this was a very cute romance. It did get a little boring in the middle but I appreciated the discussions revolving grief.

3.5 rounded up.

I had to read this for the title alone, but it also turned out to be an adorable read. Both MCs, Addie and Logan, are passionate and stubborn. Which made their banter and overcoming the "enemies" to lovers situation all the more engaging. I did find it a bit boring at times and had to push through the first 20% or so before I felt invested. But the Scottish-ness of it all, the grief healing aspect for Addie, and the chemistry between the leads kept me going.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canary Street Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book on a flight on St Patrick’s Day; I thought it would be the perfect romance for the day. It was a fun read. Addie arrives in Edinburgh to help a tour company re-think its tour offerings in the Scottish Highlands to be more profitable. She goes on a tour by Logan (son of the owner) while eating all the things that go well and things she could improve. He takes his tours very personally and has specific ideas of what he wants to happen. So they take each other on their perfect itineraries. Loved “seeing” all the sights through their eyes. It made me want to be there.

This is a very sweet story! And a stand-alone.

Addie Macrae is a globetrotter. She travels all over as a travel consultant (which actually sounds like the coolest job ever). Addie is sent to Scotland to help a struggling family run tour business. She has some emotional baggage.

She's helping Logan Sutherland’s tour business. And he is not pleased about it. Not one bit. But his business is struggling. The two of them don't exactly become fast friends. He's afraid of change, and she constantly needs change.

These two will have some forced proximity while working in the office together. There's some office shenanigans, which was pretty funny.

But the more time they spend together, the more they come to understand each other. It gets pretty romantic. They form a connection when Logan finds out about how much Scotland means to Addie and her past.

I enjoyed Logans family and his extended work family. It was so nice to see Addie get what she deserved.

I highly recommend this book. It is a lighthearted and swoony contemporary romance. I greatly enjoyed the character development. The author did a great job of balancing providing depth with ensuring that the book did not become too heavy. There was a good level of spice - it added to the story without feeling like it was overdone. I was so invested in the characters and cannot wait for the next book!
Also, I loved that the book was set in Scotland.

This book was a good romance story. I wish we saw more character development with Addie and her Dad. We were just left with her hanging up on him and nothing else. Also, we are never told what happened to Addie's mom besides it being sudden. Missing these two parts of the story makes the book feel incomplete. I'm glad Addie opened Her heart to Logan, but I wanted to see more of her healing in other relationships.

3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
2.5/5 🌶️🌶️

I really enjoyed the Edinburgh and Scotland imagery of this book! It was very vivid and the bits of history and fun facts were really enjoyable. I really felt like I was there. That was the best part of this book. I did really like the friends and Logan family/coworkers too. Their banter was fun.

I liked Logan and I found I laughed quite a bit in his chapters. I didn’t love the FMC that much. Their chemistry was a bit forced with the enemies to lovers but not really? type of situation. The spice was good but I couldn’t figure out why Logan liked Addie. The things he said he liked about her were the same reasons he didn’t want to be with her so that was confusing.

This book has both instalove and miscommunication, which I didn’t love with how slow the pace of this book was. It does span over about a month or so and I felt like I was reading it for just as long. I’m not a huge fan of slow burn books, in general but the addition of the loss of her mother and the repressed grief made it hard for me to enjoy this one.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. I think if you’re someone who enjoys slow burn and romcoms, you might enjoy this one better but it wasn’t my cuppa.

Addie travels to Scotland to help a tour company improve their business. She meets handsome tour guide/owner of the business Logan. Logan has a ton of Scottish charm. The stories he tells draws both Addie and the reader into the story. This is a fun romance that makes me want to travel to Scotland to see some of the sites that the characters visit.

First and foremost, I want to go to Scotland. Now onto everything I didn’t like…. This girly needs to go to therapy. One of my biggest romcom pet peeves is when the two main characters shouldn’t end up together because they really need to work on themselves and that was the case with this. Addie has not grieved losing her mother when she was a teenager, so she pushes away everyone who cares for her as a defense mechanism. I think he seemed way more into her than she was into him (he literally mentioned this multiple times) and then she just pops in the last couple pages and says jk I love you pooks and he’s like slay let’s get married. It was a love letter to Scotland and I liked the grief elements and found family, I just think it would work as a general fiction instead of a romcom!

Kilt Trip is such a cozy, heartfelt read. Sometimes all you need to cure some wanderlust is reading a book like this one! Addie is easy to like, and also to identify with. Kiley wrote about her struggles with grief beautifully and since most of us have experienced some kind of loss, it really hit home. Also, who couldn't fall for Logan? Can't wait to read more of Kiley's books!

I really enjoyed this one! It was light-hearted while also dealing with not-so-light things. I loved the setting, the characters, and how well Addie and Logan work together.
I liked how Addie and Logan had different ideas about the tours but were able to compromise on what turned out to be a really great business endeavor.
This was a really sweet book with some great spicy scenes as well...

Overall rating 4/5

I loved this unique, heartfelt happily-ever-after steeped in all the magic and beauty of Scotland. The characters were wonderful, the tours were enviable, and who doesn't love a man in a kilt??

Kilt Trip is a sweet romance set in Scotland (as if the cute title didn't give that away!). Addie and Logan's love story was sweet, and I loved the personality and quirks of their characters and their supporting cast. I also enjoyed the inclusion of so much Scottish history and places of interest and how seamless it fit into the story. I felt like I learned a lot more about the country than I. have in similar books set in Scotland. i did feel like the first 40% of the book was a little slower paced than the rest, and it took me some time to really engage with the characters and the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this little Scottish romp and would recommend if you're looking for a lighthearted and 'feel good' read! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book!

“Does your heart feel like mine?”

You’re seeing three stars and are probably thinking “yikes!”, but I promise it’s not a bad book! It’s not! It just wasn’t my cup of tea! If I had read the synopsis, which I tend not to do these days opting instead to take the “go in blind” approach, I probably would’ve deemed it not for me, and let this one slide. Let’s get into it!

This review contains minor spoilers and should be read after finishing this book!

Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️.5

Tropes: workplace romance, “enemies” to lovers, slow burn, he falls first, found family, off limits

Here’s what I loved:

•The setting
Kiley did an amazing job transporting readers to Scotland with her writing. As someone who has never been to Scotland, it was easy enough (with some help from Google images) to feel like I was right there with our MCs.

•The writing
The writing is clean, descriptive and visceral, and the dialogue between the characters was realistic!

•How grief is represented
Both Addie and her father are grieving the loss of Addie’s mother, and I loved the contrasting ways they dealt with it. While each coped differently, they also had a lot of parallels, and I think that speaks leaps and bounds to grief as a human emotion. Loss is a unique and individual process, yet we all experience it, and there are components to grief that are largely the same.

•The spice
It wasn’t cringey, and it made me blush which makes it a positive! Did I struggle a little with a MMC in a kilt? Sure did! But that’s a me and my need for “hyper masculine men” problem. I still found Logan to be a great book boyfriend, and the spice do be spicing.

•The ending
The ending and epilogue are tooth achingly sweet and I loved it! The last few chapters were honestly my favorite out of the entire book.

Here’s what I didn’t love:

•All the history
I’ll admit that I am someone who does not have the infamous “travel bug”, but more than that, I am someone who HATES history. If I were to travel, the last places you’d find me would be any kind of museum or TOUR! So naturally, reading a whole book about tours where the guide delves into the history of Scotland and its traditions was incredibly boring to me. I skimmed over most of those sections which unsurprisingly was a lot of the book. This is one of the big reasons why I say <b>YOU COULD STILL LOVE THIS BOOK</b> it just wasn’t for me, and if I had read the synopsis I could’ve recognized I’d have a hard time reading this one.

•The main plot point
The Heart of the Highlands is a struggling tour business, yet guests love the “personalized, hidden gem” aspect of the tours. Solution? Obviously keep the personalized, hidden gem component, and add in some of the more touristy destinations. This whole book is Addie and Logan butting heads trying to convince each other that their idea of a tour is the right one, as if the solution isn’t the obvious middle ground. It made the big reveal of the solution less “ta-da” and more like “yeah, duh! Could’ve told you that 150 pages ago!”

•Addie being mad at her dad for remarrying
This is a smaller annoyance, but one that still bugged me. I fully understand that Addie’s issue with her dad is that he abandoned her to his own grief, sacrificing their relationship and leaving her to grieve her mother on her own, but when he tells her he’s getting remarried she gets pissed with him. Addie, girl… it’s been 13 years! Did you really think your father would stay single for the rest of his life? Moreover, do you think he deserves to be alone for the rest of his life? I can understand where it might be shocking and a <i>little</i> upsetting because their relationship was ransacked over his grief for his wife, yet is now able to form new relationships, but that’s life. Accept your father’s healing, heal yourself, and move forward, WHICH TO BE FAIR, she does do at the end. I just hate that it was even a thing to begin with.


*Out March 5, 2024*

Thank you Alexandra Kiley, Canary Street Press, and NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sweet and gentle, with a warmth and heart that hit all the right notes. This was a bit show in some sections but it didn't really detract from the lovely story.

I always have a soft spot for story that take place in Scotland and the premise of this one is great. I enjoyed it and I think loads of romance reads will love it. However, it isn’t making it to the top of my romance reads. Something was missing. I didn’t understand Logan‘a draw towards Addy and certain parts I felt jumped around and I couldn’t quite follow them from scene to scene. Will I read it again no? Will I recommend it to new romance readers sure!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

I don’t know how many hand ever watched Monarch of the Glen, but this entire book gave me the feels from that tv series. Logan is a swoony kilt wearing tour guide who is trying to save the family business. Addie is a travel consultant with Scottish roots brought in to help the business become profitable. Their vision clash, but the sparks fly as they travel throughout Scotland. Readers are brought along their travels through Scotland.

This book is for anyone wanting to feed their Scottish wanderlust with a sweet romance.

Firstly I want to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!!

Addie is helping a family run business with their guided tours in Scotland, but can she resist the hot tour guide in a kilt? Honestly, I couldn't.

A few things I loved about this book,
The setting, I love Scotland so much and the author describes Edinburgh so well I could picture it all over again. I also liked our MMC he was passionate and loyal and caring. Lastly I did enjoy the family vibe of the supporting characters around our MMC. It felt small town-y and intimate.
The epilogue was also cute, and honestly my favorite part of the book.
Somethings that fell a little short for me,
Addie our FMC. I had a really hard time connecting to her and quite honestly she annoyed me a lot of the time. I had a hard time with her closed off-ness and how she would disregard Logans feelings while hiding from her own, ( I understand that this was her hurdle to over come, but it just felt like a little much to me and immature at times, so I personally could not connect with it) and that led to her making a lot of choices that I didn't like. Which in turn caused me to not be overly connected to her and Logans relationship.
All in all this one wasn't really for me but there were some standouts, as listed above, that I did enjoy!!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

When Addie was hired as a travel consultant for Heart of the Highlands tour company, she was excited since it would give her an opportunity to retrace her late mother's trip to Scotland. While this may have initially been a way to remember and reconnect with her mother, it became a way for Addie to heal and reconnect with herself.

Scotland is one of those bucket list places for me, and I always jump at the chance to read stories set there. But that was not the only draw with Kilt Trip. I found so many things to love as I smiled, laughed, and swooned my way through this sweet and heartfelt romance.

Scotland definitely had a starring role in this tale. Since a big part of this story was the tour packages from Heart of the Highlands, I was treated to several really amazing trips. I commend Kiley on the vivid descriptions which pulled me out of New Jersey and into the Highlands. I saw the sights and heard the sounds while also learning some interesting historical facts.

Then there was Logan who totally stole my heart. I loved his commitment with trying to help visitors fall in love with his country. A big thing was his aversion to the "tourist trap" type attractions, but I have to say, I think I would be happy to be on his tours any day. His affection for his history and country shined brightly, as did his love for his family and Addie. I adored how he wanted to help Addie with her quest to find all the sites in her mother's pictures while also just wanting to be a part of her personal journey.

I felt so much compassion and empathy for Addie. It may have been ten years since her mother's death, but it had a profound effect on her life. Losing her mother, and in a sense, her father at the same time, forced Addie to keep people at arm's length. She adopted a nomadic lifestyle that she thought she loved until Logan and everyone at Heart began breaking through those barriers.

This was a healing journey for Addie, and I was glad she had so many wonderful people to support her along the way. I adored Logan's family and his co-workers who embraced Addie as one of their own. It was beautiful to see her want to put down roots while also attempting to mend her relationship with her father.

Overall, this book satisfied my wanderlust while touching my heart. It was funny and sweet, and it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of this Kilt Trip.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Given that this delivered me right back to my whirlwind trip to Fort William and the Highlands a few years ago, it was an easy win for me. But, I absolutely loved Addie and Logan. This is an intimate, adventurous love story that also delves into grief and family complexities.

💙Rivals to Lovers
💙He Falls First
🔥Banter
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland
🌶️Open door, but more intimate than graphic
🌶️ 10/10 for sexy kilt references

"He was a dangerous combination of sensitive and challenging, and Addie was having a hell of a time feigning disinterest."

"They were dangerously close to a tented-tartan situation he wasn't one hundred percent certain she'd appreciate."

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC!