Best Laid Plaids

July 1, 2020

DEBUT After ruining his academic standing by declaring he talks to ghosts, Dr. Ainsley Graham secludes himself on his family's estate in Scotland. Joachim Cockburn, a disabled veteran of World War I, is set to obtain a professorship in psychology. To help Joachim complete his research, his friend Stuart Graham asks Ainsley to guide Joachim on a tour of haunted locations around Scotland. Initially a skeptic, Joachim discovers he can commune with the apparitions as well. Joachim's steadiness helps balance Ainsley's manic episodes, and their affinity leads to a love affair. Ainsley must decide if he can trust Joachim not to malign his reputation further, while Joachim must choose between admitting to his beliefs, thereby destroying his academic prospects, or denying them to obtain his professorship, thereby wrecking his relationship with Ainsley. VERDICT Debut author Stainton pairs a physically strong but wounded veteran with an emotionally vulnerable scholar, and their many erotic moments are offset by humor, sorrow, and the supernatural, making this a wickedly good start to the "Kilty Pleasures" series.--Eve Stano, Ball State Univ. Muncie, IN

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 20, 2020
Debut author Stainton kicks off her Kilty Pleasures series with this unique, thoughtful gay romance set in 1920s Scotland. Academic Ainsley Graham falls into disgrace after he says he’s able to hear voices that speak to him from the beyond. Psychologist and WWI veteran Joachim Cockburn arrives at Ainsley’s elegant manor to, as he says, “get a clue about the workings of Graham’s mental instability.” Trouble is, when Joachim arrives, he manifests his own previously unknown talent for clairvoyance (after, amusingly, first being mistaken for a gigolo). Though Joachim fights his attraction to Ainsley, their undeniable chemistry draws the men together as Ainsley works to convince Joachim of the supernatural by taking him on a tour of Scotland’s most haunted sites. Stainton admirably tackles heavy psychological subjects head on—among them anxiety, depression, and survivor’s guilt—but stays true to the time in which her book is set, leading to outdated language and attitudes that will earn the approval of historically minded readers, but may turn off the more sensitive. The lively prose and unusual plot charm, and a solid cast of supporting characters (both alive and dead) bolster the tale. Stainton is sure to win plenty of fans. Agent: Jennifer Grimaldi, Chalberg & Sussman.