"Look out! Scotland will never be the same!"
Katie Macalister with her NOBLE INTENTIONS gave us
delights and out-right howls as she blithely waltzed her
way through regency England. In her second book, she
taught us romance with IMPROPER ENGLISH, a brilliantly
witty book with characters to live long in the imagination
and heart. Her third book found her once again in
Regency era, and she proved yet another time she has a way
with the clumsy heroine. Her fourth full book finds Katie
back in contemporaries, this time doing to the Scots what
she did to the Brits in IMPROPER ENGLISH. Another of
her 'first person' adventures that will have you laughing
till your sides are sore. Personally, I find writing in
1st person a pain,and I usually have a problem reading
them. It makes me feel like I am crawling around inside
someone's head. However, Katie Macalister is at home in
first person, a master at it, so she soon makes one forget
this 'immediate' narrative is not how everyone should do
it. Katie avoids all the 1st person pitfalls that make
the structure slightly claustrophobic with all the I, me
and my...she sparkles, intrigues and is just one of the
freshest voices to hit romance. So buckle up, for Katie gives you romance, love and the
whole damn thing - sheep included. She blows the lid of
the time honoured secret of what DOES a Scotsman wear
under the kilt? It is wildly comical, and fast becoming
Katie's trademark - she gives you the less than perfect
heroine. I find it so comfy her females are so very
human. Kathie Williams is a mystery writer in England for a
writers' conference. She is a bit overwhelmed by jet lag
and ends up sleeping through a big part of the first day -
unfortunately it is in the lobby! Not bad enough she naps
in public, she drools on her new silk blouse!
Embarrassed, Kathie is ready to crawl under the table and
hide ...but for one thing: Iain MacLaren. The handsome
Scotsman is also attending the conference. Sparks fly
between the two and suddenly, she believes in love at
first sight. Kathie falls desperately for the alpha Scot,
so she is delighted when Iain insists she come visit him
in Scotland after the conference ends. Wow what a storybook romance, right? You meet the man of
your dreams, he is to-die-for sexy, has a kilt and does
not mind you drooled on yourself in public! Wrong, as
Kathie soon finds out. Iain is divorced with two grown
sons. The first one hates her on site and thinks she is a
floozy. Luckily, the second one is more welcoming. But
then, waiting for them is Iain's neighbor, once upon a
time lover, and she is determined to break up the romance
in quick order. Despite a man less than forth coming about his true
feelings, a neighbor who wants to bury the hatchet - in
Kathie's head, a son-in-law to be from hell, and smelly
sheep, love finds a way. Then Kathie has to face a
Scottish wedding from Hell, with her domineering mother
and Iain's first wife making it the wedding event of the
year. Katie writes about Scotland with a true voice. Being a
Scot, I often have the cringe at some of the mistakes of
Yank writers when they use Scotland as a setting. She
keeps it true, right down to the sheep and the realities
of business side of it. I laughed, I cried. I don't think
it gets any better! Keep them coming, Katie! They are a
sparkling delight!
Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted September 30, 2003
She crossed the pond and lost her heart...
SummaryWhat do they wear under those things?
So far, Kathie Williams has made a good showing as the
only
American at a mystery writers' conference in Manchester—
what with that falling asleep in public thing behind her.
The sight of Iain MacLaren wakes her up. Clad in a
deliciously woolly sweater, the burly Scotsman seems to be
holding up a wall at the cocktail party. So Kathie makes
her move...and winds up stark naked with him in bed, where
his thick Scottish brogue, thick manly chest, and thick...
other parts...drive her to do things she's never
done
before. Like fall in love.
And if things aren't moving fast enough—and on the wrong
side of the road, no less—Kathie is about to visit Iain's
sheep farm in the Scottish Highlands and meet his sons.
She's feeling a wee bit nervous. Because she can't tell
where this mad affair is going—except north...
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