Tricia O'Malley

Wild Scottish Beauty by Tricia O’Malley
The Enchanted Highlands series #5. Contemporary paranormal romance. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series.
Willow Barlowe wants to be a designer and support herself. She wants out from under the controlling hands of her brother Miles. Willow accepts a job offer in the small town of Loren Brae, Scotland, that’s sound perfect. When she finds out that she’ll be working for Ramsay McMillan, she’s crushed, thinking it was all prearranged since Ramsay is a friend of her brothers. What’s worse, Ramsay doesn’t want her working for him.
But the town has a bit of a supernatural side, and Willow moving to Loren Brae is more fortuitous than expected. Maybe she’ll actually act on that crush she had for Ramsay all those years ago.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook copy of this book, narrated by Amy Landon and Will Watt, who do the full series. The two play off each other beautifully. Each does their own POV with voices for the alternate when needed. Ramsay lives in Scotland and has a heavy Scottish accent. Willow is from the States and has a mid west U.S. accent. I did have to slow down the speed a bit to 1.3 since the Scottish accent was heavy and not something I’m used to hearing. My usual is around 1.5. Great quality with no noticeable editing issues.
The performance is entertaining and amusing. A great way to read this story. You can’t hear hear the accents when reading it yourself so highly recommend an audiobook version for this series.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Lovewrite.… (meer)

Wild Scottish Rose by Tricia O’Malley
The Enchanted Highlands series #4. Magical Scottish romance. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series. World building flows through all the books as do a few of the characters.
Shona Scott has had enough of supplying flowers for weddings and decides to renovate a cottage on her property to earn money. Her first rental is to Owen Williams who is investigating his friend’s story of water horses that dragged him under the loch. Owen is a filmmaker and determined to catch anything unusual in Loren Brae.
When a garden gnome starts talking to Shona, her life takes a turn to the magical. And while she can’t control what magical beings show themselves to Owen, she does know those creatures cannot be shared with the world.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook version of this story, narrated by Amy Landon and Will Watt who do the full series. Both narrators bring an enthusiasm to the story that draws the reader in to the Scotland Highlands with “coo” other magical creatures. The performance includes characters with a Scottish accent as well as from the States. I did have to slow down a bit from my preferred speed to understand some of the Scottish dialog. It was a wonderful and entertaining performance with clear emphasis on emotions and the magical.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher.… (meer)

This is the perfect, beachy, feel-good read! Tricia O’Malley is a new author to me, and the Siren Islands new as well. This is the story of Samantha Jameson, a 38 year old exec in the States who is taking a much needed vacation after failing to be promoted. Whilst there, she finds love, paradise, and of course, magic.

I truly enjoyed reading about the setting (I so miss being in warm weather at this time of year!), about Irma, Mirra and Jolie, and our protagonist, Sam. She felt so relatable to me - disapproving and controlling family, walls erected around her, giving her life to a company that doesn’t care about her. The scenes were beautifully described and I could imagine myself in the Laughing Mermaid, and on the beach, overlooking clear, calm waters.

The twist comes at a little after the halfway point, but you see it in all its glory at the end.

The only thing I wasn’t sold on was the male protag, Lucas. I didn’t buy that he really loved Sam - he came off as quite controlling, telling her how she was supposed to feel and what’s best for her, determined to “save” her, becoming upset that she didn’t want to just move to be with him after 3 weeks. It was just…done in a way that makes it seem romantic (I know from experience).

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading the others in the series!… (meer)