Like with many readers, if there’s a story set in Scotland, I’m in. The backdrop is gorgeous, the romantic in me is swooning from page one.

Now, I loved the tension in this book. The way they went from interested strangers to enemies to more, it was 🧑‍🍳 😘.

Logan was seriously the sweetest, most earnest MMC I’ve read. I loved him. And Addie was really great, but that third act breakup was painful, and a bit frustrating. I hated that she was so stubborn in how she dealt with him. Now, I don’t really mind a flawed FMC, but I wish she would have seen that in herself a bit.

TW/CW: sex, past parental death

Read if you like: travel off the beaten path, wanderlust, castles & ruins, clan heritage & Scottish history, found family & family of origin, community, and of course - a hot guide in a kilt. Bonus; if you're an Outlander fan, you'll hear the verra, verra sexy accent in your head, ye ken?

By the back half of the book, I was hooked and planning my own trip to Scotland, but I will admit that I was probably 40% of the way in before I felt truly invested. The start/stop of the romantic interest threw me a bit and I had a hard time believing the enemies portion of the story. Overall, I thought it was a good book with some GREAT elements. I loved the relationships and the experiences of grief and risk and loss and failure that Kiley explores with her characters. Vulnerability is such a beautiful gift and I loved how Kiley wove that into Addie and Logan's story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest feedback.

(TW: prior loss of a parent)

Writing a review is a bit of a backwards experience. Typically I remember the end (since it’s the most fresh in my mind) and this is the case with Alexandra Kiley’s debut because SWOON! THAT ENDING! THAT EPILOGUE! It could not have been more perfect.
I think Kiley is an author who really knows her characters and knows who they are and how they’d act. Nothing ever seems out of character, even the third act breakup felt plausible to me. Having fully realized MCs coupled with a book that is very much plot driven as well made me feel like I knew and understood Logan and Addie.
Addie is an escapist. When things are tough she can just hop on a plane and has never taken much stock in making connections with people ever since the loss of her mother and subsequent loss of her father (to grief). So to be the point person for a travel consulting firm is the perfect job for her where she can immerse herself in others’ needs. But what makes this a love story is that Addie never expects Logan. Logan is such a caretaker and thoughtful about every move he makes with Addie. He is the epitome of “hot Highlander”, and yet he very easily becomes tuned in to Addie as she works with his travel tour company. I loved how intuitive he was with Addie, even when they initially didn’t get along, he was still very aware of her.
It seems that I read very few romances where the FMC is assertive (without being a b$tch), and take charge (without steamrolling) in the bedroom and I loved Addie vocalizing her wants. Even still, as aggressive in the workplace and bedroom that Addie seems, she is afraid of emotions and being vulnerable. We see her bravely living out her mom’s photos but afraid to make lasting connections to Logan. And through it all he is patient, sensitive, and uses storytelling to help her open up to him.
This book has a great meet-cute that helps spark Addie and Logan’s attraction. The first half really felt like it was setting up the story, which is important, but the romance doesn’t kick in until the second half of the book. In that respect I’d deem it a slowburn. Once it did I was all in and especially loved Logan’s trip for Addie. I cannot wait to see what Alexandra Kiley will write next and sure wouldn’t mind seeing Logan’s brother Jack get his own HEA. Thank you to Canary Street Press and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Book: Kilt Trip
Author Alexandra Kiley
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🪭🪭 (but that desk bang though…🥵)

Plot poorly told through Emojis
🏃‍♀️⌛️🧭🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🧔🏻‍♂️📋👱🏻‍♀️🤨🚍⛰️🏰👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨💥👔💥💙🗺️📍👑📸👩‍👧😢🏃‍♀️💨🤳🪨❤️📸😭👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨📞👨🏼❤️‍🩹📈📝😩💻🛣️💔🥃✈️📈👯🍻👨‍👦📧👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨💗

CWs: death of a parent, abandonment of a parent, alcohol use

Alexandra Kiley's "Kilt Trip" transported me to the captivating culture and picturesque landscapes of Scotland with its vivid descriptions and immersive storytelling, reigniting my longing to revisit the enchanting country.

Addie Macrae is an experienced travel consultant who has journeyed to various far-flung destinations, excluding Scotland due to her emotional baggage surrounding her deceased mother’s homeland. However, when she is assigned to resuscitate a struggling family-run tour company in the Scottish Highlands in order to secure her job, Addie overcomes her trepidation and unleashes her professional charm to tackle the challenge with confidence. Amidst the financial crisis faced by his family's tour company, Logan Sutherland, a fervent, kilt wearing tour guide, remains committed to sharing Scotland's enigmatic beauty and hidden secrets to tourists, even if it means compromising the company's profitability.

There was an undeniable spark between Logan and Addie from the moment they met, even though they soon found themselves on opposite sides of the same coin. Once Logan learned that Addie was the outsider hired by his father to modernize their family business, their relationship turned contentious, and they became adversaries. Their initial rivalry may have begun with playful workplace pranks, but it soon escalated to a full-blown competition, with Logan and Addie creating itineraries for each other to prove whose approach was superior. As they journeyed across the breathtaking Scottish countryside, Logan helps Addie explore her mother's heritage, aiding her in finding the closure she had long sought. Along the way, however, their relationship began to shift, and they found themselves drawn to each other romantically, their connection growing stronger with each passing day.

Alexandra Kiley's vivid portrayal of Scotland, heartwarming "found family" dynamics, and deep emotional connections between the characters made for an unforgettable read. Thank you for sharing this wonderful book with me, I am eagerly anticipating Kiley's next book.

Thank you to @akileybooks, @canarystreetpress and @netgalley for this eARC!

This book was good – damnable praise, I know. It was too long for me. I think if it was shorter, I could imagine liking this a whole lot more. That’s not to say there aren’t other problems, but the real problem is that I don’t want my romance reading to feel like a chore.

I enjoyed the setting, the push-pull relationship between Addie and Logan and the growth of the characters. I was less of a fan of Addie's character development tied so closely to grief over parental loss, and would have liked to see more change on this earlier.

The writing was funny, and it made me want to go to Scotland! I received an ARC, but the opinions are my own.

This book was everything I wanted it to be… but also more.

I love an enemies to lover, miscommunication trope situation so this was right up my alley. Along with that, banter between Logan and Addie was so great. It just added to the chemistry between them and I was outright giggling!

This book was also so tender and gentle and loving. I wasn’t expecting it to be so sentimental and I loved it. With elements of loss, guilt, anger, reflection, discovery, and that fear of the unknown… it was so relatable and real. Especially when it came to Addie connecting with her Mom’s story.

This book had me smiling and getting teary eyed all in the same sitting. While some of the character development for the secondary characters (Jack, Elyse, Neil, Devika) felt a little rushed, they still felt lovable. I want more of this group… maybe sequels about Logan’s brothers, Jack and Reid?!

Read this, you’ll love it! The fun, spice, romance, adventure, humor, found family feelings… it’s just a great time being in Edinburgh with our Addie!

Though when you read it, maybe you’ll end up agreeing with me that, at the end of the day, we all just actually want to be in Scotland with the Gertie to our Birdie 💚

I could have devoured this book in one sitting but I wanted to savor it. Anyone who has traveled to Scotland will immediately understand that Kiley perfectly captured the appreciation that the Scottish people have for their country, as well as the magic of the formidable land. The friction between Addie's emotional walls and Logan's empathy and love was just right.

Addie is your person who has every emotional wall up. She's someone who has the work ethic that you admire but sometimes feel sorry for her lack of ability to forge meaningful connections. Logan is your person who you're envious of for having that natural charm that gets you almost everything you desire but he's also that person you can't always trust with serious matters. So much adoration for one another. So much tension. You want to root for these characters throughout the entire book and hope for a happy ending.

If after reading Kilt Trip. you don’t want to pack your bags and head to Scotland, then I think you need to re-read it and let that wanderlust fill you up.

The instant attraction between Addie and Logan is palpable, but it’s quickly followed by resentment that is fueled by stubbornness that helps to build the sexual tension between the two. As they spend more time together, their understanding of one another grows, and their relationship blossoms into something much more than either anticipated.

Alex does a beautiful job weaving in the simmering feelings of Addie’s past into the present day, building empathy for our FMC as she struggles to find a way to move forward personally and professionally.

Logan is also forced to finally deal with grudges, miscommunication, and learning how to let go and adapt with his own family.
Following Addie’s and Logan’s journeys had me laughing, pensive, and even crying.

And of course we find out what’s under Logan’s kilt.

Thanks to Canary Street Press and the author for early copies of the book. All thoughts are my own.

⭐️: 4.5/5
🌶️: 3/5
Format: 📱 eARC

Wow wow wow wow wow, I LOVED this! This book made me FEEL. And I'm talking, like, fully engaged. I cried no fewer than 7 times. At 30% in, I'd already cried three times. There's almost no higher compliment I can give than to say that a book moved me.

Often, romance novels have us working through something internal to find our worth, but Kiley takes us on a journey with Addie through her grief, a darker journey than we usually get, and it's exquisite. We truly get to grow with Addie as she works through grief she'd packed away for so long after losing her mom. Logan also worked through things, and he was by no means one-dimensional, but Addie's development is what drew me in.

I definitely would have liked to learn more about other characters more in-depth, but Kiley has left the door open for spin-offs, with multiple characters that we'd love to hear about as well, with brothers and coworkers still single and potentially looking. I hope to get that additional development somehow, but the supporting cast was strong in driving Addie and Logan's stories in a way that wasn't completely predictable.

As someone without much knowledge of Scotland, I can't speak to accuracy, but I did enjoy the setting, the language, and learning. It gave things a very romantic and wistful vibe, which definitely helped the tension. There was a looot of sexual tension and banter, so the spice was good! It wasn't super graphic and remained solidly in the vanilla range, so I'd rate it medium salsa!

Overall, I just really, really enjoyed this. Highly recommend!

"She'd shown him her broken pieces and her sharp edges, and maybe that was enough. They could give in, and it wouldn't pull her under."

Travel consultant Addie Macrae is tasked with revamping a struggling family-owned tour company in Scotland; unfortunately for her, the owner’s son Logan despises change and has his own ideas on how to run the business. Together, they must find a happy medium and save the business without getting distracted by each other.

Who doesn’t love a romance set in Scotland? To me, this was such a cosy read! These characters had such fun banter, and the author wrote such vivid descriptions of the Highlands throughout Logan and Addie’s adventures, and even included historical details, which I loved! It made me want to rewatch Outlander. Overall, this book further pushed my need to visit Scotland!

Thank you to NetGalley & Canary Street Press for sending me an ARC!

A Scottish rom-com that will make you want to book a trip to the highlands. Addie and Logan are an adorable set of main characters. The story is written in dual POV and it adds depth to the story and a side of miscommunication trope. If you are like me and anything Scottish gets you going this book will be for you.

I always love a story where two people who are opposites have to work together. The potential for humor is so fun! While I enjoyed this one, it felt a bit predictable.

It could be argued that I read too much romance. I read over 300 books last year and most of them were romance. However, I don't often feel like a book is predictable or not interesting. I love new characters and stories. This one did feel predictable. There were moments of this book I really enjoyed but I wanted more banter and the characters to want their HEA more. I understood why Addie was hesitant to let people in but it also felt like she was just scared. When you mess up because you are scared you need to grovel. We didn't see that from her.

I think if you haven't read much Scottish romance the setting of this one may be fun. Also, if you haven't read much romance this story may not seem predictable at all.

KILT TRIP
Alexandra Kiley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(4.5)

This book was a delight. It follows Addie, a specialty travel agent who helps tour companies across the globe stay profitable while offering the best possible tours - or so she thought. She lands a job at The Heart of the Highland tours in Edinburgh, a place that she has mixed feelings on visiting due to her family’s past. What she thinks will be a quick job helping a family turnaround their financial misfortune turns into a challenge as she faces off against Logan Sutherland, the son in charge. Logan has a specific way of viewing Scotland wants to hold on to his way of doing things, to Addie’s frustration. The clash between these two evolves into a beautiful story of growth and love. The landscape of Scotland features prominently and was honestly one of the best parts of this book. I have been fortunate enough to visit this gorgeous country and @akileybooks has a way of making me homesick for a place that isn’t my home. I loved this book and definitely recommend picking it up tomorrow (March 5th) when it releases!

Kilt Trip is a great example of why we don’t judge a book by its cover.

For the record, I like this cover – but it (along with the title) suggested to me that the book would be entirely light and fun…a quirky beach read you will most certainly enjoy but most definitely won’t think about again.

Instead, readers may be surprised to find that Kilt Trip has a lot of substance. To start, Kiley covers the various shades and forms of grief. How it appears out of nowhere. How one seemingly unrelated detail can punch you in the gut when you least expect it. How the places we travel—and the places we’ve never been—can seep into our soul.

As a result, there is something familiar—something relatable—about the feelings these characters go through…as if a reader’s own nostalgia is brought out reading this story about the power of nostalgia. We know exactly what Addie is going through because we’ve been there – even if we haven’t been there.

So, yes, this was a sweet and cute read. It gives us everything we’re looking for in a romance novel. But it was also relatable and very moving at times.

Finally, while I’ve never been to Scotland, I can tell the author has. This story was well-researched and written, including details both large and small that lend it authenticity I enjoyed and trusted as a reader.

(And modern Scotland is an underutilized book setting if you ask me.)

I enjoyed this story about Addie and Logan. Addie is a person who is always on the move. She has strong feelings about her latest job in Scotland and readers will find out why. Logan’s family owns the company for which Addie is consulting. It was not his idea to seek this help. What will happen when the two meet? Find out in this fun and funny read.

The author’s love for Scotland shines through in this title that has good characters, a lovely setting and a plot that held my interest. Readers will care about both Addie and Logan and will hope for their happy ending.

Many thanks to HTP and NetGalley for this title. It is published on 3.5.24

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing & Alexandra Kiley for this ARC copy of Kilt Trip!

For someone who has always wanted to visit Scotland and also am a romcom girl at heart, this book is for you! This book immediately immerses you into the scenery and makes you want to book your flight to Scotland immediately... especially is Logan is your tour guide!

The chemistry between Addie and Logan is incredible and is a perfect from enemies to lovers book!

This book took me a few chapters to really get into, but once I did I was hooked!

FMC Addie is always on the go, traveling around the world wherever her travel consulting firm takes her. She is passionate about what she does, but in truth she also uses her career to avoid addressing personal conflicts and hurts that surround the loss of her mother. When she finds herself in the Scottish Highlands, she soon finds this may be her toughest project to date— enter our complication, MMC Logan.

Logan has all but taken over his family’s tour company when his dad calls in professional help from Addie’s company, hoping to give the company more stability before he officially retires. For the majority of the book, Logan and Addie butt heads over new itinerary plans- trying to compromise between spots rich with local history and well known spots tourists love. Logan and Addie travel throughout Scotland together, under the premise of building out new tour itineraries. But as they tour spots that are more personal to Addie, whose parents had a special connection to Scotland, Addie finds herself opening up and falling in love with Logan and Scotland.


Overall this was a 4.5 for me, only because it did take me maybe 10 chapters to truly be sucked in.

- slow burn
- rivals to lovers
- 1 or 2 🌶️ (there is open door romance but not much and not too graphic)
- 3rd act breakup
- HEA

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this ARC!

"In this charming tale, Addie embarks on a journey to save a struggling Scottish tour company, encountering the enigmatic Logan along the way. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Scotland, Kiley weaves a well-written storyline with captivating characters, offering a delightful enemies-to-lovers and workplace romance. While the beginning may pose a challenge, the rich descriptions, family dynamics, and a heartwarming happily ever after make this Europe-based love story a must-read for romance enthusiasts." - thindbooks

This was such a cute book that follows Addie who travels to Scotland to save a tour company and meets Logan. This was such a great story and I love anything Europe-based story. This book is featured in Scotland and the author did a wonderful job describing the area. The storyline was well written and I was very into the story. I do have to say that the beginning was a bit hard to get into for me but once you understand the story, you will begin to enjoy the book. The conflicts were well done and I loved how there was a family relationship in this story showing both sides of the characters. This book is written in dual 3rd person povs of both Addie and Logan.

Addie loves to travel and goes to Scotland to save Logan’s family-ruined tour company. I enjoyed her character and seeing the different parts of her. She had great character development and I loved her found family story. Logan was also a great character. At first, I wasn’t fond of him but I began to love him. He was a great person but just lonely like Addie. There are some side characters in this book but none who I feel deeply in love with because I loved the MCs more. The romance was great which did feature some steamy scenes but not to many. I didn’t like the 3rd act breakup but loved the enemies to lovers and workplace romance.

The ending was cute with a lovely happily ever after. Overall this story was wonderful and I will be reading more of Alexandra’s books in the future. With the way that Kiley is descriptive of her settings, I would love to see more new places around the world because this story was so fun. I recommend checking this book out because you don’t want to miss out this cute romance book.

*this arc was sent to me by the author to give an honest review in return*

I loved this book 💚 I've been in my Scottish era lately and this really captured the beauty of the country. It was like Alexandra's love letter to Scotland. I could see how much heart and research she poured into this book to show the reader this beautiful country, its culture and heritage through the MMC Logan's eyes. The descriptions of the Highlands, hairy coos, castles and Edinburgh swept me away (and made me all that much sadder that my trip had to be postponed).

The chemistry and relationship between the two MC was 🤌🏻 I loved their banter. The spice 🌶️ 🌶️ was great, but not overly done or graphic. Logan's sensitivity and consideration towards Addie was so sweet and swoony. So much of this book and the characters were focused on the relationships. The friendships and found family in this was incredibly heartwarming. The book was also bittersweet as Alexandra did a wonderful job addressing loss and grief. There were several parts in the book that made me tear up as Addie worked to overcome her losses and rediscover herself in the process.

This was such a touching and beautifully written book. It's out today so pick up your copy!

Thank you to @harpercollins @canarystreetpress @netgalley for the advanced physical and digital copies of this lovely book!

I adored Alexandra’s debut, and it’s hard for me to wrap my head around her being this amazing already! It was so cozy and sweet, like I was being told someone’s actual meet cute with a dash of wanderlust.

Addie has enjoyed exploring the world as a travel consultant, never really feeling at home since her mother’s passing. When she’s sent to Scotland, the place her mother has connections to. The owner’s son of the company she’s going to help, Logan, is against changing their existing tour model to preserve their unique view of the country. During their office war, Logan offers to take Addie around the country to scope out spots special to her mother, hoping to sway her to his ideas. Will Logan convince her to not only take a chance on his view of Scotland, but also on him?

I normally don’t like a super insta-love situation, but I thought this was handled in a more realistic manner! Their chemistry kept building, and this is a great example of when they say the feeling of hate is close to love.

The characters deal with more than the smaller struggles of disagreements and avoiding their feelings for each other. Addie’s grief over the loss of her mother and her relationship with her dad made me feel so emotional and sad for her. She carried so much emotional weight, and the way Logan wasn’t afraid of that was so sweet. He has his own issues he’s dealing with, and I think that fact is what made him so supportive of Addie.

I loved learning about Scotland’s history and imagining the land through the eyes of the characters. As someone who hasn’t explored outside the country much, this soundly put Scotland on my travel list!