The Pure Heart
by Trudi Tweedie
What they say: When Iseabail is employed by a wealthy merchant to be his daughter's companion, her life changes forever. Transported from her remote island home to the Scottish borderlands, Iseabail is unnerved both by her precocious young charge and the house's secrets: a hidden chapel, servants who speak in a foreign tongue, a mute stableboy. And then the merchant returns with a mysterious cargo. Why has Iseabail really been summoned here? And will she ever make it back home?
I received this in the January 2020 Book Box Club box. No review was expected and the views are mine alone.
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What I say: I received The Pure Heart by Trudi Tweedie in Book Box Club's January box. I'm a little surprised by the number of negative reviews because I enjoyed the story (mostly), but each to their own and all that! I can understand why people found Iseabail annoying or difficult to like.
This was a very different type of book to what I was expecting. In a good way! I was expecting a YA historical romance with a love triangle or two. Without giving anything away, this is SO not what The Pure Heart is about!
Iseabail lives on a remotes Scottish island with her family but finds herself sent away from everything she knows and the boy she's supposed to marry, to be the companion of a rich merchant's daughter, Maria. Iseabail is taken to a Bronte like manor house full of mystery, gothic beauty and all kinds of drama. Scotland and the house are described beautifully, I could almost taste the waters myself.
I liked Iseabail although I would have liked her to follow her instincts and ask more questions. Something about Maria reminded me of cousin Colin from The Secret Garden and she was just as demanding and irritating.
The Pure Heart has all the twists. Oh the ending! In terms of closure I would like a follow up, although on the other hand I did like the different ending and particularly enjoyed the world building.
4 Stars in my Sky!
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