Some Like It Scot

Finished June 29

Some Like It Scot by Pepper Basham

This romantic comedy was a real page-turner for me. Katie Campbell is an award-winning travel writer. Besides writing for the travel magazine World on a Page, she also has a blog and podcast Where in the World is Miss Adventure. She gained the moniker Miss Adventure from the many mishaps she's had on her travel adventures. Dave, her boss at the magazine wants her to travel a bit less and begin editing and mentoring other writers. Katie is also close to her brother Brett and his wife Jess and their kids and talks to them frequently. She has a home base, the farm in North Carolina that she inherited from her grandparents. She also has a secret writing project that she hasn't told anyone but Brett and Jess about. 

Katie has just arrived on the Scottish island of Mull for a three-week assignment on a media introduction to a new specialty resort, where participants are immersed into Edwardian life through activities and dress, in an ancient Scottish estate. This is longer than her typical assignment, but since her grandfather came from Scotland she is interested to see the country. Soon after her arrival at Craighill, she has a mishap spill while trying to avoid a loose bird in the house. 

Graeme MacKerrow is a woodworker and carver whose family has just bought their ancestral home back after more than a century of not owning it. He is working on the restoration, but the family have leased it to the Lennoxes to fund their restoration. It is the Lennoxes who are running the immersive holiday that Katie is experiencing and writing about.

On a solitary excursion into the nearby village, Katie finds herself welcomed into Mirren's Books and the older women who make up the Stories and Stitches Book Club there. As she learns more about the area, thanks to the locals, she also finds herself enjoying many aspects of the Edwardian Experience. 

Graeme has sworn off women after a recent breakup, and the grieving he's done after the recent loss of his sister. He is focused on the estate's renovation, his family, and his carving business. When he finds himself repeatedly being drawn into Katie's activities, he finds himself partly resentful and partly fascinated. 

I enjoyed this romance, getting to know the two characters as we see both points of view. I also liked the depth of character in them. The inclusion of Scots dialect and Scottish/Gaelic terminology was well done and felt natural. A great read.