The Freemason’s Daughter by Shelley Sackier (review)

As part of a Scottish clan that secretly supports the Jacobite cause, sixteen-year-old Jenna is used to being on the move, staying ahead of the English dragoons. Now she finds herself in the midst of them, as her clan has been hired on as stonemasons to build a garrison for an English duke, giving them a chance at subterfuge and rebellion. Meanwhile, the duke’s son Alex chafes under his father’s expectations that his son will go into politics and Alex’s wealthy friends constant focus on class and noble blood. Alex and Jenna meet, the former intrigued by Jenna’s literacy and intellect, and Jenna attracted to Alex … well, more physically and perhaps out of pity. The book never convincingly presents Alex as a worthy contender for Jenna’s affections, nor does it clearly delineate the lovers’ emotional connection to each other. There’s more telling than showing in the descriptions of both the setting and the characters’ feelings, particularly Jenna’s. Still, the covert actions of the clan, the threat of certain death if found out, and the thrilling final scenes add some much needed zest to the plot. Romantics might be disappointed, but fans of Scottish history and subterfuge will be intrigued.