It was alright. Unfortunately feels a bit like an uninspired Rom Com. There was no tension for me in the plot, so it was just two people falling in love.

3 and half stars

Thank you to Xpresso book tours for the review copy.

Paige the part time librarian just wants to get married and have kids ASAP as she thinks she is over the hill (she is 29. I was rolling my eyes) but her long term boyfriend isn't stepping up so she's now newly single while her loved up, married best friend is heavy pregnant with all the domestic bliss Paige longs for. I enjoyed the friendship but wish the friend had slightly more personality outside of the "I am 84 years pregnant and require constant dessert" portrayal.

Into the library where Paige works walks 28 year old James from Scotland, a wood carving artist on a Summer art residency thingy and it's insta crush for both the characters but of course these two smitten kittens live in different countries plus 29 year old Paige (truly ancient) needs to get broody immediately apparently while spring chicken James (28) hasn't yet decided what he really wants to do with his life and still works for his family business back home in bonny Glasgow.

Did I mention James is a red head from Scotland (modern Outlander fantasy anyone? cough cough)

Thankfully Paige also has some career growth over the course of the novel so it's not all an advert for how to become a domestic goddess, hot Scotsman edition.

This closed door bookish romance is actually pretty sweet and the romance between these too is a little bit adorable despite my annoyance at the sexest, agest nonsense portrayed via Paige's character.

Cute and fun read with an MC that is a librarian and a Scotsman. I wish that it wouldn't have felt so rushed in the end of the book but otherwise was a very cute romance. I also liked that the friendship between the MC and her best friend was done in a positive light that featured supportive relationships versus pinning women against each other or trying to out-do each other.

I love a attractive Male love interest with an accent that is also decent and kind and you get that with this male MC and more. Of note, his character does read from that Scottish way of speaking so if you have difficulty with understanding other cultural language and context you may struggle there.

If you are looking for a cute happily ever after romance with a foreign male love interest and a bookish female MC I would recommend this one!

I really wanted to love this. It wasn’t awful, but I don’t think it lived up to its potential.

There was no real conflict the characters were trying to overcome besides the 3,500 miles between them and deciding what they were both going to do in their lives.

Definitely a slow burn story. Dialogue felt juvenile (especially considering main characters are 28/30). Conversations didn’t propel the storyline or deepen character relationships. Some lines were great, but they were far and few in between. Absolutely no spice- less than fade to black. The ending got a little cringe-y (the tattoos 🙄🤦🏽‍♀️).

You had all the makings of a great romance- Scotsman, library/ librarian, road-trip, long distance dilemma, book club. It just didn’t feel put together in the right way for me.

Special thanks to Netgalley and 8N Publishing for this digital ARC.

First, thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story. I couldn’t resist the idea of a romance that included a Scot (especially with his dialogue in full on accent most of the time).

The main character in the story is Paige. She’s a part time librarian in the Midwest. She has just exited a long-term relationship with the wrong guy and is in the throes of getting over it and his betrayal. Her main goal is to focus on getting her dream job as a full-time librarian and has decided to put romance on the back burner for a while.

One day James comes into the library. He is only in town on a temporary basis as an artist in residence getting ready for an art show. He needed a change in his life in order to focus on his art so he applied for and was accepted into the residency program. As soon as their paths cross in the library, they seemed destined to end up together. Paige was of course trying to ignore her attraction to maintain her focus on work – as well as to avoid getting hurt again. But she was fiercely attracted to James. Will they be able to remain only friends?

It was cute, entertaining and highly predictable but a delightful read. After devouring the Outlander series as well as the TV show, I definitely was crushing on James throughout the read. If light romance is your thing, this will delight you.

Paige works at her local library and is hoping to get a promotion. One day, a Scotsman named James comes into the library and they meet. After spending time together, they start to develop feelings for each other. James is only in the country for the summer. What should they do?

I was rooting for James and Paige from the start! He was always doing little things for her or saying the sweetest things. And that accent! The author paced this story perfectly and when they finally kissed...swoon!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Starting off this book was on the better side of ok. I felt it was missing something for me to really love or enjoy it. I think I find this frustrating the most because I loved the characters. Although it did feel that there was a bit too much of hemming and hawing at the first 20 chapters and it did ally picked up speed to be rushed at the end.

My heart goes out to the setting as I grew up in Michigan and it was like coming home for a summer break. I also adore Scotland and thus was super excited about this book to begin with.

Would I recommend this book? Only with explanation. I do not mind reading books with zero spice, but as a rom com a little more romance needed. We did. It even get fade to black… which I would have implied.

Total rating 3.5 stars (.5 given for Michigander love alone).

The description seemed like a super sweet, bubblegum read: a Librarian, a Scotsman she meets in the library, and some romance...what else could you want to read on vacation?

Not this.

It <i>is</i> very sweet, very vanilla, very boring, and very, very White. The biggest obstacle they have to overcome is missing each other's phone calls. Her other big challenge is reviving her library's bookclub.

Girl, what is your life even like?

If you've never interacted with a librarian before, you'll learn all about the fun of public service (and you might be surprised, alongside our MC that you too, can say no when patrons ask for your undivided attention day in and day out).

Another bone to pick is that this reads as a tourism ad for Michigan. I had a really hard time believeing that our Scot was so enamored and delighted by Michigan. Nothing against them, but no one would choose Michigan over Scotland. I'm sorry, but no matter how much you love your state, I refuse to believe that.

Another purely fantastical part to this? That our MC could afford a quality life (including rent!) on a part time public library job.

Please, join me in hysterical laughter.

<i>NetGalley gave me an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review</i>

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 likeable 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 collegue 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 !

I loved this book - and by "loved", I mean I devoured Scotsman in the Stacks in a matter of hours.

Paige & James are probably a couple of the most relatable characters I've had the pleasure of reading this year. Paige is a librarian working up the chain to a full time job, learning how to be herself and recognizing her self worth. Her best friend, Kayla, reminded me of my best friend - reminding me of my worth, paving the way for my life later. I loved their duo and the love they had for each other as they go through different things in life.

The friendship, however, is not what this book is about - it's about Paige and James. James - the Scotsman - is an absolute delight. He's sweet, he's kind, he's chivalrous. If you're looking for a prince charming with an accent, this guy is IT. Paige and James fall for each other quickly - a soulmate situation.

My only critique of this book is that it was hard for me to read the Scottish accent. I would likely really enjoy an audiobook version with a Scotsman as James. I understand what the author was doing and it didn't take away from the sweet story at all. I wish I could do 1/2 stars because it really didn't take away a full star for something so minimal (in my opinion).

If you're looking for a feel good, HEA, prince charming scenario - go for this! I recommend, 100%!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me the ARC

Paige is a librarian in Michigan. Her life gets turned upside down when she realizes her boyfriend of over six years doesn't seem to be as committed as she is. Fast forward six months, she meets a man from Scotland at the library. He's only there for the summer as an artist in residence. However, they start to fall in love over the summer.

I thought it took a long time to get to the romance in this book. There was a lot of setup and then later on a lot without a lot of romance (other plot lines), I also didn't feel the chemistry between the main characters like I do in other rom-coms.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a sweet, simple romcom about Paige, a librarian, and James, who is on a short-term visit from Scotland. This somehow feels like both an insta-love and slow-burn story, but the slow burn may have just been a result of the book’s pacing. I always enjoy reading stories about book lovers, so the library setting and their common interest bring a comfy, familiar vibe while reading. I wish the chemistry between the characters had more depth, but if you’re in the mood for a quick, cute read this is a great choice.

Scotsman in the Stacks by Alana Oxford was a sweet, quick beach read.

Paige, a charming Michigander librarian has high aspirations to land a proper position in her librarian career. Warding off odd customers, brainstorming for book club themes and navigating turning thirty after breaking up with her non-committal boyfriend, she meets James. James is a Scottish artist living in Ann Arbor for the summer for an artist residency. Over the course of their fleeting eight week fling, they each make discoveries about themselves that cultivate the path forward.

Takeaways:
~An endearing romance! Found it to be very vanilla, but in a refreshing way like on a hot summer day kind of way— not a lot of conflict to warrant resolution until there was some sprinkled in at the end.

~He's incredibly thoughtful and I could clearly picture Jamie from Outlander. The slight nod to the series confirmed that there may have been some inspiration from James Fraser himself. Being familiar with his dialect of the Queen's English, our character's manner of speaking was only done so somewhat. A complete sweetheart and very refreshing to model off a healthy, affectionate behavior.

~Pursuing what one deserves and wants apart from what is fulfilling others expectations.

~ 3 stars

Thank you NetGalley and 8N Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This had so much potential.
I was immediately in love with the title and blurb but a little disappointed with the actual story. It follows a sweet 29 year old librarian called Paige who is on the search for the man of her dreams. After coming out of a long fruitless relationship, she's looking for something serious and in no mood for casual dating. Right on cue, a Scottish dude comes around and the two hit it off after hesitating due to the fact that he'll only be around for a few weeks.

Overall, this was a cutesy read. A little disappointing because the main characters, Paige and James were a bit bland and I cringed too many times during their interactions. I barely registered the side characters and the book felt pretty simple but sweet.

This book had me at the jump because it was about a woman who meets, and falls for, a Scottish man from Glasgow. As a lover of Scotland, I knew I had to read it.
I liked the growth of the characters throughout the book. Paige is very unsure of herself at first but grows more and more as the book goes on. I also love her best friend and the commentary she gives about James when talking to Paige.
I wasn’t a big fan of the fade to black, but that is exactly what some readers are looking for and I understand that. To sum it up, this is a great Hallmark movie type of book. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others!

I loved the concept and the characters, however, the beginning of the book felt quite different from the end. One part being is she told her ex bf she wouldn’t move in until they were engaged but then with the Scotsman she moves in with him? The relationship with that also seemed a little too good to be true — I felt like there wasn’t as much conflict. What about the stuff with his dad? Did he have any homesickness or things that took time to adjust to in America? Sometimes things felt a little bland and some conversation that didn’t need to occur. The story kind of stopped in the middle of the book and just seemed to refuse to continue on. I feel like there needs to be more conflict and getting to know the characters under the surface before the resolution.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Between the cute title and the premise, a librarian and a scotsman falling in love, I was hopeful this would the perfect fluffy romance read. It is! It definitely is saccharinely sweet but at the same time it's just a bit lackluster. I truly didn't feel the chemistry between our main character Paige, a kind and quirky librarian, and James, the hot Scottish artist visiting. It reminded me a little bit of Beach Read by Emily Henry in that sense. This is a quick read and there were aspects I liked but it's definitely not a story I'll remember.

I love books, libraries, Scotland, art and romance. This book has it all. Paige is figuring out life and so is James. They’re puzzle pieces and throughout the book they help each other’s pieces fall into place. PG romance and drool worthy. Highly recommend!

This ARC was kindly provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall a cute read! Very light and fluffy with a fairly 2D male lead. The book went exactly where you thought it would. The only twist for me was that the couple’s Happily Ever After was in Michigan instead of Scotland. I wish there had been more of an explanation about why James wanted to stay in Michigan for art, but have to give kudos to the author for portraying a more accurate look at a public library than I would have expected!

I really wanted to like this book and I tried so hard to like this book but it was not good. It reads like the author put together a list of things that make a good rom com book; great married best friend, supportive parents, foreign love interest, good banter, and quirky main character. However, the author could not make any of these elements work together. Everything fell so flat, the dialogue was awkward, and the rest was so cheesy. The ending was quick and uninspired. I would read sections aloud to my husband just to make sure it wasn't just me that found the lines poorly written and he thought they were worse than I did. It had potential, but is not worth reading.