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Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts
Little does 16-year-old Sami Ames know what she’s in for when she and her mother head to Scotland to help their cousins save MacKensie Manor. Sami feels like she’s landed in a medieval time warp. There’s no electricity, no running water, or hair conditioner! But Sami joins in the challenges of daily peasant life in order to get MacKensie Manor up and running as a working farm tourist attraction. She can’t imagine people paying to make soap, dye wool, or milk cows. What’s worse, a ghost has invaded her room. Sami can’t figure out cousin Fiona, who obsesses over an ancient family feud with the McClintoggs, but Sami’s thrilled when she has a close encounter with a hot Scot. Too bad it’s Adan McClintogg!
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Tammy Swoish
1 book7 followersTammy Swoish grew-up in a small town in Michigan, spending her high school years wishing she lived somewhere, anywhere, else. She did leave her hometown and earned an education degree from Georgia Southern University only to return and teach middle school English in the same school district where she had once been a student. She has two master degrees, one in education and one in writing popular fiction.
There have only been two career goals in Tammy’s mind . . . writing and teaching, both of which she’s achieved through determination and a supporting family, proving that through hard work and education life-goals are achievable.
Tammy lives in Michigan with her husband, eighteen-year-old son, eighteen-year-old daughter, two dogs, and a nine-year-old goldfish.
There have only been two career goals in Tammy’s mind . . . writing and teaching, both of which she’s achieved through determination and a supporting family, proving that through hard work and education life-goals are achievable.
Tammy lives in Michigan with her husband, eighteen-year-old son, eighteen-year-old daughter, two dogs, and a nine-year-old goldfish.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 6, 2008
I absolutely loved this book! The diary entries were a great format to tell the story of an American teen in Scotland with her mother and zany Scottish cousins. There is romance, turmoil, and ghosts! What else could you ask for?!
July 30, 2010
Another good and quick day read. After this book, I'd love to visit Scotland.
November 7, 2018
So I picked this up thinking it would be a fun rom-com. And it was...kind of. It's written in diary format, so maybe that accounts for the vague plot, but I've read a lot of books in this format that had me flipping pages faster than my eyes could keep up. This one...not so much. It was okay. I didn't hate it, nothing really stood out to me as good or bad. I kept reading for the tiny glimpses of Scotland and Scottish history/culture, but I could have gotten more from Wikipedia and it would have been just as entertaining.
It wasn't a bad book, and it's not that I'm in the mood for something else, something dark or serious or meaningful. I've been in the mood for cheese lately--no, make that SUPER CHEESE. I mean, lately I've set aside the books I need to be reading because I can't get into them or stick with them at the moment. Instead, I read (and loved) two Twilight graphic adaptations, a fluffy romance whose title I've already forgotten, and an indie YA that is basically Twilight fan-fic. So yeah. I'm obviously in the mood for this kind of book, but for some reason, it just didn't do it for me. There was no good witty banter, not really any laughs...and randomly, there were ghosts. I thought the ghosts were people playing tricks on the MC because there is absolutely nothing paranormal about this. But nope, it's a for-reals ghost.
It's not a bad book, but definitely not as exciting plot-wise as I want from a ghost story, and it lacks the character development and feels that I want from a romance. Try it out if you like MG travel romance, but for me, it was a miss.
It wasn't a bad book, and it's not that I'm in the mood for something else, something dark or serious or meaningful. I've been in the mood for cheese lately--no, make that SUPER CHEESE. I mean, lately I've set aside the books I need to be reading because I can't get into them or stick with them at the moment. Instead, I read (and loved) two Twilight graphic adaptations, a fluffy romance whose title I've already forgotten, and an indie YA that is basically Twilight fan-fic. So yeah. I'm obviously in the mood for this kind of book, but for some reason, it just didn't do it for me. There was no good witty banter, not really any laughs...and randomly, there were ghosts. I thought the ghosts were people playing tricks on the MC because there is absolutely nothing paranormal about this. But nope, it's a for-reals ghost.
It's not a bad book, but definitely not as exciting plot-wise as I want from a ghost story, and it lacks the character development and feels that I want from a romance. Try it out if you like MG travel romance, but for me, it was a miss.
May 15, 2023
Truly nothing special about this book, but entirely readable. I got the feeling that the story was just a bunch of the author's favorite ideas for a story stitched together here. I never really understood the whole ghost/ghost-hunter part. It totally didn't need to be here and the story would have been just fine without it. Nevertheless, I rather liked Sami and her narration of the story. I just wish I didn't feel like she was skipping over parts so that what I read didn't seem so much like random diary entries with the good stuff omitted. C- rating.
December 23, 2018
Review to come on my blog Foundinwords.wix.com/site
January 22, 2023
This book had a lot of potential but it just wasn't executed. I expected more romance. The diary format did not do the story line justice.
August 24, 2016
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
Sami and her mom are off to Scotland to visit relatives they didn't even know they had. When they arrive Sami finds out they're actually there to help the family fix up the castle and make it ready for guests to come and experience medieval life. Sami also learns about an old family feud and meets a ghost while she's in Scotland and becomes sort of determined to help the ghost pass on and to fix the family feud - especially when she falls for a guy from the other family!
I wanted to spend the remainder of my summer reading romances where the main character travels the world and falls in love. This book was so far from that. This is an epistolary novel, told through disjointed journal entries. It largely focuses on anything but the romance - even though the book seems to sell itself on the romance. Mostly it seems to focus on Sami whining. I really didn't enjoy any part of the book, the writing was bland, the plot was predictable, the romance was practically nonexistent, and the format was awful.
In terms of plot this book is pretty predictable, that is once you centre in on what the actual main plot of the book is. The book was sold to me as a romance, but the romance between Sami and Adan feels very unimportant to the actual meat of the novel. The redevelopment of the castle and surrounding grounds isn't that big of a deal either. Instead the plot really centred more on the ghost and the clan war/family feud. That was really central to everything and it played out very quickly and predictably. It wasn't particularly interesting.
The characters of the book are similarly underwhelming. There isn't any substance to any of them. Sami, our lead character, is very dull. She spends a good deal of her time whining about everything. She reads like a very overly stereotyped teen girl, there isn't anything that seems real or believable about her to me. She's like a '90s movie teen. Her cousin was this kind of manic unstable figure, not because that was actually central to her character but because she's so poorly developed. All the adults basically act like Sami too. And then Adan is basically a nothing character. This leads to there being absolutely no relationships of substance either.
I would really not recommend this book, it's not even good for a laugh or just for fluff, it's bad.
Sami and her mom are off to Scotland to visit relatives they didn't even know they had. When they arrive Sami finds out they're actually there to help the family fix up the castle and make it ready for guests to come and experience medieval life. Sami also learns about an old family feud and meets a ghost while she's in Scotland and becomes sort of determined to help the ghost pass on and to fix the family feud - especially when she falls for a guy from the other family!
I wanted to spend the remainder of my summer reading romances where the main character travels the world and falls in love. This book was so far from that. This is an epistolary novel, told through disjointed journal entries. It largely focuses on anything but the romance - even though the book seems to sell itself on the romance. Mostly it seems to focus on Sami whining. I really didn't enjoy any part of the book, the writing was bland, the plot was predictable, the romance was practically nonexistent, and the format was awful.
In terms of plot this book is pretty predictable, that is once you centre in on what the actual main plot of the book is. The book was sold to me as a romance, but the romance between Sami and Adan feels very unimportant to the actual meat of the novel. The redevelopment of the castle and surrounding grounds isn't that big of a deal either. Instead the plot really centred more on the ghost and the clan war/family feud. That was really central to everything and it played out very quickly and predictably. It wasn't particularly interesting.
The characters of the book are similarly underwhelming. There isn't any substance to any of them. Sami, our lead character, is very dull. She spends a good deal of her time whining about everything. She reads like a very overly stereotyped teen girl, there isn't anything that seems real or believable about her to me. She's like a '90s movie teen. Her cousin was this kind of manic unstable figure, not because that was actually central to her character but because she's so poorly developed. All the adults basically act like Sami too. And then Adan is basically a nothing character. This leads to there being absolutely no relationships of substance either.
I would really not recommend this book, it's not even good for a laugh or just for fluff, it's bad.
February 28, 2017
Dumb plotline and characters, a simple story. I just read it because I'm trash and I miss Scotland.
June 29, 2024
If you like diary entry format, this is for you.
I really had to power through, and. The end was heartwarming and cute! Loved the idea, just not for me.
I really had to power through, and. The end was heartwarming and cute! Loved the idea, just not for me.
May 6, 2008
Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com
Sami Ames is off to discover her Scottish roots, the ones that she never even knew she had. Turns out she has relatives over in Scotland, and they need a little help sprucing up the MacKensie Manor so they can turn it into a tourist attraction.
After several long, tedious hours on the plane with her snoring mother by her side, Sami arrives in Scotland, but the first night isn't as great as she thought it would be. Sami and her mother will be living in a cottage near the manor for 30 days -- and the cottage isn't as up-to-date as she thought it would be. With no shower, no stove, and no electricity, these are going to be the longest days of Sami's life.
Once she visits the actual manor, Sami is pretty impressed with the infinite rooms it contains, and would rather stay there than in the cottage. As Sami continues to help out with the renovations, she begins to see some of the chores and responsibilities that others have to take on that she never needed to do.
Aside from meeting her weird cousin, Fiona, and a ghost (which, surprisingly, are not all that rare in Scotland), Sami befriends a very cute Scottish boy, Adan McClintogg. Even though he is very charming, his last name doesn't help him out -- his family isn't on good terms with Sami's family. All Sami needs to do is make both families come to terms with one another, but it isn't so easy to forgive and forget.
Narrated through journal entries, Sami's adventure in Scotland aren't just hilarious but also charming and very adorable. With well-developed characters that all have a mind of their own, readers will be happy to witness not just one, but two love stories in the making. HOT SCOTS, CASTLES, AND KILTS is a vacation you will never forget.
Sami Ames is off to discover her Scottish roots, the ones that she never even knew she had. Turns out she has relatives over in Scotland, and they need a little help sprucing up the MacKensie Manor so they can turn it into a tourist attraction.
After several long, tedious hours on the plane with her snoring mother by her side, Sami arrives in Scotland, but the first night isn't as great as she thought it would be. Sami and her mother will be living in a cottage near the manor for 30 days -- and the cottage isn't as up-to-date as she thought it would be. With no shower, no stove, and no electricity, these are going to be the longest days of Sami's life.
Once she visits the actual manor, Sami is pretty impressed with the infinite rooms it contains, and would rather stay there than in the cottage. As Sami continues to help out with the renovations, she begins to see some of the chores and responsibilities that others have to take on that she never needed to do.
Aside from meeting her weird cousin, Fiona, and a ghost (which, surprisingly, are not all that rare in Scotland), Sami befriends a very cute Scottish boy, Adan McClintogg. Even though he is very charming, his last name doesn't help him out -- his family isn't on good terms with Sami's family. All Sami needs to do is make both families come to terms with one another, but it isn't so easy to forgive and forget.
Narrated through journal entries, Sami's adventure in Scotland aren't just hilarious but also charming and very adorable. With well-developed characters that all have a mind of their own, readers will be happy to witness not just one, but two love stories in the making. HOT SCOTS, CASTLES, AND KILTS is a vacation you will never forget.
June 8, 2014
My mom found it. At post office.It looked old,I didn`t read it for a year..wait maybe two. Today I didn`t have a book, so I thought well it looks like I shall read you after all.I read it, better then I thought, but it was...
Don`t get me wrong, it was funny alot, but it was normal; cliche, predictable, & I didn`t like the protagonist sometimes. She was likable,but sometimes she sounded really immature. The romance was cringe-worthy sometimes. She just kept saying he was so hot, & he was beautiful etc etc. Overall though it was entertaining, I laugh alot & sometimes you know that`s wht you need, so meh, it was medium.
Don`t get me wrong, it was funny alot, but it was normal; cliche, predictable, & I didn`t like the protagonist sometimes. She was likable,but sometimes she sounded really immature. The romance was cringe-worthy sometimes. She just kept saying he was so hot, & he was beautiful etc etc. Overall though it was entertaining, I laugh alot & sometimes you know that`s wht you need, so meh, it was medium.
June 18, 2010
16 year old Sami Ames goes to Scotland with her mother one summer to help her mother's cousin, Molly, and her daugther, Fiona, clean out the cottages and main house on their property (MacKensie Manor) to make it into a Medieval working farm tourist attraction. Sami doesn't understand life without electricity, store-bought soap, stoves, and washing machines, but she adapts quickly with the help of her cousin and new beau Adan and friend Shane. Sami also has an uncanny ability to see and talk to ghosts. She helps the ghost Samuel Logan find peace as she brings the feuding MacKensie and McClintogg families together at last. A cute, quick read set in diary format.
January 5, 2012
I don't know why so many people are giving this book rave reviews. Just because it's Ya doesn't mean you should lower your standards. This book wasn't anything I haven't read before- the bratty, shallow female teen who takes for granted her comforts. Usually, she's pushed into England, and, if it's a series, there's almost always a book dedicated to Scotland. The characters were rather boring, rather shallow, and the ghost dialogue was terrible.
March 11, 2016
Great story about family, feuds, and ghosts. Sami Ames goes to Scotland with her mother to help their Scottish cousins fix up the Family 'Castle' and she gets a bit more than she bargained for. A ghost haunts her room, she has to do everything the original way things were done, and she falls in love with 'the enemy.' No rest rest for the weary. This story keeps the action going throughout the book. A wonderful light read.
December 22, 2008
So I almost didn't finish this book because the narrator is pretty annoying at first. It reinforced why I am NOT a teen librarian!! But it turned out ok. It's too short for anything life changing, but it was a fun little read. I picked it up because it's set in Scotland.
March 26, 2010
I picked it up because the title made me laugh. It was not overly sexualized as I am finding YA books tending towards. It was a believable character writing in her diary. The supernatural part bugged me and seemed unnecessary, though. It was a good, light read. (I read it in less than a day.)
July 19, 2010
This book is good for teen girls who are reluctant readers. The mother-daughter relationships are well fleshed out and grow during the course of the story. The girls learn how to do tasks at the castle the old-fashioned way.
February 9, 2017
I thought this book hold a lot of promise and I thought it was going to be good, but I was wrong, so wrong. As I was getting deeper into the book I was getting more and more disappointed. The plot and how things were happening was just wrong and it was just not good.
August 20, 2008
this book was so funny!! i laughed the whole book and the parts where sami and her "hot scot" are together are so cute!!
May 25, 2009
I read this in one afternoon. It was very good. I hope she writes a squel as I'd like to see more of Sami and Adan! YA adult book, very light reading. Bit paranormal as they go ghost hunting.
June 6, 2009
A cute, funny, short story that was set in Scotland. The main character was funny and entertaining.
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November 15, 2011Foodfic musing - not a traditional review:
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2011/06/...
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2011/06/...
July 25, 2011
It was a really cute book! But don't let the title fool you because, oddly enough, the book is mostly about ghost hunting! It was funny, sweet, and innocent: a nice story for all ages!
March 26, 2012
Something light and quick to read while tanning --or attempting to tan -- during Spring Break.
Plus, it helped me better visualize a hot Scot...and erm, the awesome countryside. ;)
Plus, it helped me better visualize a hot Scot...and erm, the awesome countryside. ;)
June 4, 2015
The title caught my attention, the bright, fun, colorful cover caught my eye and paying .85 at a used bookstore.....what's not to love!!
July 22, 2009
easy read but fun and predictable story with intrigue
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews