My Rating: 5 stars
This book absolutely blew me away! From the very first page all the way to the
very end, I was swept up in Amy Harmon’s beautifully crafted, enchanting story
of American-born Anne Gallagher, who travels to Ireland for the first time in
her life to fulfill her beloved grandfather Eoin’s dying wish to have his ashes
spread in the lake at his childhood home.
Once there, overcome by grief and memories of her grandfather, Anne
finds herself pulled back into time to the 1920s -- a tumultuous time period in
Ireland during its fight for independence, which she had researched and read
about extensively as a writer back in 2001 but never dreamed that she would
experience firsthand. She wakes up in
the world of her grandfather’s childhood, where she is reunited with him as a
little boy of 6 years old, and after being mistaken for his mother, she gradually
uncovers a complex family history that she inadvertently becomes a part of when
she falls in love with the boy’s guardian, Thomas Smith. Soon, her past and future start to intertwine
as she encounters people she only knew of in history as well as relatives she
never even knew she had. In the end, the
struggle becomes a question of whether she should – or could – stay in a time
period she doesn’t belong in but has become home for her.
Let me say straight out that I’m neither a fan of time
travel stories nor historical romances – I’ve read books in both genres and to
be quite honest, very few have ever had an impact on me emotionally or captivated
me enough to make me continue thinking about the story and characters long
after I’ve finished reading. Well, there is a first for everything I guess,
and this book is the first time travel + romance + historical fiction novel
that has truly won me over. This book awed
me in the fantastic way it was able to weave the elements of these 3 genres so
seamlessly into a story that was both compelling and emotional, with characters
that felt so real and a time and place in history that felt so authentic, it
drew me in completely, to the point that I felt like I was actually right there
with Anne, living in her world for the few days that I was engrossed in the
story.
This was a book that tugged at my heartstrings, made me
cry and made me smile and basically made me feel the entire roller coaster of
emotions that a great, momentous read has a way of doing. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that
I fell in love with nearly all of the characters in this story…not only that
though, I also fell in love with the writing -- a feeling that is impossible
for me to describe accurately and to which I can only say is something that needs
to be experienced for yourself.
Amy Harmon is an absolutely talented writer -- to be able
to weave the elements of time travel, romance, and historical fiction into such
a complex tale and do it so brilliantly is a momentous feat in and of itself
and Harmon absolutely nailed it! I can’t
wait to read some of her other novels that I’ve had on my TBR for ages already
and yes, I am a most definitely looking forward to what she comes out with next!
This book is highly recommended -- one that was a 5 star
read for me from beginning to end and that I already feel like re-reading,
which is not something that happens often with me (though I will refrain from
re-reading because I have too many other books I need to get to). In
case you are still debating whether to read this one or not, I will leave you
with these words that pretty much sum up my feelings towards this book: beautiful, unforgettable, and absolutely
well-done!
Received ARC from
Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley
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