This is the fifth novel in Tricia O'Malley’s The Enchanted Highlands series of magical romantic comedy, but it can be enjoyed on its own. The series is set in the magical small Scottish village of Loren Brae, home to likable humans and mythological creatures.

I didn’t enjoy this story as much as previous entries in this series, but it was still fun. The story gets off to a slow start as sweet-natured plus-sized fashion designer Willow is apprenticed to surly kilt-maker Ramsey, who happens to be her brother’s best friend. As the two work together, they reluctantly develop a grumpy/sunshine workplace romance. I found the sources of conflict frustrating, and Ramsey’s behavior is awful at times, although I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say that he does make it right in the end.

My favorite aspects of this story were the animals and the magic.

The audiobook production was excellent, and I enjoyed the duel narration by Amy Landon for Willow’s point of view and Will Watt for Ramsey’s point of view. Both narrators have pleasant voices, good pacing, great accents, and are able to convey humor and emotion effectively. I recommend the audiobook for those who enjoy humorous magical romances (although be aware that it is very not safe for work or children at times).

I received a free copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

What a vividly, beautiful, quirky and fun trip to Scotland I just experienced. An adventure from start to finish. This was my first read/listen of the author and I absolutely ate this up and left no crumps. I 100% enjoyed the narrators through out the book, their way of interrupting the words and their delivery of all the magical creatures and banter was spot on! They did a fantastic job keeping me hooked. Well done!

Part of series.
This is about Willow and Ramsey they don't like each other for personal reasons,but end up working together and things get more complicated.
Love the Scottish myths that part of the story and the ghost cow.A good romance with some drama and romance.
Voluntarily reviewed..
Narration was good .

This was a solid 3.5 stars for me. I enjoyed the story. I liked listening to the narrators. I had a little bit of a hard time with the female narrator at times- she was a little tinny for me. But the male narrator had the Scottish accent down PAT. It was HOT LOL. This is noted as a standalone but being the series addict that I am, I do feel like I would have benefitted from reading the others. There is some history between the characters and the magic and the village that seemed to come in other books. I did like the brother's BF trope since that is a favorite of mine. I also seem to be reading a lot of grumpy x sunshine which is in this one as well. Throw in a beautiful town in Scotland, a castle, a kitten and magical powers and that is this book! The reason it wasn't a full 4 stars was the dragging of the plot in my opinion. There was a LOT of buildup- nothing happened between the two MCs until about 75% and then we find out there are these magical powers but nothing really happened with them. Maybe there is more information on them in previous books. I did like the banter and the other characters and went ahead and bought the other books to get a little more understanding. There is definitely a lot of potential here.

Willow has hit rock bottom- or so she thinks. She was swindled out of her savings for her boyfriend who also cheated on her with their assistant. She is now living with her brother and dad back in Minnesota trying to figure out how she can get into the fashion industry again. After some back and forth she ends up landing a job under a famous kiltmaker at a castle in Scotland. Little does she know that of all people, she is supposed to be working for Ramsey McMillan, her brother's BF and the same guy she has been crushing on since she was a teenager. It is ok though- she can put her big girl pants on and get over her school girl crush. But then he is so rude to her. Not welcoming. Not wanting to work with her. But then he helps her unexpectedly and she realizes there is a big softy under all of the grunting. So she makes it her mission to rain all of her sunshine down on him to get him to open up to their plan. While also ignoring the way her body responds to him or the fact that she has found out she has magical powers that involve talking to a kitten. Or how she is now imagining her life here in Loren Brae not just as a successful business partner but a true partner to Ramsey but the question is will he get over himself enough to tell her how he really feels? Or will he grunt and grumble his way out of his forever person?

Ramsey is perfectly happy running his business how he has been. He sees two clients a day. He does not allow walkins. He responds to emails when he can. He does all of this for the experience. He wants his clients to feel special in their kiltmaking process. But when Sophie, the owner of the castle where he works, pitches get him a summer intern, he caves and says yes. Little did he know that said intern is Willow Barlowe, his best mate;s little sister, who is in fact all grown up now and drop dead gorgeous. To avoid acknowledging the thoughts he is having, he pushes her away by giving her an attitude and not welcoming her. But that isn't really who he is. So when she needs help unexpectedly, he drops everything and is there for her. And slowly but surely something starts to bloom between them. He finds himself talking about things he hasn't talked about in a while to anyone. He finds himself absorbing her rainbows and sunshine and becoming addicted. But he keeps reminding himself who she is and that he can't go there, but when she announces that she is going on a date- all bets are off.

This was a VERY slow burn with a great payoff at the end. I love watching the grumps slowly unravel for their ladies. It is so fun and exhilarating to see how people can affect each other. There are elements of magic and fantasy in this but again they didn't pan out how I thought they would. I am hoping more will come of that in future books. I would recommend this one if you are looking for a cute, fast read/listen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Dreamscape Select and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of this novel. While it is the fifth in the series it reads as a stand alone novel. The Scottish accent by the male character is amazing and the main characters witty banter is engaging. I found the spicy scenes a little awkward but otherwise I enjoyed this novel.

DNF at 22%.

I had a hard time connecting with the FMC. A grown woman saying over and over how she doesn’t want her brother to know info is just too whiney for me. Like live your life sis.

Wild Scottish Beauty by Tricia O’Malley
The Enchanted Highlands series #5. Contemporary paranormal romance. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series.
Willow Barlowe wants to be a designer and support herself. She wants out from under the controlling hands of her brother Miles. Willow accepts a job offer in the small town of Loren Brae, Scotland, that’s sound perfect. When she finds out that she’ll be working for Ramsay McMillan, she’s crushed, thinking it was all prearranged since Ramsay is a friend of her brothers. What’s worse, Ramsay doesn’t want her working for him.
But the town has a bit of a supernatural side, and Willow moving to Loren Brae is more fortuitous than expected. Maybe she’ll actually act on that crush she had for Ramsay all those years ago.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook copy of this book, narrated by Amy Landon and Will Watt, who do the full series. The two play off each other beautifully. Each does their own POV with voices for the alternate when needed. Ramsay lives in Scotland and has a heavy Scottish accent. Willow is from the States and has a mid west U.S. accent. I did have to slow down the speed a bit to 1.3 since the Scottish accent was heavy and not something I’m used to hearing. My usual is around 1.5. Great quality with no noticeable editing issues.
The performance is entertaining and amusing. A great way to read this story. You can’t hear hear the accents when reading it yourself so highly recommend an audiobook version for this series.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Lovewrite.

DNF at 25%

Thank you NetGalley for this ALC.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if it’s a narrator issue or the character…but the FMC came across as super whiny and I really don’t connect with her. I may have felt differently if it had been ebook format, but as of right now, I don’t have the desire to attempt that.

This is my second time read this book. I first read the ebook. The audiobook made the reading experience even better. I love this magical romance series. It is so cozy and made me happy reading it.

Wild Scottish Beauty is a fun light-hearted addition to Tricia O'Malley's Enchanted Highlands series. It is the 5th book in the series, which seems to get better as the series progresses. This story focuses on fashion designer Willow Barlowe, whose grandmother lives near the small Scottish town of Loren Brae, where Willow and her brother used to visit during the summers. Now that Willow is grown up and recovering from a failed relationship in New York City, she wants to escape her over protective brother and try something new in the fashion industry. After getting an offer she can't refuse to work at a castle in Loren Brae, and a chance to work as an intern at a kilt shop, she jumps at the chance.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story narrated by Amy Landon and Will Watt. It is a wonderful mix of mid-west accents and heavy Scottish brogue, which I adored. Like other books in the series, Willow has an immediate attraction to her eventual soul-mate, even if it is the form of the surly owner of the kilt shop, who happens to be her brother's best friend. The townsfolk are charming, as is the ghost of the castle Highland cow. It was also extremely enjoyable to see other couples from the previous books in the series make their appearances. This is a great summer listen and I recommend it to anyone looking for a little escapism.

Willow wants to start over, and her dream job has just offered her position in Italy. What better way to get over being backstabbed and stolen from than start over. Sure the job pays nothing and she doesn’t speak the language. All that doesn’t really matter though. Her brother Miles takes matters in his own hands because as always he knows best. To his surprise another offer came in. The next thing you know Willow is on a plane to Scotland to work with a successful kilt designer. What she doesn’t expect is Ramsey, Miles’s best friend. Ramsey is a rugged Scotsman that doesn’t need help especially from a beautifully distracting woman like Willow. Banter and all sorts of magically antics ensue as Willow discovers there is more than just fashion going on. Magic is found and more about her mother she never knew. Everything is going well even despite Ramsey’s hot and cold moments. That is until his brother, Andrew comes to town and the shop catches on fire. Read to see how it all works out.

Fifth in a series and can be read as a stand alone. I’m very interested in the other stories of The Enchanted Highland series. All can be found on Amazon.

Thanks to @netgalley, @dreamscape_media, and @triciaomalleyauthor for the advanced audiobook copy.

This was a fun listen! I’ve not read any others in the series and really couldn’t tell. The overall plot of the whole series being magically linked for an end goal seems very interesting and I now want to read all of them.

Reflecting back over the love story… a lot kind of happened between the two for them to delay the romance... —- knowing each other as kids, him being besties with her brother, his brother asking her on a date and her not knowing it’s his brother, and then lastly a fire getting between the two of them. It was a roller coaster but didn’t feel like it. I loved that!

I am so happy to be back in Loren Brae, it feels like coming home. The world that O’Malley has created opens wide to draw you in and sinks deep into your heart. The cast of characters are so heartwarming with absolutely adorable sidekicks. You can’t help but feel the magic in these stories. I adore a great grumpy-sunshine trope and Willow & Ramsey are the literal definition of this trope. A burly, grumpy kiltmaker and a bouncy, talkative designer, polar opposites and yet the perfect match. I wrapped myself up in their love, burrowing deep like a cozy blanket. I absolutely light up every time one of our magical friends shows up, who doesn’t get excited when they hear their first “Moooo?” From ghost coo’s to sassy gnomes, broonies to hedgehogs.
Audio done by Amy Landon and Will Watt was fabulous. I loved the Scottish accents and the attention to detail.

🎧AUDIO REVIEW🎧
📚Wild Scottish Beauty by Tricia O'Malley
🎤Narrated by Amy Landon & Will Watt
The Enchanted Highlands Book 5

Willow Barlowe wants to be a designer & make it on her own. Wanting to get rid of the controlling hands of her brother Miles, she accepts a job offer in the small, quaint town of Loren Brae, Scotland, designing a fashion line for a castle. Without realizing it, she accepts the job from Ramsay McMillian, whose her brother's very grumpy best friend. Ramsay isn't too thrilled about Willow working for him. Once there, Willow discovers the supernatural vibe of Loren Brae, that she has magical powers & that Ramsay isn't the big grump she thought he was. Ramsay becomes enamored by Willow & these two opposites fight feelings they have for each other. Eventually, Ramsay has to decide if it will be loyalty or love?

💜Cozy contemporary fantasy romance
💜Grumpy/Sunshine
💜Curvy FMC
💜It's Scotland, need I say more
💜Kilt Making

🎧Let's talk narration, both Will Watt & Amy Landon are new narrators to me. Never heard them before & I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed them. They play off each other perfectly. Watt is absolutely fantastic with his Scottish accent.🙌 It's down right dreamy. His accent is heavy & hot. Landon is terrific as a mid-western gal setting her sights big to take on an adventure. Determined to be successful, she's a bonnie alright! Their performances are very entertaining & delightful. This was a really fun way to enjoy the story because of Watt's Scottish accent. He's a braw, that one! I'm excited to listen to more from both these narrators.

This is the first book I've listened to by O'Malley & I enjoyed the coziness of the story set in Scotland. There's education into kilt making which was very interesting & even though the spice level is low, the banter between the two is funny & quick witted. Add a little bewitching into the mix & this story is just a really fun, interesting listen.

This is part of a series but most certainly can be read as a standalone.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher Lovewrite & Tricia O'Malley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

What an experience!

This is my first Tricia O’Mallet book and it was exquisite! The world, the characters, their chemistry, everything had my heart. I fell in love with Willow and Ramsey, couldn’t put the book down. Her character had so much depth. She was spunky, bubbly and bold. Ramsey was the all-encompassing hero who was absolutely in love and could walk on fire to get to her.
The plot had me engrossed and the found family aspect of the book was so endearing.

The audiobook was narrated by Amy Landon and Will Watt. The audio experience and narration were exemplary.

A perfect blend of fantasy, magick, found family and spice. I had the best time listening to the audiobook.

I am looking forward to get to the series in order!

I received an ALC of the Audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for providing an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite part of this audiobook is that the narrators really nailed the banter! The banter was great just to read but hearing it was perfection! The romance and feeling behind it all was perfect!

'An audiobook that you won't want to end. Tricia O'Malley's Highland adventure starring a grumpy kiltmaker and adventurous American will delight listeners the world over' - The British Bibliophile

I kept an eye out for this audiobook's ALC sign up as soon as I finished the ebook ARC. It was one that I didn't want to miss and I knew was a must listen not only for me, but for those who I would be recommending it to. After finishing that, not only was I sold on my favourite book in the series yet, I also added it to my list of top reads of 2024. An extremely good indicator that the audiobook adaptation would also be a knockout. It was only a matter of time to wait and I was lucky to dive straight into listening to this after finishing its book counterpart.

I'm never going to say no to indulging myself in more Ramsay and his patience being tested by the wonderful Willow.

To hear what I had to say about the book, head on over to Goodreads for my review. How I feel about the story hasn't changed, because its still as incredible reading it myself as it is narrated, but here I'll be mostly focused on the narration rather than the story as a whole in this review.

Wild Scottish Beauty is a dual narration read, which means we got the pleasure of listening to two people bing Ramsay and Willow to life through their own styles, rather than one narrator carry out a soul narration. This next audio instalment sees the return of the two narrators who've carried the audio adventures from the first book, Will Watt as Ramsay and Amy Landon as Willow. Listeners who have followed this series from its inception will be familiar with these two narrating The Enchanted Highlands series but for myself? This is my first time hearing them.

Will Watt is a narrator that I have had the pleasure of listening to before in other audiobooks, though nearly not enough as I would like. I was delighted to see that he was one of the two narrators listed for this listen, and the moment I heard him speak from Ramsay's POV, I knew the right man had been chosen for the job not only for this book, but the others as well. His Scottish accent was absolute perfection, hit the right spots and delighted me in ways that aren't suitable to leave as feedback in a review. Let's just say, this will be one audiobook I will be making several returns to.

Amy Landon is a narrator I'm not as familiar with as I am other female narrators, so this was an opportunity for me to become more familiar with her and appreciate her efforts in giving us the main character energy that is Willow. Did she do just that? Absolutely! I couldn't fault her take on Willow's character and during the moments that Willow was repeating something Ramsay had said? Hilarious! Love it when female narrators imitate their male narrator counterparts' characters. Definitely will be on the look out for more titles lead by or dual-narrated by Amy!

Just over nine hours flew by in no time, partly thanks to the enchanting narration by both narrators, the story crafted by the author, and the flow that carried you effortlessly from one chapter through to the next. This audiobook was the perfect companion to carry me through a few hours each day as I nibbled my way through listening to it, and its going to be one I'm very much looking forward to returning to, to get my reoccurring Ramsay fix.

Thank you to all involved in this audiobook's creation and production. Hard work has paid off and I'm thrilled that this audiobook is one that I am going to be recommending to my followers not only in this year, but for the foreseeable.

Set in the small town of Loren Brae, Scotland, Willow lands a dream job working as an intern clothing designer for MacAlpine Castle. Her boss, the grumpy but oh-so-handsome Scot, Ramsay McMillan, makes it clear that he prefers to work alone. To make things even more interesting, Willow discovers that she has magical powers, having visions of future events. Willow is determined to win over Ramsay's trust and help him to make his shop, Ramsay Kilts, a big success. Willow and Ramsay are clearly drawn to each other, but so many things stand in the way. Willow's protective brother is Ramsay's best friend, and Ramsay feels it would be inappropriate for him to get together with her. Willow's upbeat and optimistic personality is totally opposite to Ramsay's brooding, solitary one. Can Willow break through Ramsay's defenses? Will tragedy keep them apart? I enjoyed this story, but I listened to the audiobook, and Ramsay's strong Scottish accent was occasionally difficult for me to understand.

3.5 stars
Sweet! Another cozy Scottish fantasy romance novel! Just what I needed. I would visit Loren Brae if it was real. Love the grumpy/sunshine trope. A cute animal sidekick is always nice. The detailed accounts of most of the outfits really made the fashion come to life. Was also enjoyable to hear the other characters from the other books interact.

Quick plot: Unlucky in love and business, fashion designer Willow is invited to Scotland for a job and fresh start. Could her grumpy new boss/ family friend turn into more? Can she break through his walls? Body positivity another positive.

The narrators were great together, just like the last book in the series. Quite talented. I’m going to back and read the other books in the series once day soon.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in return for this review.

The book itself is 3.5 stars, but the audiobook is good enough to bump this to four stars. The narrators were wonderful and incredibly talented. I loved the different voices and the Scottish accent was perfect.

The book was enjoyable but it felt like two books in one. I think I would have preferred both stories being fleshed out in their own books. I really liked the characters and the universe so I plan to add the series to my TBR.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher.