The Maid of Ballymacool ~ Review

The Maid of Ballymacool

By Jennifer Deibel

All her life Brianna Kelly has called Ballymacool home, she is treated as a nobody and expected to do more work than anyone else. She is forbidden to leave the grounds and is at the mercy of her guardian, Maureen Magee. But until Michael Wray came to Ballymacool House and Boarding School to attend his cousin Adeline, she didn't realize how much her life lacked.

Michael is part of Ireland's gentry but feels that those in service should be respected and acknowledged for their work. He is more than appalled when he sees how Brianna is (mis)treated. 

The Maid of Ballymacool is set in 1935, County Donegal, Ireland. And there is both mystery and tragedy connected to Ballymacool House and Brianna. Who is Brianna, and why was she left with Maureen Magee? 

I have to admit I really disliked Mistress Magee in her opening scene, and she did not grow more likable at all, in fact, she grew more unlikeable as the story progressed. There were moments when one could have experienced sympathy for her, but her personality kept me from such feelings. And her intense dislike and cruelty of and to Brianna was such a contrast to Michael's behavior. The story reads like a Cinderella-like story, a poor orphan who is overworked and abused and in need of a champion to protect and save her. But can Michael save Brianna from the woman who is her guardian? 

This is a book I would highly recommend. It is an attention grabber. I read it over an eight-hour period and didn't want to put it down. This was the perfect after-work escape. So find a favorite reading corner and get ready to take a step back in time to Ireland for a lovely visit and a romance.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Brianna Kelly was abandoned at Ballymacool House and Boarding School as an infant. She has worked there since she was a wee girl and will likely die there. Despite a sense that she was made for something more, Brianna feels powerless to change her situation, so she consoles herself by exploring the Ballymacool grounds, looking for hidden treasures to add to the secret trove beneath the floorboards of her room.

When Michael Wray, the son of local gentry, is sent to Ballymacool to deal with his unruly cousin, he finds himself drawn to Brianna, immediately and inescapably. There is something about her that feels so . . . familiar. When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the woods, she commits to learning its origins, with the help of Michael. What they discover may change everything.

Fan favorite Jennifer Deibel invites you back to the Emerald Isle in the 1930s for this fresh take on the Cinderella story, complete with a tantalizing mystery, a budding romance, and a chance at redemption.