Synopsis:

A good man is hard to find.

Cilla Swanner has been jilted by her lover, and she is struggling with a jewelry business that’s far from sparkling. She needs a getaway someplace quiet and remote. Someplace like Dunroamin Castle in Scotland, where her aunt and uncle run a retirement home in the majestic Highlands. But what she finds there may be more than she can handle.

Or is it the other way around?

Centuries ago, the roguish Scots knight known as Hardwick was renowned for his swordmanship, both on and off the battlefield. But a traveling bard cursed him to wander the world forever, pleasing a different woman each night with no hope of fulfillment or true love. Then Hardwick meets Cilla, who may be his only chance for salvation.

My review:

It was funny, sweet and I loved all the quirky characters! It is the first time that I read a book by this author. I would definitely read more of her books. I love the ghost themed storyline. ( )

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Nov08

What could be better than a story about a handsome, braw highlander? A story about a handsome, sexy, ghost highlander, that’s what. Allie Mackay’s “Tall, Dark, and Kilted” is her third foray into the Scottish highlands and the ghosties that live there. And it’s all to our benefit that her highland ghosts just happen to be male, gorgeous, and waiting for that special someone.

Cilla is thrilled to finally be in Scotland. Even if it took being jilted by her fiancé and having her business fail. She’s just lucky that her aunt married a highlander and they’re willing to have her spend the summer with them. Their estate, Dunroamin Castle is a registered care home and its residents quickly appear able to provide both amusement and lots of stories about the Scotland’s past. It’s just too bad her uncle swears there’s no such thing as ghosts—especially in his castle. So the incredibly sexy kilted highlander she keeps seeing must just be the result of jetlag. Too bad, since his hot gaze turns her legs to butter and makes her skin tingle.

Sir Hardwick of Seagrave is tired of his existence. For the last 700 years he’s ‘lived’ under a curse—to roam the world forever and ‘please’ a different woman each night, but never find love. True to the rogue he was, he found his curse exciting for the first 50 years or so, but now he’s just weary. So he made a deal with the Dark One…his curse will be lifted and he will have eternal rest IF he can go a year and a day without being aroused. Deal struck, he heads to the place of his choosing to wait out his time. After all, there’s nobody young enough to catch his fancy at Dunroamin Castle. Uh oh, me thinks there might be a wee bit of a problem now.

Now how good of a writer do you have to be to make actually like a character who was such a rogue he was struck with a curse like that? I really liked Hardwick. Yes he was a dog, but even HE eventually figures out what’s important. And don’t we all just love to see the hard core rakes fall? His efforts to thwart the curse had me laughing and his eventual willingness to sacrifice for the woman he loved had me sighing. And Cilla was an interesting woman who proved willing to fight for her man. I enjoyed both characters and thought their actions and motivations were well done. My only complaint is that as hot as their attraction was, and as much as they were willing to give up for each other…their relationship just didn’t tug at my emotions. Maybe it was the whole ghost thing, but they just didn’t spend enough time talking about their relationship and problems. At least that’s how it felt to me.

The setting for the story was wonderful. The beauty and magic of the highlands comes through loud and clear in Mackay’s writing. I also enjoyed the secondary characters, and there were definitely some ‘characters’, included in this story. From crotchety old women to blustering Scots to randy ghosts, Mackay’s cast was the ideal accompaniment to this tale. And for a story whose plot requires a lack of actual consummation for most of the book, the heat level was still pretty high throughout.

I’m glad I read “Tall, Dark, and Kilted”. I’ve read her other two paranormals and enjoyed them a bit better than this one, but I’ll still be waiting for her next ghost story even though it doesn’t release until Feb 2010. Until then, I’ll have to be satisfied with the historicals she writes under the name Sue-Ellen Welfonder. ( )