Book 746: Best Laid Plaids (Kilty Pleasures #1) – Ella Stainton

If you don’t know this about me, I very much enjoy a pun. Unexpected, unplanned puns are the best, but any pun will do. So when Ella Stainton reached out to me about her debut novel, a book set in Scotland titled Best Laid Plaids as part of the Kilty Pleasures series, I of course said yes.* And then, when I finished it and saw the title of book two, Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way, clearly I was in pun heaven.

For a debut MM romance novel, it was pretty good. There were definitely some parts that could use some work, but overall, I enjoyed the read.

To be completely honest, I was very concerned when Stainton reached out to me and said this was a paranormal romance. I was originally thinking more like Twilight where the romance was happening between different species (is that what it is?), but thankfully it was more the romance happens in a world where the paranormal exists and is acknowledged.

Ainsley’s tanked his career by announcing to the world that he could talk to ghosts and Joachim is a PhD candidate finishing his research on the mentally unstable. Joachim’s friend/advisor recommends he spends time with Ainsley, his brother, to help finish out his thesis. As part of this they get to know each other, and Joachim finds that he can see ghosts and they develop a relationship.

The back of Ainsley’s skull would be tender and bruised. The ground was rough. And he was ready for it to be over and wanted it to last for the next seven years in equal fucking measure. Not that he was in control of any of it, which was . . . fucking glorious. (Chapter 10)

For the most part the story was okay, but it was carried by the very heated sex scenes. The dialogue (especially Ainsley’s internal dialogue) was, for the most part, throwaway. I was interested in the Ainsley’s personal history but felt like it was such a light touch that even though we got a good amount and it was resolved I just wanted more. The same thing goes for the setting. I’m not saying every story set in Scotland needs to have Scotland be a major character in the, but it’s a missed opportunity. Rather than Scotland play a role, it was more Ainsley’s Scottish-ness that played a role (which is legit if you’ve ever met a Scottish person), but the wild beauty didn’t really come across for me.

The conflict of the novel was a pretty standard lack of communication between men. From Joachim’s super sentimentality and Ainsley’s obtuse affect, it’s no wonder they talked at and around each other rather than to each other. That being said you did get some wonderfully adorable moments and attempts at romance like these two:

“Er, would you bring Violet up here when you get back?” But there was a hint of the same tone in Ainsley’s voice, wasn’t there? Or was that wishful thinking?
“I can.”
Um, and if you wished to, you could come to this room. To sleep?” Ainsley laughed. “That’s me being a fool when there’s an enormous bed waiting for you in the other room.”
“I’ll come back,” Joachim said, fighting the grin that unfurled over his face.” (Chapter 17)

Joachim put on I Want to be Loved by You before he lost his nerve, but Ainsley’s lack of reaction testified that even sledgehammer-strength innuendos were lost on the younger man. (Chapter 25)

And to be honest, the aww factor of these scenes and a couple of others (especially Jaochim’s previous relationship) were the perfect mix of saccharine sighing and wanting to puke.

I’m not sure where I weigh in on the inclusion of mental health matters. I felt Stainton did a great job of writing about them and using terminology of the time (I’m assuming) to describe ADHD, PTSD, and depression, but it goes back to the general question I ask myself do I want to read characters that face these type of challenges or do I want to read characters that have a certain perfection. It’s a personal choice and for this one I wasn’t sure either way. Ainsley’s condition detracted a little from the story because at times it was hard to follow his narrative, but in a way, it added to the story and as I got used to it the drawbacks lessened. I can tell you, having read this one it’ll be a lot easier to read the next one in the series because I already know Ainsley’s quirks.

The biggest critique I have by far is Stainton’s shifting between names of the characters. For the first two chapters I struggled to figure out who was who even though there were only three characters introduced (the two protagonists and a butler). At least two others were named in passing, but really it was just the protagonists. Stainton went back and forth between using their first names, their last names, and their titles which caused me SO MUCH CONFUSION. If I would’ve been reading a physical copy I probably would’ve written: Dr. Ainsley Graham and Joachim Cockburn on my bookmark because of how often she switched how they were referred to. And I’m not talking about intimate moments using a first name I’m talking all four names and an occasional nickname used within a very short time frame like this, much later in the book:

A torch shone on the and a few feet ahead. “I wondered if you had a problem with my new aftershave tonic.” There was a laugh in Joachim’s voice. He walked to Ainsley.
“Sit up.” He did.
He was about to stand and search for a way to apologize, but Cockburn sat behind him, legs around his hips and arms tight around his chest.
“You’re freezing, Dr. Graham.” But it was casual, no reproach. (Chapter 20)

I get that you can’t just use “he” all the time, but when the book was first starting out reading sentences like this was incredibly confusing and difficult.

Recommendation: Overall, for a debut novel this is pretty good. I enjoyed the story and the characters and am interested in their journey moving forward. I’m also interested in Stainton’s writing and seeing how it develops over the next novel or two. There were definitely some struggle points like the sex scenes doing the heavy lifting and the confusion around who is who with the multiple names used in short order, but in general it was an enjoyable read in a different realm of MM romance than I usually read.

*After the author reached out to me, I requested a copy of Best Laid Plaids from the publisher via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “Joachim kept a brisk place up the interminably long path to Rosethorne House, no matter that his ankle might give out before he got there.”

Closing Line: “My dear Dr. Graham, let’s misbehave.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)