Member Reviews
ADORABLE. This book really fed my wanderlust and made me want to travel to Scotland even more than I already want to. Addie and Logan are a perfect match, with fabulous banter, instant chemistry, and real conversations that help them learn about each other and grow closer. I loved learning about different things to see and do in Scotland as well as a peek into the tourism business.
The imagery is absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to see it all for myself someday! This is one rom-com you definitely don't want to miss!
*2 open door scenes, strong language including f-words
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my complimentary e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.
Ooch. If you don’t already love Scotland, read this book. The Romance is between Addie and Logan. She is an American travel consultant. He is with a struggling Scottish tour company. She is brought in and is making changes he is not happy about. The banter between them is top notch. And they are both wonderfully layered and complex. Of course you know there is an HEA, but their obstacles ring true. The emotional journey they go on is so moving. Loved them. Also, I do happen to love Scotland and the way Alexandra Kiley writes about it., I may need to book a trip soon. (I received an ARC)
Kiley's debut had me smitten from the beginning! I loved this read, how atmospheric it was and how you just didn't want to let the characters go. I'd recommend this to any romance reader.
This was a fun read with quick banter, Scottish slang, and a wee bit of heartache thrown in.
Kilt Trip follows a travel consultant Addie Macrae to Scotland. While she's there to help a tour company, the son of the owner is also the kilt-wielding tour guide.
What starts out as a mutual attraction gets down to a typical, 'I want to like her, but she's here to wreck everything with her new ideas' kind of trope. As much as that trope can sometimes seem repetitive to me, Alexandra Kiley made the Scotland tour guide idea so much fun. There's all kinds of historical factoids throughout. As someone that loves to read about Scottish history, these sprinkled throughout the book were just what it needed to set it apart for me.
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to leave this review.
Yeah, this just didn’t do it for me. I was so excited to read the Scotland setting, but it wasn’t enough. Addie was obnoxious and Logan was meh. And the sex scenes were… awkward. Just not what I expected and not something I’d recommend.
Thank you Canary Street Press for my advanced copy of Kilt Trip! All thoughts are my own!
Addie is an advisor/consultant for travel companies and arrives in Scotland. She joins a tour for the company she is supposed to audit and is immediately intrigued by the kilt wearing tour guide, Logan. They flirt a little and go their separate ways, The next day they are both shocked to find that he is the owner's son and she is there to change things up. Logan makes things difficult for Addie but they very slowly form an alliance on improving the company. Logan starts to fall for the closed off Addie, who slowly reveals that her mother was Scottish, died years before, and was emotionally abandoned by her dad afterwards. Logan tries to help Addie open her heart to him by taking her to places around Scotland her mother went, but old habits die hard and they both need to grow to be able to fully commit to the other.
Read if you love:
-Rivals to More
-Scotland
-Instant Attraction
-Growth in MMC and FMC
-Found Family themes
A sweet romance about learning to let people in and about voicing your dreams.
Addie's mother died unexpectedly when she was a teenager and her father pulled away from everything in his grief. Addie settling into her wanderlust and became a travel agent consultant helping travel agencies become more profitable. Her latest assignment is in Scotland - where her mother and she were going to travel when she graduated high school and where she has some heritage due to her mother's last name of Macrae . Sneaking onto a tour with a fake name, she meets kilt-wearing tour guide, Logan Sutherland. The attraction is instant but when he finds out that she was hired by his father to overhaul the travel agency, sparks fly.
Both Logan and Addie have trauma -- Addie from her mother's dead and her father's overwhelming grief and Logan from his whiskey tour mistake that may have caused his brothers to leave the travel agency. The story does a great job of showing how these two heal each other as they begin to let each other in.
I loved the punny title but I wasn't expecting the emotions and struggle of the characters. This book is sort of lighthearted but definitely tugs on your heartstrings as the characters evolve on the pages.
Thank you to Canary Street Press for providing me with an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Travel consultant and globetrotter Addie shows up to help a family-run tour company in Scotland where she meets Logan, part-owner and tour guide of said company who is resistant to Addie's ideas of change. The book is scattered with stories and descriptions of Scotland, mostly Edinburgh, which are lovely if you're interested in that but may be too much for some readers. This book is as much an ode to love of Scotland as it is to the characters. Overall a solid but frankly average debut novel for Kiley.
KILT TRIP by Alexandra Kiley is very atmospheric and lovely.
Set mostly in the Scottish Highlands, it will trigger wanderlust in even the most dedicated homebodies. Although it's been a couple hundred years since my ancestors left Scotland, every summer I joke that my DNA was forged in the gloomy moors, and this book had me longing to return to my homeland. (But maybe not in winter!)
It was surprisingly heavier than I expected from such a punny lil title, it deals with themes of loss and grief, loneliness and belonging. But also there's banter and jokes and falling in love. It has it all!
I had the immense privilege of getting to read an e-Arc of Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley and now I think you should all add it to your TBR’s. This book was so fun and flirty and all the light hearted warmth that I needed to read right now.
The Good:
You really can’t help but fall in love with all of the characters, and I do mean all! I found the main characters, Addie and Logan, to be so likeable right from the get go, and their chemistry was great. I loved the setting. Alexandra describes Scotland with such a clear depiction, you feel as though you’re actually there. Have I mentioned the banter yet?! It’s perfect. There were moments it had me giggling out loud. (And don’t forget I was reading this in a ski lodge🙈) There was a strong sense of emotional connection, even though I haven’t gone through the same struggles, it was something you just felt. I also loved that there was no lingering exes in the picture. I feel like in many romance books there are.
The Bad:
The only thing that felt disjointed to me was the fact that Addie kept referring to her parents by their names instead of mom or dad. I know she has this disconnect with her dad, but by calling her mom by her name it kind of wrecked that emotional connection that you were being lead to believe was there. Maybe it was part of the inner struggle for Addie, but it felt off for me.
The Mentionable:
Trigger warnings for Kilt Trip include: language, alcohol consumption, hazing, death of a parent, open door sex scenes, death of a loved one, strained parent/child relationship and grief.
Quite simply put, I adored this book and think you all should read it. Mark March 5th on your calendar so you can pick it up on release day. I also have to say that my desire to visit Scotland has gone way up since reading this book, so be prepared.
Thank you to @harpercollinsca @frenzybooks for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
TROPES
🟢 Rivals to Lovers
🟢 Forced Proximity
🟢 Instalove
🟢 Found Family/Home
🟢 Men in Kilts
Addie the travel consultant and Logan the Scottish tour guide may fall for each other initially, but their dynamic drastically changes when the tour guide discovers she’s the one changing his tours.
Everything about this book worked so well for me. Addie is such a dynamic character. Her reason for being a travel consultant is relatable, but so is her reason for not always standing up for herself to her boss. She’s someone who, since a tragic incident, has walked alone in the world, closed off to others. It’s something we all experience at some point, and a very hard habit to break. It was really beautiful to watch her break down her own walls and grow and experience life in a new way.
These two come together in a way that is not only healthy for them, but it forces them to grow for the better. Logan forces himself to stop reaching out for something that might not be there, and Addie has to come to terms with why she pushes people away while going on a heritage trip. So, when they finally do hit that point of no return, it means that much more. Honestly, I can’t talk enough about the character growth in this book. I loved it and would love to see this kind of care and depth in all the books I read.
Logan also has a first impression of Addie that is arguably one of my favorite I’ve seen in a romance book. I will be repeating the line until the end of time.
With a trip to Scotland coming up, I KNEW this was the perfect romcom to read and it didn't disappoint. I enjoyed hearing about the history and culture inbetween the enemies to lovers going on. I also enjoyed that the story went deeper than just a superficial level with grief.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the ARC of The Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley. This book was such a treat! Sweet, sexy, fun characters that you want to root for, great character development, and found family. Also, as someone who has lost a parent and struggles with that grief, I thought this novel did a fantastic job of bringing to the page those real-life emotions. And I am now desperate for a trip to Scotland; I feel like I need to experience the magic of it for myself! Highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a thoughtful, lovable book that you’ll smile your way through.
Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley transports readers to Scotland with travel consultant Addie McCrae and local tour guide Logan Sutherland! When Addie is tasked with turning around the struggling Sutherland family tour company, her vision for a more "touristy"-focused itinerary constantly clashes with Logan's desire for a more historically-rooted off the beaten path design. When Logan designs a tour for Addie to follow in the footsteps of her deceased mother, she finds herself growing closer to both Logan and her personal history. I really wanted to love this book; I visited Scotland last year and it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen!! I did just kind of struggle through this book; there were a lot of characters that didn't necessarily all need to be there cluttering the story and the plot isn't always very clear and easy to track with. That said I know this is Kiley's debut and I still want to read more books from her that I'm sure will just get better and better. I also would LOVE to go on Logan's tour to find out more about my personal connection to the beauty of Scotland.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions expressed above are my own.
While Kilt Trip has all the adventure, tension and steam that most love in a romance book, it fell a bit flat for me. It started and ended well, and the main male character is written so well. However mid book I felt it was a bit off. I may try and read this one again.
What a fantastic book! Kilt trip is more than just romance but finding yourself, grief and adventure. Do yourself a favour and pick up this book, you will not be disappointed!
Utterly cute and somewhat steamy, came for the nice style and stayed for the great banter. Thanks for the ARC netgalley. And thanks for the AutoApprovs (!!) Harlequin
The cover of this book i love! This is the first time by this author and hope to read more.
Once i started reading i definitely wan to visit Edinburgh. I loved the part in the book which seemed like you were in Scotland while reading the book and it was a love story how can you not like those two combinations.
While reading the book you cannot help but love the characters and stand behind them as their story unfolds. I would recommend the book.
Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.
I had a hard time getting into this book. It took me a while to get to the 25% mark and I think that is because I didn't feel any sort of emotion when the two main characters first met. I was hoping their banter would be off the charts or there would be strong tension between them but their conversation seemed flat to me.
The storytelling and myths included also seemed underdeveloped. I don't think all of them were necessary and I would have loved more detail.
I did love how so many historical places were mentioned and how easy it is to picture these places. I also think it was very sweet how the main character learned more about her mother in every spot she visited.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of this book!
This book was, in a word, warm. It was a comforting read that was still sizzling with romantic tension. There were a lot of stories and places familiar to me throughout the book and Kiley reminded me of how beautiful and awe-inspiring they are. I’m not usually a fan of dual-POV romance, but I loved it in this story. Both Logan and Addie’s voice and perspectives felt so unique and rich in their sense of character and the plot was never repeated or slowed down by seeing it through two perspectives.