Review: Shortbread isn't the only treat in Eliza March's Scotland!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 11, 2014
In this short, saucy erotic novella, romance-weary reporter Aisla Jackson travels to a castle in the Scottish Highlands to interview the local Laird. Aisla is tired of the usual corporate executive types she's been seeing. She wants a little excitement. To her that means hot sensual encounters--relationship not required.Enter Colin Fitzgerald--or Lord Brantham--as he's also known. It's his castle. He's also not a stranger to Aisla, though he doesn't want her to know that. I can't give too much away. The point is that Colin/Lord Brantham has had a soft spot (and a hard one) for Aisla for a long time, and now he plans to do something about it.Things come to a boil quickly between these two, but not before March treats us to some nice descriptions of the castle itself. I like a strong sense of place in my fiction, so I enjoyed this. There's also enough early character building to sustain the sensual stuff that takes over the balance of the story. Aisla is a little tarty and forward for my taste, but March makes this understandable by first creating a believable back story for her. We understand that Aisla is going for what she THINKS she wants--no strings sex. In reality she doesn't think what she really wants--a sensual connection matched by an equally intense emotional intimacy--exists. Luckily there's a kilt-wearing Laird ready to prove her wrong.My only critique of the story concerns the jarring time jump from the intense first night (most of the novella) to (at the end) weeks later, when Aisla has some important decisions to make.  After watching the couple go from zero to a hundred so quickly, I needed more time for them to slow back down and shift into "resolution of relationship" gear. There are two ways to adjust--either throw in a complication or two to string things out, or have Aisla's project be only a couple of days rather than weeks. Considering the brief length, the latter would likely have been the easiest and most natural fix.Time jump aside, HOT HIGHLAND FLING was a fun read and well worth reading. Hopefully the author will take us on another erotic journey. Hmmmmm....I wonder what the chances are that Aisla has a sister who gets stranded in somewhere in Ireland....