MEN IN KILTS

Author: Katie MacAlister ISBN: 0451411137 10/2003 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: ONYX

She crossed the pond and lost her heart… What 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… More information about Katie and her books is available at http://www.katiemacalister.com/

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

OK. Let me just say before you read this that I don't do contemps. Well, unless they have some kind of vampire or time travel or other paranormal/gothic theme in them. Therefore, I probably should not have picked up this book but lets face it, the title, MEN IN KILTS, just did it for me. So did the book, well sort of.

Kathie Williams is a late thirties mystery writer and attends her first book conference in England. She doesn't know anyone and when she spies Iain MacLaren standing alone at one of the functions, she thinks he just might be a loner like her and maybe they can muddle through the conference together. When Iain opens his mouth, well, his Scottish accent and burly manner turn her to mush and its lust at first sight. Over the course of few days, Kathie and Iain find themselves at his home in Scotland and in a serious relationship.

There are so many obstacles for the two to overcome: ex-girlfriends, mean-spirited sons, and being strangers to each other, just to name a few. Despite all that, the two of them manage to have amazing sex and lots of laughs. I mean lots of laughs. Some of the conversations Kathie has with herself are so funny that I closed the book for minute to catch my breath. Besides the obstacles against them, there are plenty of hilarious characters, too. Kathie's Great Aunt is unbelievable. I mean truly out-of-this-world.

Well, as I said before, contemporary reads are not my thing, but I enjoyed this one enough to maybe try another one. But probably only Katie MacAlister's.

Shannon Johnson