Review by Booklist Review
Brooke Sinclair is a successful ghostwriter, but she has yet to complete a book of her own. However, her latest assignment could jump-start her own writing career because Mhairi McCallister promises to share credit for her memoir with Brooke. The problem is that Brooke's latest draft needs a serous injection of atmosphere, which Mhairi believes Brooke can achieve only by hiking the Skye Trail, which is the focus of much of Mhairi's memoir. Now Brooke needs to find a hiking partner, and the only person available is Jack Sutherland, Mhairi's nephew and the new photographer for the book. Unfortunately, Jack also happens to be the same person who not only broke Brooke's heart but also dashed her dreams of becoming a published writer seven years ago. Readers will be smitten with Kiley's (Kilt Trip, 2024) latest brilliantly crafted contemporary romance that not only offers an enticing combination of insightful characterization and electric sexual chemistry but also serves as an inviting guide to the vividly evoked delights of Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Exes reunite in Kiley's charming sophomore romance (after Kilt Trip). Brooke Sinclair loved her time at the University of Edinburgh, especially getting to know her mentor, Professor Mhairi McCallister, and her boyfriend, graduate student Jack Sutherland, Mhairi's nephew and Brooke's TA. When word got to the administration about their relationship, however, it was deemed inappropriate, and Brooke's school days ended in scandal and disaster. Years later, Brooke works as a ghostwriter and Mhairi asks for her help cowriting a memoir. Brooke jumps at the chance--until she learns that Jack, now a professional photographer, will be assisting on the project. Kiley alternates between the couple's POVs and toggles between present and past to create intrigue and offer a balanced view of their relationship's evolution. There's plenty of banter along the way, and the emotional stakes get a jolt when Jack and Brooke learn that Mhairi is terminally ill. With heat, heart, and a gorgeously rendered Scottish backdrop, this will please fans of second-chance romance and armchair travelers alike. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
American Brooke Sinclair is ghostwriting a memoir for her famous mentor, Mhairi McCallister, and is less than thrilled when she is thrown back together with photographer Jack Sutherland to make the book as authentic as possible. Jack is Mhairi's nephew, with whom Brooke had an ill-advised fling as an undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh. Brooke's editor and Mhairi are convinced that the memoir is missing that special something, and that Brooke and Jack can capture it by following the same trail that is detailed in the book. Hiking and camping across difficult terrain on the Isle of Skye with Jack brings up long-buried feelings of attraction, despite years of resentment. Jack's quiet sincerity forces Brooke to reconsider the past and her future, but as they get closer to the end of their journey, Jack will have to reveal Mhairi's devastating secret, which he has known all along. Unfortunately, the plot doesn't propel readers forward with any urgency, and the forced-proximity and miscommunication tropes could have been better utilized. VERDICT Kiley's fans will enjoy the return to a captivating Scottish landscape, but this second-chance romance is less successful than her debut, Kilt Trip.--Nicole J. Suarez
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