Rory MacTaggart is the most uptight character I’ve read in a long time. He’s stuffy and inflexible and set in his ways and full of maddening idiosyncrasies but despite all of that, I liked him immediately. He is a man trapped inside of himself, always stuck in his own head. Every obstacle and trial in his life seems to be created in his head by his own neuroses so he’s a very sympathetic character. He’s so caught up in this emotional bubble he’s created that he either doesn’t realize or can’t admit to himself that he likes this woman, so he devises a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience arrangement in order to keep Emery in his life while preventing emotional intimacy.
The story is told completely from Rory’s POV and I struggled a bit with that, wishing for more insight from Emery. I didn’t realize it when I began reading Rory In A Kilt, but her side of the story is told in Scandalous In A Kilt, book 3 of the Hot Scots series. The Ballachulish Trilogy retells the tales of the three brothers MacTaggart from the men’s POV for an alternative take. That’s a fun concept and now I want to read the other so I can compare her POV to his. Emery is a sunny, outgoing free-spirit so the exact opposite of Rory. She’s committed to breaking him out of his self-imposed rut and helping him embrace life, but he’s resisting every step of the way.
Each time they find a good balance in the relationship, he seems to panic and pull away, doing his best to distance himself from her. There’s a bit of outside interference in their affair but every major obstacle in their way comes from Rory. I enjoyed watching him evolve, even if he frustrated me at times and his struggle was a bit painful to behold. This story is steamy and funny and it warmed my heart.
Rory In A Kilt on Amazon
Rory In A Kilt
by Anna Durand
The Ballachulish trilogy book 3
Published 2021
The Ballachulish trilogy book 3
Rory MacTaggart—uptight lawyer by day, steamy seducer by night.
One night in New Orleans changed my life. But is it for better or worse? The instant I see Emery Granger, I need to possess her. A one-night stand should’ve been the end of it. Except I can’t quite let her go yet.
A marriage of convenience is the best I can offer.
For reasons I can’t fathom, Emery agrees to marry me for money, knowing it will last only one year. She is the opposite of every woman I’ve ever known, and the opposite of me—cheerful, free-spirited, and compassionate. Maybe that’s why I need to have her, though I will never love her.
All I know for certain is that living by my rules might destroy us both.
Rory in a Kilt is the third and final book in The Ballachulish Trilogy, a brand-new series based on the first three books in the bestselling Hot Scots series, reborn and retold from the heroes’ perspectives.
