Almost Priest (McCullough Mountain, #1)

by Lydia Michaels

[stacey_is_sassy]

I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!!

***3.5 Stars***

I got a lovely email from Lydia Michaels and her P.A. asking me if I’d be interested in reading a few books and reviewing them. Sure, I say. With pleasure, I say. Give me something gritty, I say. Well, they decided to CHALLENGE me. What do they give a Catholic girl (who admittedly isn’t the best little Catholic girl out there)? Well, they give me a story about a man who is nearly finished his studies to become a priest, questioning his devotion because of the heroine?

Geez, talk about testing me?

Well, I’m no slacker, I took Sacred Waters and I read the heck out of it.

At first, I was hesitant to start because I was worried that I’d be stepping into one of those stories (that I’ve avoided up until now) with a priest disregarding his vows for a little “Oh God, have mercy…” in the naughtiest of ways. Well, this was NOTHING like that. I'm happy to say, it was more about good old fashioned Irish family shenanigans than the dreaded...TABOO.

Oh boy, Sacred Waters tested my mettle, sent my eyes rolling and had me tutt-tutting from here to eternity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m bloody glad that he questioned his devotion before the final vows. But, I had to question, how did this happen JUST before he’s about to say his vows? Well, some things are just meant to happen…

I loved the McCulloughs, the family dynamics, their matriarch and the mountain they get to call their own. Sure, the oldest brother, our hero Colin, is a bit of a goose, but the rest of them are fantastic. OK…mostly fantastic. The majority of the McCulloughs are male, so of course, they can all have their goosey moments.

Really and truly, I would like to say that I loved this story but unfortunately, I can’t. I liked it. I was a wee bit frustrated and may have even contemplated harm to my kindle in the bad moments. She, Sammy the heroine, went in with her eyes wide open heading for heartbreak. He, well, he acted like a self-righteous, holier-than-though numbskull who took what he wanted, knowing he’d be leaving her heartbroken. They both deserved the heartbreak they initially got. I know that sounds mean, but it wasn't like they were teenagers. He's 29 and she's 24 (I think). Both of them have (or should have) enough maturity to think with their heads instead of their bits and pieces.

Honourable mention must go to Kelly McCullough. Of all the McCulloughs, he is by far my favourite. His cheeky larrikin ways, mixed with his saucy tongue, make him the rogue you can’t say no to. The fact that he’s also the peace talker, man-in-motion and fixer-upperer, makes him the McCullough I most want to see happy ever after.

The best part of this book is knowing that I’ll get to see more of the McCulloughs in the future. I’m kind of hoping that the rest of the bunch have a little more sense than Colin, but I guess, you have to get through the bad to get to the good. Eventually, Colin does come good and finally hands over his goosey membership and earns a little hearts-aflutter badge from me.

I will definitely be going on in this series, and after meeting Finn McCoolloughs (yeah, I mucked with his name), I won’t be waiting long.

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.