Sandy M’s review of Tartan Two-Step (Trouble Wears Tartan, Book 1) by Grace Burrowes
Contemporary Romance published by Grace Burrowes Publishing 31 May 17

I don’t know where I’ve been, but I somehow missed this Trouble Wears Tartan trilogy by Grace Burrowes. So I’m starting now. I’ve been a huge fan of her contemporary romances since I read her Sweetest Kisses series, in which I absolutely loved the Knightley brothers. So you guessed right if you just thought I had the best time with this book.

Magnus is a Scottish distiller who’s in a bit of a spot when sabotage hits his upcoming whiskey batch. Everything will be lost, so he’s relying quite heavily on a trip to Montana USA to buy a distillery there that produces one heck of a whiskey. His plans go awry, however, once he meets Bridget MacDeaver, the genius behind that to-do-die-for whiskey. He finds he wants to help her as much as himself as he gets to know her. But it’s the woman herself who puts every obstacle in his way.

Bridget has to stand on her own when it comes to keeping the distillery in the family. Her three stepbrothers are all for getting rid of it to keep other parts of the family business afloat. She won’t have it, however. Then she has to contend with the new guy in town – terrific accent and all – wanting to buy the place out from under her. Good thing Bridget is one strong woman.

I really enjoyed these two together. As determined as each of them is, you can see the subtle changes in them as the story moves along, even when it’s all unbeknownst to them until much later in the story. I like that it’s Magnus who comes to that realization first, willing to do what it takes to make Bridget happy and keep them both in business. At times it seems she goes a bit too far when it comes to getting what she wants, but maybe that’s the woman in me who can’t resist a Scotsman no matter what. Bridget, of course, comes around to love and all that goes with it, not a minute too soon.

I so love Ms. Burrowes’ contemporary romances. Her voice in this subgenre works so much better for me than her historical voice, although I really like those stories a lot too. The fact that I learned a lot about whiskey making is a bonus, something you don’t read too often at all. And I enjoy the legal aspect of the story, being a former court reporter in California for nearly twenty-five years. I’m now going on to the next book and know I will like it just as much as this one. I’m so very happy Ms. Burrowes is publishing her contemps on her – I’d hate to miss them if some other publisher thought the books wouldn’t work for whatever crazy reason for romance readers.

Grade: A

Summary:

Scottish whisky distiller Magnus Brodie’s long-anticipated bicentennial batch of whisky has been sabotaged. His sole hope to prevent financial disaster? Buy the Logan brothers’ Montana distillery. It’s the only way to secure Bridget MacDeaver’s services as a “cask-whisperer.”

Bridget refuses to sell her grandpa’s distillery, even to save her brothers’ ranch. When an old enemy threatens, her only ally is the man who’s determined to steal her grandpa’s legacy—and her heart!

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: