The Rebel Wears Plaid
Series: Prince Charlie's Angels #1
Author: Eliza Knight
Published June 30th 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Goodreads Synopsis
When he agreed to join her
He never expected her to be the enemy...

By day, Lady Jenny Mackintosh helps her widowed mother manage their Highland estate. By night, she risks her life to raise troops, weapons, and coin for the Jacobite rebellion. On one late-night mission, she is confronted by a handsome warrior who happens to be vying for the other side...

Toran Fraser is hell-bent on taking down the Jacobites responsible for his mother's death. When he's intercepted by Jenny and asked to join her cause, he agrees, knowing she can help him uncover the truth. He never expected she would be his enemy...
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Lady Jenny Mackintosh may be the sister of the Mackintosh Laird, but when her brother turns traitor, and starts to support the English king George, at the detriment of the Scottish people, she has to do what she can for her country, and her rightful king, Bonnie Prince Charlie. As Mistress J, she travels the Highlands, raising troops, arms, and money for the war effort, and risks her life at every turn. Coming across two Highland men, fleeing a notorious prison fortress, she decides to take them with her, but can she trust Toran Fraser, and his injured cousin, Archie. Toran has been working with the English Captain Boyd since his mother's body was returned to him, defiled and desecrated, with a note from 'Mistress J'. Coming across Jenny, and discovering she is Mistress J, he's shocked that the notorious rebel he's had in his mind all this time, is a beautiful woman, who doesn't seem to be the cutthroat killer he was expecting. As they get closer, and the truth about Toran's mother's death is revealed, will they be able to have a happy ending, or is the looming battle too big an obstacle to overcome?

This is the first book in a new series, and I hadn't even realised I hadn't read it yet, until I was checking my GR shelf, and saw I had the whole trilogy to read. So, I decided to binge read it all, and was so glad to have kept them together. This period of British history is one that we see time and time again being explored in novels and other media (*cough* Outlander *cough*), and I'm ashamed to say that as a Brit, and a history graduate, I don't know too much about it, other than Culloden. I'll say as a former history teacher, that the British curriculum doesn't like to show too much that portrays the country in a bad light, and the English treatment of the Scots during this time, would definitely fall under that umbrella. Jenny was such a strong character, and I just fell in love with her from the first few pages. She's the daughter and granddaughter of proud Scotsmen, who would be turning in their graves to see where her brother, Hamish, was now. She had to take up the mantel and help her people, even acting as the Laird in all but name. The risks to her body and her life were there at every moment, and drawing the attention of Captain Boyd was unbelievably dangerous, but she did it to help her Prince. She wasn't trusting of Toran at first, for good reason, but they had a chemistry that would overcome anything, and the way they hit it off, and played off each other's strengths was glorious. Honestly, they were one of the best couples I've ever read, and I loved seeing the growth in them both. For Toran, he had been on the side of the English, thinking to make the Jacobites suffer for what happened to his mother, but when he learnt the truth, and saw that the Scottish people just wanted their freedom, and dignity, he soon was fully on Jenny's side, and her biggest supporter. I really liked the ending, and hope we see more of the people of the Mackintosh clan in the subsequent books, which follow Jenny's friends, Annie and Fiona.

Dates Read:
August 26, 2021

Rating
4 Stars