This story is an adorable romance novel that had a slow build and kept me turning pages! Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review because I couldn’t put it down! The story follows Paige, a sweet, young, and relatable librarian, looking for Mr. Right so she can settle down. She meets James, a gentleman from Scotland, who is in town for a summer art residency program and their attraction is obvious from the start! They become friends, given the circumstances that he’s only visiting. Then things quickly heat up to a lovers' romance, and you’ll be rooting for them to figure it out by the end. This story is light, and is a perfect quick beach or rainy day read!
3.5/5 Stars (rounded to 4)

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Alana Oxford for the eARC.

Paige wants nothing more than to be a full-time librarian and have her own fairy tale prince charming. Enter James, a Scotsman who's arrived in Michigan for an arts residency. He wasn't expecting to meet a sexy and cute librarian and she wasn't expecting to meet a handsome Scot either. But they do and from there ensues a gripping and mind-blowing romance.

Well, the mind-blowing romance was definitely missing for me. Paige and James, while both very well-written characters, had almost no chemistry with each other. Their dialogue felt cringey and I just could not see any chemistry between them at all. They read more like two almost friends who somehow decide they absolutely love each other.

There wasn't anything wrong with the book itself, I quite liked the premise of Paige being a librarian and when James and Paige travel, I enjoyed reading about it. But the overall lack of chemistry really disappointed me.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that our MFC was a librarian - A job I know a lot of us booktok community would love to have! She's instantly a likable character that has just split from her long-term boyfriend as they were on different pages about the status of their relationship.

Then we meet James, oh James. What a man. From the get go I fell in love with him. His dialect is in scottish so there can be some phrases that could potentially be tricky to read for some, however, I found this made him more endearing.

Paige works part time at the library and when her colleague announces her retirement she is desperate for the position and works towards it by taking over the book club, bringing it from drool to cool!

They fight through the stress of potentially dealing with a long-distance relationship as James is only in the states for 8 weeks.

Friends to lovers, some steam, hea, super cute and romantic, would definitely recommend it !

Scotsman in the Stacks was an adorable rom-com, with laugh out loud moments. Paige is a librarian that just went through a breakup when she meets a cute scottish artist that sweeps her off her feet. I loved how Paige and James's relationship unfolds in the story. Sweet romance, minimal spice, and lots of smiles in this read.

Up front I was told this would be a cute and sweet romance, so it's on me that I thought it was too saccharine. Not much happened in this story, and I thought the characters lacked, well...character. They were like cardboard cutouts of people. Sadly I won't recommend to my usual customers who like rom com. Maybe to those who want a quick, easy read with little spice.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Paige and James. Paige is a librarian and James is an artist who is from Scotland. The two main characters meet at the library. There is a mutual connection. There are many issues with these two characters: families, heart attacks, on a eight week artist retreat, promotions, and a baby girl. But through it all they work these issues out and fall in love.

Enjoyable romantic story. It is a some what love at first sight for James and Paige. There are wonderful characters and this is an easy read. It is also a clean read just some kissing. Overall a fun summer read.

When I saw a book about a librarian in Michigan, I, as a librarian who is from Michigan, had to immediately pick it up! Unfortunately, this was just not for me. I like the concept and think the book could be great for others, but I really struggled connecting with the main character, Paige, and found there were some tropes in the book that I'm not a fan of.

Paige is a part-time librarian living in Michigan, and we begin the story with her breaking up with her long-term boyfriend when he makes it "clear" that he doesn't want to get married. She is now single and hoping to get a promotion at her job and become a full time librarian. She is also interested in dating again, but doesn't want to just have a fling. She wants to settle down, get married, and start having children. Then comes in James, a Scotsman in town for a few months on an artist residency. While attracted to him, she knows there is no potential for future, so is determined to remain friends. However, the more they spend time together, the more they want to explore this budding attraction.

While there was a lot of potential and ways that this book can be a cute rom-com for others, it didn't click with me. I found the main character to be annoying, and as a librarian, was pretty horrified with how she treated patrons. The very first time we see her at work, she is at the reference desk and intentionally trying to ignore a patron because they annoy her. This is a huge No-No. If a patron is in front of you, they get your full attention, whether they are annoying or not. Desk time is patron facing, and you shouldn't be focusing on other work. We are taught this in Master's programs and it is heavily emphasized within the work culture, so to see the opposite within the first few chapters, I was pretty immediately turned off. It was also extremely unrealistic that she'd be able to afford living alone on a part-time librarian salary. Public librarians are already paid extremely little as it is, so only working part-time is completely unbelievable. I also really struggled with all her "Michiganders" things. As I said, I'm from Michigan, so was excited to see all of the Michigan-related plot and story. However, it was pretty clear that it was Detroit/East-side centric and she kept relating it as "all Michiganders" when really she meant "East-siders". So the two things that really attracted me to this book, being a librarian and set in Michigan, were parts that really ended up making me struggle with the story. While Paige is supposed to be 29, there were times when reading that she felt a lot younger. It might have just been the writing style, but I found her annoying and immature at times. I liked the portion of her trying to get the book club to keep running and all the promotion for that. I also loved the Mackinac Island trip, as that is one of my favorite places in Michigan.

I liked James character, and continued reading the book due to him. I kept picturing him as Jamie from Outlander, and had fun reading his accent in his dialogue. I did struggle with some of the connection between James and Paige, and I'm not a fan of instalove, which this book was leaning towards. They did spend quite a bit of time together, so that helped, but 8 weeks is still really fast to be head over heals and change your whole life around.

Overall, I think this book has a lot of potential for other readers. I think there were elements that other people could connect with, so it really was a personal thing of me not liking the main character and having issues with the setting. I would still recommend to others if I knew they liked romantic comedies and didn't have issues with instalove trope.

Scotsman in the Stacks is a contemporary romance that leans towards Chick Lit and or women's fiction as it centers the female lead Paige in her pursuit of romance. She's turning thirty and she's looking for commitment from her current boyfriend Dylan, except he isn't on the same page (ha! pun!) and that leads to a breakup in which Paige realizes she is nowhere near her goal. So, she turns her focus onto her career: she's a part-time librarian and she's seeking a full-time position. When it opens up, she puts effort into getting the position. Just as she meets the Scotsman artist James. James is charming, polite (every character makes a point to praise his mother for raising him to be such a gentleman), and so endearing. He's sensitive and very fond of our Paige. He attends her book discussion event and introduces her to endless Scottish culture tidbits, allowing Paige entry into his life. Their relationship progresses despite Paige's reluctance to start anything that's deemed to end, seeing as James's stay in the U.S. is for eight weeks and he hasn't made any plans to stay longer. I was bummed out along with Paige because James was textbook romance hero. He was so easy to like and even love. I was swept away into their romance. They had so much fun together and the drama was so minimal but balanced the book in a nice way. Overall: very enjoyable, fast, easy read.

Ya'll this story is honestly just the cutest. Paige is an amazing, kind, helpful woman who loved what she does. I loved her ambition and determination but I really loved that she wasn't afraid to voice what she wanted for her life.

James is a handsome, kind gentleman with a sexy Scottish accent who is a little lost and doesn't quite know what life has in store for him. I felt really connected to his character, he was just taking life day by day trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted to do with his life.

James and Paige have quickly become one of my favorite book couples, they are fiercely supportive of one another and genuinely interested in where each other came from. They mesh together so well.

I really like that this story was different in the way where there was clear communication unlike other modern romance books where they is almost always a big miscommunication. It was realistic because it shows that sometime life just happens. An unexpected curveball pops up and can change everything in the blink of an eye. That's real life and it was one of the first times that I saw that represented in a modern love story.

I really enjoyed this story, it was charming and funny, heartbreaking and heartwarming and an overall realistic feel good romance. I definitely recommend it!!

This book caught my attention because of the title (I love a book about books!) and the description. It’s a story of a 29 year old librarian (Paige) who just got out of a long term relationship and is left reeling - unsure where her life is headed - when in walks a Scottish hunk (James) asking for ‘a library caird’. I enjoyed elements of this book - as Paige and James got to know each other - but the story felt slow to me and I personally had a hard time connecting with the characters. That said, it’s still a sweet love story that I would recommend to fans of rom-coms and Scottish men!

Thank you NetGalley and 8N Publishing for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me. I think I’m not the target audience. It lost me at 29 and biological clock is ticking so she thinks she’s destined to be a spinster we cat lady.

Scotsman in the Stacks by Alana Oxford

Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: 6/14/2022

What a cute and wholesome romance! Such a sweet story about our two love birds who get wrapped up in an adorable romance. Paige, our heroine and local librarian, dumps her boyfriend of 6 years because he won't commit to marriage with her. A few months later, she is working at the Library and in comes our hottie Scotsman, James. He's an artist and living in Michigan for the summer. This insta-love romance is pretty cute and super easy/fun to read. It's feel good and wholesome. The entire time I was reading this I just kept picturing James as a modern day Jamie Fraser ;)

-charming characters
-wholesome romance
-easy quick read
-cute best friend relationship with Paige and Kayla
-feel good romance with a HEA

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a charming read! It was light and cute, I found the premise really fun. Overall it was a bit basic, but still enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Paige wants two things: to land a full time librarian job and find the man of her dreams. On the cusp of thirty, she finds herself suddenly single and working part-time in a Michigan library. A handsome patron with a delicious accent appears at the reference desk, inadvertently sparking an idea that might help her land the promotion she so desperately needs. But that's not the only thing he sparks.

James is in town from Glasgow, Scotland, on a summer artist residency. Luckily, the trip got him away from the pressure he feels to take over his uncle's river tour business. He only wanted to clear his head and make his art in peace, but he wasn't counting on finding an attractive librarian to fill his days.

With only eight weeks before James goes home to Scotland, Paige knows she should protect her heart. After all, she already wasted years with her commitmentphobe ex. But the more she gets to know James, the less she can stick to her plan to just be friends. Is she just wasting her time again, or can they bridge the ocean between them to find a happily ever after of their own?

*le sigh*

James. I could hear his voice in my head while reading. There’s just something about a man with an accent, isn’t there? The problem is- it’s written on page and for me, it became somewhat tedious to slow down and sound out the Scottish slang in my head. I think slightly less on page, and more description of his robust accent would have helped. That’s me being picky, sure, but when you’re an avid reader and want to fly through a book in a night, it can be the difference between finishing it and switching to something else.
Still with me?! I feel a tad cringy complaining about the above, but these are the things that help me pick books, so, yeah.
Romance wise, the book is cute, a fast read and *ahem*, somewhat forgettable. It’s a great fluffy beach read. Plane read. Ya know?!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. There were times that it was cute, but at most times it was a tad boring. I didn't feel the character's connections much either, which is a deal-breaker for a rom-com.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for allowing me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was cozy and delightful to read. It felt a bit like Outlander fan fiction and I didn't hate that. What I didn't love was that it felt like too much talk and not enough show. Because of that, the words are beautiful. James is perfect, but the chemistry is meh. Also she kept flipping out about James going back to Scotland, but not once does she consider going to Scotland and getting a job? Girl please.
Anyway, I enjoyed the switch of gender dynamics where he had to depend on her a bit more, but overall I gave it 3 stars.

I didn't really enjoy this one. I didn't love the writing style but I think it was still a fairly cute romance and I will consider picking up more by this author.

3 / 5 stars. This was cute but started to bore me a little less than halfway through. The relationship between Paige and James didn’t seem romantic enough to warrant their actions, especially when we reached the end. I loved that it was set in Michigan and I enjoyed the little Michigan tidbits, but then it started to feel like a Pure Michigan commercial and Tim Allen was trying to convince me to kayak the Manistee River. This was also a very much fade to black book when it came to them getting down and dirty, which I’m not against, but if you’re looking for dirty details, you will not find it in this book. I think it’s a good romance for those who don’t venture into romance often.