I had higher hopes for this book after reading the description but the pacing was a bit slow at times, the romance fell flat and it took a big chunk of the book before I even started to like one of the MC's.

The book flips between alternate POV's and it kept changing whether the MC's were referred to by their first or last names (in the same paragraph) which threw me off a bit. Ainsley is a very hard character to like in the beginning - in fact I didn't like him at all. He comes across as arrogant, entitled and a bit predatory in his sexual pursuit of Joachim. So I settled in hoping for an enemies to lovers story. Unfortunately that didn't pan out and the two start having sex very early on and with no real lead up - which given the historical time setting was very hard to believe. The relationship never evolved for me to anything more than sex and I didn't feel the romance nor did I buy into deeper feelings between the two.

What I did very much enjoy were the paranormal "ghost" aspects and Joachim's struggle on what to do once he discovered that Ainsley really did see ghosts. Destroy his own career or continue to hurt Ainsley by not admitting the truth. I liked the way the author worked through that and handled the final outcome.

J'avais été séduite par la première phrase d'accroche de ce roman !

Il me tardait donc de découvrir cette histoire avec en toile de fond des fantômes et un paysage et ambiance écossaise et de me plonger dans cette romance historique.

J'ai trouvé l'histoire sympathique. J'ai cependant eu du mal avec le style d'écriture. La première rencontre entre les deux personnages m'a laissé une étrange impression et de fait j'ai eu du mal à vraiment me « connecter » avec Ainsley et Joachim. J'ai finalement réussi à m'attacher un peu à eux bien plus tard...

Leur couple est plutôt touchant. Je ne m'attendais pas à ce qu'il y ait autant de scènes intimes, je trouvais que cela alourdissait le récit et ne me permettait pas forcément de me rendre compte de leur alchimie. Je pense qu'il m'a manqué plus de profondeur, j'ai eu l'impression de ne pas avoir vu réellement la construction de leur couple.

Dans l'ensemble, j'ai passé un moment sympathique de lecture, mais je pense vraiment l'avoir lu au mauvais moment, je pense que je l'aurais sans doute plus apprécié...Il faut dire aussi que j'ai repris ma lecture trois fois, ce qui n'a pas du aider. Il faudrait que je lui relaisse une autre chose, qui sait ^^
(3,25/5)

I never connected with this book.

Ainsley was, quite frankly, rapey in the beginning. He didn’t take no or the strong implication of no from Joachim at all. And then, suddenly, Joachim likes him so they have sex. A lot. But the sex didn’t move their relationship forward. And then Joachim became bossy in bed and Ainsley loved it but I didn’t get it?

I really wanted to like this.

I DNF'd this one at 26%

I was so looking forward to this book, a road trip checking out places with ghosts and set in historical Scotland just sounded awesome. But once I started this book I already felt like this wasn't the book I expected. I was hoping to find another book similar to Allie Therin's series, this was the same genre paranormal historical romance and I haven't read as many books in that genre yet, so I think I subconsciously compared it to the one series I loved in that genre. This book was quite different.

Something about the writing style didn't quite connect with me from the start and when by 26% they fell in bed together with barely any build-up I figured this probably wasn't the book for me, after reading some reviews for this book I decided to DNF it as I don't think this is the book for me.

I had hoped for more focus on the paranormal aspect, the set-up was quite interesting with them going on a ghost hunt in Scotland, but so far there isn't much of it. I liked Joachim so far, except for his horrible surname that's the but of many jokes already. He seemed like a reasonable guy and I was curious to see how he would react to the ghosts. Ainsley was a lot harder to like or find relatable, his way of thinking and thought process is so different from mine it was hard to connect. I did find it impressive how well the author made both guys their point of view sound so differently. I didn't like how Ainsley handled the first scene with Joachim, basically throwing himself on his lap. They have mutual attraction, but the way that turned into the first sex scene just felt a bit of to me. I guess I had hoped for more of a slow burn.

I guess I just didn't connect with this, the focus early on seemed to be on sex and lust instead of romance and I didn't like Ainsley's behavior at times. I just don't think this is a book for me sadly.

I thoroughly enjoyed this between-the-wars Scottish ghost story, involving two MCs who seem profoundly different on the surface, but who are meant for each other.

Ainsley's ability to hear ghosts and Joachim's ability to see (& hear) them is the way they eventually bond, but before that, there's instant mutual attraction, a case of mistaken identity which is both awkward and hilarious, and a doctoral thesis that must be proved correct!

Along the way, involving many variations of kilt-wear, a road trip in a fashionable motor car and so many twisty ghost stories, there's also a powerful romance building with much hot sexy fun times.

What's clever about this book is the way Ainsley's character is written. The voices he hears has a significant impact on his behaviour. His brain refuses to focus on one thing for too long, and its attempts to keep Ainsley from going mad is beautifully written and explored. Joachim's presence grounds him, keeps him centered and eventually provides him with validation that he isn't going crazy. It's a wonderful coming together of like-minded people who really want to protect the other from any harm.

But also, sexy hot fun times!

There's a misunderstanding of course, and this time, it actually lasts a long while. This is authentic, given their circumstances, and it makes the final chapters all the more satisfying.

Keen to read the next one. Whose story will it be? Thanks to Carina Press and Netgalley for advanced copy. Best Laid Plaids is out on August 31.

It’s hard to believe that this is a debut book by the author - it’s a hilarious M/M historical romance with such smexy times as well a hint of paranormal activity that will have you intrigued with the plotline until the end.

Dr. Ainsley’s reputation is in tatters because he never his the fact that he talks to ghosts. A brilliant mind, adorable and charming in totally a boyish way; but considered a joke because he admits he can see and talk to ghosts.

Joachim Cockburn (and yes, the puns with the last name in this M/M romance were amazingly hilarious!), a war veteran now continuing his own studies in Psychology, is highly interested in making Ainsley his case study.

An opposites attract romance; the contradictions and the push and pull connection and relationship between Ainsley and Joachim will have you charmed right from the start! The language and the writing style does take getting used to; however it is the slow burn attraction that will have you cheering for these two right from the start!

P. S. I am not sure if there are more books in the historical romance in the M/M genre exists; but if it does; I would love your recommendations please! 😬

Ghosts and kilts and motorcars, oh my!

Best Laid Plaids was such a delightful story. The very first interaction between Ainsley and Joachim was one of the most hilarious (for me) and uncomfortable (for Joachim) opening scenes I've ever read. I was engrossed by the paranormal adventures of the MCS and enthralled by the rich side characters from beginning to end in this Scottish historical romance.

Ainsley is adorably distracted at every moment, and Joachim is steadfastly focused. They make a great pairing in love and a great team in their ghost hunting journeys. The story was at time heartwarming and heart wrenching, and other times scorching HOTT. All of these moments meshed well with the storytelling.

I'm exciting for the next book in this series and have the audio of this one pre-ordered for binge-listening on the day of release.

I enjoyed this one a lot! I really liked getting to know Ainsley and Joachim and their eccentricities and seeing Joachim being exceedingly careful not to scare Ainsley off and Ainsley slowly letting down his guard to be with Joachim. They’re really perfect for each other. I liked the general cast of characters and the setting in Scotland, and I really liked that this is a historical set in a different time period than we usually see. I also thought the supernatural element was neat and liked how it was incorporated into the story and how both Ainsley and Joachim interacted with it. Also, I didn’t realize this until I read the first chapter of the next book at the end, but I’m really excited that this is a series that will follow Joachim and Ainsley. I can’t wait to see what adventures they get up to and what trouble they find together while pursuing their research! This was a great debut book, and I suspect those who particularly love chaotic main characters will really enjoy Ainsley.

I will say, probably the biggest drawback for me was that sometimes I had a hard time following which voice I was in. It jumped around a lot and in some ways their voices were kind of similar, and more than once I thought I was in a different perspective than I actually was and had to back up and clarify. Oh, also, small nitpicky thing: Joachim kept referring to Ainsley as “the younger man,” which makes it sound like there’s a significant age gap. But it seems like it’s only a few years? Which makes it really odd to me that he kept mentally using the phrase. I couldn’t tell you why I noticed it, but once I did, it was everywhere.

3.5 stars

I was drawn to this book for it's fresh setting - 1928, Scotland, featuring a WWI veteran - plus the promise of ghosts and a stylish cover. Joachim Cockburn is a psychology student pursuing his Ph.D by studying patients who suffer from delusions. Ainsley Graham is a disgraced academic who claims to see ghosts. Joachim plans to make a study of Ainsley.

There's a fair amount of insta-lust between the two men, enhanced by the forced proximity of a road trip to go ghost hunting. Other reviewers have commented on how many sex scenes this book has, and I was feeling that as well. I was surprised how often the characters fell back into bed, and I'm not sure that it always moved the plot forward as much as needed. I'm rarely a "There's too much sex" person, but.... yeah, might be the case here. The scenes were sweet and steamy, but I found them a little repetitive.

I was also bothered by what we would today consider a massive breach of academic ethics - sleeping with your subject. Because that is what Joachim does, and that is Not Okay. Sure, ethics in 1928 were wildly different, especially in psychology, but as a modern reader a moment of self reflection would have gone a long way.

All that said... I enjoyed this! I think it's a strong debut effort. Ainsley's sometimes chaotic perspective seemed a very good representation of his "brain fidgets" or ADHD. There's a cast of eccentric family members, not all of them currently alive, and some great 1920s style. I'll be curious to see how this author develops as they publish more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a story about two men who don't talk to each other and fuck. To clarify: it's not a case of both are aware that they can distract the other by initiating sex and so whenever a topic they don't want to discuss comes up they consciously or unconsciously distract the other with it. No. They simply fuck and then they have zero serious conversations about what they expect of their future/this relationship and then they fuck some more. And then they fuck again.

Then there are some ghosts but mostly they cheer the two dudes on and encourage them to fuck some more. Which they do. Repeatedly. Then there's some vegetarian cooking, an idiotic misunderstanding that could have been avoided if Ainsley had just talked to Joachim, but it's cleared up thanks to the ghosts so they can fuck some more and then there's more drama that could have been avoided if Joachim had spent some of the time they weren't fucking thinking about something besides how fuckable Ainsley is. But it's a romance so there's a happy end and more fucking.

4.5 stars
I don’t usually read historical romance set in the 1900 but I have read a review that made me look this book up and here I am trying to convince you to give it a try because this book was just amazingly great.
It’s steamy and the chemistry and scenes between the characters had me blushing so much. I loved the writing and the overall experience while reading this story and it’s very interesting to see that this is a debute novel and I’m so looking forward to the next books in the series.
Very grateful to the publisher @harlequinbooks for my review copy

Best Laid Plaids was excellent! A delightful combination of psychiatry, romance, and the supernatural. I appreciated Ainsley's character in particular, as I could identify with his "fidgety mind" very well. And the ghosts! I enjoyed how natural the supernatural was in this book, and I hope to explore more with the two characters in future books.

This was a fun and atmospheric book. A little reminiscent of Cat Sebastian's books in the very very best way possible.

I was really looking forward to this story set post WW1 with a military vet in rural Scotland, thinking it would be along the lines of stories I've enjoyed by K.J. Charles and Allie Therin. It turns out to have been an okay read, with some parts that I really liked, and others I have mixed feelings about.

I had a hard time connecting with Ainsley at the start, but I definitely came to like him more as a character as the story went on. And Joachim I liked right from the beginning. The set up is interesting - Ainsley has been shunned from the intellectual community because of talking about his belief in ghosts and Joachim is writing a dissertation for his PhD about people in insane asylums and their supernatural beliefs. Joachim is hoping that Ainsley will show him his 'ghosts' so that Joachim (who doesn't believe he will see them) will have data for his dissertation. But the jokes on him when he does in fact see the ghosts in question, and speak to them.

As Ainsley and Joachim embark on a road trip to find the ghosts, they also begin a steamy affair. There's no dearth of dirty sex in this story but I didn't feel like it made the emotional connection between Ainsley and Joachim any stronger. In fact, I'd have been happy with less sex (hard to believe!), or less D/s type of sex - it just didn't feel true to Joachim's character to be this dominant bossy guy in bed. At any rate, the real problem for them is what Joachim will do with his newfound knowledge - ignore it and discredit Ainsley further or tell the truth and ruin his own career? It's a hard choice but the author does a good job coming up with a compromise that ensures their happy ending.

The other secondary characters are definitely unique, and the ghost members of Ainsley's family were some of my favorites. As for Joachim and Ainsley, I didn't really feel that their romance developed that well. So it's a mixed bag - great setting and interesting premise, some intriguing paranormal scenes but a romance overshadowed by the sex. I'm interested in seeing where the series is going though and the time period will no doubt lure me into another one.

This review will be posted at sale sites during release week.

I’m a sucker for anything Scottish - which was the reason I picked this book. The title, the setting, the blurb. Alas, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

The writing didn’t particularly click with me; it was told in alternate POVs and both seemed undecided what to call the other - or even themselves for that matter - it kept changing from first name to surname every few lines. Also, the chemistry between Ainsley and Joachim felt pretty tepid and unconvincing. From the first time Ainsley took charge as somewhat predatory (sexually) in a forceful way while Joachim - a strapping but wounded war vet scholar - his butt of the joke, so to speak.

Hopeful as I was (while struggling) I had hope for the sort of gradual enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract dynamics between the two. Again, I was disappointed as Ainsley and Joachim started the carnal gymnastics straight away... just because. No phase whatsoever. Oh yeah, the heat-o-meter is quite steamy - if that’s what (readers) look for. But story-wise it felt very disjointed which made their joyful happy-ending unconvincing and far-fetched.

The only good part for me was the supernatural element in there, some of them were quite friendly ghosts - at least not frightening - and happened to be close relatives of our MC. Too bad it wasn’t given due probes and felt mostly told as an aside (even the backstory of these ghosts wasn’t too obvious).

Overall this installment didn’t give me confidence to pursue the series further. We shall see, shall we. I’d be delighted to be proven wrong.

Copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the characters in this quirky historical mm romance. It was interesting to watch Joachim grapple with Ainsley over paranormal experiences and flirtation. They have great chemistry which leads to some sexy scenes. The book shifts between their perspectives, so we get to see their emotional reactions and struggles without it becoming a depressing book.

I liked that the paranormal elements were not gruesome or scary; at times, they were even amusing. The secondary characters are also fleshed out well. Stainton does a great job creating a world that I want to explore more. I look forward to the next book.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley in return for a fair review.

this book is just an absolute delight. best laid plaids is a debut post-wwi historical that finds two academics coming together and boom...chemistry.

joachim comes to ainsley with the purpose of discrediting the fact that ainsley believes he talks to ghosts. he thinks it's likely some sort of mental illness. and while ainsley clearly suffers what we know of as adhd and generalized anxiety, the ghost thing is not part of that mental illness.

when ainsley realizes what joachim is out to do, he says brilliant, let me take you on a road trip and i'll prove it. because he does see and hear ghosts and they are actual present beings. the other thing he sets out to do is flirt his way into bed with joachim, because hello...all that chemistry.

it's hot and sexy and sweet and filthy between these two. just their entire relationship dynamic is a freaking delight and i loved every second of it. it's a marvellous debut and i can't wait to see more in the series.

**best laid plaids will publish on august 31, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press in exchange for my honest review.

Unlikely collaborators to lovers? Yes, please! And if they're on a road trip to see haunted places and ghosts? Even better. While this book could've been way shorter, and have more in the paranormal department, I liked it. Best character? Violet! And the kilt. Yes, I consider it a character since plaid was very important.
There's light BDSM and lots and lots of sex and, while I'm not one to complain usually, I wasn't a total fan of some of those scenes. I'm not judging in any way, I just felt there were too many they started to sound weird.
The writing was often confusing to me with the characters being called in three different ways during one paragraph. At some point I didn't understand who was talking and had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to see the name of the chapter's narrator.
This affected my reading experience a bit.
The book is part of a series and as a series it has room for improvement and all the elements to be great. Put in a bit of jealousy, two lovebirds, and ghosts, and you have all the elements for it to be great!

An English psychology graduate student in the final phase of his doctoral research travels to Scotland to research hallucinations and discovers both ghosts and love are real in this compelling, high-heat historical paranormal romance. When Joachim Cockburn meets Dr. Ainsley Graham, he expects his observations of the delusional, madman to cement his thesis. Instead he finds a brilliant, playful and sexy man whose main complaints are a crushing, unwarranted guilt and difficulty focusing (that may look like ADHD to modern readers). They have terrific conversational and sexual chemistry and the WWI ghost stories are engrossing as well. There’s some awkwardness and repetition in the writing at times but overall this is a very original and rewarding read. 3.5 stars.

This is what I want in paranormal romance! More folkloric ghost investigating, less demon hunting-type things.

This book was charming and extremely horny, and I was here for it. It does sometimes bother me a bit when a romance is set up against an ethical breach, in this case a researcher and his subject, because I want my romance characters to be clearing the bars that real life people seem to have a tough time doing. Still, I really enjoyed this book. Road trips, Scotlands, ghosts, it has all the things I really want in a book! I think the book overall did a good job of balancing the past traumas of both characters with an overall lighthearted vibe, which is also very much what I'm looking for in a romance.