Meet Me in Scotland
Kilts & Quilts #2
By Patience Griffin
ISBN# 0451468309
Author’s Website: www.patiencegriffin.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Synopsis:
You can run from your problems, but you can’t hide from love in the Scottish seaside town of Gandiegow…
When a video of her calling happily ever after “a foolish fantasy” goes viral, marriage therapist Emma Castle is out of a job—and off to Scotland. The tiny town of Gandiegow is the perfect place to ride out the media storm and to catch up with her childhood friend Claire. But also in Gandiegow is the one man she hoped never to see again.
She’s successfully avoided Gabriel MacGregor since Claire and Dominic’s wedding, only to find he’s now the village doctor—and just as tall, dark, and devilish as ever. Claire and Dominic’s blissful marriage, however, is not what it used to be. Soon Emma and Gabriel find themselves taking sides even as the sparks begin to fly between them. Can Emma help her friends—or regain her career—as she struggles with her own happily ever after?
Review:
I felt empathy for Emma at the get go, making the career blunder she made, which led her to run away from her life as a marriage therapist. This empathetic pull is what got me interested in the story. However, right off the bat we see that Emma has a chip on her shoulder regarding what happened a decade ago with Gabriel. All I have to say is…Let it go Emma, let it go! And as time passes, Emma does.
Gabriel is portrayed as one hot Scottish rogue turned doctor! And he is definitely depicted as swoon worthy. When I read his dialogue I can hear the Scottish brogue in his voice (okay…so I have a vivid imagination). So sexy!
Poor Emma, as time passes how can she not help but start to think about Gabriel?
“Proper English ladies do not drool over handsome Scottish rogues.”
I think from this point on, it is a lost cause. No matter how hard Emma tries to resist, and for that matter no matter how hard Gabriel tries to resist, they are intrigued enough by each other that the attraction will win out. And with the town folk up to something…..well, the reader will need to discover this for themselves but I imagine this is the way of town folk of small, seaboard villages in Scotland. Meddlesome but well meaning.
As life continues on in Gandiegow, as Emma is convalescing as a result of a sprained ankle (yes….she needs boots!) one evening while the good doctor is looking after her, even to the point of sleeping in the same room, she thinks:
“How in bloody hell am I supposed to get any sleep tonight with the sexiest man in Scotland not six feet away? All toasty in his bed…in matching pajama bottoms. Oh, gads!”
All I have to say to that is….I totally agree! How could one relax with such a hunk of a Scotsman in the same room?
And lest we forget….Gabriel is certainly smitten with Emma as well….
“Maybe he would have to face the truth. His resolve meant nothing when it came to her. He could believe himself a big, strapping Scot all he wanted, but the truth was, whenever she was near, he was a pussy-whipped laddie. And she didn’t even know how she affected him.”
I chuckled when Gabriel thought the following –
“For the luvagod, how many different, good-smelling shampoos does she own?”
All Gabriel has ever professed to want in a simple Scottish lassie to wed and produce his bairn, but from the looks of things, that will most likely not happen. He unknowingly falls for Emma….against his rather loud declarations to the contrary.
I enjoyed the storyline of Claire and Dominic. They are having difficulties in their seemingly perfect marriage. And Claire is happy to see Emma as she needs the moral support. Claire wants a child NOW and Dominic wants to wait. As can be predicted, the reasoning is not evident to begin with, but the journey to discover the true reasons is filled with fun filled events. At one point, the townsfolk take Claire’s side…so what did she tell them about Dominic to garner their support and subsequent shunning of Dominic. And then Dominic becomes a hero to the new mothers in town, so then Claire feels baffled.
Delving into the relationship between Emma and her parents certainly explains a lot about why Emma professes to NOT believe in love, marriage, etc. I truly had empathy for Emma and what she must have gone through as a child. Luckily with the help of a good doctor (Gabriel…and the pun was intended), Emma is finally able to speak her own mind and break free of her odd parents. The hoops they try and get Emma to jump through lead to some interesting reading.
I loved the evolution of a new Emma, finally taking control of her life. When she finally comes clean with Claire, Dominic, her parents and last but not least, Gabriel – a huge sigh of relief came out of this reader, knowing that Emma could then truly begin the life she is entitled to. I also liked her finally realizing that boots are perfectly fine to wear!
This second book in the Kilts & Quilts series is a good read and one that will precipitate my reading the first in the series as well as any subsequent books in the series.
