A Kilt for Christmas by Tricia O’Malley

A stand-alone Christmas novel set in the enchanting village of Loren Brae is the perfect addition to this Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

Legend has it that wishes made at the standing stones during Christmas come true.

As if.

Maisie Barron is over it. A small-town girl with big dreams, her frustrations lead her to make a silly wish at the standing stones outside Loren Brae. Little does she know, the magick found there will transform her wish into a catastrophic event that threatens the upcoming Christmas Book Festival.

Weston Smith needs a break. Burnt out from his tenure-track professorship, he decides that a holiday in little Loren Brae, Scotland, will be the perfect escape he needs to recharge his batteries. The last thing he expects is to find the woman he’s been waiting his whole life for. With the over-zealous help of a gaggle of elderly book club members, West finds himself on a real-life mission to woo the woman of his dreams.

There’s more than magic at play when sparks ignite. Snowed in, with an undeniable attraction brewing, only West and Maisie can save Loren Brae from the snowstorm of the century.

My Review

West is taking a winter vacation in Scotland to kill his burnout, but instead, his colleague has convinced him to travel to Loren Brae and enjoy the Winter Book Festival. The male voice is perfect in this story. Also love the start of the winter vibes. He likes books, maybe not Christmas and definitely not the winter weather. He is so grumpy. He is a lit professor in California. Loren Brae has abundant myths and legends that supposedly fascinate him. 

He meets Maisie at the tavern, where he gets roped into a quiz night. Of course, he meets the whole town with a lot of names. We do get Maisie pov, she is competitive and visits from a different village to help Sophie with the Book Festival. Of course, the theme is Scottish myths and legends. The quiz night leads to some rivalry as she gets jealous of West’s brain and the knowledge that she is slightly dumbfounded by West. However, the last question about the local legend is truly intriguing. 

The Christmas wish at the standing stones absolutely sounds amazing to his knowledgeable brain. Maisie doesn’t believe in magic or wishes coming true, as she has had some disappointments. The winner of quiz nights gets a sleigh ride. 

Despite West’s intriguing intelligence, she doesn’t do short relationships. Maisie is a writer, but also has trouble getting published. She does stumble upon the mythical standing stones and makes a wish, but not quite her heart’s desire, as she doesn’t really believe in it. She is such a bibliophile, and I love it. 

The romance in Scotland is wonderful, but he seems to find her perfect after the first kiss. Of course, as they chat, they encounter a ghost Highland cow, omg, the attack by the elderly book club is fantastic. 

He finds his dream girl in Maisie and is determined to woo her, but there are some distance issues with him being from California and her being in Scotland.  He is a total nerdy cinnamon roll. He is a lit professor and loves fairytales. Well, he is about to be in one. 

The magical castle, interconnections to other stories and their main characters and of course, all sorts of supernatural creatures. But I loved the game; they played, and it was so funny. West is serious about courting Maisie, but he is on a limited time schedule, and she is hesitant to accept any sort of nice gesture. 

Of course, the magical ghost coo ( cow ) seems to give them frights, but the kelpies, brownie also star in the story. Their kisses are getting heated. The book ladies’ sweatshirts and shirts are so funny; they make this book that much lighter. I love that West is so comical, at least with them. 

I love the snowed-in trope in this book,  and it is so true. But of course, the risk of the weather finally gets these two in closer encounters. The slow burn heats up with a hot tub in the snow and a lusty encounter. She finally realised he is hers.

But apparently that wasn’t the end.

Of course last break-up is unhappy, but her self-confidence issues really rear their ugly head. The story does end lovely with snow and the Hogmanay holiday. This was lovely to listen to while I worked, and the accents were easy to understand and hear on any device. I highly recommend this book on audio and in reading form.

If you would like to readA Kilt for Christmas by Tricia O’Malley you can find this wonderful holiday romance on Amazon. As an Amazon Assocaite I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this story you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Holiday Vacation, Snowed In and Found Family.