Three childhood friends with a shared passion for the Outlander novels and TV show decide to travel to Scotland looking for adventure—and their very own Highland heroes…
McKenzie Taylor is high maintenance when it comes to fashion, but when it comes to travel, the socialite prefers privacy to parties, and her own space to hotels. After she and her friends arrive in Scotland and split up to pursue their own adventures, she rents a small cottage on the Isle of Skye. On day two, she crashes her rental car. But a hero emerges from the mist to rescue her. He's handsome, earthy, funny, and before long is making her feel desirable, not mention desirous. There's just one problem: McKenzie's Highland dreamboat is a motorcycle riding American.
Finley Craig knows his cute new tourist friend is stubbornly set on falling for a Scotsman. But he's just as set on her falling for him. So he plans to give her a taste of what she thinks she wants. Because Finley suspects McKenzie isn't as shallow as she appears. And in the process of surrounding her with his hand-picked suitors, she may just decide that American-made is best—especially when she and Finley are rained in together over one long, delicious, and very adventurous weekend…
Fun book. McKenzie and her friends are huge fans of the Outlander books and show and head off to Scotland for a month-long vacation. They plan to go their separate ways when they arrive, each looking for her own adventure - and maybe her own kilted hero. The story opens with the three women on a train bound for Inverness and McKenzie having second thoughts about her plan. However, she buries her qualms and soon finds herself on the road to Skye.
McKenzie's trip gets off to a rough start on her drive to the cottage she rented. While trying to avoid hitting an animal in the road, McKenzie ran the car off into a ditch. Thanks to no bars on her cellphone, she contemplates spending the night in her car when a knight on shining motorcycle shows up to rescue her. Finley is grumpy and sarcastic but takes McKenzie up to her cottage, where she gets a shock. The place is a mess and unlivable as it is. Finley may be a grouch, but he's also a gentleman and offers McKenzie the guest room at his house until hers is cleaned.
I enjoyed watching the relationship between McKenzie and Finley develop. The sparks between them are evident from the start though initially, both resist doing anything about it. Finley's been burned in the past and has shut down his emotions, while McKenzie has a kilt-wearing Scotsman on her mind. As American as she is, Finley doesn't qualify but being a nice guy, he introduces her to some of his friends. I laughed out loud at his "introductions" as it was apparent he wanted her for himself.
I liked seeing Finley and McKenzie get to know each other. Though they might try to deny it, along with the attraction, there was an immediate connection between them. Finley saw past McKenzie's confident exterior to her hidden insecurities. She had trouble believing he could be attracted to her, and he thinks she is beautiful the way she is. It also doesn't take him long to figure out that McKenzie is more interested in finding out who she is beyond the surface that everyone else sees. I loved her joy in her photography and the satisfaction she gets from finding that perfect shot. Turnabout is fair play, and McKenzie sees a hurting man underneath all of the grumbles. She has no problem pushing at him to get him to open up about what drove him away from home. I ached for Finley after he shared his story with McKenzie.
Eventually, those sparks they've been ignoring become too much to resist, and they give in. That adds a whole new layer of complications to their lives. McKenzie gets a little freaked out because she realizes that it would be far too easy to fall in love with Finley, and there's no future in it. Though she has to go back to Atlanta and Finley won't leave Scotland, they still have the rest of her time on Skye. Then an unexpected twist shows McKenzie how deep she already is and sends her running to protect herself. I ached for her as she tried to deal with her broken heart and the hope that he would come after her.
At the end of her stay, it's time to meet up with her friends again for their trip home. Though I haven't read the first two books, I will because Hayley and Willow both showed up with extra baggage, and I want to know more. I loved the ending, as Finley makes an unexpected (to McKenzie) appearance. His big moment was sweet and romantic and just right for the two of them.
I liked the bits of Scottish history and descriptions of Skye that were part of the book. I haven't made it to Skye, but it certainly sounds intriguing. I also learned a fun new Scottish word - carnaptious - which means grumpy, bad-tempered, irritable. I can probably find a use for it somewhere...
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