I decided to read this as part of my annual spooky/spoopy pre-Halloween reading and I'm not sure it was the best fit. This is a "very horny" book, with a lot of sex, not as many ghosts as I was expecting, and only a couple scenes that were spooky (see content warnings).

However, readers looking for a historical romance set in post-WWI Scotland with some power play, opposites-attract vibes, plaid and tweed will find a lot to like here. There are road trip shenanigans and a very funny friend group, but it's not spooky.

One more note: I didn't realize this was first in a series following the same couple. I think it ends in a natural conclusion and stands alone well.

Content Warnings: mentions of war death, on-page flashback to war, one MC feels responsible for his brother's past death, one MC sexually harasses the other at the beginning

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review but ended up listening to it on audio via Hoopla.

Audio Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5

Great characters, great narration.

Best Laid Plaids is the first book I've read by Ella Stainton and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I started out reading this book but then I found a copy of the audiobook in my library's digital catalog so I decided to listen to it. I believe that it's also the first book I've listened to by Cornell Collins (although I do have others by him in my Audible library).

I want to start out by saying that I really loved what the author says after the dedication to her grandmother but before the actual text of the book starts. You can see it if you use the "look inside" feature available at some online book sellers.

The story was so good. It's an early 1900's historical with just a twist of paranormal – there are ghosts involved. But it really is just a love story between two men who constantly seem to fight their feelings for each other. They don't communicate all that well except when they are getting it on (if you know what I mean). Both of them have unresolved issues in their pasts that have caused them to feel tremendous guilt.

I loved the two main characters of Ainsley, who can hear ghosts, and Joachim who is out to prove that ghosts don't exist. The rich cast of secondary characters, including the ghosts, made this a very interesting story. It held my attention right from the beginning and I hated when real life intervened and I had to put it aside without finishing it in one go.

Cornell Collins did a fantastic job with his performance of the audio. He used voices for the various characters that were easy to understand and easy to distinguish who was speaking. I will definitely be listening to more of his work. I am also looking forward to reading the next book in this series, Where There's a Kilt, There's a Way, which should be available sometime in the first quarter of 2021.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

I enjoyed the characters and overall the writing as well. One thing that constantly threw me was the use of "the ginger". It's probably just a personal pet peeve but it just seemed to show up a ridiculous amount. A few more names and a bit less obsession with hair color might have helped XD

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.

Witty and poignant, and sexy as hell, Ella Stainton’s debut novel Best Laid Plaids is the most fun I’ve had in ages! With a racy courtship, several spectral family members, and a whole lot of Roaring 20s charm, Joachim and Ainsley explore some of Scotland’s haunted places, and find way more than just spooks and spirits along the way.

On a quest for research material for his PhD thesis, Joachim Cockburn heads out to investigate Ainsley Graham’s claim he can speak with ghosts. Widely regarded as eccentric, Ainsley is a respected author and folklorist, but his career as a university professor ended abruptly once he began inviting ghosts into his classroom.

The last thing Joachim expects when he arrives at Ainsley’s home is to be propositioned by a luscious hunk of Scottish goodness, fully decked out in a kilt. Joachim rebuffs the forthright come-on (after all, this is illegal in 1928!). But Ainsley is quite persistent and it doesn’t take long for Joachim’s resolve to crumble. Their dance of woo is flirty and sassy, and the fun is just getting started when these two find their way to the bedroom.

Ella Stainton writes a gorgeous love scene, and I adore what happens to these two men as their intimacy grows. Feeling free to explore their inner desires, aspects of their characters emerge to reveal a natural D/s connection. Joachim revels in dominating as thoroughly as Ainsley finds peace in submission, and the result is erotic and truly lovely.

These characters are so likable and real, and their idiosyncrasies add so much to enhance the story. I couldn’t help but adore them both, but my heart really went out to Joachim. Learning to cope with the physical handicap of his war injury is devastating, and he’s also battling loneliness and depression. A true romantic soul, Joachim has long since dismissed his dream of a lifelong companion. I found the emotions he shows while processing his intimate relationship with Ainsley to be very moving.

A captivating blend of ghost story and erotic romance, I couldn’t put this novel down for a minute. Ella Stainton’s writing style is thoroughly engaging, and the characters are complex and interesting. Ms. Stainton is truly outstanding when she brings out Ainsley’s Scots mannerisms and explores the depths of that sensual man whom Joachim hides under his buttoned-up façade.

I love historical romances where the characters find a way to be together, and Ainsley and Joachim do it one better in Best Laid Plaids. With the support of their family and friends, these two special guys can revel in their well-deserved happily ever after. Well, at least until their next adventure, Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way, which is anticipated for March, 2021. I can hardly wait for this Kilty Pleasures series to continue!

When I requested this book, I didn't know know how funny, sexy, and creepy this book would be! I loved all the paranormal aspects of it and how that tied into their steamy and explosive romance. Both main characters were awesome and funny and even the side characters were wonderful editions to the story. I definitely can't wait for the next book to come out!!

A highly enjoyable, funny and engrossing story that made me smile and root for the characters.
I loved the style of writing, the well thought characters and the well researched and vivid historical background.
I can't wait to read another book in this series.
It's highly enjoyable, strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Best Laid Plaids is the first book in a new series of historical romances set in 1920s Scotland by début author Ella Stainton. The blurb promised a romance between an eccentric former academic who trashed his career when he announced he could talk to ghosts and a war veteran turned PhD student who is writing his thesis on the power of delusional thinking, and a road-trip around Scotland’s lovely—and definitely, definitely haunted—landscape. It sounded like a winning combination. But perhaps my expectations were too high; I was hoping for creepiness and chills akin to those in The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal or Spectred Isle – but it was all pretty insipid with nary a fright in sight, and the opposites-attract romance is basically a book-long case of insta-lust with no real relationship development to go with it.

Joachim Cockburn (pronounced Coe-burn) is a psychologist preparing to write his PhD thesis on the manifestation of delusions in those otherwise accounted as sane. His friend and mentor Dr. Stuart Graham arranges for him to stay at his family home in Fifeshire, in order to spend some time with his brother Ainsley, “a certified genius with no sense of self-preservation, whatsoever”, who committed career suicide a couple of years earlier when he admitted he spoke to ghosts on a daily basis. Joachim is prepared to meet an eccentric; he doesn’t expect to be greeted by the most gorgeous young man he’s ever seen – or to be propositioned by him.

Ainsley is immediately taken with the big, braw man from Durham – and immediately mistaken as to his identity, believing him to be the man with whom his best friend Barley is infatuated. Barley has asked Ainsley to ascertain if the object of his affections is attracted to men and Ainsley sets about his task with gusto, until the penny drops and he realises he’s made a horrendous mistake. Fortunately, his visitor doesn’t run away screaming, and, the misunderstanding cleared up, they talk about why Joachim is there, and Ainsley offers to drive him to a few places legend says are haunted. Perhaps, if he takes Cockburn to see spirits that even sceptics can see, he’ll have to admit that Ainsley isn’t mad. After all, if he’s there to use Ainsley for his research, it’s only fair that Ainsley gets to use him back.

That’s the set up, and most of the events of the story take place over the next few days as Ainsley and Joachim embark upon their ghostly tour. They start in a medieval road buried under the city of Edinburgh, then move to a remote field where there’s a Thing In A Hedge whose “presence makes you feel as though you’re slipped inside an icy cold nog and you’ll never get out.” But just telling me that doesn’t make it so; I was waiting for something truly spooky to happen… and it didn’t. In fact, the only thing that happens on that night is Ainsley and Joachim getting it on in a tent. Which they then proceed to do at pretty much every opportunity – although no more tents are involved!

The characters themselves are quite charming, but as I write this review, I’m having trouble recalling what actually happens in this story. Ainsley and Joachim look for ghosts and have a lot of sex is the best I can come up with. Ainsley is handsome and mercurial, witty and winsome, with a penchant for tartan and bawdy jokes; he’s highly intelligent, earned his doctorate at twenty-four, and is a leading expert on British folklore. Joachim is his opposite, both physically and temperamentally, taciturn where Ainsley is talkative, circumspect where Ainsley is impulsive. Both men are struggling – Ainsley with guilt over the death of his brother and because he’s itching to get back to his research and writing, Joachim because he’s still grieving the loss of his wartime lover and despairs of ever finding that sort of connection again – and Ainsley is obviously more than ‘eccentric’; he has what we’d today recognise as ADHD and often has difficulty remaining focused and in the now.

But even though Joachim works out ways to help Ainsley with his concentration quite quickly, there is no sense of a real emotional connection between the pair. Reading the teaser chapter for book two, I see Ainsley and Joachim are the leads once again, so why rush them into bed (and so often)? A series allows time for an author to develop an actual relationship and for lots of lovely sexual tension; instead, we get sex scene after sex scene, each one stretched over two chapters (the author seems to think we have to read each one from both PoVs). It’s true that they both tell themselves that this is only a week-long fling, so I suppose one could argue they’re getting it while they can (!) But it’s still too much too soon. They don’t really talk until fairly late in the book – about the effect that the publication of Joachim’s thesis could have on Ainsley’s life and mental state, or the fact that they’re developing feelings for one another and don’t want things to end between them (and can’t admit it) – and I couldn’t help wishing that they’d stopped fucking long enough to have an actual substantive conversation.

There was one thing about the writing that drove me completely nuts. Ainsley – who is auburn-haired – is constantly referred to as “the/his ginger”. I’m not sure when the word “ginger” started to be used as a noun rather than an adjective, but I suspect it’s more recently than 1928. But historically accurate or not, it’s overused to a ridiculous degree. I also had issues with some of the terminology – Joachim isn’t at “school”, he’s at university – and we don’t “shift” when driving, we change gear. Then there’s the name Cockburn, which I’m guessing the author chose for comedy value despite knowing its correct pronunciation – but as it’s written down any potential joke falls flat and isn’t remotely funny.

Best Laid Plaids had great potential, but falls down in the execution. If you take out all the sex scenes, there might be enough material left over to fill a novella; the plot is sketchy to say the least, there aren’t many ghosts (and they’re not all that scary) and I wasn’t convinced there was much more than physical attraction between the leads until really, really late on. On the plus side, the characters are engaging and they make a good couple, their differences complementing one another – and when the ghosts do actually show up, they provide some really poignant and emotional moments.

As I said at the beginning, perhaps part of my disappointment with the book can be accounted for by too-high expectations. But that doesn’t excuse the focus on sex at the expense of relationship and plot or the writing quirks that should have been ironed out during the editing process.

I can’t quite recommend Best Laid Plaids, but I might read the next book to see if the author is able to develop her ideas and characters more successfully next time.

Grade: C+ / 3.5 stars

Oh my gosh this was amazing!
The chemistry, the ghost hunting, Scotland! What more can you ask for?
Seriously, pick this up!

Heat Factor: My glasses are foggy
Character Chemistry: These guys are totally adorable, made more so together
Plot: PhD student studying delusions motors around Scotland with a PhD who lost his position because he talks to ghosts
Overall: Got bored with the sex, but the relationship was ACES

This romance was totally snuggly and ADORABLE. Ainsley and Joaquim were perfectly complementary, and all the work that Stainton put into making that relationship click along was exquisite. So much so that when I sex started at 25% and then continued at 33% and then so on, I was feeling a good deal of “Get on with it already! You’re not being all sweet and perfect for each other while you’re boning!” I mean, they kind of were, but the emotional connection was grown over time much better than the sexual one, which was pretty instant, so there wasn’t a great deal of space for emotional growth with the sex. That said, if you like lots of steamy sex, you will not be disappointed. These guys know how to get down to business to their own mutual delights.

Po-tay-to / Po-tah-to

The construction of this book was interesting. Ainsley and Joaquim meet almost immediately, but the open is rather slow at first, and then Ainsley comes on to Joaquim super hard when they meet, which shocked me considering the way sodomy laws were used in Britain in the 20th century. I thought, “This has to be some kind of misunderstanding because this is a completely bonkers situation for a book that’s gotten such positive feedback so far.” It was. An opening with a misunderstanding that’s not central to the story and goes for that long is certainly a choice, but if you are interested enough to get to the other side of it, it does form a nice baseline for Ainsley and Joaquim to begin their relationship, since they’ve already established - by embarrassing accident - that they’re both gay and also find each other attractive. We don’t have to spend time tiptoeing around the sodomy laws issue.

Beyond that, it’s a histrom that isn’t really supposed to be a full-blown paranormal/fantasy romance but that also involves a lot of ghosts. Joaquim, a psych PhD candidate, meets Ainsley with the intention of figuring out why an otherwise well-respected academic would tank his career by spouting nonsense about being able to talk to ghosts. What Joaquim finds is that, while Ainsley might talk to ghosts, Joaquim can see and touch them. These interactions eventually become both humorous and poignant as the ghosts get closer and closer to the protagonists themselves.

With all this going on, my big question was, “How is Stainton going to resolve this so that these men 1. Actually live in the same city and 2. Are somehow able to be employed?” I’ll only say that she does manage it, and pretty well when all’s said and done.

So, to summarize: Yeah, yeah, you’re having all the smoking hot sexytimes, but please get on with it so I can watch you perfectly take care of each other, because that is some of the sweetest relationshipping I’ve read in a long time!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

This is the most absolutely honestly horny book I've read in a very long time. It was an absolute delight. Ainsley is so ridiculously horny it was great. I also appreciated how is ADHD was depicted. While I wish that the two of them spent a bit more time talking and less time fucking I greatly look forward to book 2!

This was a lot of fun and very sexy! The story takes place about ten years after WW1 has ended, and Joachim Cockburn, a veteran and PhD student, has journey to Scotland to talk with Ainsley Graham, a folklorist who claims ghosts are real. Joachim is trying to disprove Graham in order to complete his PhD, but things are complicated when Joachim realizes that ghosts are real and Graham is the kind of man he could easily fall in love with. What starts as a fling quickly becomes more, and the two men have to find the courage to be their true selves and proclaim their love to one another.
This book was much hotter than I thought it would be, and also a lot wittier. The cast of characters, including ghosts, are quite fun, and I'd recommend this for fans of KJ Charles.

This book truly is a kilty pleasure. Joachim goes to visit his friend's brother, Ainsley, so he can study his delusions for his PhD. Except Ainsley has never been one for appointments and confuses Joachim for a guy he was supposed to seduce. When Joachim shows himself to be open to flirtation, Ainsley decides to kill two birds with one stone and prove to Joachim(and everyone else) that he's not delusional while seducing him at the same time. Only its mostly Joachim that does the seducing and Ainsley soon realizes that he's actually happy now.

This was a rare historical novel that has high heat and lots of laughs. Usually historical settings can be somewhat depressing, and even though the aftermath of the Great War is still fresh in the minds of the characters, they are not bogged down in darkness. Instead they look forward to the future and spending their time happy. That attitude made me really enjoy this book, especially during these stressful times.

Another reason I loved this book is that Ainsley is too freaking adorable and after their first meeting Joachim already has him figured out. The antics and forgetfulness had me laughing and smiling. I highly recommend reading this awesome book and I can't wait to read more about their adventures.

Scotland, 1928

Joachim Cockburn is preparing to become a professor and his research involves studying people with delusions. A friend from the war connects Joachim with his brother, Dr. Ainsley Graham, a once-prominent academic who ruined his reputation by claiming he is able to speak to ghosts. Joachim figures talking to Ainsley and learning more about why he thinks he hears ghosts will be the last piece he needs for his thesis. So he travels north from England to Ainsley’s home in Scotland, hoping to learn more about the man. After the pair get past a rocky beginning, Ainsley offers to show Joachim around some of Scotland’s famously haunted sites. He figures this may be his chance to prove to Joachim that ghosts are real and to therefore regain his academic standing.

As the men travel around Scotland, they begin to act on their attraction to one another. In bed, they are more than compatible. But outside of it, neither man can admit to wanting more, and both are sure the other isn’t interested in anything aside from a fling. On top of that, Joachim is only there for a week and, living so far south, the chances he’d ever see Ainsley after he leaves are slim. Not to mention there is the matter of Joachim’s research. While he is able to see and hear the ghosts himself, admitting it would lead to his ruin. Joachim and Ainsley have fallen hard for one another, but so much lies in their way. Now they have to figure out if there is a chance for something lasting between them.

Best Laid Plaids is the debut work for author Ella Stainton and kicks off the Kilty Pleasures series. The standout for me in this book is the wonderful sense of time and place Stainton conveys. The book takes place in 1928 Scotland and, as the men travel the country, there are wonderful descriptions about the places they visit. Stainton really manages to make the country come to life, giving us great details without overwhelming the story. There is also a lovely sense of the time period woven in, with details on fashion, style, politics, and more. It was interesting to see the way the time period in Scotland had similarities and differences to that era in the U.S. So there is some really nice development here of setting that enhances the story quite nicely.

One of the things that really grabbed me from the blurb is the crux of the conflict between Ainsley and Joachim. Ainsley speaks to ghosts, and Joachim is studying delusional thinking. Joachim needs to show Ainsley is imagining the ghosts in order to finish the paper that will see him to his goal of becoming a psychology professor. So there is this built in conflict right from the start that I found really intriguing, particularly as the men moved to becoming friends and lovers. It doesn’t take long for Joachim to see the ghosts for himself, leaving him with this conflict between telling the truth and seeing himself as discredited as Ainsley, or pretending he doesn’t believe in ghosts and further harming the man he has come to care about. I think this worked for me in the early stages of the book, but there never ended up being the resulting sense of tension and conflict I was expecting from the set up. Joachim quickly sees ghosts and comes to accept they are real. While he notes that this is going to cause trouble for his paper, he pushes this concern aside for most of the book and doesn’t really think much about it. So it just made that potential tension really fizzle for me because it barely seems to register with Joachim. The issue does get raised again toward the end, but I felt like Stainton didn’t make nearly enough of this conflict that is at the root of the story.

I also found the world building a little confusing in the paranormal area. Presumably not everyone can see or hear ghosts, even at these well-known haunted sites. So what are the odds that Joachim just happens to be someone who not only can hear ghosts, but see them as well? (Ainsley can only hear them.) I also wanted to know why some ghosts appear as terrifying specters, while others look like regular people who hang around and chat and appear corporeal. I just felt like there was a lot of potential built into the paranormal side that just didn’t get enough development. That said, the ghostly sightings do add a nice element to the book, as several of the ghosts have connections to Ainsley and add an emotional element to the story that I enjoyed.

The main focus of the book is the relationship between Joachim and Ainsley and it is an interesting sort of opposites attract dynamic between them. I am not sure quite how to describe Ainsley, but I’ll say he reminded me of someone with severe ADHD. He can’t focus for long and often his mind ends up drifting off. He has trouble following a card game, for example, losing track of the rules and what he is doing because his focus wanders. He says whatever comes to mind and behaves outrageously, leaning in to his eccentric reputation. There is a nice dynamic here where Joachim figures out how to calm Ainsley, how to help him to focus and settle his mind. It gives Ainsley a peace and centering he really needs. For his part, Ainsley gives a bit of spice to Joachim’s more staid life. There is a fun juxtaposition between the wilder Ainsley and the more straight-laced Joachim, and they make for a really interesting couple. The men also burn up the sheets and the story is plenty sexy with Joachim a bit bossy in bed in a way that totally works for Ainsley. So there is a fun dynamic here I really enjoyed. (However, I’ll note that early on Ainsley pushes his flirting really hard with Joachim to the point that makes the other man really uncomfortable, which bothered me.) However, the place where I really struggled is the near constant miscommunication. All throughout the book, the men are misinterpreting or misunderstanding the other’s words or actions. It happens over and over (and over) again, to the point where I was frustrated as a reader. It isn’t even one big thing, but a series of things where at almost every turn, large or small, the men misread the situation and jump to the wrong conclusions, often ending up in bed together instead of talking.

I will also say that I felt like the story could have used some tightening up. The issue with Joachim believing in ghosts is settled fairly early, along with the attraction between the men. The book then moves into a more meandering storyline where the men are hanging out with friends, going to parties, etc. There is also a side thread where Ainsley gets involved with trying to seduce a man to see if he is gay (and therefore interested in Ainsley’s friend). So there are a bunch of scenes (as well as more miscommunication) focused on this side plot that really didn’t add anything to the main story for me. I just felt like things were sort of wandering in the second half and the book could have been a lot tighter and more focused. I’ll also note that the story uses both men’s first and last names, as well as nicknames, to refer to them at different points (and for the men to refer to each other) and, at times I had to focus to remember who was who.

Overall, I did enjoy this one, particularly the setting and the time period. Ainsley and Joachim are such interesting characters and Stainton does a great job developing the dynamic between them. It looks like the next book features them as leads once again, so I am interested to see what else is in store for them.

Folks. We've got queer love. 1920s Scotland (accents!). Ghosts. Only one bed. The classic denial: "oh it's just a fling, it doesn't mean any- oh shoot I have feelings." (Is there a better way of summarizing that trope?). Can it get any better?

Joachim, a WWI veteran, came to Scotland to observe Dr. Ainsley Graham as a case study for delusions for his final PhD paper for psychology. Ainsley, a renowned scholar, became infamous and shunned when he gave a lecture about how he can talk to ghosts. Now he's stuck with Joachim for a week going around the low lands of Scotland as he shows Joachim the various ghosts he knows and tries to prove he's not actually delusional.

The author Cat Sebastian said it best: "The sex to ghost ratio is about 1:1, which is not data I've ever thought to track before." This book is utterly delightful. It's sexy, it's humorous, it's endearing, and just a tad bit spooky. Joachim and Ainsley also make a competition (not really, but it feels like it) out of who can do the best job denying their true feelings. Watching those feelings slowly develop, grow stronger, and then wack both of them over the head was great fun. I love these two together and the way that they each make one another feel better, both physically and emotionally. I will cheer these two on any day of the week and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I'll just be here, sitting on my hands, patiently waiting for the next to drop on my lap :)

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book. Sometimes, historical books are written in such a way that it feels like modern characters were just transplanted into the past, but the time=and-place infuses every part of this story and the characters. Ainsley is absolutely adorable and quirky and I fell in love with him right off the bat. It took me a little longer to warm to Joachim, but his deprecating sense of humor won me over. Although the story was so largely based around the ghosts, they took a backseat to the romance (which is probably how it should be, given this is a romance, not a thriller). The only negatives for me were that the writing felt a little stilted to me at times, and there are a LOT of steamy scenes for a book of this length. The quality of the interactions during the scenes was high, but it was just a bit much for my personal taste. I'll definitely continue in the series.

The synopsis of this sold me. I was so looking forward to this m/m romance. Unfortunately once I began reading, my interest was not held. This was a slowly moving plot that was a chore to finish.

I will not be sharing my opinions in a review outside of NetGalley.

In this debut novel, set in post WWI England, Ella Stainton introduces us to two academicians, Ainsley and Joachim, who are different in nearly every way, yet are perfect for one another.

Joachim is a no nonsense middle class Englishman with a wry sense of humor and an imposing physique, but a rather tender heart. He still carries physical and emotional scars from his service in WWI. Joachim is working toward a doctorate in psychology, while resigning himself to the fact he will need to be careful and hid his queerness for the rest of his life once he achieves his goal. Joachim's final doctoral thesis is on "the manifestation of delusions in those otherwise accounted as sane."

Enter one brilliant, insanely gorgeous, gay Scotsman Ainsley Graham with what appears to be ADD, heir to a large estate and a scholar who "had annihilated his reputation as one of the Empire's most learned folklorists by publicly insisting that he chatted with ghosts. On a daily basis." He is also an exquisite ginger with a fondness for wearing plaid, and is "simply the most magnificent creature Joachim had ever encountered in his life."

Ainsley gives Joachim a driving tour of paranormal locations, and in between ghostbusting, Ainsley and Joachim indulge in deliciously explicit sex with more than a touch of dominance on Joachim's part. Ainsley simply does not do cuddling ... or emotion ... or relationships and feelings make his stomach ache and skin itch. So Joachim figures he needs to stay in charge so he can walk away unscathed since both men agree this is just a few nights of exquisite passion and nothing more.

So many things work so well in this story, and Stainton balances this incredibly sexual relationship and the feelings each man is trying to tamp down, and blends in with the paranormal explorations. Ainsley truly does talk to ghosts ..... but Joachim is able to also see them and some of the encounters with Ainsley's family members are so touching.

She also touches on the aftermath of WWI and grieving for all the young men who died in that war "with some notion that their sacrifice might mean something, not realizing it didn't when all was said and done."

Ella Stainton has hit it out of the ball park on this debut book, and I love her unique voice and solid writing talent. 5 stars.

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.

Best Laid Plaids is the first book in the Kilty Pleasures series by Ella Stainton and is currently scheduled for release on August 31 2020. In Scotland, 1928, Dr. Ainsley Graham is cultivating a reputation as an eccentric. Two years ago, he catastrophically ended his academic career by publicly claiming to talk to ghosts. When Joachim Cockburn, a WWI veteran studying the power of delusional thinking, arrives at his door, Ainsley quickly catalogs him as yet another tiresome Englishman determined to mock his life’s work. But Joachim is tenacious and open-hearted, and Ainsley’s intrigued despite himself. He agrees to motor his handsome new friend around to Scotland’s most unmistakable hauntings. If he can convince Joachim, Ainsley might be able to win back his good name and then some. He knows he’s not crazy-- he just needs someone else to know it, too. Joachim is one thesis away from realizing his dream of becoming a psychology professor, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, not even an enchanting ginger with a penchant for tartan and lewd jokes. But as the two travel across Scotland’s lovely-- and definitely, definitely haunted-- landscape, Joachim’s resolve starts to melt. And he’s beginning to think that an empty teaching post without the charming Dr. Graham would make a very poor consolation prize indeed.

Best Laid Plaids is a book that left me with mixed feelings. I really liked the set up, the characters, and much of how everything happened. I thought that Ainsley's character was very well done, and I liked how open and directly neuro diversity was handled. I was equally pleased with Joachim's character and the way he dealt with the aftermath of war and trying to figure out his future. I liked that consent was covered, and how honestly the mistakes, concerns, and fears the two of them had were dealt with. I liked the secondary characters as well, and think the balance of personalities was well done. However, for some reason this felt like a very slow read for me. I liked it, but was fully able to put the book down and delay getting back to it without feeling that drive to see what happened next. I am not sure what it was about the style that just did not capture me, because all of the actual story elements worked. It was something in the voice or writing style that I could not connect with, but I cannot put my finger on what it was. I did like the read, it just did not capture me the way I expected it to.

Best Laid Plaids is a solid romance with several layers to the love story. It had a number of great elements, but never grabbed my attention completely.