A couple hundred years ago my both sides of my family came to the U.S. from Scotland. Though there are some other things thrown into my gene pool and my mother insists that we’ve been here too long to be anything but American, when I think of my family’s history, I think of Scotland. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be here, proud (as corny as it may sound) to be an American – but there is just something about Scotland that has always called to me. When I was in high school my grandparents took me with them to Scotland. My dad’s dad travels there most every year and he, like me, hangs on to our Scottish past. We spent 2 weeks touring the Scottish highlands and it was amazing. There is something special about being there, I felt good there, right – and now I’m sounding a little crazy, so I’ll just say that I was in the mood for a book about Scotland and picked up this one.
A Man in a Kilt is cute. If you want to read a book that is focused on Scottish history I would suggest Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series – but if you are looking for a good time, this book works. Beth is an orphan living in New York City when she is told that she has inherited a castle in Scotland. If she lives there for 6 months then she will get to keep the castle and be given the money to run it.
When she gets to the castle and begins cleaning it and making it into a home for her and a Bed and Breakfast, she realizes that there is a ghost living in the castle with her; a ghost she is able to talk to. Duncan MacDougall is the laird of the castle and has been since the 1300’s when he was killed. One family, the Silerstein’s have been keeping watch over the property and waiting for the woman that would be able to right a past wrong and allow Duncan’s ghost to finally rest.
Beth, while on a boat returning to the castle during a storm almost drowns and is saved by Duncan’s ghost. When he realizes that she might die, he places his ring on her finger that sends Beth back to the time when he was alive. When she arrives in the past she remembers everything, but Duncan does not remember her.
The story of the two people learning to understand one another and come to terms with their relationship is entertaining. At times Beth annoyed me, she tends to cry a lot, but over all I liked her. Though this book isn’t one of my favorites, it gave me exactly what I was looking for – an entertaining read with Scotland as the backdrop.
Grade: C+
