A HIGHLANDER'S HOPE by Terri Brisbin is a fourteenth century novella about a widowed man who ignores the women presented to him and travels to another clan to visit a woman he secretly admires. She's not wife material though; she's the village strumpet and midwife. Can there be any future for them? The narrow minded folk around would seem to think not. I really enjoyed this tale for its unusual heroine and easy raunchiness.

Find your way around remote Castle Gleanngealla in A HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS WAGER by Lecia Cornwall. When a sudden blizzard forces a prosperous maid and her grandmother with their escort to seek hospitality, the three unwed or widowed lairds staying at the castle cook up a misogynistic bet. Meggie feels more than uncomfortable under their predatory gaze and the lady of the household, Catriona, the laird's sister, is surprisingly unwelcoming. I have to admit, I was hoping the women would run off together and leave the men in the lurch. A good detail is how the cattle and horses had to be cared for in the worst weather.

Bronwen Evans gives us A SCOT FOR CHRISTMAS which sounds like the perfect present! A nineteenth century house party mixes lairds and ladies, each with their own targets. Emma has come up from London, at twenty-six considered on the shelf. Her brother hadn't expected her to attend and worries for her amidst the company; there is bound to be some bed-hopping. Emma does fancy a particular man, Dougray, but he is still in love with a ghost.

Lady Emma Spencer is, contrary to custom, travelling without her maid when she gets abandoned in a wood with a man who is hightailing it to Glasgow to stop his sister from marrying. LEFTOVER MISTLETOE by Lavinia Kent shows that Barran, nursing a war wound, is worrying about compromising the lady, yet has a soldier's survival skills and concentrates on keeping them alive in the cold.

SWEET HOME HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS by May McGoldrick similarly deals with the legacy of the Napoleonic Wars which includes orphans, widows and inheritance issues. Lady Freya Sutherland is going to have to marry, but if she marries the right man she can keep custody of her young niece Ella. Captain Pennington, waiting to escort her on her Scots journey, isn't sure the man she has in mind is a suitable match. I particularly like the characterisation and details of progress in this tale.

With all the fun and laughter in these adult romances you have every excuse to celebrate Hogmanay. CHRISTMAS IN KILTS looks like great value to me and I enjoyed every story from these accomplished authors.

Book Summary