Historical Fiction – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Zero Option by Peter Kirsanow

Book Description

November 1943. Stalin is pressing the Allies to open a second front in Europe in order to ease the pressure on the bloody grinding war in the East. Roosevelt and Churchill agree to meet the Soviet premier in Tehran.

Wild Bill Donovan, the charismatic leader of the OSS, has intelligence that someone is planning to assassinate either or both of the Western leaders at the conference. He sends his best agent, Dick Canidy, to thwart the plan, but how can he do that when he doesn’t even know if the killer is a Nazi or an Ally?

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Elise’s Thoughts

W.E.B Griffin Zero Option by Peter Kirsnow bring to life the characters within an exciting thriller. This story has Major Dick Canidy of the US Army racing to stop an assassin from disrupting a vital conference that will shape the course of World War II.Stalin is pressing the Allies to open a second front in Europe to ease the pressure on the bloody grinding war in the East. Roosevelt and Churchill agree to meet the Soviet premier in Tehran. Wild Bill Donovan, the charismatic leader of the OSS, has intelligence that someone is planning to assassinate either or both of the Western leaders at the conference. He sends his best agent, Dick Canidy, to thwart the plan. Unfortunately, there are others also trying to thwart the success of the conference. There is also the danger that an important weapon is being developed and it must be kept out of both the German and Russian hands. Readers will not want to put the book down.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Peter Kirsanow: I wrote two so far. The first one came out last year. I always have been into WWII history. I have read history books about the historical characters of this period. The characters are larger than life with events the most cataclysmicin history. There is a lot of material. In writing about WWII there is an abundance of information even for fiction.

EC: Were there any parameters you had to follow?

PK: I was able to write my own stuff and not necessarily in the style of Griffin. But I had to have the characters consistent with the ones he created. I tried to keep the personalities the way he had created, including speaking in the same manner.

EC: Was it true Russia tried to do an assassination hoax to kill the western leaders?

PK: Historically people think that might be true. If Stalin thought it could prompt the western powers to move up the day for D-DAY. He needed a Western flank to open to relieve pressure on the Eastern front.

EC: How would you describe some of the antagonists?

PK: There are a couple of antagonists, all of whom I made formidable. Major Taras Gromev is one of them. He is a despicable character who can do just about anything. He is strong, determined, and guile. He is pure evil and ambitious. He had no second thoughts of killing friend or foe to achieve his objections. The character I thought is the most fascinating is a historical one, Otto Skorzeny, a German commando. He is like a James Bond on steroids. He was an Olympic athlete, James Bond. In fact, after the war he worked for Mossad. He is hyper-smart, a roguish character. I even wrote in the book how he rescued Mussolini from a prison that was on top of a mountain, heavily guarded by allied troops. He is very efficient, resourceful, and disciplined.

EC: The way Skorzeny rescued Mussolini reminded me of what Hamas did on October 7^th?

PK: Both are evil bad guys, the Germans and Hamas used gliders. I wrote this before October 7^th.

EC: How would you describe the protagonists?

PK: They are talented, innovative, aggressive, diligent, daring, and resourceful. Major Richard Canidy and Lt. Eric Fulmer were quid essential Americans, all-Americans. They were not evil or cunning. They would win by being on the up and up.

EC: What was the role of Dr. Sebastian Kapsky?

PK: He was a carryover from the previous novel. In the first book, The Devil’s Weapons, Canidy and Fulmer rescued him. He had encrypted the notebook so anyone who had it would need him to decipher it. I wanted the reader to think there was something in the notebook that could change the direction of the war and possibly giving the advantage to whoever possessed that information.

EC: Next books?

PK: It will not be a W.E.B. Griffin but one of my own, titled The Black Russian. It is about a defector from Russia, Putin-like most reliable assassin. He comes to the US and offers his services to the CIA. The President wants to use him but no one trusts him. A former Navy SEAL is assigned to be his watchdog. The plot is based on if the protagonists do not prevail the world will come to an end. They are trying to prevent a nuclear Armageddon. The next Griffin book is a question mark if I will write it.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Billy the Kid: The War for Lincoln County by Ryan C. Coleman

Book Description

Age 14: Orphan

Age 15: Inmate

Age 16: Outlaw

Age 17: Killer

In 1870s New Mexico, the territory is at a crossroads. The indigenous population is being driven out—and driven down—by the white settlers migrating west after the Civil War. The center of power isn’t the governor but rather the Santa Fe Ring, a group of wealthy politicians, businessman, and landowners who exercise power through organized crime, theft, graft, and murder. Their main source of income is a mercantile store in Lincoln known as the House.

After escaping jail, William Bonney—a.k.a. Billy the Kid—is a seventeen-year-old orphan who’s been on the run for the better part of two years. All he wants is to belong—to find a place he can call home and people he can call family.

He’d have been better off alone.

Billy falls in with a gang of ruthless rustlers and murderers who work as muscle for the House. But when Billy crosses one of the members, the gang sets out to kill him.

Billy narrowly escapes, finding refuge under the tutelage of John Tunstall, an English immigrant new to the territory who has his sights set on opening a business in Lincoln—and he’s intent on competing directly with the House. But when Tunstall is murdered, any positive effect the mentor had on Billy is eradicated, leaving the Kid with only one thing on his mind …

Revenge.

From orphan to outlaw to killer, this is the untold story behind the legend of Billy the Kid.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Billy the Kid by Ryan C. Coleman shows the notorious bad guy in a completely different light.

This book takes readers on a journey with William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, from the age of fourteen when he became an orphan, to fifteen when he was a prison inmate, to sixteen, an escaped outlaw, and at the age of seventeen, a killer.

New Mexico in the 1870s is not yet a state, but a territory. The center of power is the Santa Fe Ring. They are a group of wealthy politicians, businessmen, and landowners who exercise power through organized crime, theft, graft, and murder. Billy falls in with a gang of ruthless rustlers and murderers who work as muscle for the House. But when Billy crosses one of the members, the gang sets out to kill him. Billy narrowly escapes, finding refuge under the tutelage of John Tunstall, an English immigrant new to the territory who has his sights set on opening a business in Lincoln, intent on competing directly with the House. But when Tunstall is murdered by those working for the House, any positive effect the mentor had on Billy is eradicated. Billy has only one thought, to get revenge for his friend and mentor’s murder.

The Lincoln County War, in which, Billy becomes intertwined, is between Lawrence Murphy, a merchant with connections to the notorious Santa Fe Ring. On the other side is Alexander McSween, a young lawyer, and John Tunstall a merchant and rancher from England with a rival store. The competition soon moves into bloodshed. Out of a sense of loyalty, Billy takes the side of McSween and Tunstall, fighting on the side of “The Regulators.” It was here that he became an outlaw, only because The Regulators did not have the power and influence on their side of the law.

Anyone who loves westerns will be fascinated with this book that breaks down all the discrepancies about Billy the Kid. Coleman shows him as more of a gunman protecting his friends than a psychopathic killer. There is plenty of action that will keep readers pinned to their seat.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Do you agree the portrayal of Billy the Kid was that he was a psychopath?

Ryan Coleman: This was an inspiration. The movies showed him as a psychopath with bullets whizzing. This did not ring true for me. I wrote this book to put his life in context, since he was 14 – 21 years during the period.

EC: How did you get interested in Billy the Kid?

RC: It started with the movie “Young Guns” when I was a child. Over the years I was consumed so I searched for every documentary and book I could find.

EC: Would this be made into a movie or TV show?

RC: I thought this book might make a good limited series. My background is from the film and TV world as a writer. I met up with the screenwriter, Shane Salerno, who now represents novelists. He suggested I write this novel. This is when I decided to write a book.

EC: Do you think Billy is really a hero?

RC: I would not go as far as to call him a hero. New Mexico where Billy resided was an extremely corrupt territory, not even a state yet. A 100% true story is when he gets arrested at the age of 14 or 15. This older guy asked him to hold some blankets and some guns that were stolen. But Billy gets busted and is taken to jail where he escapes. This is a pivotal moment in his life. Unfortunately, circumstances created Billy the Kid and worked against him.

EC: Who were his influences?

RC: I think he was looking for a family. He never knew his father and his stepfather was not very nice. He was looking for a mentor and father figure. He found it with John Tunstall. Funny how he was always portrayed in the movies as an elderly wise ‘sit on my knee’ type of mentor. In actuality, he was only twenty-seven years.

He was also influenced by his favorite song, “Silver Threads Among the Gold.” The words were a metaphor for him not having control of his own life. He was pulled by a force greater than himself into the Lincoln County War, and not able to control his own destiny. As the book goes on, every time he dreams he gets a little further into the dark woods.

EC: How would you describe who he was before Billy the Kid, Henry?

RC: He was a sharpshooter, clever, quick, and calm.

EC: What about Billy the Kid?

RC: He liked to taunt people, loyal, and took to revenge. He was fearless, cold-blooded, charming, and felt whatever he did was justified to protect his friends. Once Tunstall, his mentor, was killed in front of him a switch was flipped. At the time he was 17 or 18 years. He needed a meaning to his life, which ended up being retribution for his friend’s murder.

EC: What role did the Buck Morton character play in the story?

RC: He was a real person. He was really part of the bad gang, The Boys, and was killed by Billy’s group, The Regulators. After Billy joined up with The Boys, there was a member of that gang who was jealous of Billy because he believed his girlfriend had the hots for him. They wanted to kill Billy, which caused him to leave that gang. I used Buck as that person and made it his girlfriend. I wrote in the story how she did not have the hots for Billy, but Buck believed she did. I used Buck as the connection between that event and how the Regulators killed Buck. This is where the fiction slipped into the historical fiction.

EC: What about Jesse Evans?

RC: He was the head of the gang, The Boys. He had a very nasty streak. He acted as muscle and protection for Billy’s enemies.

EC: Did the corruptness in New Mexico cause Billy not to get a fair shake?

RC: That is true. The Lincoln County War was the story of organized crime. The corruptness was off the chart including the Governor. They had power that went all the way to the White House. To enrich themselves they ruled through criminality. There were so many moving pieces to create the perfect storm that pulled Billy into the Lincoln County War where he became a legendary figure. There were actual records of how he spoke and thought. His friends who lived told of a completely different side of him, which was never shown on screen. Although his brother did not speak a lot about Billy. After Billy escaped from prison, they never saw each other again.

EC: What do you want the reader to get out of it?

RC: Being depicted as a psychopath did not line up with everything I learned about him.

EC: Do you think circumstances influenced who Billy became?

RC: His backstory was one of trauma. His mother died when he was fourteen, while his stepfather abandoned him and wanted nothing to do with him. Everything I heard about him was that he was affable, charming, smart, literate, and personable. I think if his mother did not die when he was fourteen, there would never have been a Billy the Kid. His mother’s death combined with his stepfather abandoning him set off a chain of events. It left a void in his life.

EC: Next book?

RC: I am thinking of writing something in the crime thriller genre.

THANK YOU!!

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Feature Post and Book Review: The Paris Daughter by Soraya Lane

Book Description

Paris, 1939: Gazing out at the glittering skyline, Evelina clutches the letter from her love in shaking hands. “I know I do not deserve you, my darling, but I pray that you will change your mind. You have my heart, and I hope that nothing will keep us apart…”

London, present day. Blake gazes down at a scrap of shimmering silver velvet attached to a faded dress design, tracing the details with wonder. They were left with her grandmother at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers, before she was adopted. Now her beloved grandmother has passed, the beautiful fabric and the designer’s signature are the only clues Blake has about her biological family. Will she be able to unravel the decades-old family secret?

Blake can’t get the intricate drawing, and what it could reveal about her family, out of her head. Armed with a plane ticket, a Paris address and the details of a handsome fashion curator named Henri, Blake is determined to find out the truth about her talented great-grandmother Evelina’s life. Perhaps doing so will help Blake get her old spark for designing back, after her dreams have sat forgotten for so long.

Soon Blake is walking down the Champs-Élysées and enjoying intimate dinners with Henri, who is researching Evelina’s work as one of Paris’ most celebrated designers, whose bold designs rivalled Coco Chanel’s. As Henri and Blake grow closer, they uncover Evelina’s legacy, and her forbidden romance that set the fashion world ablaze.

As Blake discovers the impossible choice that caused Evelina to flee the most romantic city in the world, she wonders if she too could risk everything for love. Could hearing tales of her great-grandmother’s bravery encourage her to take a chance on a new life with Henri? Or will the fallout of Evelina’s heart-wrenching past drive Blake back home?

A completely addictive and emotional novel about family secrets, forbidden love and having the courage to follow your dreams.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209482244-the-paris-daughter?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=VU4jGuQgcw&rank=3

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE PARIS DAUGHTER (The Lost Daughters Book #5) by Soraya Lane is a captivating and emotional dual time-line women’s historical fiction from start to finish. Each book in the series stands alone with the connection being Hope House, a home for unwed mothers in London, England. This series and author are both new to me, but after reading this beautiful story, I will absolutely be reading the other books in the series.

1930’s Paris France is all about high fashion. Eighteen-year-old Evelina has been dreaming and drawing to be just like Coco Chanel her entire life. Her farming parents hate the decadent city and do not support her dreams. They tell her she must marry or leave home. Evelina goes alone to Paris and is willing to work hard for her dream, which over several years, she accomplishes. She is the exclusive designer for the most prestigious department store in Paris.

In present day London, Blake receives a wooden box meant for her grandmother who has passed away. Inside is a chic dress drawing and a luxurious piece of fabric. Blake proposes writing a series of articles for her job as she searches to find the connection between this mystery box and her grandmother. She is desperate to find out who this designer may be and if she was her grandmother’s mother. The search will take her out of her normal everyday existence to the world of high fashion houses and designers in Paris. Could this connection be the spark to reignite Blake’s designing talent and forge a new life she has only every dreamed of?

I loved this book so much and I cannot believe I have not heard of or read the other books in this series. These books are easily read as standalones, but I am glad I read this book first because Evelina was the first occupant of Hope House. Ms. Lane brings these two women to life on the page as well as Paris in the past and present. The story seamlessly flows between the two time periods which led to me not being able to put the book down because I was so engrossed. This story has so many emotional parts, both happy and sad as the two women learn to be true to themselves. Their courage, tenacity, and love are evident throughout. I am so looking forward to reading about the other daughters in this series.

I highly recommend this extraordinary and beautiful women’s historical fiction novel.

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About the Author

Soraya Lane graduated with a law degree before realizing that law wasn’t the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction, and her novel Wives of War was an Amazon Charts bestseller.

Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four legged friends. When she’s not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.sorayalane.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Soraya_Lane

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/soraya-lane

Feature Post and Book Review: Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran

Book Description

In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. He’s intrigued to learn that she was once a novice who hoped to live quietly as an Austrian nun before her abbey sent her away to teach a widowed baron’s sickly child. What should have been a ten-month assignment, however, unexpectedly turned into a marriage proposal. And when the family was forced to flee their home to escape the Nazis, it was Maria who instructed them on how to survive using nothing but the power of their voices.

It’s an inspirational story, to be sure, and as half of the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein duo, Hammerstein knows it has big Broadway potential. Yet much of Maria’s life will have to be reinvented for the stage, and with the horrors of war still fresh in people’s minds, Hammerstein can’t let audiences see just how close the von Trapp’s came to losing their lives.

But when Maria sees the script that is supposedly based on her life, she becomes so incensed that she sets off to confront Hammerstein in person. Told that he’s busy, she is asked to express her concerns to his secretary, Fran, instead. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship as Maria tells Fran about her life, contradicting much of what will eventually appear in The Sound of Music.

A tale of love, loss, and the difficult choices that we are often forced to make, Maria is a powerful reminder that the truth is usually more complicated—and certainly more compelling—than the stories immortalized by Hollywood.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201102253-maria?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=IvOE3L3kSo&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MARIA: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran is an engaging biographical historical fiction novel that takes the reader on a journey into the real life of Maria von Trapp compared to the Maria von Trapp portrayed in The Sound of Music. It is a story that is fictionalized and yet still is able to demonstrate the truth of a life is usually more complicated.

Oscar Hammerstein is asked to compose the music for a Broadway play based on the life of Maria von Trapp and her singing family. While it is an inspirational story, it must be condensed for the stage and when Maria sees the script, she is very angry and wants to confront Hammerstein. Hammerstein sends his secretary, Fran, to meet with Maria and find out what she objects to in the musical.

Fran is excited to meet Maria and as she listens to Maria’s life story they become unlikely friends over the week of conversations, but she knows it is too late to change the musical and worries that Maria could cause problems with the press. She begins to understand why Maria is upset, so she writes her report hoping Mr. Hammerstein can do something.

This story is one that you will want to curl up on the couch with and read in one sitting. The differences between the real Maria and the Maria of The Sound of Music are fascinating. She was not an easy woman by any means after a difficult childhood and yet it was her ambition, resilience, and grit that got the family through many difficult times. Families are complicated. I also found the snippets of Oscar Hammerstein’s life interesting. I know that whenever I watch the movie again, I will still love it for what it is, a fun musical movie, but it is not what the real-life von Trapp’s experienced, and their lives were much more complicated than what you see on the screen.

I highly recommend this compelling biographical historical fiction novel!

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About the Author

Michelle Moran is the international bestselling author of seven historical novels. A native of southern California, she attended Pomona College, then earned a Masters Degree from the Claremont Graduate University. During her six years as a public high school teacher she used her summers to travel around the world, and it was her experiences as a volunteer on archaeological digs that inspired her to write historical fiction.

In 2012 Michelle was married in India, inspiring her seventh book, Rebel Queen, which is set in the East. Her hobbies include hiking, traveling, and archaeology. She is also fascinated by archaeogenetics, particularly since her children’s heritages are so mixed. But above all these things Michelle is passionate about reading and can often be found with her nose in a good book. A frequent traveler, she currently resides with her husband, son, and daughter in the US. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.michellemoran.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichelleMoran/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormichellemoran/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-moran

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elsie Cooper: A Jewel in the Crown by David Lewis

Book Description

1940: Weeks after the evacuation of Dunkirk, Germany is poised to invade a near-defenseless Britain. To safeguard the Crown Jewels from the Nazis, Winston Churchill devises a daring gamble to have them shipped overseas. The priceless artifacts will be secretly removed from the Tower of London and driven north to Scotland by two operatives posing as a young married couple, to be taken from there to Canada.

Caitrin Colline—a Welsh coalminer’s daughter and an ardent socialist—will play the wife of Lord Marlton, Hector Neville-Percy. A less likely couple is at first difficult to imagine. Yet Caitrin’s bold, streetwise confidence and sharp wits complement Hector’s social ease and connections, essential to a second part of their mission: uncovering Nazi sympathizers within the highest ranks of Britain’s aristocracy.

Battling enemies within and without, Caitrin wonders if anyone in their circle can be trusted—even her partner. And when unexpected events catapult her into a life-or-death chase across the continent, the morale of a nation and the fate of Europe itself in the balance.

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Elise’s Thoughts

A Jewel in the Crown by David Lewis is a thriller and mystery all in one book, a spy novel set in England during WWII.

In 1940 there is a fear of German infiltrators throughout England. To safeguard the Crown Jewels from the Nazis, Winston Churchill devises a daring gamble to have them shipped overseas. The priceless artifacts will be secretly removed from the Tower of London and driven north to Scotland by two operatives posing as a young married couple, to be taken from there to Canada.

He recruits Hector, Lord Neville-Percy of Marlton, and police constable Caitrin Colline, a “Welsh firebrand, antiroyalist, and future destroyer of England’s aristocracy,” to act as a squabbling married couple driving a hay wagon where the jewels are hidden. Interestingly they have clashing backgrounds and personalities, since they are from different classes.

The heroine Catrine Colline is working for “512,” an undercover outfit. 512 is fictional, but it bears a strong resemblance to Churchill’s SOE (Special Operations Executive), also an undercover operation. She is a woman no one can mess with. Caitrin’s bold, streetwise, confident, and sharp wits complement Hector’s social ease and connections, essential to a second part of their mission: uncovering Nazi sympathizers within the highest ranks of Britain’s aristocracy, who also happen to be anti-Semitic.

The plot is a good adventure story with likeable characters that readers will root for.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

David Lewis: What gave me the idea is how the British hid the jewels 20 feet deep under Windsor Castle and they sent all the Bank of England’s bullion to Canada. I thought if they could transfer the bullion why not the Crown Jewels? This is the first one in the series.

EC: Was Caitrin based on anyone?

DL: My main character is based on my mother. She comes from a Welsh coal mining town, one of fourteen children. At the age of fourteen she was sent away to work in a hotel. I wanted to give my mother a cool and adventurous life.

EC: How would you describe Caitrin?

DL: Caitrin is direct, bold, confident, observant, and a force of nature. She is also funny, persistent, independent, and determined. She is not so much anti-aristocracy but a socialist who wanted to bring down the landed gentry. Her goal was to make life more equal for the common man.

EC: How would you describe Hector?

DL: Hector is from a powerful aristocratic family, but not rich. He is honest and currently in Special Operations. He is a little bit of a lost soul because of taxes.

EC: What about their relationship?

DL: He admires her confidence and wishes he had it. They infuriated each other. Neither one of them can get past their class, stopping the attraction between them. They spark off each other. They do respect each other.

EC: Is it true there were German infiltrators?

DL: Churchill was afraid of all the German infiltrators, but MI5 and MI6 were remarkable in sweeping them up. There is this book quote by an English aristocrat, “We English should be building bridges with the Germans. They are our true brothers, not the French or the Poles.” I have always been fascinated by him. I wanted to make him seen as human, not a legend. Throughout the series he starts to be directly in the adventures.

EC: You explore the anti-Semitic sentiment regarding the Jews?

DL: The Aristocracy was also anti-Jew. All the remarks in the book about the Jews by the aristocracy are true. For example a book quote, “I lost a fortune to that filthy Jew. Hitler is right. We should drive the Jews out. They’re nothing but money-grubbing leeches who have latched onto our society.” This is a running theme throughout the whole series.

EC: What about your next book?

DL: The next book, titled Beacon in The Night, is out next year. It is also based on a true story. The Germans wanted to drop bombs on historical cities and sites in England. They did it by having an agent on the ground placing a beacon in the buildings where the Germans could bomb with incredible precision. Caitrin and Hector’s job is to find the beacons and the person placing them.

THANK YOU!!

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Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Irish Child by Daisy O’Shea

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE IRISH CHILD by Daisy O’Shea on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour blog post.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

A salty breeze whips the tears from my eyes as I stare out at the emerald Irish Sea. Everything I’ve lost, the child my great grandmother Nellie lost, all feels so present here, in the land my family left years ago. How will I ever move on? Will I ever uncover the truth about the little girl who went missing all those years ago?

When Boston-born Erin arrives in wind-tossed Roone Bay, she’s heart-sore, tired and lonely. Her marriage is over: she’s come to build a new life for herself on Ireland’s rugged southern coast. And to unravel the story behind the mysterious note in her family’s ancient Bible that has haunted her since childhood. But hazel-eyed former lifeboat volunteer Finn, the only local historian around, quietly refuses her pleas to help.

So Erin settles in to the town, with its whitewashed cottages and ruddy-cheeked fishermen, and begins her quest alone. Who was her ancestor, Nellie, and why did she leave Ireland for America? What happened to her missing child, Annie, and did Nellie ever see her again?

Just as Erin despairs ever uncovering the truth, one rain-soaked night she is rescued by Finn, who finally agrees to help. And by firelight and candlelight each evening, just as it would have been in her great-grandmother’s time, Finn and Erin grow closer as they share their stories.

But just as Erin wonders if Roone Bay could be her forever home, she makes a devastating discovery. Will she be able to face the truth, which changes everything she thought she knew about herself, her past, and her family’s Irish legacy? Or will she run, just as Nellie did all those years ago, and lose the best chance at happiness she’s ever had…?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212033926-the-irish-child

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE IRISH CHILD by Daisy O’Shea is a captivating dual timeline Irish family saga in this women’s fiction/romance/historical fiction mash-up. This book is the second in a series that is loosely tied together by the Roone Bay setting, but it is easily read as a standalone with some of the characters carried over from The Irish Key.

In the present-day timeline, Erin has physically survived a tragic accident and the loss of her husband, but mentally she cannot move forward. When she discovers a mystery in the family Bible surrounding an ancestor named Nellie, it inspires her to travel to Ireland to look for answers. It is also the perfect escape from her overbearing parents and a chance to find peace.

In Roone Bay, Erin begins to feel a connection to not only her ancestor but also the current inhabitants. She soon discovers she is stronger than she believes and can cope with the painful memories and return to her love of music without feeling guilty. With a job offer and a possible love interest, Erin begins to want to set down roots and stay.

In the past timeline, Nellie, her husband, and their small daughter are trying to survive the Great Hunger in Ireland. Her husband leaves for America and promises to send money for Nellie and Annie to follow. When Nellie eventually gets her husband’s ticket, she now has two children that she must get to America. At the crowded dock, after a terrible voyage, Nellie loses her daughter and discovers much worse. Her journey is a story of terrible loss, fighting to survive, and always moving forward.

I loved this emotional story even with the depiction of a horrific time in Irish history and all the difficulties of both the main female protagonists. The author’s writing pulled me into both timelines effortlessly and I found both intertwining stories gripping. There are no punches pulled in the descriptions of famine, loss, pain, and grief but the author tempers it with the strength, courage, and love of both Erin in the present and Nellie in the past.

I highly recommend this beautifully told story. This women’s fiction/romance/historical fiction mash-up is an emotional and engaging Irish family saga.

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Author Bio

Sue Lewando was a teacher for several years before migrating to the office environment, where she was PA to the Treasurer of Clarks Shoes, a multi-national company, then, briefly, PA to Susan George, the actress best known for Straw Dogs. Sue had many genre books published (M&B and Virgin), under pseudonyms, and self-publishes her crime thrillers. She was on the committee of the Romantic Novelists’ Association in England, for whom she assessed typescripts. She has been a fiction tutor for the London School of Journalism for twenty years. She has two grown-up children, a happy second marriage, and a bundle of cats and dogs. She moved to West Cork with her husband to undertake a farmhouse refurbishment project, foster their joint passion for playing Irish traditional music, and to invest time in their individual academic projects. She recently completed a Masters in Creative Writing at UCC, taking the opportunity to explore diverse writing genres. She works with the Jeremy Murphy Literary Consultancy in the capacity of typescript analyst, ghostwriter, editor, and online publishing advisor. She loves good commercial fiction, and is a devotee of the Oxford comma.

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