Logan Reid, who needs this particular video for his demographics to get a show in the states he wants desperately.
She is trying to protect her credibility for her own show and won't sign the waiver.
During the contest of wills, it becomes clear that the strong attraction between the two just grows stronger, and they become lovers. A misunderstanding has Cassie fleeing Scotland and Logan follows to convince her that he is really interested, but a second misunderstanding wrecks them both, but they find their way back and find their happy ever after.
This tale has humor, steam, sweet romance and true to the end besties.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse and look forward to the rest of the series.

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