Megan Clawson’s Kilted Lovers is an absolute charmer of a story. It’s like a rom-com that comes to life as you read it with a perfectly loveable cast of characters.

From the moment Lady Alice Walpole swaps London’s chaos for Balmoral’s peaceful Highlands, the story feels like something made for a movie. I could totally picture the misty mountains, cozy castles, and Fraser Bell (the Sovereign’s Piper) with his quiet charm and kilted flair.
Alice’s journey of self-discovery is heartwarming, and her chemistry with Fraser? Spot-on. Their banter and sweet moments are like the perfect blend of humor and romance that keeps you hooked. Even when you can guess where the story’s headed, it’s so cozy and fun that you don’t mind a bit.

The descriptions of Scotland are stunning, making the whole thing feel like a mini escape to the Highlands. Between the laughs, heartfelt moments, and the feel-good vibes, this book just works. Honestly, if someone made it into a movie tomorrow, I’d be the first to watch.

If you’re into royal romances or need a light, breezy read, with some Scottish flair, Kilted Lovers will definitely hit the spot.

There's so much to love about this book that it's hard to know where to start in my praise for it. It's another sure fire winner from the author of 'Regally Blond".

This story is a little slow to get into at the beginning but stick with it as it's well worth it.

I tried really hard to get into this, but just couldn’t, so I unfortunately ended up DNFing this at around 30%. I found it quite hard to follow and struggled to connect with any of the characters. I’m sure others will enjoy it much more, and I might revisit it over summer to see if I think any differently.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

2/5 stars! This book was not for me. Based on the cover and the premise, I thought I would be reading a low-angst fluffy rom-com and this book was not that. The author spent the majority of the book kind of forcing mental health into the reader's faces. "HEY DEPRESSION....THIS IS IT. LOOK HERE." And then basically wraps up the story "curing" the FMC because she found true love. This is a super harmful (and inaccurate) take on mental health. Also it was so far fetched it felt ridiculous.

A fantastic rom-com. The perfect read for the spring and summer. The book provides a perfect escapism and creates a new royal romance which readers will fall in love with

I requested this purely based off the original title, regally blonde. And let's be honest who doesn't love an escape to Scotland. A fun premise, a castle, a little romance, and some found family, what's not to love!

The story was hard to get into/follow, with little character development and a romance that didn't really give us anything to root for, the chemistry, the butterflies, anything.

Incapable of doing a DNF....I made it to the end but ultimately this story left me wanting - I wanted more depth, more character growth and heck, more dreamy Scotland scenery! While I've read this author's other books, they have all each had such a fun premise but ultimately fall flat and I dont know that they're for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK
for the ARC in exchange for my review!

OK, I will be completely 100% honest here and say I only chose to read this because of the cover and the title. There I've said it, I was hooked by the title (well the one word; Kilted) and I was instantly drawn to this with the cover, yup you guessed it, it's the man in the kilt.
Anything with Scottish and kilts and highlanders I am here for it!
Kilted Lovers is a lot of fun, and it's a really enjoyable story, I wasn't blown away by it which was a little disappointing as it didn't live up to my personal expectations of what a Scottish romance should be, but that's me I am a historical girly so very few contemporary Scottish romance live up to my ridiculously high standards, but I do think others will love this and it does have everything a romance reader wants.
The characters are so lovely, and not as air-headed as I originally thought, despite the colourful fun cover there is a seriousness to the story, with themes of depression and loneliness. The female character; Alice definitely changed in my eyes, I couldn't get on with at first I thought of her as another spoilt royal brat (as I do most royal characters in books) but she changed and developed and soon her real self was revealed and she wasn't anything what I thought her to be and was pleasantly surprised by her.
Overall, this is a lovely and very sweet coming-of-age story, which so many readers will love, though it fell short and didn't quite live up to my expectations it's still very enjoyable.

This is a cute story about a spoiled minor princess, a member of the Royal family. Her parents send her to Balmoral hoping the isolation and the housekeeper will change her attitude. She’s not thrilled to hear the bagpipes waking her up early every morning until she meets the cute bagpiper.
He’s totally different from any guy she’s known before, and pretty soon it dawns on her that her behavior and attitude were very annoying and entitled. The book reads like a YA book, not a genre I usually read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5 🌟

I knew I was going to enjoy this book. I read Love at First Knight, another YA rom com by Megan Clawson, and had a great time.

Right off the bat, I tagged Alice as spoiled, selfish, entitled. Her age was hard to pin down but my first instinct was “this damn teenager.” She plays dress up with her dads stuff and has fairytale thoughts about love to the point of being unbelievably naive. Her parents scold her and only care about her public appearance, ignoring her the rest of the time. They end up sending her away to Scotland as a sort of punishment - a way to keep her out of the public eye to avoid embarrassing them further. She views it as a punishment too, but that starts to change. She starts to feel compassion for the staff at the castle she’s staying in. She feels guilt and wants to help them. Time seemed to move very quickly here - nothing was explained as weeks passed. She made friends with the staff and then weeks would go by without speaking. This made the insta love situation confusing for me too.

Atticus was a jackass. Sophie was perfectly adorable. Unfortunately, I feel like we got more out of those two than we got from Fraser Bell. I love when Alice stood up for herself with Atticus, and started growing up because of her experiences as Balmoral. The dilemma between her and Fraser seemed dumb for why they couldn’t be together. The miscommunication + wrong assumptions trope bugs me. Events continued to feel rushed when she got back to Balmoral and the year she was away. I would have loved to hear more about her work and progress throughout that year for the projects she was working on, as well as what it did for the communities she worked in. I related to Alice speaking out about her mental illness.

The biggest bummer for me is the reveals about Alice’s parents in Balmoral and nothing having changed for them and Alice’s relationship with them after she confronted her mom. But sometimes people don’t change, even in fiction books. I just would have loved to know what happened with them and why they were so cold with Alice.

Fun and quick read overall!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the eARC. Opinions are all my own!

Publication Date: 03/27/2025

Lady Alice, although royal by birth, is famous among the newspapers for her unladylike behavior. Her days are spent enjoying elite social gathering and with her fling, Atticus. When her parents notice this, they banish her to the Scottish castle of Balmoral. Initially heartbroken and lovestuck, Alice soon realize that the people around her are not what they seem to be. Enters the royal piper, Fraser Bell, with his Scottish accent and love for the horses.
Will Alice be able to find her fairytale love and be the worthy heir of her grandmother's kingdom?

I went into this book, not expecting much but i was gifted with so much insight. The author definitely surprised me with the character development of FMC and the strong personality of the MMC. Sophie and Mrs Buchanan were two of my favorite characters in this book. There are so many thoughtful quotes in this book, that are going to stay with me for a long time. The book took me a little over a week to finish, but can be done quicker. It is lighthearted, filled with humor and reality check but most of all, a happy and satisfying climax.

I am looking forward to read more books by the author, especially Love at First Knight. I definitely recommend this book to all romance and romcom lovers. However, if you're someone looking to start reading more of the romance genre, definitely pick it up.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect, but I loved it! It's a fun romcom, a bit like a Beauty and the Beast retelling, easy read.

I will definitely be reading more Megan Clawson.

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Clawson and Avon Publishing for allowing me this e version in exchange for my opinion.

An escapist read to the grounds of Balmoral, the characters definitely grew on me and it was nice to see the changes in the member of the royal family. Felt like there should be a little more remorse shown by her mother but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

Kilted Lovers

Thanks to Avon for my arc copy of Kilted Lovers. I have enjoyed reading this book and loved following Alice to Balmoral. The incorporation of someone from high society as a princess suffering from mental health, which is portrayed well in this book, made me happy as it shows that anyone, no matter what can suffer from mental health issues. I enjoyed reading about her inner conflict as it shows a side of us that society doesn't usually see

All the characters in this book show their care for each other. I liked Sophie, and I like how Alice learns so much from being with Mrs Mary Buchana and her sternness, as well as how Immy and his sweet nature become a positive life for her despite Alice being a bit offish to include them in her life at first.

I also enjoyed Fraser and Alice's relationship in this book. It was well written and flowed well, showing ups and downs and the woes.

#KiltedLovers #BookReview #MentalHealth #Romance #CharacterDevelopment #ReadingCommunity #ARC #Balmoral #HighSociety #EmotionalJourney

I was expecting a fun, flirty time - which I definitely got. I was not expecting the deep, underlying topics - which I also got.
I enjoyed the depth of this story, it wasn't your average romance.

I loved the setting and following our main character along her journey. There was definite character growth there which I appreciated.

Overall, I was surprised by my love for this story and will be adding it to my reccomendations list!

After one too many errors in the public eye, distant heir to the throne Lady Alice is shipped off to Balmoral for the summer under the watchful, secluded eyes of the royal household. There, she is forced to face her demons and learn to find her independence. Helping her along the way are her ladies’ maid and the annoying bagpiper, Fraser, who just so happens to be a dashing man, Alice can’t ignore! Will this summer undercover change her forever?

Why Kirsten loves it
Fraser Bell was clearly modeled after Jamie Fraser, or at least he was in my mind, making him the ideal romantic lead. I loved how Alice finds herself by letting others help her. The heavier topics of depression were well-handled and gave their romance depth. I also adored the cast of secondary characters!

This is one of those cute but cheesy and over the top instant-love reads that is also a bit predictable. With that said, it is a cozy little rom-com that is a quick and easy read.

I received an arc in exchange for my honest review.

I gave this a 3.5 but rounded up to 4. This was a fun contemporary romance, but for me just felt like it was missing something.

The story itself was a solid contemporary romance featuring a main character who lacks self awareness and is sent to Scotland to learn a lesson.

While we get to see the main character really settle into a different life in Scotland I didn’t feel like it told the best story of her learning to be more self aware. We miss that part of her story. It is there in the end but read more like an epilogue rather than important character development.

The book was a little predictable, but that is not a bad thing. It can be a comfort to read something new but able to anticipate its next move.

I would recommend this book if you are looking for a comforting contemporary romance. It isn’t exactly cozy but there is a sort of comforting quality to it.

4.75

“It turns out fairy tales don’t actually come close to an accurate representation of love. My love for Fraser Bell is far more than any sonnet or speech or love story could ever contain. Love can’t be bundled up into words or song. My love for him is the trees; it is the ground beneath my feet; it is Scotland, the pearl of the world, and a pocket of the universe too beautiful to be retold. Bad days will still happen. Just because I am loved, it doesn’t mean my sadness is suddenly eradicated like a villain defeated once and for all. The villain will return, for a sequel, a trilogy, maybe even a franchise. But each time that villain is weaker. Each time, I am better equipped for battle. And each time, I have faith in the knowledge that happy always comes after.”


ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW


a very very beautiful and heartfelt story of not only love but self love and happiness and self happiness, of found family, of growth.

alice's journey was super special to me, I emphasize with her in some ways and she gives me hope in another's.

fraser is a dream!!! god bless highlanders they never let me down (yea I'm thinking about james fraser too, like he's the standard)

sophie, mary, jimmy were fantastic side characters, and callum too. I would dare to say even the king was.

I'll look forward to the author's next book to catch a glimpse of fraseralice and how they're doing!!

Thank you to Avon Books UK and Megan Clawson for approving the request for an eARC of Regally Blond. This romance caught my eye as I love Legally Blond. This twist on the movie sees a wayward royal searching for Prince Charming, finding only toads and a disgrace until her shenanigans get her banished to the backwaters of the Scottish Highlands for a time out.

Kilted Lovers is a fun rom-com with some important mental health themes running through the opposites attract romance plot. She's sensitively encapsulated the challenges and realities of depression and anxiety into the plot of the story. Megan Clawson weaves an interesting tale of self-discovery and finding love through being true to yourself with plenty of fun antics, conflict, and sizzling tension.

Their romance is a journey of transformation, challenging Fraser and Alice to look beyond their first bad impressions (piping at a silly o'clock morning wake-up call is one way to get on a party girl's bad side). Alice comes to life as she finds her path, dropping her royal frivolous socialite to show her vulnerable side with her insecurities and self-doubt along her warmer, kinder side. Through being their true self, she finds real connection, genuine friendship, and someone who loves her for who she is, not her status. Fraser might be all gruff, a loner on the outside, break through that grumpy crust; there is a warm heart of gold who will do anything for those he loves and cares for.

A romantic comedy that perfectly blends royal escapades with some imaginative license, personal transformation, and gorgeous highland vibes (countryside and highlander hunks) into a story full of warmth, fun, and plenty of laughs. It's a perfect read if you're looking for a nice, sweet, light-hearted romance to give you all the warm fuzzies for your spring TBR!

I really enjoyed this Royal romance between a British princess with depression and the royal pipe major/stable hand she meets when she spends the summer at Balmoral. There's great mental health rep, female friendship and found family not to mention a swoony, Jamie Fraser worthy MMC. Great on audio with fantastic accents and perfect for fans of authors like Pepper Basham. The depression rep in this book is just so well done and relatable and made the FMC so easy to root for. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.