Category Archives: Book Reviews

I have read the prior two books in this series, “The Disenchanted Widow” and “The Misremembered Man”. It was delightful to once again touch base with the characters in the Tailorstown series.

The story revolves around two story lines, although woven in are, to others who have read the series, the familiar characters of Jamie McCoone and Paddy and Rose McFadden.

Ruby Clare, at 33, is the oldest of three sisters. The other two are twins May and June who are in their twenties and who treat Ruby poorly. Ruby has been crushed by the recent death of her loving father. Her mother is not so loving, to say the least. Mammy seems to be doing her best to crush Ruby – especially with threats of having her institutionalized, while at the same time, being the loving and nurturing mother to her other two daughters. Ruby has become the stay at home dogsbody daughter who cares for an uncaring and petulant mother. She is at a transitional period in her life and she tries to deal with her overwhelming grief.

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“Blogger Girl” is the first book by Meredith Schorr that I have read. I generally read mysteries, chick-lit and a few romance books as well. This book definitely falls into the chick-lit category.

Kimberly Long is a legal secretary by day and a chick-lit book blogger/reviewer by night. This caught my attention because, early in my own career, I was a paralegal who both wrote and designed by night. I could well understand the crush of things to do that Kim was constantly battling with.

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“The Disenchanted Widow” is the story of Bessie, a widow who runs away from Belfast with her young son, stopping only to take a few prized possessions with her. She is running from a brutal IRA enforcer who was on the outs with her late and unlamented husband. She ends up in a small town with a very interesting cast of characters. The book is a slice of life – not a mystery or a romance. Some of the dialect was a little difficult to follow but the storyline made up for this. The author took a very difficult time in history and was able to insert a charming story into the period.

I enjoyed the novel and look forward to more by Ms. McKenna in the future.

This is a lovely story about a farm, Jamie, who has had a very tough go of it. He lived his first ten years in a cruel orphanage. It is also about Lydia, who is the woman Jamie begins to correspond with. Lydia is a woman who has lived her life under the oppressive rule of her mother. She has decided it is time to live a bit. The correspondence between the two is touching but it is very obvious that these two are ill-sorted on many levels.

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“The Book of Tomorrow: A Novel” is another journey in imagination with Cecelia Ahern. It has been a real pleasure reading as Ms. Ahern has grown in her craft. “The Book of Tomorrow” is her latest step forward. We are given a lovely story with elements of fantasy woven into it. Not enough to qualify it as Science Fiction – just enough to remember that Ireland is a fey land – where you just might find a leprechaun hiding his gold or a fairy fluttering about.

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