A Literary Vacation : TLC Book Review: The Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pub. Date: August 15th, 2017
Pages: 576

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Ireland. 1925. The war is over. But life will never be the same…

In the green hills of West Cork, Ireland, Castle Deverill has burned to the ground. But young Celia Deverill is determined to see her ruined ancestral home restored to its former glory — to the years when Celia ran through its vast halls with her cousin Kitty and their childhood friend Bridie Doyle.

Kitty herself is raising a young family, but she longs for Jack O’Leary — the long-ago sweetheart she cannot have. And soon Kitty must make a heartbreaking decision, one that could destroy everything she holds dear.

Bridie, once a cook’s daugher in Castle Deverill, is now a well-heeled New York City socialite. Yet her celebrity can’t erase a past act that haunts her still. Nor can it keep her from seeking revenge upon the woman who wronged her all those years ago.

As these three daughters of Ireland seek to make their way in a world once again beset by dark forces, Santa Montefiore shows us once more why she is one of the best-loved storytellers at work today.

What Did I Think About the Story?

When I read and reviewed the first book in Santa Montefiore's Deverill Chronicles Trilogy, The Girl in the Castle, I knew this was a series I was going to love! Grand historic details and settings and dramatic situations made this a family saga that I couldn't get enough of. When the second book in the series, The Daughters of Ireland, came up for review I jumped at the chance to read it. What had happened to Kitty and Celia Deverill, Bridie Doyle, and Jack O'Leary since we left them? Had Jack and Kitty found a way to be together? Had Bridie found happiness? Jumping into this world was once again a delicious experience as so many secrets came to light and our beloved characters' search for personal vengeance and/or happiness lead them down some unexpected paths.

The Daughters of Ireland picks up shortly after The Girl in the Castle ended and thrusts us right back into the hearts and minds of the Deverills and the people of Ballinakelly, the small village in Ireland where so much of this story takes place. While I will of course recommend anyone new to the series read the first book first - why not, it's wonderful! - it isn't required as Montefiore does an excellent job of summarizing what happened in the previous installment for those new to the series (or, like me, who might have forgotten some of what happened). Once again I was amazed to see how much detail and attention was given to the various storylines going on with our characters and how epic this story felt even though it only spanned about 13 years. When I was through I was amazed so much had happened within such a small amount of time!

I don't want to say too much about the plot as I might accidentally give something away, however I will say that none of these characters seem to quite get what they want, or what they believe they want anyways. There are so many emotions being battered around between them and so much anger or jealousy or pride that they end up hurting each other in some horrible ways, which doesn't end up giving them the satisfaction they thought they would have. Being the middle book of a trilogy there really isn't a huge amount of resolution of these larger issues and some of these characters come off quite badly at times, but what I enjoyed most of all were the new voices that got mixed into the already well-liked players and the promise of further development of their storylines in the third book, The Last Secret of the Deverills, which recently released in the UK and which I hope comes out in the US very soon.

Being that the historical details of historical fiction are typically my favorite parts, I'm somewhat surprised to say that my favorite part of this historical fiction novel were the supernatural elements. One of the central storylines of this series is the fact that the Deverills are living under a curse placed on the first Lord Deverill by the witch Maggie O'Leary, which dictates that no Lord Deverill will ever leave the castle until an O'Leary once again owns the land. What this means is that every single Lord Deverill that has died has been trapped within the walls of the castle. And we get to see and hear what is going on with them! We also get to see the last Lady Deverill, Kitty's grandmother Adeline, who has passed away and refuses to move on until she does what she can to influence those still alive to break the curse. I really enjoyed Adeline in the last novel (when she was very much alive for most of it) so was very happy to see her still play a part in the story development. Something else that I found fascinating were the short chapters sprinkled throughout that sent us back to the late 1600s and let us watch the events unfold that would inevitably bring about the curse on the Deverills.

Finally, as with the first novel, The Daughters of Ireland is bursting with beautiful details not only about the settings but about the customs and culture of this time period, especially when it comes to the advancements in America. Think flapper girls, speakeasies, and mobsters, which make quite the interesting foil for the more old-fashioned and traditional world the characters inhabit in Ireland.

The Daughters of Ireland is a beautifully written edition to the Deverill Chronicle series. While I didn't love it quite as much as The Girl in the Castle (it would be hard for me to love a book that more advances the story then really starts or finishes anything as much) I still did love it and enjoyed seeing how these characters moved and changed over these years. As I said above, I think I'm most excited to see where the new characters we have been introduced to will go in the final novel in the series and really can't wait to get my hands on it! Excellent historical fiction with a little bit (or a lot) for anyone to enjoy.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

It is so, so pretty! It's relatively simple - a woman in a pretty dress walking away from the viewer down a leaf-covered path - but what it does it does well. The colors are quite vibrant, which I love, and the sort of hazy atmosphere at the top really focuses the eyes on the woman in the center. I also think the placement and font of the writing is well done and appealing. All in all a cover that draws my attention.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins for providing me with a free copy of The Daughters of Ireland in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are mine alone. Please continue on below for more information about the book, the author, and the rest of the blog tour.

Reviews of Other Santa Montefiore Novels I've Read

The Girl in the Castle

Secrets of the Lighthouse

The Beekeeper's Daughter

The Summer House

About the Author

Santa Montefiore was born in England. She went to Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset and studied Spanish and Italian at Exeter University. She has written sixteen bestselling novels, which have been translated into thirty different languages and have sold more than two million copies worldwide.

Find out more about Santa at her website, and connect with her Facebook. You can also join the Facebook group dedicated to her books.