Cindy J. (cindyj) - reviewed on 12/22/2015 + 62 more book reviews

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.

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