My Scottish Summer

Rating:
Summary: A great Scottish collection of contemporary tales
Review: Courtesy of The Best Reviews

Lassie, Go Home by Connie Brockway
Toni Olson is an American woman in Scotland to bring home a Beautiful Border collie she bought in hopes to advance her own breeding program in the States. Devlin Montgomery is the owner, reluctant to sell his beloved dog. When Dev's overseer, Mr. MacGill, takes off with the dog, Toni and Dev must track him down. Along the way they find a lot more than and old man and a dog.... They find a love that just possibly may last a lifetime.

This was a cute story full of laughs and more than a little sexual tension between the primary characters. Ms. Brockway has drawn a fun tale, just the right length for a relaxing summer evening (or a cold winter night!) The end of the story was a bit different and fits the story's theme perfectly.

Sinfully Scottish by Patti Berg
Emily Sinclair is a national bestseller of cookbooks full of her own decadent desserts, set against stunning backdrops and passionate tales. Colin Dunbar is a reclusive Scot, famous for his family's unique recipes for whiskey. Emily and Colin make an intriguing wager, allowing her to photograph his castle for her next book and search for a secret, forcing them into living arrangements which generate far more heat than his strongest blend of whiskey.

This was quite a steamy story, the passion between the characters exploding off the pages. The heat radiating from this one is enough to burn the reader's fingers while turning the pages. A unique premise here, Ms. Berg has penned a delightful story.

The Maddening Highlander by Debra Dier
Ann Fitzpatrick is an archeology professor come to Scotland on a quest for treasure and a legend. Iain Matheson is something of a playboy, known as much for his adventures with the ladies as his advances in his film production company. The two team up to solve the mystery of some hidden family treasures. But they uncover a lot more than that... they find a hidden passion as well.

This was a classic theme, revolving around a common legend of the Highlands, but it still works. Nothing new in this one, but it was fun anyway. It is a lively tale just right for some light reading.

Castle in the Skye by Kathleen Givens
Maddie Breen is a New Yorker, working in a high profile career, who is desperate for some time off. She heads to Scotland for the birthday party of an old family friend. Here she meets Iain MacDonald who is restoring an old castle for her friends. The sparks are immediate and electric between them, igniting a passionate blaze. But will they overcome the hurdles to their once in a lifetime love?

This was probably the favorite story in this collection for this reviewer. Plenty of tension from the moment Iain and Maddie meet. There was even a good dose of intrigue, with a subplot involving the castle renovations.

All in all, a very fun book to read. The common theme of American women going to Scotland for some summer fun and finding true love in the process. There was plenty of passion in each story and a good dose of comedy as well. This is definitely a perfect book for a hot summer night...or a cold winter one that needs warming up.

Rating:
Summary: No great Scots
Review: Four romance novelists got together to write a short story that shows the beauty of Scotland. These stories involve clueless women who get their foot stuck somewhere and gets help out of their predicament by a long-haired highlander. At first they cannot stand each other and near the end of each story fall madly in love.

None of the four stories give a feeling about Scotland. It relies heavily on stereotypes and the lack of scenic pictures in the book does not help at all. One gets so upset with the female protagonists that the visual imagery of the their location gets lost in the text. One of the most poorly edited stories in this anthology is Connie Brockway's LASSIE GO HOME. Devlin Montgomery is helping American Toni Olson to find a kidnapped dog by giving her a ride on his motorcycle. Dev is physically attracted to Toni in her jeans and her seductive cowboy boots. One night they are staying in a room where they wind up playing strip poker. Toni has apparently lost her pants and is about to lose another hand. Devlin is staring at her thinking, 'If he won another hand, what would he ask her to shed - shirt or fantasy-inducing boot?' My question is the following, have you ever taken off your jeans while still wearing cowboy boots? It is near to impossible without having them removed first.

There are probably better stories that bring the essence of Scotland into their plot but this is not one of them. This book might seem like a good idea at the time but apparently too little time was given in the making of it.

Rating:
Summary: Funny, wonderful, sexy!
Review: I picked My Scottish Summer up because I'm a push-over for anything Scottish, but I didn't expect it to be so much fun. I always thought Connie Brockway did pretty serious stuff, but her story is hysterical (wait until you read the tee-shirt slogans, and when the heroine tries to look up his kilt...!) Patti Berg is always funny, and she didn't disappoint. I hadn't read the other two authors, but I'll try them now. So few anthologies have all four stories that are good -- this one succeeds.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable if not life changing
Review: If you want to think deeply, which most people don't when they settle down with a romance, this isn't the book for you, but if you want a light and pleasant journey to an idealized Scotland, you'll be happy with this book. The four stories are enjoyable, although I personally found "Sinfully Scottish," about a devilish and manipulative millionaire, much too fake and saccharine for my taste. My favorite was "Lassie, Go Home," which had a fun and spunky heroine. All of the stories have an American woman visiting Scotland, meeting a sexy Scot, and deciding to stay. It's a fantasy a lot of us enjoy, and who can beat the settings that always involve a castle? I don't think I'll be rereading these stories, but they were definitely a nice diversion, like a dip in a cool stream on a hot day.

Rating:
Summary: Decent compilation
Review: Novellas, or short novels, written for compilations are always a challenge for an author, since character and romantic development have to happen so much more quickly than in a novel.

This particular compilation is above average, with no bad stories pulling down the quality of generally average or above-average stories. All the writing was good, with appealing characters and, of course, the appeal of the Scottish personality and landscape.

"Lassie Go Home" by Connie Brockway is charming, with very charismatic characters and decent romantic development. There are some laugh-out-loud moments as well!

"Sinfully Scottish" by Patti Berg is good, as well. The erotic undertones are strong, with well-developed, charming characters. The romantic development wasn't as strong, though - a common characteristic of a novella. It was still better than most novellas, just due to atmosphere and good writing.

"The Maddening Highlander" by Debra Dier is another decent story. The writing is good, and the mystery a nice touch, but the characters seemed a little flat and stereotyped.

"Castle in the Skye" by Kathleen Givens is a nice story, with an especially good heroine and some strong supporting characters. The hero seems a bit too good to be true, but the relationship is well-developed.

All in all, this is an above-average compilation of stories with good Scottish atmosphere. While none of the stories stand out as especially good, it's consistent throughout, and an easy, enjoyable read.