Yay! After A Highlander Walks into a Bar, the story of the Highland Festival continues. When Izzy is back in Scotland to deliver her baby, it all falls onto Anna to organize the biggest event of the year. When suddenly a broody Hotty MacScottypants is trying to steal her thunder, she is not a happy camper.
Iain Connors needed a break from his future career as the Cairndow groundskeeper. His father is nearly ready to retire, so that will be when Iain will be stepping up. The prospect frightens him, however. So, when Izzy and Alasdair asked him to help out with the Highland Games back in Georgia, he saw it as an escape. What he didn't realize, was the force of nature Izzy's best friend is. Anna is spicy, fun and full of life. Iain isn't very good with words, especially not with women. So Anna is frustrating, strong willed and a hothead. But hey can't deny their mutual attraction.
As the festival draws nearer: can they put their differences aside, to ensure the success of the festival? And what will they do with the sparks flying between them? Find out for yourself in this funny read. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc. And watch out for the next part in this series: A Highlander is Coming to Town.

A Highlander in a Pickup is a great read! The book is #2 in the Highland, Georgia series. I haven't read the first book in the series, but that really was not an issue starting out in the second book.. Anna Maitland is the owner of a local dance studio, and a fill-in chairperson for the town's annual Highland festival. Anna's best friend Izzy was the chair with her mother, however Izzy is now living in Scotland and due to deliver a baby any day.

Izzy sends help for the festival in the form of Iain Connors, the son of the handyman at the estate where Izzy lives. Iain and Anna have a meet cute moment involving a sheep and a highland cow. Anna is concerned her friend has sent help because she isn't confident in Anna's ability to carry off the festival. She is hesitant to assign Iain any duties but "pooper scooper."

Iain is a gentle giant who looks great in a kilt. Anna is a sprightly dancer who has aspirations of becoming the town's mayor. As Anna soon finds out, she really does need help, and the romance between Iain and Anna starts out very sweetly and gets pretty hot. I really enjoyed this book and I could not put It down. I read this book in one night, even staying up late to finish.

I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a great romantic comedy with a little heat. I am looking forward to reading the previous book in the series and many more to come!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Anna is fiercely independent and prickly, with plenty of baggage she doesn’t understand herself, and appealingly vulnerable underneath it all. Iain is caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, falling in love with Anna and her hometown but pulled by his father’s expectations and all those generations of duty. Honest, sweetly awkward, and he delivers some clever repartee that made me laugh out loud.
The plot, which others have outlined so I won’t here, really pulled everything together. It didn’t feel like it was contrived.
This sounds like a love letter to the author, doesn’t it? I really tried to come up with *something* to balance out my review but I couldn’t come up with a single negative. Buy this one.
*ARC via netgalley.com in exchange for agreement to review*

I found this book to be hard to read it did not flow well to me. I did not relate to the characters either. I read Laura Trentham all the time and never had this issue before and I will continue to read her books. I think this one just wasn't I myself could relate to.

I had a lot of fun in the book 1 Highlander Walks into a Bar but in A Highlander in a Pickup, Laura Trentam outdid herself by creating a fun, simple and emotionally charged plot with a cute highlander and a strong dancer.
Anna and Iain are wonderful together. Both are assigned to run the Festival in Highland now that Izzy and Alisdair are living in Scotland and about to become parents.
The first meeting between them is hilarious and the first dance was chilling.
Iain ends up feeling at home in the small town but needs to keep his promise to his father and ends up breaking sweet Anna's heart.
I am now so excited waiting for Holt's story.

Anna and Iain are a slow-burn, enemies to lovers, romance that will have you quickly turning pages. Trentham writes fun characters who are never quite what they seem on the surface and these are no exception. Definitely worth a read.

ARC for honest review with no compensation received from NetGalley, St. Martins Press

Highlander in a Pickup is book 2 in the Highland, Georgia series by Laura Trentham. Looking forward to more of this series.

Iain Conners, strong, silent, retired from the Armed Forces in Scotland is asked to come to the USA to take charge of the Highland Games.

Anna Maitland takes over the running of the Highland Games when her best friend is having a baby in Scotland and can’t do it. Running her dance studio, juggling all the things needed to have a flawless games she isn’t prepared for Iain to show up and think he is the one in charge...

Can these two find a way to coexist without letting their hearts get involved since he will be going back to Scotland after the games... or will he discover that his home is really in Highland, Georgia USA with Anna...

I absolutely loved visiting this quirky little town again. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I feel Laura did it justice!n Iain and Anna are absolutely delightful and I absolutely cannot wait for more! Please tell me I get to visit Highland again! More, more, more!

A Highlander in a Pickup is the second book in Laura Trentham's Highland, Georgia romantic comedy series. I really enjoyed the first book (A Highlander Walks Into a Bar), so I was excited to get my paws on this one. I live in Georgia so I'm familiar with the South and (unfortunately) aware of the summer heat, plus I have a huge thing for Highlanders, so this series called out to me. The first book wasn't a fluke; I found this one just as delightful!

Anna Maitland is a dance instructor in the little town of Highland, Georgia. Since her friend Isabel is in Scotland ready to give birth, Anna is running the annual Highland Games for her. Organizing this sort of event is not something she's done before, but since she's planning to run for Mayor of Highland, she needs to learn how to be up for such a challenge. So she's in charge of the show....or so she thinks, until Iain Connors shows up, thinking he is to be in charge! Iain grew up at Cairndow Castle in Scotland, where he is expected to take over as groundskeeper when his father is ready to retire. He was in the armed forces but isn't ready to settle down yet, so he accepts his friend Alasdair's request to take charge of the Games. How on earth are two people who are as different as oil and water going to be able to work together?

I just loved both Anna and Iain! They were fantastic foils for each other - Anna was full of energy, chipper and charming, while Iain was more of a loner and could be socially awkward at times. He often had trouble understanding when Anna was kidding or being sarcastic, so it took some time for them to become friends. However, their attraction was there right from the start, even when Anna was claiming she was in charge and Iain's job was to be head pooper scooper for the animals in the festival. There were times when I laughed out loud, but I also found myself getting teary at others. Both had a parent that left them at an early age, and they still dealt with the fallout from that. Anna's place was in Georgia, owning a dance studio and planning to run for Mayor, while Iain's was in Scotland, where he was to take over for his Da eventually. Even though I expected a HEA, I was still on edge, seeing how they would work things out! Be sure to check out charming Highland, Georgia; you'll be glad you did, and you'll definitely want to visit again!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Laura Trentham has another winner on her hands with her latest Highland, Georgia book, A Highlander in a Pickup. Highland is a revitalized town accenting everything Scottish. The big event for the year there is the Highland Games. Our heroine Anna Maitland is filling in running the event this year for her friend Isabel Blackmoor and Isabel's mother. Isabel is in Scotland awaiting the birth of her baby girl. Our hero Iain Connors is sent over from Scotland by Isabel and her husband to assist Anna. They didn't get off to a very good start. But their attraction to each other is a 10 out of 10. I really enjoyed their journey to a HEA and a very successful Highland Games event. Next up in this fun series is A Highlander is Coming to Town.

Anna Maitland is a local dance teacher who has volunteered to run the Highland Games this year while her best friend Isabel, who normally is in charge, is in Scotland having a baby. She may be in over her head with the task, but she is determined that the games be a success as she also wants to run for mayor. She has everything under control until she is called to the farm to meet Ozzie and Harriet.

Iain Connors has offered to travel to the States to help organize the Highland games for his best friend who is in Scotland while his wife has her baby. Iain is quite confident he can handle anything that comes up as he has helped run the grounds of Cairndow Castle his whole life. When he is settling in at the farm, he meets a Anna, a force to be reckoned with. How confident is he now?

Anna doesn’t want Iain’s help at all, but she must relent when she realizes she knows nothing about the animals Ozzie & Harriet who have been delivered as part of the Highland games. Iain and Anna soon realize that they need each other to make the games a success. What they don’t count on is the attraction they have towards each other. What will happen when the games come to an end and Iain has to return to Scotland?

I loved this book and am a huge fan of Laura Trentham’s. Even though this is the second book in the Highland Georgia series, it can be read as a stand a lone book. It was witty, lovable, sweet and saucy! I adored the characters and it was fun to see the relationship between Anna and Iain develop. There was even a teaser at the end of the book as to what to look forward to next. I can’t wait. Thank you so much to Laura Trentham, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to read and review.

Iain Connors has come to Highland, Georgia, from his home in Scotland to help Anna Maitland with the annual Highland (Scottish) Festival. Anna is determined to organize and manage the festival, or most of it, herself. The interaction between these two is witty, snarky, and just plain fun. It takes a while for these two to get comfortable with each other, but eventually come to a workable accord. This entertaining story is full of humor and absolutely lovable characters. The people of Highland are delightful. Iain and Anna are both intelligent, astute people. They are great at solving problems, especially if they work together. Will the festival be a success? Iain and Anna have responsibilities in different places. What happens to their romance? Happily ever after doesn’t always come easy, but they do come. This is the second story in the Highland, Georgia series. I have enjoyed the first two books and look forward to the next one.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and a GoodReads giveaway. My review is voluntary.

A Highlander in a Pickup is a charming, fun and sweet small-town romance with two lead characters you’ll adore. Anna is strong and sassy, and she is the perfect match for the broody, quiet and adorably awkward Iain. Although they butt heads when they first meet, their bickering is soon simmering with sexual tension as they work together to pull off the town’s festival. A Highlander in a Pickup is light on angst and heavy on romance making it the ideal feel-good read.

I loved the first Highland, Georgia novel, A Highlander Walks Into a Bar, with its small town kitch and dueling accents. I was really looking forward to more fluffy Hallmark movie vibes from book two, but that's not exactly what I got.

However, I did love Anna. Her tendency to do everything herself and her ambition to do something more meaningful were incredibly relatable. Iain, on the other hand, was just okay for me. Also, it's a slow burn romance, which led to a very rushed ending. I would have liked to see an epilogue about Anna and Iain's future rather than one setting up Holt's book. I assume there will be room to check in on them in that book as well though.

What I loved most about A Highlander Walks Into a Bar was the over the top "themeyness" of the town of Highland. That's still there, but I didn't feel like I learned anything new in this second book in the series. The most prominent new location is the dance studio, which was certainly important to Anna's development but didn't build on the Scottish theme.

A Highlander in a Pickup is billed as a romcom and while it certainly does have its funny moments, I found it surprisingly introspective. Both main characters, Anna and Iain, are lonely but are so used to being that way that it's only when they recognize it in each other that they realize how lonely they've been. Even the main supporting character, Holt, who also featured prominently in the previous book, was profoundly lonely. I felt like I cried as much as I laughed when reading this one, which was unexpected. And not entirely welcome.

In short, I just didn't get the warm fuzzies from A Highlander in a Pickup that I did from book one. So while I enjoyed it, I was also a little bit disappointed.

3.5 stars

Delving back into the world of contemporary romance (because I just had to read the follow up to A Highlander Walks into a Bar), I flew through the pages of A Highlander in a Pickup.

Iain Connor’s natural charm belies his shyness. Except where Anna is concerned. With her, he never says the right thing. Anna is bound and determined to run the festival and relegate Iain to the job of pooper-scooper. Here’s the problem. Attraction.

I enjoyed the snappy dialog between Anna and Iain that often quickly went from antagonistic to helpful to charming to……you know. This is a wonderful couple (or will be by the end of the book). And Iain – strong, quiet, animal lover with a brogue – need I say more?

A secondary story line about one of the dancers in Anna’s dance class brought tears to my eyes – in a good way!

I absolutely adored this second book in the Highland Georgia series. Down-to-earth characters, a small town setting, a little bit of humor and a delightful romance make A Highlander in a Pickup an enchanting read.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Highlander in a Pickup was an enjoyable read. I liked both Anna and Iain, and it was fun to return to Highland, Georgia for the Highland Games. I love that they added animals to the festival this year, especially Ozzie the sheep.

I am enjoying this contemporary series by Laura Trentham.

Featuring another cocky highlander, this time, its Iain. He's in America for the Highlander Games and driving Anna nuts. She's filling in for her bestie and butting heads with Iain over the games. Fun and steamy times are guaranteed along with a kilt.
Recommend.

A Highlander in a Pickup is the second book in Laura Trentham’s Highland, Georgia series. Iain Connors has been dispatched from Cairndow, Scotland, to assist Anna Maitland orchestrate the yearly Highland Festival on the Stonehaven property outside of Highland, Georgia. Anna’s best friend, Isabel Buchanan, has married the next Earl of Cairndow and is on bed rest awaiting the birth of their daughter, so not only is Isabel not traveling home for the festival but also her mother, Rose, has journeyed to Scotland for the baby’s birth, which leads to Anna being in control.

Anna has felt little control in her life. Orchestrating this festival is the one way she feels she can establish her competency, especially in light of her plans to run for Highland mayor. She is not willing to relinquish her control to this Highlander in her best friend’s truck for the festival held on her best friend’s farm.

As the story unfolds, both Anna and Iain find the beauty in collaboration, their own competence, and that relinquishing control may be the only way to truly be free. This is a delightful story and I do recommend it!

This seems to be a wonderful small town where real men from Scotland seem to land. It was a great idea for a town named Highland to add a Scottish festival every year to hopefully get tourists in their town. Since they did this Anna is now planning the festival and is a little over her head since she has a job and hopes to run for Mayor of the city. She meets Iain and they have many adventures working together to plan the festival. I really enjoyed the romance. I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will

Iain Connors is rather shy and not great with words, in part due to his unconventional and largely solitary upbringing on the grounds of a Scottish castle. Now that his service in Her Majesty's Army is over, Iain wants to explore his options and decide what to do with his life, even though it is understood by his family and friends that he'll take over his father's position as groundskeeper at Cairndow Castle upon his retirement. But Iain isn't quite ready to settle into that routine so when his friend asks him to go to Georgia, USA, to help plan a Highland festival, Iain accepts, sure it can't be more difficult than leading men in the army.

Bubbly dance instructor Anna Maitland is happy to step in and plan the Highland Festival that is a tradition in her hometown. She's used to wrangling children, so how hard could it be? She's just not expecting the handsome highlander who shows up to take charge. Even worse, the man is undeniably attractive and Anna is not willing to relinquish control of the planning to him, even if she could use some help, and she certainly isn't planning to explore her attraction to him. After all, he's leaving soon, so there would be no point in exploring any connection that might exist between them.

I liked Anna's character in the previous book and was excited for her story. Unfortunately, her insecurities and fear that everyone will leave her, while understandable, culminated in her being ridiculously judgmental of, and unnecessarily hateful and demeaning, to Iain. Multiple times when he is being nice to her she's deliberately catty by willfully misinterpreting his words. She may be insecure, but she's popular and familiar enough with men to know the difference, especially after she learns that Iain isn't good with words. I think everyone has the desire to protect themselves from hurt, but much of Anna's behavior and dialogue was just immature and made me dislike her. By the time she started acting like she had some sense, it was a bit late for me to really like her. Iain was charming in his gruff awkwardness, but he also made some questionable decisions that took that awkwardness perhaps too far, although he did make up for it.

I liked this book, but not as much as the first book in the series. I do recommend this book and hope to read more in this series. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.