Luck of the Irish by Mallary Mitchell

Luck of the Irish is a historical but it is a little bit different in the romance. Don’t worry, it is good and has the HEA that makes us look to fiction for an escape from reality. The civil war setting does lend a different twist for a different type of romance.

Sergeant Ian O'Reilly must find his brother, captured by Confederate forces, but he needs a little luck. Ian's company occupies New Bern, North Carolina, but New Bern holds many treasured memories including those of the lovely southern belle, Olivia Coltrane who stole his heart.
Olivia Coltrane doesn't think about the war. Her parents' deaths has forced her to work as a nurse to support herself and her daughter. When a group of soldier come under her care, she is devastated to find Ian among the wounded. Can their love be rekindled, or does this Yankee have a hidden agenda?

Dear Lucinda, Feb 10, 1864
North Carolina

It seems you were correct dear. And I may be loosing my best nurse soon. Don’t worry, Livy is fine! Better than fine. I’m not making any sense, but after so many hours trying to save all these young men, I am very tired. War is such an ugly thing, especially from the inside of a hospital.

Anyway, for the good news. You said you thought Livy didn’t really have a husband, even though she claimed to be a widow. That she didn’t act like a woman grieving her man. After finding those shot Union soldier by the bodies of her parents at their store, I did wonder if something had happened to her. Now I know that it did. I have met the man that saved her.

A couple of days ago we had some Union soldiers come into the hospital. I was able to save four of them, though I did loose one. Had to perform a couple of surgeries and one was unconscious for days. That young man was Ian O’Reilly, the man that saved our friend Olivia. After talking to him I have found out they have know each other for years. He use to visit her at the store when he sailed on his father’s ship. Seems he has loved Livy for years but her father didn’t think him good enough for her. So he told her he was going to become a priest (or some such nonsense) and left. He did join the Union side of the war, but he was able to save her after she was attacked when her parents were killed. Unfortunately, that is were Seva (the baby) came from. Luckily, Ian doesn’t seem to mind and even wants to claim Seva as his.

I have a plan to get them out of here. We have talked about how we think the South is going to be cut off from supplies and such soon. And as much as we miss our own daughter, we have both agreed it is better for her up north with her husband. I think it would be better for Livy and Seva as well. With this Union soldier showing up in such a timely manner, I can’t help up take advantage of the situation. I have even sent for Reverend Ayscue and gotten Ian to agree to marry Lily. He somehow got her to agree to the marriage all on his own, so I feel this is the right thing to do. I just hope I can get them and the baby out of here and to a safe place before General Pickett’s inspection tomorrow.

I am not really sure why Ian was in this area. I hope he doesn’t end up doing anything to cause my plan to fail. The last thing we need is a spy in our hospital. We are so short on supplies we can’t keep our own men alive, much less the poor Union boys they keep sending me. I know I sound like I am looking for trouble, but he keeps looking around for something, and the last thing I need is some hot head going off on his own. I just got him back on his feet as it is.

Wish me luck. I’ll see you tomorrow or the next day.
Your loving husband,
Doc McKinley

Luck of the Irish does deal with serious issues. The civil war is not a pretty setting no matter how you look at it. Add the ugly side of a hospital, and this could have been down right upsetting. Instead, things are presented as needed but not overly grisly. Seva is the byproduct of rape, but Livy has basically blocked that out even as her understands and accepts what happened to her, and loves her daughter regardless of how she was conceived. She has become a strong woman, dealing with what has and is happening to her. She has found a good way to provide for herself and her daughter in a world that is completely turned upside down from everything her ever knew. Amazing. Ian is a good, upstanding man. That he is willing to take on Livy and Seva says all that needs to be said when one realizes that most men of that time would have condemned her over something that was beyond her control (literally!). That he loved her before the incident happened has everything to do with it, but he still comes across as a great guy. I really liked him. And Luck of the Irish has a great father figure in Doc McKinley.

Luck of the Irish is good. Mallary Mitchell does a good job of putting us in the situation and yet not getting sidetracked in all the history. There is so much going on in the civil war that we could have gotten lost in any number of areas, but the story stays in its little area, with the characters while explaining all we need to know for the setting and each person. I was very impressed that Mallary didn’t fall for any of those pitfalls (as I have a bad habit of doing just talking) and still got everything across to us. I do have one big issue however. Luck of the Irish is too short! I really enjoyed Luck of the Irish and would have liked more (in several parts)!