My particularly favourite character is Kitty. Strong, determined and willful she is in the center of all the exploits. Reading this novel I became in tune with Kitty and her feelings, following a young girl growing up and doing what is right for the greater good rather than for what one wants. This became heartbreaking at times but as the novel comes full circle you understand why the decisions she makes are detrimental to those around her. Somewhere in this is a life lesson. 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 homerestoredto its former glory — to the years when Celia ran through its vast halls with her cousin Kitty and their childhood friend Bridie Doyle. At least until the fall of 1929, when everybody’s fortunes take a plunge into the depths of the Great Depression. The person she becomes after it all crashes down around her is much more interesting, and much more capable, than anyone imagined – including Celia herself. Her transformation carries the reader along from London to Ballynakelly to Johannesburg, and it’s the making of her.

We begin this sequel in 1939 with Martha Wallace who is coming from America to find her birth mother. Martha was adopted as an infant and went to America with her happy parents. What secrets she will discover.

Christmas Cards & Gift Wrap

Martha llega decidida a encontrar a su verdadera madre y los motivos que esta tuvo para darla en adopción, solo que el camino es un rosal con espinas.

Medan den yngre generationen börjar ta över, lever de tidigare fortfarande fast i den gamla förbannelsen över släkten Deverill. Ska de någonsin få vila i frid? Like I said before, there is definitely a soap opera quality to the book as there is a lot of sleeping around, secrets, illegitimate children, love, betrayal, murder, etc. which make it an entertaining read. And when you add in an Irish castle as a setting, well how could I not love that? The story does bounce around quite a bit from character to character but for me the heart of the book was the story lines of JP and Martha. Definitely recommend especially if you are a fan of fiction from this time period and setting. Instead, the conclusions felt right and proper. While this isn’t epic fantasy, and therefore not about an epic battle of good and evil, it still felt like the characters who deserved happy endings finally got theirs, while those who had more red on their ledgers got what was coming to them. I just loved this series, but could not continue as my library was closed do to COVID 19. I found that I could borrow an audio copy of this wonderful book from Overdrive. I have never read a audiobook and had no desire to do so. El inicio de La Segunda Guerra mundial aderezara la historia, trayendo consigo momentos de tristeza y tensión .

Christmas Gifts

As long-held secrets come to light, the Deverills will have to heal old wounds and come to terms with the past if they hope to ensure their legacy for the future. Anno 1939: Martha Wallace reist met haar nanny Mrs. Goodwin naar Dublin; thuis, in Connecticut, heeft ze ontdekt dat ze een adoptiekind is. Ze moet koste wat kost te weten komen wie haar biologische moeder is. Na haar bezoek in het klooster waar ze is geboren, is ze echt teleurgesteld maar er staat een naam op haar geboortecertificaat die hen verder kan helpen. In een tearoom ontmoet ze de aardige JP Deverill die daar met zijn vader Bertie aanwezig is. Ze zijn op slag verliefd en hopen elkaar terug te zien. Maar dit geluk kan niet blijven duren en Martha vertrekt terug naar de States. Mrs. Goodwin gaat niet meer met haar mee, zij zal in Ballinakelly blijven en daar heeft ze haar redenen voor. When Martha Wallace leaves her home in America to search for her birth mother in Dublin, she never imagines that she will completely lose her heart to the impossibly charming JP Deverill. But more surprises are in store for her after she discovers that her mother comes from the same place as JP, sealing her fate.

As the story began with the childhoods of the three women, now we see them in their 20s and 30s, living with the choices they made long ago, and all of them facing the regrets of the roads not taken. Just at the point where it seems that one of them has found an easy road, instead of facing the envy of the others, they find tragedy instead. Triumphs are always brief, while the tragedies seem endless. The story here is still seen through the eyes of the three young women, those daughters of Ireland that we first met in The Girl in the Castle. In that first book, it was Kitty’s story and Kitty’s castle. But times have changed, and now it’s her cousin Celia in extremely proud possession of the family seat. If you love dense, meaty family sagas, with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, betrayals and redemption, start with The Girl in the Castle and enjoy! International sensation Santa Montefiore presents the first book in a trilogy that follows three Irish women through the decades of the twentieth century—perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Hazel Gaynor. Heerlijk om terug haar verhaal te lezen, hoe mooi ze de dingen omschrijft gaande van de natuur, flora en fauna, tot de diepste gevoelens van de personages. Doordat ze dit zo vakkundig aan de dag legt voel je je verbonden met alle personages; hun lief en leed, hun geheimen en hun angsten. Je wordt door haar prachtige schrijfstijl ondergedompeld en je voelt als het ware de liefde die allen hebben voor hun teerbeminde Ierland. Alle personages worden als een magneet terug getrokken naar Ballinakelly waar ze hun jeugdjaren hebben doorgebracht. Het kasteel speelt een belangrijke rol in hun levens.This novel has everything love,loss secrets and even ghosts of the past, it is the wonderful conclusion to the Deverill Chronicles. Escape Rating A-: Either they don’t make them like this anymore, or it’s been a long time since I’ve sunk my teeth into such a juicy family saga. The trials, tribulations and machinations of Downton Abbey have nothing on the Deverills – and this saga isn’t over yet. It’s only when they all return to Castle Deverill and Ballynakelly that there is hope of healing all the wounds – if they don’t break out afresh over old and new wrongs. In this final book in the series, the girls have come full circle, and in some ways so has their world. The story began in the bloodshed of the Easter Rising, and the impact of World War I was felt by families on every side. The Secret of the Irish Castle opens as the curtain is rising on World War II, and even though the Irish Republic remained neutral during the war, its impact was still felt.

Bridie cherishes her friendship with Kitty, who makes her feel more like her equal than a servant. Yet she can’t help dreaming of someday having all the wealth and glamour Kitty’s station in life affords her. But when she discovers a secret that Kitty has been keeping from her, Bridie finds herself growing resentful toward the girl in the castle who seems to have it all. In The Girl in the Castle those events were the Easter Rising and the Irish War of Independence, as the Anglo-Irish Deverills found themselves on both sides of the Rising, while trusted, in the end, by neither. In this second book, The Daughters of Ireland, the action has moved from the tragedies of the immediate post-WWI period to the next great upheaval – the Depression. And the clouds of WW2 are already gathering on the horizon.Den sista hemligheten” är lika bra som de två tidigare delarna. Författaren har ett berättarspråk som suger mig in i handlingen och jag älskar varje stund. Blandningen av längtan och sökande, kärlek och hat, sorg och förlåtelse är perfekt. The fate of those two children, and the secrets that surround their birth and adoptions, all come screaming out of the woodwork when they grow up, with consequences that affect the lives of everyone around them. The scabs and scars that have been crusted over for decades are laid bare, but the truth does set many free – even as it dooms others.