be right back… booking an airbnb experience in scotland to run a pub and have a scot man call me darling

Very cute and fast audiobook. I will say the accent of the main male character started to get to me but it was a cute story overall. Good palette cleanser in between books

This was a sweet holiday romance. I could definitely see it as a streaming holiday movie! I’m usually an eye reader over an ear reader but I really enjoyed hearing Reid’s (Will Watt’s) Scottish brogue. With it being a novella and just over 3 hours there wasn’t a ton of time for deep development of the characters or storyline but that also meant there was no time for the experience to ebb or drag. Overall I thought this was an enjoyable holiday story.

🥃 American FMC finds opportunity to travel to Scotland and run a pub leading up to the holidays
🥃 Scottish MMC goes back to his hometown to inherit his Grandfather’s flat and pub
🥃 accidental roommates
🥃 open door
🥃 found family
🥃 small town in Scotland
🥃 dual narration

Starting over Scottish, sees Harper travel from America to have an experience of working in a Scottish pub. Upon arrival she ends up in the apartment of Reid who is portrayed as a grumpy Scotsman unwilling to share his space despite Harpers arrival in the apartment being accidental. In restoring the pub, Harper befriends some of the local women and finds her place in the Scottish Highlands. I feel like a short story did not do this couple and story justice as it jumped very quickly from enemies to lovers, I would have loved a longer version of this

Grumpy/Sunshine holiday novella! I'm a sucker for a Scotsman, and the narrator didn't disappoint! Small town feels in Scotland! Tricia O'Malley gives us a little bit of everything in this holiday romance! Grump, small village, forced proximity, a Christmas miracle, and I laughed out loud at the banter! Perfect length for decorating the tree or cleaning before the guests come over. Although predictable at times, in a Hallmark way, I'd listen to this story year after year! #StartingOverScottish #NetGalley

As a lover of all things Scottish, I was excited to get the opportunity to review this audiobook arc! It was cute, sassy, a bit spicy, and I loved the brogue and banter between the characters. Classified as more of a novella, I found it very easy to quickly become enthralled with the story and invested in the characters with great enemies-to-lovers vibes. This could have easily been made into a longer story and been equally entertaining! Thanks so much to Tricia O'Malley, Dreamscape Select & Lovewrite Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this great arc!

This was a very cute holiday novella; it felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie! I loved the small town setting and the nosy romance book club group! I do feel like because of the length of the book, we missed out on some character and relationship development. Overall, this was a short, easy read perfect for the holiday season!

This was a cute quick read. Charming characters that now make me want to move to Scotland and save a pub. I can totally see this as a series and was ecstatic there is a chapter of the next book. The female narrator sounded so much like Catherine O'Hara, that I swear they have to be related.

I just adored this story. Its the perfect vibe for the holiday season - the broody grumpy Scotsman and the overly hopeful (sometimes irritating) American in a forced-proximity setting? Say no more. I couldn't say anything more impressive over both narrators - sometimes dual POV is hard to master, especially when you have an accent to convey while representing the other character. The feeling they both conveyed during moments of emotion (and the passion which had me fanning my face a little bit lol) is spot-on.

I'm incredibly partial to anything Scotland so I'm already on board with the idea of taking a leap to get a fresh start there. Harper is like a lot of us - kind of floating around to find a place that makes sense without ever really having had a strong passion for a career path. The set up getting her to Scotland was incredibly viable to me .. if the same offer had been presented to me when I was in her shoes, you could have counted me there faster than you could say "authentic pub experience."

And dear grouchy Reid.. I love a grump because there's always a heart-wrenching backstory that led to the attitude and this is of course the case with him. AND THE NARRATOR. Phew. You understand his caution and aversion and even though there's some miscommunication, reading his view of the interactions with Harper was perfection.

Between the book.. biddies (lol).. and the war kitten, the small Scottish village on the verge of commercialization and maybe a little sprinkle of Christmas spirits, this is one of my favorite novellas of the year.

If you like:
- when the FMC makes a plan and sticks to it, regardless of an attractive Scotsman trying to rain on her parade
- when the MMC can't help but be charmed by a stubborn, determined, bright-eyed hopeful stranger
- watching both MCs make huge emotional progress as they face challenges and find each other to help them through..
.. add this one to your winter line-up. I would strongly recommend giving the audiobook a listen because there's not much better than listening to authentically represented accents from both POVs.

It was cute and the characters were fun, it just wasn't as well fleshed out as I wanted.
The author tried to pack a lot of elements into a novella and some of them were underdeveloped or unnecessary. Pulled focus from the main characters and plot.
Still a fun read, just a bit chaotic.
Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select & Lovewrite Publishing for my ALC.

Starting Over Scottish
Tricia O’Malley
Harper hasn’t quite found her place in the world. She’s tired of jobs where she is expected to take orders no questions asked. She’s tired of bosses not willing to listen to her. Her roommate suggests the two of them take a trip to Scotland. The trip is called Scottish Pub Experience. They will actually run the pub themselves during their trip. Harper spends days researching Scottish Pubs. At the last minute her roommate backs out leaving Harper to board the plane and run a pub on her own. She arrives in Scottland to discover a naked man staying in her apartment. Reid insists it is his apartment and he has no intention of leaving. He does a little checking and discovers the cleaning woman was the one behind the Scottish Pub Experience and she canceled all of the participants except somehow, she overlooked Harper’s reservation. Its Christmas time and there are no rooms left in town. Reid allows Harper to sleep on his sofa. After all he’s sure she will leave once she sees the condition of the pub. What Reid saw as a disaster; Harper saw as possibilities. The members of the local book club jump in and help Harper to clean and decorate the pub. With their help she manages to open in time for Christmas. Reid finds himself softening toward Harper. He realizes he doesn’t want her to leave and maybe he no longer wants to run away from the past.
Starting Over Scottish is a delightful Christmas read. I listened to the audio book and it just ended too soon. The story is well written, the characters are likable and found a place in my heart. The narrators Amy Landon and Will Watt did superb jobs. The story was predictable; it was easy to see Reid and Harper were going to fall in love. There was even a sweet ghost in the story as well as a sweet kitten named Wallace. Kudos to author Tricia O’Malley.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of Starting Over Scottish. As always my review is my unbiased opinion.

Overwhelmed with the direction her life, Harper Scott decides to travel to Scotland to unwind and get the "pub experience". Unfortunately, her plans get turned upside down upon arrival when she finds a grumpy Scotsman already occupying her rental. What's a girl to do???

First off, let me just say that I have been following this author for a while. I've had her books on my ever growing TBR, but hadn't gotten around to reading them yet. This book absolutely changes that! I will definitely be reading the rest of Mrs. O'Malley's books sooner rather than later!

In this book, I loved the playful banter and spicy moments between the characters. The charming pub, and interfering friends and neighbors definitely didn't hurt either!

I did listen to this book on audio, and felt that the narrators were great. I will say that the female narrator's guy voice is eh. I know that bothers some people, but I was able to get through it without an issue. The male narrator's voice, however, was absolutely amazing! I'll admit that I'm a sucker for Scottish accents, but this guy's voice was just... *chef's kiss*

🧚🏻A MASSIVE thank you goes out to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, Lovewrite Publishing, and author Tricia O'Malley for providing me with an audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

A cute, quick, Christmas-y rom-com with a (very) quick enemies-to-lovers storyline. A good single-sitting story.

**3.75 stars

I didn't realize this was a novella when I requested an ALC on NetGalley, but it was just what I needed. Short, full of tension, funny, and full of found family. The cherry on top? The male narrator had a Scottish accent. I loved it, and it really helped bring to life that the majority of this story was taking place in Scotland.

I would have liked this to be a full length book. Sometimes the pacing felt a bit too rushed or like it skipped days or weeks. However, that didn't take away from the story too much. I also didn't love the female narrator. There was just something about her voice that seemed too posh for the FMC. But again, not something that took away from my enjoyment of the book.

If you're looking for a novella with found family, a bit of Christmas, and the grumpy/sunshine trope, then you definitely need to pick this one up when it comes out on the 7th!

Starting Over Scottish by Tricia O'Malley was a lighthearted holiday romance with great narration. It was overall a 3.5-4 star read for me because even though this was a novella, I felt it lacked detail, and would have been better as a full novel.
Harper has never found her path in life. When she is fired from another job, her roommate plans a trip to Scotland for them to temporarily run a pub. The day of their trip, her roommate is no longer able to join, so she travels alone. When she gets there, she finds that there is someone staying in the airbnb that she rented. Reid's grandfather owned the property, and had recently passed away. Harper is determined to have her Pub experience and has to stay with the Scotsman because there are no other lodgings in the town. Through out the story Harper funds her purpose and falls along with Reid along the way.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own. #TriciaOMalley #StartingOverScottish #NetGalley #DreamscapeMedia

What a super fun novella! If you love the movie 'The Holiday' then go ahead and add this to your TBR pile immediately!

3.5⭐
Genre ~ Holiday romance novella
Setting ~ Scotland
Publication date ~ November 7, 2023
Page Count ~ 162 (15 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 3 hours 25 minutes
Narrators ~ Amy Landon, Will Watt
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ starting over, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, insta~ish, small town, minimal steamage

Harper & Reid
Harper is supposed to be heading to enjoy a Scottish Pub Experience with her bff, but she had to cancel at the last minute, so Harper is on her own. You can probably guess how the story is going to go from there.

I love me a good grump and Reid is an okay one. I didn't find him overly grumpy, maybe it's due to the reason of why he's not a fan of Christmas. While what happened to him is indeed sad it's not something I haven't read quite a bit before.

Since it is a novella the characters have to fall for each other pretty quickly, so it's not too realistic, but they were cute. The small town people were great and welcoming. I liked how Harper wasn't afraid of starting over in a new country. I'm too much of a scaredy cat to do something like that. Overall, a quick read that does give off some good Christmasy vibes.

Narration notes:
Amy did good, even had a fine Scottish accent. Will is British and did a great Scottish and American woman accent.

3.5 stars

I loved this story that had a great Scottish atmosphere.
The main characters where opposites of each other and that was done in a good way.
And the other charaters where a lot of fun, I loved the bookclub members.
The narrators did a great job!

I absolutely ate this novella up! I loved Harper's spontaneity and determination to make her time in Scotland successful. From the first page, I was so interested in her wanting to start over and get out of the rut she was in. Harper was funny and friendly, and I loved her energy and dedication to the pub she took over. Reed, the MMC, was a brooding grump, and I enjoyed how much his character contrasted with Harper.
This book deals with ideas of grief, through Reed having lost his parents young and his grandfather recently. If you're looking for a grumpy x sunshine holiday novella to get you into the winter spirit, Starting Over Scottish is a perfect read for you!

This is a really cute seasonal novella - so a quick listen.

I really enjoyed the story and the narrator for Reed was very good. Nothing like a bit of Scottish brogue in a romance novel.

The other characters in this book really made it for me. And the story is sweet, but not too sentimental.

The only thing that threw the warm, cozy feelings of this book for me was the narrator for Harper's POV. Her overt enthusiasm made Harper sound at times more demented unicorn than royal unicorn. That said, she does a great Scottish accent.

Thanks to Netgalley for this audio book - all opinions expressed in this review are my own.