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A review by katemc7
Wild Scottish Beauty by Tricia O'Malley
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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!
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!