A Reckless Runaway (The Shelley Sisters, #2)

by Jess Michaels

[Lindsey Gray]

Anne Shelley ran away from her arranged marriage. She picked the man who she believed was the lesser of two evils, Ellis “Handsome” Maitland. While Ellis abandoned her with his cousin, Rook, within hours, Rook became a third choice she never knew she had. While Anne gets to know Rook’s life on his own Scottish island, she learns he has little in common with his smarmy cousin. Once Anne realizes Ellis isn’t coming back anytime soon, she and Rook are forced to take the long way around to get her home.

As the tale of the Shelley triplets continues, we are taken on a road trip of love while danger lurks in the shadows. While Anne did appear in the first book of the series, she knows little of what happened when she left her unwanted fiancé, the Earl of Harcourt, who went on to marry her sister, Thomasina. This story takes place parallel to the first novel and goes a bit beyond and, oh boy, do we get a big surprise twist to the ongoing mystery.

Michaels always writes compelling characters with fantastic stories to tell. I couldn’t wait to get my eyes on this one, so I read the first one more than once in preparation. Rook was only hinted at in the first book so he was a blank slate that Michaels filled with a compassionate former criminal trying to start over by isolating himself. He wasn’t looking for Anne and she certainly wasn’t looking for him. Over the course of the novel, Michaels created characters who were more than their families, more than anyone ever thought they could be.

A Reckless Runaway is another 5 Star read for me. I highly recommend reading the first story, A Reluctant Bride, before this to understand why Anne ran away. Plus, it is a magnificent read and it will give you hours of enjoyment before the third Shelly Sisters book, A Counterfeit Courtesan, releases March 3rd, 2020.

I received A Reckless Runaway for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.