Love Over Scotland

Love Over Scotland (44 Scotland Street #3) Alexander McCall Smith. 2006. 355 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Pat let her gaze move slowly round the room, over the figures seated at the table in the seminar room.

Premise/plot: Love Over Scotland is the third book in the series by Alexander McCall Smith. I have loved each and every one. (44 Scotland Street, Espresso Tales). It is set in Edinburgh. It follows the lives of a handful of characters. Some of the characters are CHARACTERS. Each chapter is short and episodic, the book originally appeared in serial form in the newspaper. It is exactly like a soap opera in print, minus the graphic smut.

My thoughts: I really love some of these characters. My favorite character is without a doubt Bertie. The scene with Bertie and his therapist was one of the funniest I've ever read. The therapist thinks that Bertie has created an imaginary friend named Tofu. Now readers know that Tofu is a real child in his class. But this therapist won't be convinced otherwise! And Bertie finally lets the matter go. He knows what's real and what isn't. And his doctor is NUTS. Bertie also joins a teenage orchestra in this one and goes to PARIS, FRANCE. The good news is that he's at last free from his mother. The bad news is, well, I'm not sure there is bad news. True, the group technically leaves him behind. But that leads to Bertie having the BEST DAY EVER. I also enjoyed Angus and his dog in this one. These two are always great fun. There were so many great moments in this one. (I do like that Pat and Matthew finally start dating in this one. I really like Matthew, but he just can't compete with the six year old Bertie in terms of stealing scenes.

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews