A Time of Love and Tartan

This charming story follows the residents of 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Pat, who works part-time in an art gallery, is of the opinion that she needs a man in her life. If she’s honest, Bruce, a former boyfriend who wants to re-establish contact with her, may not be the right man. But will she be able to resist his efforts to pull her back into his world? Nothing is ever easy when it comes to Bruce.

In another flat in the building, seven-year-old Bertie is worried his mother, Irene, might be moving to Aberdeen. This fact is news to Bertie’s father, Stuart, who begins to wonder whether Irene’s interest in pursuing a PhD miles from home might not be a bad thing after all. Another resident, Matthew, owner of the art gallery where Pat works, has suffered an embarrassing and humiliating moment in a local bookstore that he has no idea how to handle.

Throughout the book, all of the residents of 44 Scotland Street are plagued by some crisis or another. At times I laughed out loud as the characters grapple with these difficulties and the changing cultural norms all around them. This is not the first book in the 44 Scotland Street series, and it’s the charming, witty, and oh-so-clever writing that always keeps me coming back for more.