Rory in a Kilt

The Ballachulish Trilogy, Book 3

By: Anna Durand

Narrated by: Shane East

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Rory MacTaggart is an uptight lawyer by day and a steamy seducer by night.

One night in New Orleans changed my life. But is it for better or worse? The instant I see Emery Granger, I need to possess her. A one-night stand should've been the end of it. Except I can't quite let her go yet.

A marriage of convenience is the best I can offer.

For reasons I can't fathom, Emery agrees to marry me for money, knowing it will last only one year. She is the opposite of every woman I've ever known, and the opposite of me - cheerful, free-spirited, and compassionate. Maybe that's why I need to have her, though I will never love her.

All I know for certain is that living by my rules might destroy us both.

Rory in a Kilt is the third and final book in The Ballachulish Trilogy, a brand-new series based on the first three books in the best-selling Hot Scots series, reborn and retold from the heroes' perspectives.

©2021 Lisa A. Shiel (P)2021 Jacobsville Books

Yummy Rory!

Anna Durand once again takes my heart! The MacTaggart men are swoon worthy and impossible not to love. I am truly enjoying the male POV of this series and was looking forward to hearing Rory's side of the story! Rory and Emery enjoy a one night stand in New Orleans. Perfectly compatible, Rory decides she is the one that could stop his family from badgering him to find a wife. After 3 failed marriages, he is not looking for love. Emery sees something in Rory, past his hurt and knows he is trying to find his way out. She agrees to his terms, and off they move to Scotland. And this becomes a push pull of feelings and the Rory's struggle to learn to love and trust. Rory is pretty complex. Sheltering his own heart is his preservation. I love Emery's feistiness and how she pulls Rory out. Who would have thought their one night would be their forever love? It's funny, romantic, frustrating and an all around fantastic listen.

To make it even more enjoyable, Shane East uses his incredible Scottish accent and brings this gem to life. He is so good at his craft, finding each nuance of the characters and adding it to his performance. I loved his narration and as always look forward to more.

Rory in a Kilt! 5 Stars!

I absolutely loved Rory and Emery's story so much!! When he wasn't letting his mind and past get to him, he was able to relax while spending time with Emery. He was a different person when he was with her. There was a lot of trust Emery put into him when they got together and his fears nearly tear them apart. He really was the swooniest guy when he let his guard down and that makes her fall for him pretty hard. She really turns his world upside down. I couldn't stop listening! Next to Aidan, Rory is now my favorite!
Shane East gave yet another outstanding performance in this book capturing every emotion of Anna's characters perfectly. Anna's story and Shane's narration combined are not to be missed!

Rory in a Kilt - A Rousing Success!

Having only read 'Devastating in a Kilt', book nine in Anna's 'Hot Scots' series, I was greatly looking forward to diving into a new series--even if I'm diving in out of publishing order--, and what the characters in this book would bring in comparison to those I have read about previously.

My only previous criticism of that read, was pacing. This was something I was looking to see if it was a similar pattern with this read but I am pleased and personally overjoyed to say that this read right from the outset, avoided what bothered me the most and from the very first page I had a much more pleasant reading experience, and was keen to turn the rest of the pages to see where this story would take our two main characters.

By far and large my favourite character has to be our leading man, Rory MacTaggart. Often are men written to be the typical 'alpha male', big and brutish. Rory is admittedly that, at times, but has been written by Anna to be so much more. We see so many sides to Rory throughout the story as it journeys from one country to the next, as situations change and indeed himself, changes as well. From the very first time we get to meet Rory, we're taken on a journey as he fights with his conflicting emotions and thoughts--despite audibly protesting otherwise--, acting on impulse and doing the impossible. There's no way of knowing what he will say or do next, or how his mood will be in the next coming minutes, not hours or days, which is a welcome change from the usual moment in a book which a character shifts his/her mindset or perspective.

Truly, I could not get enough of this kilted highlander!

What truly has blown me away, is just how engaged I was with this read compared to my previous Anna Durand read. I have a weakness for Scottish highlander romances--modern and historical--, but it takes a special book to really engage me enough to want to never put it down and this read is it! There's instant attraction which of course is fought at first, humour to have you both sniggering and belly laughing at the right times, the delicious oh-so-swoon-worthy moments that would be knocking socks off more than once, and just the right amount of angst to make the story radiate brilliance.

If yin and yang were book characters, they would be Emery and Rory. From the outset, it is clear that Emery possesses some of the stereotypes of an American woman out for a good time, showing her character loud and proud and with fire. Contrary to Rory's alpha male, brusque, set-in-his-way nature, it was thrilling to see how the two unwound those characteristics of one another as they both changed to adapt to a new life together in close proximity. That said, the fact that they were able to remain themselves while on the outside were changing--even if they didn't know it themselves--was a nicely crafted oxymoron touch.

Truly and honestly I couldn't fault a single thing about this read, except for the fact that I would L.O.V.E even more Rory and Emery. It ticked all my boxes from an irritable kilted Scottish 'hero', to the Scottish landscape and heritage brought to life by the written word, steam, laughs aplenty, angst and from a male POV I truly do prefer to a woman's, I think it's safe to say that I've found another top read of 2021.

Anna, you've officially won me over. You did so with the novel and now the audiobook is even better! I have a feeling this is going to be one that I'll find myself listening to over and over again! Thank you so much! Shane East is a true treat to the ears and I could fall asleep to his voice every night, so I shall!

Steamy, Scottish Awesome!

Rory in a Kilt by Anna Durand is book three in The Ballachulish Trilogy. This is the story of Emery and Rory MacTaggart from Rory’s point of view. This is my favorite in the trilogy so far. Of course, it starts with a handsome Scot in a kilt who encounters a woman he can’t get off his mind. This book hits the ground running, practically setting the sheets on fire from the start. She is a free spirit devoted to helping him find joy. So, we have handsome Scots in kilts, fake marriage, and over 12 hours of Shane East narrating this gorgeous yet repressed lawyer who will find his bliss and let go of his inhibitions...eventually...when he gets out of his own way and admits he has fallen hopelessly in love with Emery.

I received an #AdvancedListenerCopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ear-catching!

OMGosh! I love this book hard! I made so many notes and comments about favorite things and passages its crazy. The story is perfect! It moves along at a good clip and offers spontaneous smiling along with chills and eye rolling. This is one of my favorites of the trilogy. While there isn’t a ton a sex (which I sometimes appreciate) its the story and feelings that really drew me in. These characters seemed so believable. Their emotion became mine. I loved both the main characters.

Listening to this just lifted my spirits and made me smile. I just can’t say enough good things about Shane East and this story. He is such a delight to listen to and I have to wonder how he learns to say all those words? He really elevated this story to the next level.

Love, Love, LOVE!!

I love the Story line of this book! I'm so happy that Anna provided all the answers in the Epilogue. This is TRULY my Favorite Book so far in this Series.

hot Scot 🔥 Shane!!!

I bought this as I by a lot of audible books simply because of t lhe narrator. I have my fave authors and narrators, but often will listen just because of the narrator as is the case with Rory. Shane East is perfection, eh.. his voice is perfection. the only thing that annoyed me was Emery's nickname for Rory, but that is a personal tic no reflection on the book,author and narrator.

Ick and creepy

Ok, So don't get me wrong, I generally enjoy Shane East's narrations, but from the beginning, listening to this book, the way he spoke with that Scottish accent was just cringe-worthy. Every word out of his mouth sounded creepy and kind of rapey. I don't know how else to describe it. And his female voice, UGH! awful.

I have not read any of the other books in this series, but I had them on my wishlist. Not sure how I wound up purchasing this one first, but regardless, I didn't care for the story line. I found it boring and predictable and the sex scenes were just too creepy with that voice. I know Will M Watt narrates another one of the books, I think that's what first made them catch my eye. I'll likely give that one a try before giving up entirely, but I just couldn't even bring myself to finish this one. No matter what kind of ending it has, I just can't handle the weird breathy voice a minute longer.

This is a hard pass for me, despite all the glowing reviews. Maybe if I'd actually read it instead of listened to it I would have liked it more, but some how I doubt it.