The Billionaire and the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, part 9,342

Harrison Troy, billionaire in a start-up trying to get to Mars (oh, boy), is dreading going home this summer to help out with the family travel business. His family is eccentric, and though the family’s tours are now popular (thanks to that book), the ancestral castle needs a lot of repairs and is possibly a hazard.

Nicole Sullivan, on the other hand, can’t wait to start her new life across the pond. She’s just broken up with her latest unworthy boyfriend and needs the change of pace. Her plan is simple:

• Relocate to Europe
• ???
• Profit!

When Harrison’s assistant quits just as he touches down in the United Kingdom, he latches on to the perky, pushy gal with the not-at-all thought-out plan from the plane. He needs an assistant, she needs a job, and away we go.

There are so, so many tropes deployed in this book. Nicole accidentally stumbles into Harrison’s room the first night and his eccentric family mistake her for a prostitute/fiancee and they decide to go with it because it’ll make life easier. The residents of Stars Hollow the village have a running bet on how long this assistant will last (Harrison is hard on assistants, you see). Harrison is a grump with a heart of gold, Nicole is the free-spirit he never knew he needed. Unhinged Grandmother is also secretly wily and knows what Harrison needs even when he doesn’t.

This wasn’t a bad book, but I didn’t find it to be much fun. I was terribly annoyed by Nicole from her first appearance. She’s a hyper-competent assistant, but her kind of quirky energy is kind of exhausting. I don’t think I was supposed to side with Harrison’s annoyance with her in the early chapters, but I absolutely rooted for him to fire her.

Harrison’s non-stop exasperation with that book was equally annoying. Look, Harry, I hated Outlander, too, but you’re a businessman. SUCK IT UP, BUTTERCUP, and put on the kilt. No one cares about your disdain, dude.

Scotland or Bust is the third book in the Winning the Billionaire series by Kira Archer. I reviewed the first book in the series last year, and it was very average. This is more of the same. It’s not a bad way to spend $3, but I can’t see myself reaching for it ever again.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley in order to facilitate this review.