Title: Men in Kilts

Author: Katie MacAlister

Publisher: Onyx 2003

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 352

Rating:   4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer Romance - Contemporary

So far, Kathie WIlliams has made a good show as the only American at a mystery writers' conference in Manchester, England--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...

Everything in the summary happens in the first 20 pages.  Based off of that, I thought I was going to hate this book.  I thought "that's it, just jump into bed with some guy.  We all do it (yeah right). And so as you get to the Highlands, everyone will love you and that'll be it."

Thankfully I was wrong.  The book really gets going after Kathie arrives in the Highlands.  Turns out Iain hasn't been completely forthcoming with his acquaintances and other details of life.  Not that he should have bared his soul that first night in Manchester, but it does make an interesting adventure for Kathie to find out all the details.

The characters are great.  Kathie is generally someone I would like except for those sobbing episodes.  I tend to get mad, not burst into tears when someone is mean to me.  Kathie is a crier.  Other than that little part of her personality, I love her.  She's got the sarcasm, the intelligence, the craftiness, to make her interesting.  Iain is all muscle and Scottish accent.  He's more eye candy than character, but surprisingly it didn't bother me that much.  Bridget is entertainingly evil and the housekeeper is irritatingly annoying.  Iain's first wife and Kathie's mom are like two peas in a pod.  Great little side characters.

Spoiler alert!!!

The book continues past the pont of the usual romance end: the wedding.  Thankfully we get to see a bit of life after the big day.  There are a few unanswered questions about the farm and various acquaintances.  There's also that bit about the sheep seasons.  I thought it was going to wear me down, but amazingly I loved that section of the book.  We get more than the usual romance, and I defiantly appreciated that!

Overall, a good light romance read with some nice not-so-graphic sex scenes.  A welcome change from my recent string of bad luck with tired romances full of tired plots and characters.