My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing
From the USA Today Bestselling author of the Longing for Home series, MY DEAREST LOVE is a new romance novella set in the beloved world of Hope Springs.
Ian O’Connor spends his days in the purgatory of a New York textile factory, enduring the dangerous conditions to keep his family afloat. Somewhere in the vast, dark corridors of his daily prison is an angel. He has seen her only once but is determined to find her again.
Biddy Dillon has lost her home and her family. Loneliness chips away at her fragile hopes until she meets Ian, whose soft-spoken kindness touches her heart. For the first time in years, she begins to believe in the possibility of good things to come.
When tragedy conspires to pull the couple apart, they must decide if theirs is a future meant to be built together, or if fate has other plans.
My Review
What a sweet love story! I fell in love with the O'Connor family living in the tenements of New York City. Instead of allowing the harsh circumstances pull them apart, their bond keeps them strong and supportive of each other. Ian is a man confident in his skills, yet adorable with his uncertainty and vulnerability when it comes to a certain lass. Biddy is completely alone but her mother's words to keep making the best of things helps motivate her to work hard in the loud factory. This is my favorite kind of romance, where we get to see the two develop a friendship that progresses into love. Ian's brothers Patrick and Tavish have great personalities and I hope we get to read more about them in the future. The ending is bittersweet which brought out more emotion and curiosity about where the family's journey will take them. I can't wait to read Love Remains, the full-length book set in Hope Springs that this novella was a lead-in to.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
Check out the other books set in Hope Springs . . .
Check out the other books set in Hope Springs . . .
Synopsis
Twenty-six-year-old
Katie Macauley has placed all her hope in Hope Springs, a small town in
the 1870 Wyoming Territory. But if she wants to return home to Ireland
to make amends with her estranged family, she'll need to convince the
influential Joseph Archer to hold true to his word and keep her on his
payroll as his housekeeper despite her Irish roots. The town is caught
in an ongoing feud between the Irish and the "Reds" the frontiersmen who
would rather see all the Irish run out of town and the Irish immigrants
who are fighting to make a home for themselves in the New World. When
Joseph agrees to keep Katie on as his housekeeper, the feud erupts anew,
and Katie becomes the reluctant figurehead for the Irish townsfolk. As
the violence escalates throughout the town, Katie must choose between
the two men who have been vying for her love though only one might be
able to restore hope to her heart.
Synopsis
All is not well in
Wyoming. Katie Macauley gave up her life-long dream of returning to
Ireland in order to make a home for herself in Hope Springs, but her
future has never been so uncertain. The town is more divided than ever,
with both the Irish and the Reds stealing property, burning buildings,
and endangering lives.
Katie’s heart remains sharply divided between her love for playful Tavish and steady Joseph, a decision she feels ill-prepared to make. In the midst of the growing unrest, temperatures drop quickly, too quickly, and Irish nightmares of famine and cold resurface as the little Wyoming town struggles to beat the harsh winter.
Katie makes one sacrifice after another to keep the peace and help see her loved ones through the difficult days ahead, but will it be enough? Can the town make amends before their hatred consumes them all? And will Katie find the love she has been searching for as well as a home to call her own?
Katie’s heart remains sharply divided between her love for playful Tavish and steady Joseph, a decision she feels ill-prepared to make. In the midst of the growing unrest, temperatures drop quickly, too quickly, and Irish nightmares of famine and cold resurface as the little Wyoming town struggles to beat the harsh winter.
Katie makes one sacrifice after another to keep the peace and help see her loved ones through the difficult days ahead, but will it be enough? Can the town make amends before their hatred consumes them all? And will Katie find the love she has been searching for as well as a home to call her own?
Coming September 2017, available for pre-order!
Synopsis
From the USA Today
Bestselling author of the Longing for Home series, LOVE REMAINS is a new
romance novel set in the beloved world of Hope Springs.
For nearly a year, Tavish O’Connor has carried the crushing weight of his family’s future on his shoulders. He has taken on the care of his youngest brother, Finbarr, who lost his eyesight in a terrible accident. But the lad needs more than Tavish can provide. Finbarr needs hope.
Cecily Attwater specializes in hope. As a tutor to the newly blind, she has dedicated her life to helping others overcome the obstacles she herself has conquered. Her new assignment in a remote corner of Wyoming proves trickier than usual: Finbarr refuses to learn. To make matters worse, his family—and the other Irish townspeople—are less than thrilled to discover an Englishwoman in their haven.
Cecily’s only hope lies in securing the cooperation of her pupil’s brother, Tavish, who happens to be her harshest critic and quite possibly the most frustrating man she’s ever known.
For Finbarr’s sake, Tavish and Cecily forge an uneasy alliance that, as the weeks pass, tiptoes toward something deeper than either dares admit or face, and toward a future they know to be impossible. There can be no hope of a happy outcome for an Irish man and an English woman amongst a people reeling from violence and centuries of hatred between their two homelands.
For nearly a year, Tavish O’Connor has carried the crushing weight of his family’s future on his shoulders. He has taken on the care of his youngest brother, Finbarr, who lost his eyesight in a terrible accident. But the lad needs more than Tavish can provide. Finbarr needs hope.
Cecily Attwater specializes in hope. As a tutor to the newly blind, she has dedicated her life to helping others overcome the obstacles she herself has conquered. Her new assignment in a remote corner of Wyoming proves trickier than usual: Finbarr refuses to learn. To make matters worse, his family—and the other Irish townspeople—are less than thrilled to discover an Englishwoman in their haven.
Cecily’s only hope lies in securing the cooperation of her pupil’s brother, Tavish, who happens to be her harshest critic and quite possibly the most frustrating man she’s ever known.
For Finbarr’s sake, Tavish and Cecily forge an uneasy alliance that, as the weeks pass, tiptoes toward something deeper than either dares admit or face, and toward a future they know to be impossible. There can be no hope of a happy outcome for an Irish man and an English woman amongst a people reeling from violence and centuries of hatred between their two homelands.
