From Scotland with Love

by Kelli Ireland, Ava Erickson (Narrator)

Listening Length: 5 hours and 40 minutes

Escape to Scotland in this funny, heartfelt audio-first romance about reconnecting with an old love...and discovering new passion.

After her boyfriend runs off to a Buddhist monastery, Molly is stuck with an extra ticket for a bed-and-breakfast trip through the Scottish Highlands. Not wanting to waste the fare, she sells it in an online auction...where it's bought by a man from her past. Now she's stuck rooming with the guy who broke her heart - someone she's never been able to forget.

When Alex arrives in Scotland and discovers that he unknowingly purchased a romantic getaway with his ex-girlfriend, he knows he should walk away. Spending two weeks at a bed-and-breakfast in the Scottish Highlands with his beautiful, spirited ex is a terrible idea. He came to Scotland with one goal in mind - to win an elite photojournalism competition - and Molly is a distraction he can't afford.

But as the stunning Scottish Highlands weaves its magic, Alex's and Molly's hearts begin to open once again. Can they let go of their past for the second shot of a lifetime?

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary, Second Chance, Scotland, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance

Audible Audio

First published August 1, 2017

About the author

Kelli Ireland spent a decade as a name on a door in corporate America. Unexpectedly liberated by Fate's sense of humor, she chose to carpe the diem and pursue her passion for writing. A fan of happily-ever-afters, she found she loved being the Puppet Master for the most unlikely couples. Seeing them through the best and worst of each other while helping them survive the joys and disasters of falling in love? Best. Thing. Ever.

Visit Kelli’s website for more information: www.kelliireland.com

You can also catch up with her on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/kelliireland...

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this a shot, possibly because I was tickled to find a book with Scotland in the title and Ireland in the author name. That'll teach me. Ireland is addicted to slapstick and bends all normal laws of physics and narrative flow to drag things down into stupidity. Molly has exploding suitcases, window casings, stair steps, and porta-potties, and that's in the first half of this very short book. I was mildly interested in the setup because their past involves a betrayal that I wanted to see them come back from. The build of Alex's character was shaping up well. But then a window fell out of its casing and then, while leaning against the wall heaved itself up to smash onto the floor. It didn't slide down. It tilted over. Because gravity works differently for Molly. Apparently.

That's where I quit. I couldn't take the contrivance anymore. Here's an unsolicited author tip: imagine a director on a movie set trying to make things behave the way you want your world to behave. If you have to involve anything off-camera to make a thing happen, you might want to rethink that thing...

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story about second chances. Our heroine has terrible luck with love. Now she is headed to Scotland with plans to renew her flagging career. Unfortunately the man who broke her heart years earlier has the same plans.

[Claudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I assumed that a book with “Scotland” in the title would be narrated in the appropriate accent. Boy! I was wrong.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I downloaded this book on audible plus and let me just start with saying I am SO glad I didn't pay for it because I would have been annoyed with myself for wasting my money on this author.

I picked it because being Scottish I'm a sucker for any book with Scotland in the title or set in Scotland but the way this book was written is shocking.

Let me just say before I get into the problems with this book, it did sound like it would be a fun, light, story to pass the time, which is a shame because I couldn't get any further than the airport scene.

It starts off with Molly, an American who has booked a Scottish Highland trip with her boyfriend only for her boyfriend to leave her 5 days before their trip. Not being able to afford the whole trip herself she puts her boyfriends ticket up for sale, where Alex comes across it and books it.

The problems start as soon as Molly lands in Scotland, she's speaking to (I think it was the gate attendant) at the airport, she starts by telling us she can't understand a word he is saying, which fair enough if you're not Scottish it's definitely not the easiest accent to pick up, but to then ask him if he's actually speaking English!? The narrator then goes on to do possibly THE worst Scottish accent I've ever heard, it was like a mix between Irish & Italian, it was shocking. If you can't do the accent just don't do it or get someone who can. If that was any other accent being so badly mimicked that would not be tolerated and if that was any other country being spoke about like that this authors career would be over. Believe it or not, Scotland and Ireland are NOT the same place.

If you're going to write a book based in another country, research is key.

I'm the last person to get offended over nothing but I'm not going to sit and listen to a book written by an American that thinks Scotland is a joke.

I had a look at other reviews to see what people that got further into the book felt, and the opinion seems to be much the same.

I hope the author has learned from these reviews and has a good think about the way she speaks about other countries because the short part I managed to read of that book isn't acceptable and wouldn't be tolerated in many countries.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Scotland with Love was a very short audiobook (a little under 6 hours) that started off on hilarious but very embarrassing start - her coming home to an empty apartment with her boyfriend turning into a monk & the scene where her suitcase explodes leaving her lingerie & vibrator for everyone to see. Molly is unlucky and it turns out the person who she'll go to the Highlands with is actually her ex-boyfriend (not the monk, don't worry) who broke her heart. They're also rivals to win a competition but eventually, she'll find out why he needs the prize more than her. Overall, the book was alright but I understand why some people didn't find this book very Scottish except for the mentions of "highlands".

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are looking for a quick fun romance read... there are much better ones out there. I love books see in Scotland so I gave it a chance but.... it didn't help this story out at all. I've read worse, at least I able to finish this one. Also: if you do audiobooks, the narration is terrible as far as accents go. She made all the accents sound Irish. (Scottish and Irish accents are not the same)

[Steph's Romance Book Talk · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars Not sure what the other reviews read to make them leave low ratings but I enjoyed this story. This is a story that is exclusively on Audible so I am placing it in my ARC category since everyone doesn't have access to this audiobook. Molly and Alex have the perfect lovers to enemies to lover’s journey. I understood why they fell out, what they did while they were apart, and the lengths that they would go through to be together. This is would perfect quick listen for a road trip, laying on the beach, or chilling by the pool.

This video review will be included in the Jun 2018 wrap-up.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Rom Book Talk.

[April ♥"LOS" ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Having just come back from Scotland myself this book really brought back great memories and just made me smile.

[Ayushi (Sorcery of Chapters) · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌸🌸🌸 FOLLOW ME ON MY BOOKSTAGRAM!🌸🌸🌸

Another sweet romance where ex-lovers happen to meet again by chance. Although the book was very well written and the narration was decent, I thought it was a little predictable. It did have heat, emotion, romance and a slight humor but it did not capture my heart completely. It is an enjoyable gentle and simple love story and would be perfect to spend a few hours on.

The ending was cliché but overall there were parts in this book that will touch your heart. If you decide to go for it, don’t expect too much out of it.

[Trewen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audio

Barely 2 stars.
The reader was pretty good. Her accents were a fail but I could at least tell the characters apart.

I can't believe I finished this. Around every corner I thought this is kind of cute.
But then the author would write the most awful dialogue.
So unrealistic. Who talks about their sex life in front of complete strangers?
Maybe it was supposed to be funny? And that proposal and epilogue. Shaking my head.

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Scotland With Love is another Audible freebie for its members. I wanted something light and that's what I got with this book set in the beauty of Scotland with a story that includes popular romance tropes - second chance romance and enemies to lovers.

I liked the premise of this RomCom more than the execution. I loved the Scottish setting (naturally) and the romance tropes, but the dialogue is pretty cheesy, the characters were just meh and the narrator made a poor attempt at a Scots accent (which often sounded like Irish).

This book was ... fine. It was a light listen as I got things tidied around the house but I'm glad it was a free Audible selection. I listened to this audiobook last week and honestly, not much of the story has stuck with me. Consider this a quick, easy and predictable romance that may make you feel like you're in Ireland instead of Scotland.

[Pam Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️⭐️ 🎧
I thought this would be about Scotland, but it was all about her ex and how he did her wrong.

And somehow, he ends up travelling with her and they end up getting back together even though they still don't fully trust each other.

It was all kinds of a mess and I just kept waiting for the love letter to or from Scotland, but it was so minimal it was hardly there.

The narration was fine Ava Erickson is great.

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Book lover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book in audiobook format.

[Naoé · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope, it really wasn't it. Honestly, it was fun but there were way too many trust issues between the characters and I don't know the romance came a bit out of nowhere honestly the conflict in the third act was non-sense (audible free books proving once again that they're not all fun and enjoyable but it's okay)

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off a solid 3.5 even though there was a little too much slapstick humor for my taste. The heroine was a doormat. There was nowhere near enough groveling. And the end was so over the top I thought my eyes were going to roll right out of my head. It had potential but it took a nosedive pretty quick.

[*Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story in theory, but unfortunately the dialogue was off. Too sappy, I think? There were moments where the hero said things which were intended to be super romantic but came across to me simply as a female writer putting on paper what she thinks women WANT to hear rather than something that a man would truly say. It took me out of the story because I had to knock my head out of the eyeroll position.

I also noticed that although this took place in Scotland, the narrator, who otherwise did a fine job, made the characters sound more Irish. I'm not saying I could do any better, but it was offputting.

[Maria Manzi Kane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable and boring. Did not feel a connection with any of the characters. And the people in Scotland, she made them sound like they still belonged in the past instead of the present

[Carole Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randomly stumbled upon this while looking for a book with "love" in the title for a reading challenge I am apart of and it's set in Scotland. Count me innnnnn!

We follow Molly and Alex. They had been a couple a long time ago and they used to work with each other. Alex is a photographer and Molly is a writer. They had been perfect until Alex messes up big time and ruins Molly's career. Time has passed and now Molly's new boyfriend left her and runs off to a Buddhist monastery. Molly is stuck with an extra ticket for a bed-and-breakfast trip through the Scottish Highlands. Not wanting to waste the fare, she sells it in an online auction and low-and-behold it is Alex. Will the Scottish Highlands weave its magic and heal the past wounds and bring them back together?

I have a love-hate relationship with second chances. Sometimes it can work and sometimes it can't. Like normal I was worried about this one.

At first I was totally ANTI Alex. Nope. When we find out what he really did to ruin their love and Molly's career I was not at all on his side. I wanted Molly to kick him in the knee and run away screaming. However....I did forgive him and I wanted them to patch it up and realize they need each other. Yes, he was an ahole BUT he was dumb and young and selfish. People can change...but they really have to prove it.

The last couple chapters had me in tears and I wanted to scream for Molly to wait! SOBS! Yes, yes, they do have their HEA (of course it's a romance novel) but I was so scared for them.

I will say the last scene made me roll my eyes. The epilogue was fun, but the chapter before that was so dramatic. Sure, I was excited but all the cheese. This scene alone was 100% a Hallmark movie scene.

The narrator was fun. Her Scottish accent was a wee bit off but you get used to it. All her other accents were fine but the Scottish one needed a little bit of work.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I was back and forth about this second chance, but in the end, I was rooting for them. The narrator's Scottish accent needed some work, but she worked for the story and brought the story to life. I'll give this 3 stars.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my review as posted on Audible.
http://www.audible.com/listener/Ashle...

"A Lot of Sweet - A Little Heat"
Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

From Scotland With Love starts off with Molly, our heroine, coming home to an empty apartment - as in devoid of any stuff. When she finds her boyfriend he tells her that he is leaving and needed to sell her things to pay for his trip to Tibet where he is finding himself and becoming a monk, after all renting a Sherpa is not cheap. Molly who is about to leave for a trip to Scotland for a journalism contest now has an extra ticket and auctions it off online. She gets more than she bargained for when it’s bought by Alex, her photographer ex boyfriend who’s entering the same contest for his own reasons.

I love Ava Erickson as a narrator. I always love her performances, in this book she does not quite get the accent right and though it may bother some overall I didn’t think it detracted too much from the book. I gave her 5 stars though because she took a book that had I been reading would have fallen flat for me - she added depth and personality to an otherwise fluffy book.

From Scotland With Love by Kelli Ireland is a good example of the foundation of romance books. It has heart, heat, humor and emotional connection to readers/listeners. I gave it four stars overall because although it does have the foundation I felt more could have been built on it. It’s not going to change your world, but the book did have its moments. While it was not one of my favorite romance books it did make me smile. It’s an easy listen and entertaining. If you have the romance package it’s a good one to listen to.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This audiobook is available as part of the Audible Romance Package. I didn't care for the narrator's voice, and I thought she did pretty terrible on accents.

Molly goes home after a long weekend away to find live-in boyfriend is dressed in a sheet. He says he pawned all their stuff to fund his trip to a Tibetan Monastery. Most of "their" stuff was really "her" stuff...antiques from her grandparents, handmade pottery, etc. He barely even left her clothes.

She was going to surprise him with a trip to Scotland she got on one of those "deals" sites. It leaves in 5 days and it's non-refundable, so she puts his portion up on an "offer up" kind of site. She doesn't know it yet, but her ex-boyfriend (the one before the new monk) bought it. He betrayed her in some massive way.

She gets to Scotland (hasn't seen the ex yet) and her underwear start coming down the baggage claim belt. In pieces. Then her bag comes down, ripped to shreds. It hits the bottom of the conveyor belt and her vibrator pops out and starts buzzing all crazy.

I think it was supposed to be funny. But she's mortified beyond belief. All these strangers staring at her underwear. And that suitcase is basically all she has left in the world since her boyfriend took everything. I just couldn't. I had to turn it off. That's not funny to me.

DNF

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this one. The start is interesting and Molly seems to get the short end of the stick at lot. I did like that Molly and Alex come back together relatively fast after their met-up, after the anger passes. I enjoyed the story they were creating and researching for the competition and getting to know the Highland family. I want more of them than Molly and Alex actually

What I didn't like; the absolute slap-stick, ridiculous, national Lampoon style incidents that were passed off as comedy. I've never enjoyed the National Lampoon movies, if you do then this is for you. I was also not a fan of how this ended, the very end was fine, but the last part of the book was just wrong and misplaced, it put the wrong focus on the story. It broke them apart again when they needed to be working together, another barricade was not what the story needed right then.

Narration: I like Ava Erickson, though I wish the male POV had been in a male voice. Her Scottish accent was ok, she did not have to do it often but I wanted more of an accent.

[Zuzana K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited to read about Molly's trip to Scotland and her idea for the article was promising (family operated whisky producers and what it means for them on a personal level). Over two hours into listening to this book, there was STILL NOTHING about Scotland or whisky, other than 2 sentences. I suffered through sappy, naïve, silly, and utterly unrealistic story with series of incidents and descriptions of eyes, arms, etc. Finally, when Molly cut her palm on a broken glass and her wound was bleeding, all she could focus on was the guy being in her personal space and how good he smelled, or something sappy like that.. I had to stop listening. Give me a break. Is she a smart writer or is she a horny teenager? If there is any great description of Scotland, whisky, countryside, etc., later on in the book, sadly I will never know.

[May Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What on earth just happened?

I am referring to what happened in the novel's climax (or was it the plot twist? I am not sure.). I was at a loss there, to be honest. Not to give too much away, but why did it take so long for everyone to find out?

Anyway, this was an okay read. I love the chemistry between our hero and heroine. Even if the hatred was short-lived, I was willing to overlook that because there were sweet parts, and they were just delightful. The ending was a bit cheesy but not cringeworthy, thank goodness. The narrator's performance, though, blew me away on this one. She is a bit of a hit or miss for me, but she gave an incredible performance on this one, making this an engaging listen.

This is my first book from the author, and I enjoyed this one. This won't be my last from her.

[Rebecca Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex and Molly used to be a thing, until he did an unethical thing that cost her her job and forced her to leave him. Now he's purchased her companion ticket for a winter holiday to Scotland and they're stuck with each other for 2 weeks. Can they survive or will their attraction pull them together. When Alex tells Molly the truth about why he needs her to back out of the contest, she can't help her attraction to him. They find a wonderful story to tell and all is well until Alex gets arrested. Now, she thinks he's abandoned her and she can't deal. Until the awards ceremony where he proposes to her on the acceptance stand. Cute and funny, but a little too much heat for YA. Well-plotted short novel.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably one of the corniest books I've ever read/listened to. The premise is cute, but it's just a little too much. Alex and Molly have dated before, they both end up on a trip to a Scotland together, they decide to compete together and get back together and then they have the always imminent struggle but it's all happy in the end. I felt like parts were rushed or unexplained and I still don't know whether Alex's last name is O'Connor or O'Connell... other than that the rest seemed to flow and make sense. I'd recommend it to those who like audiobooks and are looking for a quick read. Not sure I'd ever listen to it again.

[SARAH · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this - the premise was cute and all. But dear gods the characters were just tropes in human form - and terrible ones at that. I didn't buy into the leading lady at all - instead she just came off as petty and unable to make a rational decision without it becoming some huge drama. And I'm sure scenes that were supposed to come off as 'endearing' (the car trip to the highlands, for instance) were just embarrassing in how tedious they were. And 90% of the tension could have been solved by communicating, which is one of my least favorite plot drivers. Just overall disappointed since the book details were promising.

[Pirouette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not know what it wanted to be. Slapstick chicklit, small town romance, it tried a bit of everything and managed nothing, sadly. The beginning, when Molly puts the trip on a website to sell half, seemed promising. Even the stupid scene with her ex was a bit funny, but it just went downhill from there.

There was nothing about Scotland at all. Apart from mentioning whisky and the mountains, it could have taken place in Ohio.

The Garda are the IRISH police, the narrator used an IRISH accent and the names sounded more Irish than Scottish.

[Shannon Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute little romcom book. I enjoyed the quick read with a cute story to boot.
Imagine you are dumped and have a pre planned trip to Scotland… and now no one to go with. Sad, right!? So you throw your trip for two up on a bidding site to find a random person to take with you. What could possibly go wrong!?
You get to the airport to meet your mystery trip mate and it is the ONE… the ONE you let go, or dumped, or yea, the ONE… there he stands.

A cute book about forgiveness, family, love, tradition, and laughter.

[Ashley Snider · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and sweet love story about second chances and learning from your mistakes.

Molly was unlucky when it comeEs to love and she sure had her share of embarrassing moments! From the vibrator at the airport to ending bare ass over head rolling down the hillside you can’t help but laugh out loud.
Could Alex be any more predictable? He sure had his moments!
My favorite character was Mac. Full of spit and sass he sure let them know how he was feeling!
Simple love story that shows second chances are worth giving and being true to your self will win the race in the end.