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I’ve always dreamed of living in a castle—or, at least, a house that resembles a castle—in a faraway country in the middle of nowhere, but Leslie Ann Dennis’s Reason to Believe will probably be as close as I’ll ever get. So you can bet your last Scottish kilt that I lived vicariously through her characters while reading this delightful romance.
Lane Douglas has a dilemma. Her beloved poppa believes he’s dying because a tree that was planted at his birth in Scotland has now become diseased. The current landowner plans to cut down the tree so the disease doesn’t spread to the surrounding trees, and Ian Douglas believes he’ll die when the tree is destroyed. Though Lane doesn’t believe in all that hocus-pocus superstition, her grandfather seems to be on the verge of death. So she heads to Wolfscrag Castle to confront Laird Conlan MacGregor and ask him to save the tree.
Tantalized by the spunky woman with her funny American slang, Conlan allows Lane
to stay and doctor the tree—even though he doesn’t believe it can be saved. The longer she’s there, the more attracted to her he becomes, until letting her go becomes almost impossible.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a romance that didn’t have me rolling my eyes and saying, “Oh, give me a break!” Not once did I think that about Reason to Believe. Lane Douglas is such an endearing and delightful heroine, and she makes this novel a pleasure to read. She’s so down-to-earth and likable that there’s no way you can not
like her—even when she’s scoffing at the Scottish belief in magical creatures and superstitious stories.
Though (like most women) I’m not crazy about seeing a man in a kilt, Conlan MacGregor might just change my mind. He’s a super-sexy hero, and I kept hearing and picturing actor Gerard Butler in my mind whenever Conlan showed up. And the sex scenes were—oh, my!—scorching hot, yet tasteful and full of love.
I also loved the fascinating superstitions and folklore of Scotland that Ms. Dennis wove into Reason to Believe, adding a bit of mystery and intrigue to the story. Please don’t pass this one up! A romance read simply doesn’t get much better than this.
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