#Mistress MacKintosh and the Shaw Wretch

[thegirlwiththelantern]

Insta: @ littlepiscesdreaming

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Mistress Mackintosh and the Shaw Wretch

by Rose Prendeville

 Thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the day today and a nice introduction to a new series.

 What I liked:

* Finlay Shaw: youngest brother, living under a black cloud due to something that happened when he was fifteen, trying to find his place again in the clan, healing touch, kind, honest, gentle, feels drawn to Jory

* Jory Mackintosh: orphan, raised by her uncle’s family, well-liked by her cousins, healing abilities, has scoliosis, defensive, has dreams of studying medicine, acts before she thinks, feels drawn to Finn, has been told she will be a nun

* Finn’s friends who assisted when needed

* The childhood intersections and connections Finn and Jory shared

* The growth of the relationship as the journey toward the convent took place

* That the two became more trusting and better able to communicate over time

* The way their backstories influenced them

* That I felt the two were equally matched and well suited

* That the bad guys were exposed and thwarted

* The happy ending for the couple

* Reading a new-to-me author and knowing there is another book in the series to look forward to

* The cute cover

 What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Knowing that expectations of and for women (and men) in this era were often set in cement and not necessarily what they might have wanted

 Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Yes

 Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC – this is my honest review.

 4-5 Stars

     BLURB

 In 1725, a secret convent has been established on the Aberdeenshire coast. Jory Mackintosh is more excited by healing herbs than husbands or holy prayers. She craves freedom—and a chance to sneak into medical school. Instead, on the eve of her escape, she becomes an unwilling pawn in her family’s schemes with a rival clan. Finlay Shaw, the disgraced younger brother of the laird, has spent ten long years atoning for his past failures, but nothing can wash away the stain of fratricide. When the clans order him to escort Jory to her new life as a nun, thus securing an alliance with the freshly formed Black Watch, it’s his last chance for redemption. Too bad for Finn, Jory has no intention of following orders. Trapped on the road together, often with only one bed between them, the two butt heads and match wits, forced to acknowledge the dark shadows that have haunted them both for years. Can they learn to trust each other, and themselves, to fly in the face of their families’ wishes, or will they choose the solitary futures they always believed they deserve in this unorthodox runaway bride story?