Scot and Bothered

Author: Alexandra Kiley

Title:  Scot and Bothered

Publisher: Canary Street Press

Date Published: 03/04/2025

Read Dates: 01/30/2025- 02/01/2025
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

 📖 I received a gifted e-book ARC. The following is my honest review✍🏻

Scot and Bothered is a dual POV, dual timeline second-chance romance. Brooke, a ghostwriter with dreams of writing her own stories, and Jack, a struggling photographer had a forbidden romance in university that ended badly. Nearly a decade later they are thrown back together working on his Aunt’s memoir. As they hike the trail Mhairi founded, they begin to rekindle old feelings, but still have fears and secrets in their way.

What a beautiful second chance romance! I loved Jack and Brooke’s story, and the descriptions of the scenery as they hiked reminded me of past trips to Scotland. I liked their inside jokes, their faith in one another, and the relationship they each had with Mhairi. Fantastic read!

Brooke Sinclair’s dream of being a published author derailed when she was expelled from the University of Edinburgh seven years ago. Now a ghostwriter, she sticks to other people’s stories. But when her college mentor Mhairi McCallister needs a co-writer for her memoir about Scotland’s most challenging trek, Brooke would do anything for the opportunity—including agreeing to hike the rugged Skye Trail for authenticity’s sake... not knowing the nature photographer who’ll join her is Jack Sutherland, the man who shattered Brooke’s writing career—and her heart.

Between getting sacked from the University and walking away from his family’s tour-guiding business to follow his photography dreams, Jack is desperate to prove he didn’t disappoint his family for nothing. And he can’t ignore his Aunt Mhairi’s final wishes for her memoir. Even if it means acting as guide and storyteller for the one who got away. Even if it means keeping secrets about Mhairi’s health.

As Jack and Brooke head into the solitude of the sweeping Scottish landscape, they’re forced to confront old feelings that haven’t disappeared with time. But can two weeks and eighty miles heal years of unspoken hurt and offer a second chance at the end of the trail?