Goldilox and the Three Weres: Review: A Highlander in a Pickup by Laura Trentham

A Highlander in a Pickup
(Highland, Georgia #2)
Laura Trentham
Release: February 25, 2020
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ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

A Highlander in a Pickup is the second book in award-winning author Laura Trentham's romantic comedy Highland Georgia series, full of love, laughs...and highlanders!

When a gorgeous new man—in a kilt—comes to town, life in Highland, Georgia will never be the same…

Iain Connors is the poster boy for the strong and silent type. Growing up a loner at Cairndow Castle in Scotland with only the cliffs and moors for company, it’s understood Iain will assume the mantle of Cairndow groundskeeper when his father is ready to relinquish it. But his stint in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces has opened up a whole new world—and now, rather than settle down, he accepts an invitation to travel to the States to take charge of the Highland Games. After all, he’s led men into battle, how hard can planning a party be?

Anna Maitland is ready to step up for her best friend Isabel Blackmoor, who can’t run the Games in their hometown this year. Surely Anna, a dance instructor with boundless energy, spirit, and charm, is up for the challenge? What she doesn’t anticipate is a man in a kilt who turns up claiming he’s the one in charge. What’s worse about this Iain? He’s so infuriatingly handsome that she can’t help but fantasize about him whispering sweet-nothings in her ear in his rumbly, sexy brogue. . .

Review:

I loved the first Highland, Georgia novel, A Highlander Walks Into a Bar, with its small town kitch and dueling accents. I was really looking forward to more fluffy Hallmark movie vibes from book two, but that's not exactly what I got.

However, I did love Anna. Her tendency to do everything herself and her ambition to do something more meaningful were incredibly relatable. Iain, on the other hand, was just okay for me. Also, it's a slow burn romance, which led to a very rushed ending. I would have liked to see an epilogue about Anna and Iain's future rather than one setting up Holt's book. I assume there will be room to check in on them in that book as well though.

What I loved most about A Highlander Walks Into a Bar was the over the top "themeyness" of the town of Highland. That's still there, but I didn't feel like I learned anything new in this second book in the series. The most prominent new location is the dance studio, which was certainly important to Anna's development but didn't build on the Scottish theme.

A Highlander in a Pickup is billed as a romcom and while it certainly does have its funny moments, I found it surprisingly introspective. Both main characters, Anna and Iain, are lonely but are so used to being that way that it's only when they recognize it in each other that they realize how lonely they've been. Even the main supporting character, Holt, who also featured prominently in the previous book, was profoundly lonely. I felt like I cried as much as I laughed when reading this one, which was unexpected. And not entirely welcome.

In short, I just didn't get the warm fuzzies from A Highlander in a Pickup that I did from book one. So while I enjoyed it, I was also a little bit disappointed.