The cover of this book is beautiful and intriguing It screamed for me to pick it up and look inside. This story is set in 1911- Long Island, N.Y. Gilbert Whelan is a former stable hand who's unsure of his future as he returns home from Business College. He's also unsure about his feelings for Brianna. He remembers her as a young spunky girl who shared his passion for horses, was loyal and made him laugh.
Brianna is thrilled to have Gilbert back. She wondered if he saw her as a woman now. She needed him to help convince her father to send her to college. She yearned to continue her learn all she could. Her father thought woman should be married and have babies. Why bother with school. Brianna's only job in her father's eyes was to marry well.
Brianna's older sister is Colleen O'Leary who is seriously setting out to do her father proud and marry well. But as the farm slips closer out of James O'Leary's ability to keep things afloat he becomes desperate to save Irish Meadows horse ranch. Marrying off his daughters seems to be a viable option and one that needs to happen soon.
Gilbert Whelan who's trying to avoid Brianna and his growing feelings for her; is torn between his obligations to James O'Leary who is a domineering Father and has high expectations on everyone he encounters.
His wife Katherine is the peace maker, buffer in the house. She's the glue to keeping the family together with her faith.
Rylan Montgomery is visiting while he studies to be a Priest. He's a distant cousin who feels very distracted by Colleen O'Leary. He's fighting his feelings. Colleen is a bit of a brat who uses her beauty to get her way in matters and loves the attention she gets.
I liked Brianna from the start with her aspirations' for the future. She seeks an education in a time when women were not encouraged to do so and/or have an opinion an opinion was seen as unnecessary. I grew to like Coleen as the story progressed and I watched her mature as she learned what truly is important in life. Each character struggles to be true to themselves no matter what others demand.
This is an emotional roller coaster of a read as each character struggles to trust God in their life, future, provision, and happiness. A few characters were tortured by their feelings as their hearts longed for love at the same time their minds told them," I shouldn't have feelings for this person" they'd be better off with someone else. It was kind of like "I can't see you But I have to see you." It was predictable. The story is told from four points of views Gilbert, Brianna, Colleen and Rylan, which at times was nerve racking!
This is a debut novel and the first of three books in a series. In the next book the author will be featuring the missing family member, from this novel, Adam O'Leary. I'm sure the author will have the characters we've gotten to know in this novel.
Disclosure of Material Connection: #AD Sponsor
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"
Nora St Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
Book Fun Magazine www.bookfunmagazine.com
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
Brianna is thrilled to have Gilbert back. She wondered if he saw her as a woman now. She needed him to help convince her father to send her to college. She yearned to continue her learn all she could. Her father thought woman should be married and have babies. Why bother with school. Brianna's only job in her father's eyes was to marry well.
Brianna's older sister is Colleen O'Leary who is seriously setting out to do her father proud and marry well. But as the farm slips closer out of James O'Leary's ability to keep things afloat he becomes desperate to save Irish Meadows horse ranch. Marrying off his daughters seems to be a viable option and one that needs to happen soon.
Gilbert Whelan who's trying to avoid Brianna and his growing feelings for her; is torn between his obligations to James O'Leary who is a domineering Father and has high expectations on everyone he encounters.
His wife Katherine is the peace maker, buffer in the house. She's the glue to keeping the family together with her faith.
Rylan Montgomery is visiting while he studies to be a Priest. He's a distant cousin who feels very distracted by Colleen O'Leary. He's fighting his feelings. Colleen is a bit of a brat who uses her beauty to get her way in matters and loves the attention she gets.
I liked Brianna from the start with her aspirations' for the future. She seeks an education in a time when women were not encouraged to do so and/or have an opinion an opinion was seen as unnecessary. I grew to like Coleen as the story progressed and I watched her mature as she learned what truly is important in life. Each character struggles to be true to themselves no matter what others demand.
This is an emotional roller coaster of a read as each character struggles to trust God in their life, future, provision, and happiness. A few characters were tortured by their feelings as their hearts longed for love at the same time their minds told them," I shouldn't have feelings for this person" they'd be better off with someone else. It was kind of like "I can't see you But I have to see you." It was predictable. The story is told from four points of views Gilbert, Brianna, Colleen and Rylan, which at times was nerve racking!
This is a debut novel and the first of three books in a series. In the next book the author will be featuring the missing family member, from this novel, Adam O'Leary. I'm sure the author will have the characters we've gotten to know in this novel.
Disclosure of Material Connection: #AD Sponsor
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"
Nora St Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
Book Fun Magazine www.bookfunmagazine.com
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
This was a wonderful story of an Irish family living in early 1900's New York. I very much enjoyed the story as well as the characters. The descriptions were very well done and I could picture the historical time frame as if I were living in it. I also liked the multiple points of view from the characters which really kept my interest.
Irish Meadows by Susan Anne Mason is about the James and Kathleen O'Leary family and their beloved horse farm named Irish Meadows in honor of their native Ireland. James has run a successful farm for many years, but due to changing legislation and outlawing of horseracing in some states, the tides of fortune have turned and he is facing the loss of his home and business. His solution is to secure the marriages of his two oldest daughters, Colleen and Brianna, to wealthy men. His "adopted" son, Gilbert Whelan, is also to be married off to the local banker's daughter.
Colleen O'Leary is a flirt, using one person after another to gain her wishes. She is unmindful and uncaring of who she hurts in the process. Gil Whelan was left in the care of James and Kathleen O'Leary when his mother, the O'Leary housekeeper, passed away. Gil is now returning from college, which was paid for by Mr. O'Leary, to work at Irish Meadows because he feels obligated. Brianna O'Leary is weeks away from graduating from high school and would like to attend college in the fall. Her father has never listened to her or paid her any attention so she hopes to enlist Gil's help, as a recent college graduate, in persuading her father to consent to her college education. Rylan Montgomery is interning with the local priest Reverend Filmore before taking his own vows as a priest. Because his home is undergoing renovations, Reverend Filmore is staying with his sister who does not have the space to accommodate Rylan. Kathleen O'Leary is a very distant relative of Rylan's mother who contacted Kathleen to ask if the O'Leary family could house Rylan during his internship.
Although James O'Leary is not the main character in the story, he dominates simply because of the influence he has on everyone else. James is not a Christian, although Kathleen is. Kathleen did not seem to have nearly the influence on the family that James did. James forced Colleen and Brianna into relationships they were opposed to, and he used guilt to get Gil to comply. I can't say that I really liked any of the characters except Rylan. As Gil and Brianna worked through their relationship, they seemed to cover the same territory repeatedly. An issue was "resolved", but it wasn't long before it was back again just in a slightly different form. After Colleen was saved, she became an "angel". She was instantly sweet and kind. Other than these things, I can't really put my finger on why I didn't really care for the book. Am I sorry I read the book? Not exactly, although I probably would not have finished it if I hadn't needed to review it. Do I plan to read book 2? No. If someone asked specifically about the book, I would probably say it was "ok". I'm sure lots of people will love this book; I just wasn't one of them.
I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
Colleen O'Leary is a flirt, using one person after another to gain her wishes. She is unmindful and uncaring of who she hurts in the process. Gil Whelan was left in the care of James and Kathleen O'Leary when his mother, the O'Leary housekeeper, passed away. Gil is now returning from college, which was paid for by Mr. O'Leary, to work at Irish Meadows because he feels obligated. Brianna O'Leary is weeks away from graduating from high school and would like to attend college in the fall. Her father has never listened to her or paid her any attention so she hopes to enlist Gil's help, as a recent college graduate, in persuading her father to consent to her college education. Rylan Montgomery is interning with the local priest Reverend Filmore before taking his own vows as a priest. Because his home is undergoing renovations, Reverend Filmore is staying with his sister who does not have the space to accommodate Rylan. Kathleen O'Leary is a very distant relative of Rylan's mother who contacted Kathleen to ask if the O'Leary family could house Rylan during his internship.
Although James O'Leary is not the main character in the story, he dominates simply because of the influence he has on everyone else. James is not a Christian, although Kathleen is. Kathleen did not seem to have nearly the influence on the family that James did. James forced Colleen and Brianna into relationships they were opposed to, and he used guilt to get Gil to comply. I can't say that I really liked any of the characters except Rylan. As Gil and Brianna worked through their relationship, they seemed to cover the same territory repeatedly. An issue was "resolved", but it wasn't long before it was back again just in a slightly different form. After Colleen was saved, she became an "angel". She was instantly sweet and kind. Other than these things, I can't really put my finger on why I didn't really care for the book. Am I sorry I read the book? Not exactly, although I probably would not have finished it if I hadn't needed to review it. Do I plan to read book 2? No. If someone asked specifically about the book, I would probably say it was "ok". I'm sure lots of people will love this book; I just wasn't one of them.
I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
