Basic Plot:

John McIntyre is a fisherman/taxi-man on a small, remote Scottish island (Hebridean islands). John meets his fare, Nick Kelly in the town of Traighshee and they quickly find a friendship. As they learn more about each other, will these differences be too much and is John willing to risk everything for Nick? Can Nick let go of the past to live for the future?

I have read a few of Davitt and Snow’s novels which had a large emphasis in BDSM. In those books, there is a dark intensity there, often following a “traditional” romance formula. So I came to this book with a bit of hesitation, not because I did not like those books, rather that I did not know if that their only style. However, I found this book to be both charming and endearing.

The island itself is a character, which can be a challenge for a writer not to overwhelm the protagonists. In this case, the atmosphere of the town of Traighshee explains so much about the background of John that we understand his motivations almost instantly and helps to pull us into the story. By the end of the first chapter I was drawn into story and the slower pace was actually welcoming. Like watching an Emma Thompson Regency period movie, you just sit back and immerse yourself into the culture and environment.

I read a review on either Goodreads or Amazon that thought the writing quality was not good enough. Ironically they said that English was not their first language, but I wonder if that was part of the reason that they had difficulties. This book has such a foreign feel to it, this coming from an American. I love finding a book that gives me a taste of a world in which I do not live. Davitt is English, so she brings in her personal background to make a vivid portrayal of the environment and culture. I loved this, but perhaps someone might not like the slower pace. Quite frankly I can think of nothing to improve the book.

I found this book because I yearned for a book that was well written, had some sexiness, but was more heartwarming than extreme sex scenes. Laying a Ghost, by Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow has all of these things, but above all it made me think. It made me realize not to give up on myself or my dreams, and anything worth doing will require sacrifice. This is certainly a wonderful book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
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Laying a Ghost by Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow was a good contemporary read with some paranormal elements. The setting was well drawn and I enjoyed the premise. However, I did find the middle really lagged at times and it was occasionally a struggle to finish. There was much angst and lovely drama and the relationship was very passionate. Just needed to be more tightly written with an eye to better pacing.

http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/shorts-5/ ( )

Quick summary: Nick Kelley arrives on a remote Scottish Island because he inherited his uncle's house. He immediately meets John McIntyre, native islander, and they have chemistry. Impediments to their happiness: Nick is psychic-- a medium whose life has been sort-of ruled by ghosts and their effects on him. He's also dealing with a personal tragedy. John has been in the closet all his life, so the small community of traditional islanders do not know he is gay-- and he'd sort of like to keep it that way.

So, the story is a romance, in essence, but there's enough other stuff going on to make it interesting. I particularly liked the way the authors dealt with the paranormal-- the way Nick interacted with the ghosts and the way characters reacted to his abilities. This story also had a decent dose of realism. I didn't feel that tertiary characters were overly-friendly or super-accepting, but neither were they all militantly anti-gay. They were people. Also, the sex scenes were great, throughout the book. I can honestly recommend this book as enjoyable, entertaining reading. ( )