BOOK REVIEW: “Some Like it Scot” by Pepper Basham

Katie Campbell is a travel blogger who is in Scotland for her most recent assignment, and is eager to share both her adventures and misadventures with her followers. She’s ecstatic to stay at historic Craighill House, getting to dress up in the Edwardian era style dresses! She didn’t plan to literally bump right into Graeme and break the banister! Just one more misadventure, right?

Graeme is your typical burly, grumpy, Scottish man complete with an adorable Scottish accent and vernacular. Since Katie is spending so much of her time at the manor that Graeme’s family owns, it’s inevitable that they will be spending a lot of time together. It’s your classic grumpy versus sunshine story!

I thought this book was so much fun! What girl doesn’t love to read about a tall, handsome Scottish man with a thick accent? There was so much chemistry between Graeme and Katie, and even though it’s a Christian book and very low spice, there’s plenty of romance!

Katie was incredibly relatable. She’s a tall, (think 6 foot) curvy woman who has her own set of insecurities but also learns to embrace them and love herself for who she is. Graeme is grumpy to most people but has such a soft spot for Katie and his nephew, Lachlan.

Trigger warnings: there are minor trigger warnings of death of a loved one from cancer. It doesn’t go deep into details though.

This book was super cute, and laugh out loud funny at times. Definitely give this one a try! I rate this book as 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Scottish isle romance with a grumpy carpenter and a misfortune magnet travel writer.
This book was not what I was expecting, it was super Christian, like they went on a date to church, talked quite extensively about prayer, and wouldn't even say she fell on her bum/arse ("softest spot", like, stop it) I'm not sure how much more religious you can get in a romance novel. I feel this should be included in the blurb.
Other than that, it was quite contrived, and the banter wasn't bantering.
I'm sure this might work for some, but it was not for me.
The audiobook narrators did a fine job, but still wasn't enough to get me to enjoy this book. I will say the female authors Scottish accent was not good though.

I read the e-book version of this book first, and I loved every minute of it. The audiobook made me love it even more! The voice actors are wonderful! I absolutely adore Josh Manning and his Scottish accent for bringing Graeme to life. It was so fun to listen to, even though I'd already read it once. Of course, listening to the grumpy/sunshine banter, accents and all, makes the experience even better. This little trip to Scotland is super fun and adorable!

I didn't care for this one. I was bored for most of it and the romance wasn't doing it for me. We get it, she's big and clumsy. To be fair, I didn't realize this was considered Christian when I requested it.

This book took me a long time to fully get into but I thought it was very sweet! I love a good grumpy Scottish man 😂❤️

There is a very large emphasis on family loss in this book, and it definitely made certain scenes extremely heavy.

I’m still very confused why she only ever referred to the insane amount of times that she fell on her butt as “falling in my softest spot”. I’m seeing on other reviews that this is a Christian clean author so that makes more sense now… but it was still odd. If you don’t want to talk about her butt… maybe just leave these falls out lol.

It was a cute book, not fully up my alley with how hard it was to get into the book but still cute and will be great for others!

I think my favorite part was how well the scenes were described. I had a fantastic mental picture of Scotland and the beautiful house.

Thank you to NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

wow, i absolutely LOVED this so much!!!
the setting, the vibes, the scenery, the characters, the humor!!!!! every singular piece fit so so so well & seamlessly into another that it made it hard not to cry or laugh while listening to this 🙂‍↔️💘

from the very first line, this story swept me up and carried me on the winds to the beautiful scottish isles where i was told stories about kelpies, fairies, about grumpy 6" hot scots and clumsy travel bloggers that are afraid of sheep and a little boy that loves to go fishing with his best friend, aka his dog. gosh, this was so adorable. and the dual pov???? immaculate!!! the accents? oh boy, i was SWOONING!!!!
this was adorable from start to finish and i loved every, single. thing. about. it!!! 🥺✨

listening to this audiobook was absolutely perfect and so easy to follow! i honestly loved every single second and i truly think that everyone should listen to it rather than reading the book because that scottish accent? ON GRAHAM????? sorry i went FERAL when i hear that for the first time ever. this man could swoon my pants off any day of the week if he'd want 🙂‍↔️😭✨💓
and then he's also a dad???? well, more like a guardian but OH MY!!!!!! what a hot scot (heheh)

the way the scenes were described made me truthfully paint the pictures in my mind, everything was so idyllic, so aesthetic, so ethereal. it made me long for a place i haven't even visited yet but one that now is 100% on my bucket list for traveling. how gorgeous. i love when reading gives me the ability to travel to another world by staying on my couch hehehe 🙂‍↔️🌾✨

I love Pepper Basham’s writing and was so excited to get a copy of this one to read early! I loved the characters, the quirky setting, the beautiful descriptions of Scotland, and so much more! The audiobook was so well done. I love when there are both female and male narrators! Adds so much to the story and the dialogue! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Title: Some Like It Scot
By: Pepper Basham
Pub. Day: April 8, 2025

Genre:
Fiction, Women’s, Rom Com, Christian,

Trigger Warnings:
Loss, Cancer, Sabotage

Memorable Quotes:
“Sometimes home is a place. Sometimes home is a person. Sometimes it’s both.”

“No matter where you run or how fast or far, you’ll never outrun your own heart.”

Summary/Review:
Katie Campbell, aka Miss Adventures, has gained her fame by her misadventures traveling around the world. She enjoys discovery and exploring, as she’s never really had a place to call home. She’s a graceful mess, who has a towering frame, and a big soul of kindness. Graeme is a hot scot who can’t take his eyes on her.

The author has created a clean rom com filled with humor and sprinkled with Christianity. I started reading this narrative, and found myself immersed in the storyline, so I then received a copy of the audiobook, and to my immense surprise, the story was even better. Both narrators were engaging, and hearing the Scottish accents helped me connect with Katie. I highly recommend this lighthearted and witty narrative. It hooked me with humor and held me with heart. I can't wait to read more Pepper Basham!

Thank you to Pepper Basham, Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the opportunity of an Advanced Readers Copy. I am voluntarily leaving my review.

#SomeLikeItScot
#PepperBasham
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#ThomasNelson
#ZondervanFictionAudio
#NetGalley

So sweet and cute! I love the dynamic of the uncle being the caregiver for the niece. I think the characters are complex and grow together.

This was such a fun romantic comedy set in beautiful Scotland. I have always wanted to visit Scotland, and the descriptions of the landscapes in this story had me longing to join the story. Pepper Basham created a story that was both fun and heart-rending. The chemistry between the protagonists was steamy, yet it was a clean romance. That first kiss was swoon-worthy!!! I enjoyed listening to the audio version because it brought the Scottish brogue to life.

Katie is a popular travel writer known for her hilarious mishaps. Graeme is a surly man who is very much tied to his home in Scotland.

Katie has been assigned to write about a new historic home that is featuring a complete Edwardian experience from food to clothing, entertainment and more.

After falling into the arms of the most handsome and irritating man, Katie finds herself being saved by him over and over. He’s one of the last men she wants to deal with while on this assignment, but she keeps finding herself pulled toward Graeme.

Is Katie ready to put down roots and call some place home after years of constant travel? Is Graeme willing to change his mindset for a future with Katie?

I loved this story so much. I laughed- a lot, swooned- a lot and even got teary eyed. Thanks, Pepper! The themes of faith intertwined with the grief experienced by the characters in the book was so well done.

Narrated by Joshua Manning and Stina Nielsen. This dual narration was absolutely perfect. I was so lost in the story with the Scottish accent and all the voicing that Stina gave the female characters. It was highly entertaining and definitely enhanced the story.

3.5 ⭐️ This was such a fun little romance. Pepper Basham’s Some Like It Scot was a quick listen with charming narrators and an atmospheric storyline. The characters were so well written and likeable. From the get go I connected with Katie’s restlessness and struggle to feel at home. Graeme’s care for his family is both so alluring and heartwarming. Every background character adds so much life and enjoyment to the story. The plot was fun but predictable. Katie’s unlucky streak towards misadventures was humorous and added a low level of stakes to move the plot along. The one thing I found a little jarring was the sudden inclusion of religion about halfway through. It was mentioned once and then again multiple times in a short amount of time. While I don’t normally mind any inclusion of religion as it can add to the character depth as well as the plot, this part seemed a little out of the blue and very heavily included only to be dropped again in the last 20%.

While I enjoyed Some Like It Scot and found it to be a quick listen, I don’t think it’s a particularly memorable story. I would highly recommend the audiobook for anyone who loves a great Scottish accent and a fun romcom.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the alc.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

This Book was provided by NetGalley but all opinions and reviews are my own

Cute romance set in Scotland.

While this was marketed as a Christian romance (which I only saw after being granted access to the ARC, whoops), I did not really mind the various religious references. I rolled my eyes and continued with the book.

What annoyed me more was the TERRIBLE fake Scottish accent the female narrator put on. I regret having to write this because she did a great job, but I was ready to stop this book not even halfway into chapter one.
Thankfully the male narrator did a better job of the various accents.

The story was enjoyable. The rivalry with one of the other participants of the Edwardian reenactment was very thin, the setting was not as fleshed out as I would have hoped, and the people in town were a bit cliche. I guess it works for the book.
I did notice some very heavy story elements centered around family. To me this was all added on top of each other to get the effect of Emotional Drama that I could do without. Yes, death happens so we should not shy away from it, but this felt a bit much!
But, the very clean romance was very enjoyable and I grinned at various spots.

3.5 stars rounded down. It was OK but I am already struggling to remember the FMC’s and MMC’s names.

Read as an audiobook.

I received an ARC of this book (thanks!) and these are my own opinions.

🎧 𝘼𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠: Some Like it Scot by Pepper Basham
𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩: Audiobook via Netgalley
𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐/5
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨:

♡ Enemies to Lovers
♡ Some Faith Elements
♡ Found Family
♡ Grief & Loss
♡ Dual Narration

----------------

I really enjoyed the forced proximity trope with this one! An American girl and a Scottish Lad! Oh how entertaining the banter was between them and so many other characters as well. Katie and Graham were definitely meant to be! I loved their story so much. How they had the same trauma to bond over and how they had extremely different experiences with how that trauma was dealt with between themselves and their families.

I loved the audiobook so much… mainly because, I LOVE me a good accented narrator, haha! Such a pleasure listening to this book and I’m curious to check out the other work by the author!

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. It was well narrated by both narrators.
The set up of this story reminded me of Austenland and it maybe did have some similarities in that the heroine didn't get the best clothes and was kind of treated poorly for a while but that was the extent of similarities to it. The story had a completely different feel to it. I liked listening to the audiobook because it was great hearing the accent. I would have missed that reading it myself since I don't hear accents well in my own head. There was some fun banter and humorous moments throughout the story and some very touching and meaningful moments as well.
Grumpy Graeme was actually pretty swoony which probably didn't hurt as Katie begins to feel "home" for the first time in years. I loved Graeme's family, especially his nephew who was cute and smart.
This is Christian lit but it wasn't overwhelming or too in your face in my opinion. I had the sense that it was part of their characters which is what made it believable to me.

I enjoyed the story and liked the characters. It was a fun listen.

Some like it Scot by @pepperbasham
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve heard great things about this author so I requested an ARC of this audiobook. I’m so glad I did! I enjoyed this book but I’m 💯 certain the audio version earns extra points. Following the story of Katie Campbell and the Scot she unexpectedly falls in love with warmed my heart and definitely made me have to choke back some tears. Grief is hard. Love is hard. Puns are good.
I’d love to visit Scotland one day and this book only fueled my desire to go there.

I received an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my review. All opinions are honest and my own. Thank you @thomasnelson, @pepperbasham, and @netgalley!

#goodreads #bookstagram #literarypearlsof25 #somelikeitscot #netgalley

I previously reviewed the book for Some Like it Scot:

Kilts. Macaws. Edwardian experiences. I knew it was going to be so good and so quirky. And being a Pepper Basham book, so full of feelings and sweet romance. This book had me from the very beginning.


Basham gives us great characters in this story. Katie has one misadventure after another. Is this another one? Graeme is grumpy and oh so Scottish. Can he ever loosen up? And then there are several secondary characters that will draw you in as well. They’re fabulous and I’m sure I need a trip to Scotland to meet them all.


I also love the faith thread that was throughout Some Like It Scot. It wouldn’t be a Basham book without it. She is unabashedly a faith writer.


If you want a rom com with faith, feelings, and laughter you’ll enjoy this story of finding where you belong. I highly recommend it!


My thoughts haven’t changed for the audio book except to say you must listen to it! Graeme’s Scottish accent is so dreamy. You’ll love it! The readers have done a wonderful job and brought Some Like It Scot to life. I highly recommend it!


I received a complimentary copy of this audio book but was not required to leave a review.

Oh, boy...This amazing story brought together and satisfied all of my wanderlust, Downton, and Scottish romance dreams. I smiled. I laughed out loud. I yearned for someone to call me, "lass." (I'm sure my husband's getting right on that...😂) Pepper Basham is an auto-read author for me at this point and I've been dying to read this one since she announced it. It didn't disappoint and the author's note made me appreciate its beauty even more. Definitely don't skip it! Now, I'm just over here not-so patiently waiting on Pepper's next work of art and continuing to catch up on her backlog...❤️

Katie...This girl is such an authentic FMC. She isn't your stereotypical 5'6"-5'7" thin and blonde heroine who seems to have it all together. Instead, her curvy, tall frame and fiery locks are seen getting into all sorts of crazy misadventures. The comical situations that she finds herself in and the grace that she exhibits as she works through each one is perfection. She does have some baggage (who doesn't?), but I really enjoyed seeing her work through that and finally stop "running."

Graham...What an absolutely swoony book boyfriend! Fun fact: If you listen to the audiobook, you get to hear that wonderful accent for real. 🥵 Graham is just such a solid, steadfast guy. He too is working through some things, but his love for family, art, and his ancestral home is so very admirable and attractive. I adored reading about all the wonderful characteristics he saw in Katie that were so much more than skin-deep. It was also really special to see some major healing moments for him along the way.

Things I loved:

❤️All the travel and fun facts about different destinations
❤️The entire idea of the "Edwardian Experience"
❤️All of Katie's wonderfully charming and often hilarious mishaps
❤️The descriptions of the highlands, lochs, and glens
❤️Buttercups and heather
❤️Katie's fond memories of her grandparents
❤️Mirren's book shop and her relationship with Katie
❤️The "book club grannies"
❤️All the Scottish lore (fairies, mermaids, Nessie, etc.)
❤️Fishing with Lachlan
❤️Graham's art
❤️Pepper's authentic and sensitive rep of the loss of a sibling
❤️All the Scottish words, but especially "lass"
❤️Katie's relationship with Brett
❤️Katie joining Graham's family at church
❤️Family dinner
❤️Katie's secret project
❤️Callum
❤️Mentions of faith and God
❤️Grand gesture
❤️Epilogue
❤️Excellent narrators

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️

I 100% haven't gotten enough of Katie and Graham. I'm so hoping we might see more of them in the future!

This story was a bit slow and repetitive. It's also written by a Christian author which I wasn't aware of going in & I prefer to avoid such themes/content.