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Ireland Rose #1
Ireland Rose
Baltimore-born Ireland Rose, daughter of Irish immigrants, must be married by her seventeenth birthday. Rose's father finds a suitable husband, Captain Camden Lovell, twenty-seven years her senior. Captain Lovell takes his bride to Charleston, provides her with a beautiful home on the Battery and good standing in Charleston Society.
Three years later Rose is a widow. Captain Wyatt, her husband's trusted employee is now in charge of her affairs. Rose senses he does not like her. One day he brings a young woman with child to her - and a secret that must be kept. A little girl is born, and Rose becomes a mother. Captain Wyatt offers to marry her in name only to protect her from Charleston society gossip, but she is determined she will not marry a second time for protection. She will marry for love or live alone.
Just three months later, August 31st, 1886 the city of Charleston suffers the worst earthquake of the century. Her beautiful home is in shambles. Rose has no choice but to return to her parents' birthplace in Ireland. The only record she has of her Irish ancestry is in her mother's Bible. She and her infant daughter take the next ship to Ireland. She has begun to hope she has finally found happiness when Captain Wyatt comes with news that shatters her heart.
Every person Rose loves is taken away. Her faith in God is shaken. There is a plan for her, but she can't see it. Captain Wyatt breaks her heart, not once but twice.
Three years later Rose is a widow. Captain Wyatt, her husband's trusted employee is now in charge of her affairs. Rose senses he does not like her. One day he brings a young woman with child to her - and a secret that must be kept. A little girl is born, and Rose becomes a mother. Captain Wyatt offers to marry her in name only to protect her from Charleston society gossip, but she is determined she will not marry a second time for protection. She will marry for love or live alone.
Just three months later, August 31st, 1886 the city of Charleston suffers the worst earthquake of the century. Her beautiful home is in shambles. Rose has no choice but to return to her parents' birthplace in Ireland. The only record she has of her Irish ancestry is in her mother's Bible. She and her infant daughter take the next ship to Ireland. She has begun to hope she has finally found happiness when Captain Wyatt comes with news that shatters her heart.
Every person Rose loves is taken away. Her faith in God is shaken. There is a plan for her, but she can't see it. Captain Wyatt breaks her heart, not once but twice.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2011
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3010 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
April 27, 2012
This is a Christian Historical Fiction but I wasn't overwhelmed by the "Christian" side of it. I also think that maybe a younger audience might enjoy this better, so perhaps it should be classified as YA.
Little Miss Ireland Rose is quite an emotional girl. She is lost and confused and always crying. She cries when she first arrives, she cries when she reads letters, she cries when her maid comforts her, she is ALWAYS ALWAYS crying. Perhaps that wouldn’t bother you but it did me. Her parents married her off to a Charleston ship captain and went back to Ireland to spend their last few years leaving her alone with her much older husband and no friends. She spends much of her time doing charity work and trying to make new friends. This goes on for about 65% of the book… and the pacing is weird and sometimes I wasn’t sure if in the last few pages a day, week or month had passed…
I don’t want to give too much of the story away but the last 35% or so of the book are much more interesting… There is an earthquake, a dilemma with a baby, a trip back to Ireland and FINALLY a love interest. Lots of exciting things but could the author not have spread those items out a little bit more? I think the plot in general needed some development but I don’t want to go into much detail without giving anything away. And please please if you write a book and decide to change a character’s name (which is what I am assuming what happened) please make sure you change in all places the name is mentioned. Matilda Jane? Miranda Jane? Which one is it?
Oh and the ERRORS! Everywhere!! I don’t think the author ever got the dialogue parts of the book right; you just had to guess when someone was talking. The “” were all over the place. And how exactly do letters get left off words like amily? And andwiches? (family and sandwiches!!) I am sure everyone got that but someone explain to me how this happens? There were plenty of other errors but I don’t want to keep complaining. Can’t you at least get a friend/family member to read your book? Hey what about spell check at a minimum? Okay I feel like I am being harsh but I am turned off of kindle freebies for awhile after this one.
I feel bad giving this one two stars, really maybe its 2 and 1/2 stars because the last 1/3 of the book was much better than the first 2/3s.... I wish the author would have had at least someone read it before it became available on Amazon. It seemed lazy to me. Perhaps a younger reader would enjoy it more and analyze it less.
Little Miss Ireland Rose is quite an emotional girl. She is lost and confused and always crying. She cries when she first arrives, she cries when she reads letters, she cries when her maid comforts her, she is ALWAYS ALWAYS crying. Perhaps that wouldn’t bother you but it did me. Her parents married her off to a Charleston ship captain and went back to Ireland to spend their last few years leaving her alone with her much older husband and no friends. She spends much of her time doing charity work and trying to make new friends. This goes on for about 65% of the book… and the pacing is weird and sometimes I wasn’t sure if in the last few pages a day, week or month had passed…
I don’t want to give too much of the story away but the last 35% or so of the book are much more interesting… There is an earthquake, a dilemma with a baby, a trip back to Ireland and FINALLY a love interest. Lots of exciting things but could the author not have spread those items out a little bit more? I think the plot in general needed some development but I don’t want to go into much detail without giving anything away. And please please if you write a book and decide to change a character’s name (which is what I am assuming what happened) please make sure you change in all places the name is mentioned. Matilda Jane? Miranda Jane? Which one is it?
Oh and the ERRORS! Everywhere!! I don’t think the author ever got the dialogue parts of the book right; you just had to guess when someone was talking. The “” were all over the place. And how exactly do letters get left off words like amily? And andwiches? (family and sandwiches!!) I am sure everyone got that but someone explain to me how this happens? There were plenty of other errors but I don’t want to keep complaining. Can’t you at least get a friend/family member to read your book? Hey what about spell check at a minimum? Okay I feel like I am being harsh but I am turned off of kindle freebies for awhile after this one.
I feel bad giving this one two stars, really maybe its 2 and 1/2 stars because the last 1/3 of the book was much better than the first 2/3s.... I wish the author would have had at least someone read it before it became available on Amazon. It seemed lazy to me. Perhaps a younger reader would enjoy it more and analyze it less.
August 30, 2012
My first thought when I saw the book Ireland Rosen by Patricia Strefling was that it was a pretty book - the cover imagery really makes you feel like you are going to be reading a lush romance! I received this book free as a goodreads first read and was impressed as soon as it appeared in my mailbox. The book did not disappoint - for fans of historical romance set in America, this is a worthwhile read. The story begins with an arranged marriage between seventeen year-old, Baltimore born Ireland Rose (Rose) and Captain Lovell, a prominent Charlotte ship captain 27 years her senior. Rose's parents, Irish immigrants, had helped Lovell years earlier and the marriage was payment for the favor. Naive Rose is quickly immersed in Southern Society, but her marriage meets an untimely ending when Lovell dies of consumption. Captain Wyatt, Lovell's second in command, is to look after Rose and her new fortune, but Rose finds that he has taken an immediate disliking to her and avoids her at all costs. As we learn more about Wyatt and his romantic past, the reader learns reasons for his complicated feelings towards Rose. Rose would be all alone if not for her servants, freed slaves who treat her like family and provide the reader with much needed relief from all of the sadness in the story. The story takes a sudden turn when Wyatt leaves a young pregnant girl at Rose's home and Rose becomes an impromptu mother. Sadness again pervades the story when the earthquake of 1886 destroys Rose's home and Wyatt again causes her life to be turned upside down. Although this story was a complete tear-jerker, I really enjoyed how Strefling's historical details and well developed characters, and found Ireland Rose herself to be a worthy Romantic heroine.
February 9, 2016
I thought the first two-thirds of the book deserved a solid 3-4 stars. I was enjoying the story, and really thought it would go somewhere. There were a few storylines that I was waiting to see play out (like the love letters; getting ahead of myself, but talk about an anti-climactic let down!).
So why the 1 star review? (Warning: I ended up swearing near the bottom.)
What woman in her right flipping mind would raise a child for a full year - we had to sit through how many chapters of the author needlessly stressing that Carolina Jane was "her daughter" and Rose was "her mother" (rather than once in awhile just saying, "the baby," or "the child," or "the girl") and reveling in this sudden and unexpected relationship that meant the entire world to this woman - and then flippantly give the child up to another woman, WHO IS NOT THE CHILD'S MOTHER, who is, in fact, only the woman who was married to the man who RAPED the mother of the child, because some guy showed up and said she had to? Are you freaking KIDDING me?
She had legal documentation saying that she was the child's adopted mother. She had no reason compelling enough to give her child away, yet she just said, "Oh, this will be sad, but yes, ok, you are right, let's go." Can you imagine how much damage that little girl went through, being handed off so suddenly, with only two weeks of joint care, and then her (I'm trying to hard not to swear, here) mother just disappeared - FOREVER? Yeah, she'll get over it, she's a baby, but what an asshole thing to do! And how morally repugnant, and then her reactions were so unbelievable! "Here's a puppy," "Oh, it's all right then!" EFFFFF YOU! The author has obviously never lost a child, and I was so incredibly offended by the whole damn situation.
When Captain Wyatt left after he asked her to marry him and went back to America, I was certain that there was still hope that the story would redeem itself. Maybe the author would kill off Ava from some disease (she was sick, maybe a sudden and fatal relapse!) so that Carolina went back to live with Rose, or maybe Ava would go to Ireland and live with Rose for a "new start," where no one would know that her "daughter" was the product of her husband's rape of another woman.
I was disappointed and disgusted by the end of this book.
I've gotten to a point where I can overlook typos if they're not too bad, but by 68%, the author stopped using commas. That didn't help my ire.
So why the 1 star review? (Warning: I ended up swearing near the bottom.)
What woman in her right flipping mind would raise a child for a full year - we had to sit through how many chapters of the author needlessly stressing that Carolina Jane was "her daughter" and Rose was "her mother" (rather than once in awhile just saying, "the baby," or "the child," or "the girl") and reveling in this sudden and unexpected relationship that meant the entire world to this woman - and then flippantly give the child up to another woman, WHO IS NOT THE CHILD'S MOTHER, who is, in fact, only the woman who was married to the man who RAPED the mother of the child, because some guy showed up and said she had to? Are you freaking KIDDING me?
She had legal documentation saying that she was the child's adopted mother. She had no reason compelling enough to give her child away, yet she just said, "Oh, this will be sad, but yes, ok, you are right, let's go." Can you imagine how much damage that little girl went through, being handed off so suddenly, with only two weeks of joint care, and then her (I'm trying to hard not to swear, here) mother just disappeared - FOREVER? Yeah, she'll get over it, she's a baby, but what an asshole thing to do! And how morally repugnant, and then her reactions were so unbelievable! "Here's a puppy," "Oh, it's all right then!" EFFFFF YOU! The author has obviously never lost a child, and I was so incredibly offended by the whole damn situation.
When Captain Wyatt left after he asked her to marry him and went back to America, I was certain that there was still hope that the story would redeem itself. Maybe the author would kill off Ava from some disease (she was sick, maybe a sudden and fatal relapse!) so that Carolina went back to live with Rose, or maybe Ava would go to Ireland and live with Rose for a "new start," where no one would know that her "daughter" was the product of her husband's rape of another woman.
I was disappointed and disgusted by the end of this book.
I've gotten to a point where I can overlook typos if they're not too bad, but by 68%, the author stopped using commas. That didn't help my ire.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2012
originally appeared on:Bookshelf Confessions
Ireland Rose, titled from the heroine of the story..It’s quite a weird name.;)
I always love historical romances..and this time the story is set in Ireland and Charlestone.
It’s quite fascinating really, how she found love in Captain Wyatt..especially the story behind Wyatt and his first love, I won’t say more..but it’s really a wonderful coincidence, and just like Rose I’m so into the lovers letters, even if it sounded as a one-sided-conversation…
Honestly, at first I found the story rather a little slower…I also hate the fact how Wyatt seemed to act nonchalant about Rose…but at the end..everything makes sense.
Rose’s character is truly amazing! Even her life was put into chaos, she still believes in God..even if the whole society would ridicule her, she still did her best to protect others first. With this book, I felt more connected to her than anyone else, from her sweet moments as a rich Captain’s daughter, to her being a widow, to the time she’s been look down by her former friends until she have to let go of the child she cared for..Through ups and downs, her character become strong. And I think, it’s one thing that should remind us to be like her.
This book proves that whatever happens, even if you have nothing left..He has still his plans stored for you…You just have to trust Him. More than anything else, Ireland Rose is pack with history, romance and a wonderful lesson about faith and love that any reader could bury in their heart…
Ms. Patricia Strefling did a wonderful job in weaving histories of Ireland and Charleston into a unique and provoking story…
If you’re interested with a little drama, historical romance….grab this book now!..:)
Ireland Rose, titled from the heroine of the story..It’s quite a weird name.;)
I always love historical romances..and this time the story is set in Ireland and Charlestone.
It’s quite fascinating really, how she found love in Captain Wyatt..especially the story behind Wyatt and his first love, I won’t say more..but it’s really a wonderful coincidence, and just like Rose I’m so into the lovers letters, even if it sounded as a one-sided-conversation…
Honestly, at first I found the story rather a little slower…I also hate the fact how Wyatt seemed to act nonchalant about Rose…but at the end..everything makes sense.
Rose’s character is truly amazing! Even her life was put into chaos, she still believes in God..even if the whole society would ridicule her, she still did her best to protect others first. With this book, I felt more connected to her than anyone else, from her sweet moments as a rich Captain’s daughter, to her being a widow, to the time she’s been look down by her former friends until she have to let go of the child she cared for..Through ups and downs, her character become strong. And I think, it’s one thing that should remind us to be like her.
This book proves that whatever happens, even if you have nothing left..He has still his plans stored for you…You just have to trust Him. More than anything else, Ireland Rose is pack with history, romance and a wonderful lesson about faith and love that any reader could bury in their heart…
Ms. Patricia Strefling did a wonderful job in weaving histories of Ireland and Charleston into a unique and provoking story…
If you’re interested with a little drama, historical romance….grab this book now!..:)
November 16, 2011
This historical romance brings history to life beautifully through the author's main character Rose. The story relives the 1886 Charleston earthquake which is almost symbolic of Rose's life. Her small world is shaken and torn on more than one occasion. First by becoming a widow. Secondly, by being scorned by society for making a decision of the heart. Then again when her heart is broken. But she seeks strength and wisdom. She continues to hope for happiness despite her many trials. "Ireland Rose" reveals how God always knows the outcome. Even when we doubt and struggle and hurt, God has a plan.
Kudos to Author Patricia Strefling for doing an excellent job weaving both the history of Ireland and Charleston into this beautiful storyline.
Kudos to Author Patricia Strefling for doing an excellent job weaving both the history of Ireland and Charleston into this beautiful storyline.
September 7, 2011
An epic journey. Loved the sweeping story, Ireland Rose takes you on a journey through the streets of Charleston to the green hills of ireland. From the proud moments of her growth to the bittersweet moments that comes in everyone's life. A truly beautiful character inside and out. A highly recommended read.
July 17, 2012
I know there is a problem when I find myself editing someone's work and highlighting errors. The story was very transparent and you could see where it was heading from the beginning. I was disappointed that I used my option to borrow on this book. I'm glad I didn't pay for it though.
the-kindle-black-hole
October 23, 20123/27/12. Kindle freebie today.
October 9, 2011
Amazing. I love this book so much. Review tomorrow! :)
LOVE THIS BOOK!
LOVE THIS BOOK!
February 7, 2016
More like a .5.
Mainly because there were so many grammar errors that it got on my nerves. It was annoying and distracting. I'm usually not this fussy about grammatical errors, since I also have this problem as well. BUT. This is a published book! Patricia Strefling or her editor, or whoever!! I don't care who! should have had the decency to double check her grammar before publishing. It shameful to have to say that I couldn't enjoy a book as much as I could've because it was a mess of dialogues without proper punctuation or quotation marks. I found myself more than 6 time wondering who was talking or if they were talking or when they stopped because it was such a mess.
Not happy about that, at all. Not one bit.
Ireland Rose, our MC was a good girl with a big heart. She treated Portia and her family like regular folks, no difference between them at all. She showed no superiority towards them, Rose treated them like a family. She was also kind and tried to help the orphan kids, which is an selfless act that takes a big heart (even though most of the things weren't her own). Helping kids without family has always been something that I wish to do. I used to play with kids at the orphanage by my grandmother's house and give them clothes and toys that were of no use to me any longer, so what Rose did touched my heart. Also, she's an artist, since I'm also an artist, I was happy to relate to her in this way.
But that was all.
Other than that, she was useless and annoying. I'm very sentimental myself, but she cries about EVERYTHING. Is ridiculous. At the moments she really did have reasons to cry, I felt like she didn't cried near enough as she should have.
I would like to apologize in advance for any inappropriate language. Please forgive my written rage.
For example, one of those moments that she should've cried her heart out, probably the most important moment of this stupid book, was when Captain Wyatt went to Ireland to get Carolina Jane (an ugly combination for a name, I must say) to take the poor kid to his fucking selfish piece of shit of a sister, because that's what I think of her. Nothing more. Like WTF! you CAN'T do that!! There were so many things wrong there. I couldn't believe it, it was absurd. First of all, Ava's worthless piece of shit of a husband (aren't they perfect for each other?) cheated on her and most likely raped Matilda. I'm not saying he deserved to be murdered. But, I'm also not saying he was worth being alive, because he was worth shit, that's what. Matilda wanted Rose to be the mother of her child. And yes, she was a kid herself, but she did have a reason, and a good one. Rose loved Carolina with all her heart, even since before the child was born. Ava was young, she could've remarry and have kids herself like she wanted to. I thought it was wrong. Very very wrong to take the child away from Rose, when she already have a bond with the kid. So stupid Ashton Wyatt for being such a dick. But Rose, ROSE!! like what's wrong with her? She wasn't the biological mother but she WAS CJ's mother. No doubt in that, yet, she didn't even fought for her kid. She basically handed her over to Ava. No. She did hand her over. She was like "here you go, these are her things." Then she cried a bit and that was it. She was always crying anyways, so when the time to cry for real came, it seem like nothing. A little time passed and she was all over it because she found love? Please. That moment of the book could've been a real good emotional masterpiece. A perfect moment to bring tears to the readers. A child taken from her mother. What more dramatic than that? But it just passed like nothing really happened. I didn't feel her pain or her loneliness. Nothing.
She was fine.
I must certainly say, I am a fan of happy endings, which is why I rated Ireland Rose two stars. However with happy ending, I'm not talking about Captain Wyatt and Rose. Their story got boring after they took CJ back to Charleston. Actually, it was always boring. With happy ending, I'm talking about Portia and her family. They got to keep the house and some cash. I was happy for them.
I'm very disappointed and the longer I spend writing this review the more I realize how much I hate it.
Mainly because there were so many grammar errors that it got on my nerves. It was annoying and distracting. I'm usually not this fussy about grammatical errors, since I also have this problem as well. BUT. This is a published book! Patricia Strefling or her editor, or whoever!! I don't care who! should have had the decency to double check her grammar before publishing. It shameful to have to say that I couldn't enjoy a book as much as I could've because it was a mess of dialogues without proper punctuation or quotation marks. I found myself more than 6 time wondering who was talking or if they were talking or when they stopped because it was such a mess.
Not happy about that, at all. Not one bit.
Ireland Rose, our MC was a good girl with a big heart. She treated Portia and her family like regular folks, no difference between them at all. She showed no superiority towards them, Rose treated them like a family. She was also kind and tried to help the orphan kids, which is an selfless act that takes a big heart (even though most of the things weren't her own). Helping kids without family has always been something that I wish to do. I used to play with kids at the orphanage by my grandmother's house and give them clothes and toys that were of no use to me any longer, so what Rose did touched my heart. Also, she's an artist, since I'm also an artist, I was happy to relate to her in this way.
But that was all.
Other than that, she was useless and annoying. I'm very sentimental myself, but she cries about EVERYTHING. Is ridiculous. At the moments she really did have reasons to cry, I felt like she didn't cried near enough as she should have.
I would like to apologize in advance for any inappropriate language. Please forgive my written rage.
For example, one of those moments that she should've cried her heart out, probably the most important moment of this stupid book, was when Captain Wyatt went to Ireland to get Carolina Jane (an ugly combination for a name, I must say) to take the poor kid to his fucking selfish piece of shit of a sister, because that's what I think of her. Nothing more. Like WTF! you CAN'T do that!! There were so many things wrong there. I couldn't believe it, it was absurd. First of all, Ava's worthless piece of shit of a husband (aren't they perfect for each other?) cheated on her and most likely raped Matilda. I'm not saying he deserved to be murdered. But, I'm also not saying he was worth being alive, because he was worth shit, that's what. Matilda wanted Rose to be the mother of her child. And yes, she was a kid herself, but she did have a reason, and a good one. Rose loved Carolina with all her heart, even since before the child was born. Ava was young, she could've remarry and have kids herself like she wanted to. I thought it was wrong. Very very wrong to take the child away from Rose, when she already have a bond with the kid. So stupid Ashton Wyatt for being such a dick. But Rose, ROSE!! like what's wrong with her? She wasn't the biological mother but she WAS CJ's mother. No doubt in that, yet, she didn't even fought for her kid. She basically handed her over to Ava. No. She did hand her over. She was like "here you go, these are her things." Then she cried a bit and that was it. She was always crying anyways, so when the time to cry for real came, it seem like nothing. A little time passed and she was all over it because she found love? Please. That moment of the book could've been a real good emotional masterpiece. A perfect moment to bring tears to the readers. A child taken from her mother. What more dramatic than that? But it just passed like nothing really happened. I didn't feel her pain or her loneliness. Nothing.
She was fine.
I must certainly say, I am a fan of happy endings, which is why I rated Ireland Rose two stars. However with happy ending, I'm not talking about Captain Wyatt and Rose. Their story got boring after they took CJ back to Charleston. Actually, it was always boring. With happy ending, I'm talking about Portia and her family. They got to keep the house and some cash. I was happy for them.
I'm very disappointed and the longer I spend writing this review the more I realize how much I hate it.
March 19, 2017
SUMMARY: A Sweeping Historical Romance:
Baltimore-born Ireland Rose, daughter of Irish immigrants, must be married by her seventeenth birthday. Rose's father finds a suitable husband, Captain Camden Lovell, twenty-seven years her senior. Captain Lovell takes his bride to Charleston, provides her with a beautiful home on the Battery and good standing in Charleston Society. Three years later Rose is a widow. Captain Wyatt, her husband's trusted employee is now in charge of her affairs. Rose senses he does not like her. One day he brings a young woman with child to her - and a secret that must be kept. A little girl is born, and Rose becomes a mother. Captain Wyatt offers to marry her in name only to protect her from Charleston society gossip, but she is determined she will not marry a second time for protection. She will marry for love or live alone. Just three months later, August 31st, 1886 the city of Charleston suffers the worst earthquake of the century. Her beautiful home is in shambles. Rose has no choice but to return to her parents' birthplace in Ireland. The only record she has of her Irish ancestry is in her mother's Bible. She and her infant daughter take the next ship to Ireland. She has begun to hope she has finally found happiness when Captain Wyatt comes with news that shatters her heart. Every person Rose loves is taken away. Her faith in God is shaken. There is a plan for her, but she can't see it. Captain Wyatt breaks her heart, not once but twice.
REVIEW: This is my second Patricia Strefling book and I liked this one much better than the first. Ireland Rose is a strong, courageous, independent, faith filled, very young woman. She is not afraid to be her own person and do what she feels is right even if it goes against the grain of Southern society. I felt her character had depth and interest and made the story what it was. She learned from her mistakes and tried to do what she felt was right and God-directed. The other characters were well rounded some more complex and some more simple but added flavor to the story. The plot was entertaining and unique. The 1886 Charleston earthquake was a good symbol for the frequent tremors in Ireland's life. The one downfall to this book was the errors in proofreading and sometimes word context, spelling and punctuation. It was not enough though to distract the flow of the story; but because of this, I didn't feel I could give it a 5.
FAVORITE QUOTES:
"She'd been taught everyone was more alike than different. Thanks to her frugal parents, she knew that hunger was hunger, no matter where you came from and clothing was needed for every body not just a few."
"She must not be too judgmental...she had just read a few days ago that God and only God could judge another soul."
"Don't you borrow trouble. If'n it's coming it'll come all by itself."
"I sincerely believe that God does not do anything without purpose. Whether we see it or not, is immaterial. I have begun to look for it now. After having much and having little, I prefer to have little and joy, rather than much and menace."
Baltimore-born Ireland Rose, daughter of Irish immigrants, must be married by her seventeenth birthday. Rose's father finds a suitable husband, Captain Camden Lovell, twenty-seven years her senior. Captain Lovell takes his bride to Charleston, provides her with a beautiful home on the Battery and good standing in Charleston Society. Three years later Rose is a widow. Captain Wyatt, her husband's trusted employee is now in charge of her affairs. Rose senses he does not like her. One day he brings a young woman with child to her - and a secret that must be kept. A little girl is born, and Rose becomes a mother. Captain Wyatt offers to marry her in name only to protect her from Charleston society gossip, but she is determined she will not marry a second time for protection. She will marry for love or live alone. Just three months later, August 31st, 1886 the city of Charleston suffers the worst earthquake of the century. Her beautiful home is in shambles. Rose has no choice but to return to her parents' birthplace in Ireland. The only record she has of her Irish ancestry is in her mother's Bible. She and her infant daughter take the next ship to Ireland. She has begun to hope she has finally found happiness when Captain Wyatt comes with news that shatters her heart. Every person Rose loves is taken away. Her faith in God is shaken. There is a plan for her, but she can't see it. Captain Wyatt breaks her heart, not once but twice.
REVIEW: This is my second Patricia Strefling book and I liked this one much better than the first. Ireland Rose is a strong, courageous, independent, faith filled, very young woman. She is not afraid to be her own person and do what she feels is right even if it goes against the grain of Southern society. I felt her character had depth and interest and made the story what it was. She learned from her mistakes and tried to do what she felt was right and God-directed. The other characters were well rounded some more complex and some more simple but added flavor to the story. The plot was entertaining and unique. The 1886 Charleston earthquake was a good symbol for the frequent tremors in Ireland's life. The one downfall to this book was the errors in proofreading and sometimes word context, spelling and punctuation. It was not enough though to distract the flow of the story; but because of this, I didn't feel I could give it a 5.
FAVORITE QUOTES:
"She'd been taught everyone was more alike than different. Thanks to her frugal parents, she knew that hunger was hunger, no matter where you came from and clothing was needed for every body not just a few."
"She must not be too judgmental...she had just read a few days ago that God and only God could judge another soul."
"Don't you borrow trouble. If'n it's coming it'll come all by itself."
"I sincerely believe that God does not do anything without purpose. Whether we see it or not, is immaterial. I have begun to look for it now. After having much and having little, I prefer to have little and joy, rather than much and menace."
January 24, 2016
Oh boy! Where do I start? As I read the first part of the book I thought I would be rating a 2 or a 3. It was kind of slow, not way exciting and had so many errors it was unbelievable. There were several times when she called characters by the wrong name, she missed puncuation (especially quotation marks), it made me wonder if it was edited at all. And then came the ending and that sealed the one star rating for me. What mother on the planet would hand over her baby that she has loved and raised from birth to almost a year without putting up a fight. And to someone who had ZERO claim on the baby. She just happened to be married to the horrible man who fathered the baby (most likely through rape). I am sorry, no mother woud do that. The birth mother signed legal papers adopting the child out to Rose. Ava is not her mother, sorry. And then that jerk Captain Wyatt has the gall to give her a puppy as some sort of consolation prize. Really? And then she marries him, there is no way someone would marry a man who essentially rips her baby from her arms to give to his sister. The supposed romance was way too rushed. Sorry not a fan of this one at all. I try not to be too harsh on reviews but as mother this book just hits me the wrong way as any mother can tell you, the thought was losing your child is your worst nightmare. And this woman just hands her child (who is old enough to know her and call her mama) to a complete stranger.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2015
Ireland Rose by Patrician Strefling is a historical fiction. Met parents went back to Ireland to die. Before ber father left he married Rose off to his friend who is 27 years her senior, for protection. He was a widower. He treated her kindly but never missed her or was never intimate. While in London Capt. Lovell caught yellow fever. He was very sick. In bed for about 9 months. On the return voyage they were caught in a hurricane and Lovell caught pneumonia. He took to bed and the doctor was called. It was touch and go. The doctor had Portia prepare poultice for his chest. He died right before Christmas.Lovell had his business associate Capt Wyatt as the go between to the lawyers and the bank. Rose volunteers at the Jamison House, a black orphanage. She provides old furniture, clothing and dishes. She gave one girl a sewing job. Portia is her maid and housekeeper and cook. Her husband Emmanuel takes care of the horses, the barn the grounds and general maintenance repairs. Their grandchildren Lily and Thomas live there and belp around the house.
May 22, 2012
A freebie I got for my Kindle. I would give this a one or two star rating, but only because of the editing, not the actual storyline. The story I liked well enough. The editing was horrendous. By far, the worst I have ever seen in a Kindle book. Granted, it was free, but I do not expect e-books to be released to the general public with numerous spelling and grammatical errors. Also, at least two times in the book characters were called by the incorrect name (Miranda for Mathilda, Ava for Eva, etc). I can understand when the spacing is off on a digital book, but spelling and horrendous grammatical errors I find harder to overlook. This book was filled with run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, etc. As if the train of thought was just lost at times. It made it difficult to read. I did enjoy the characters and the story, though.
July 11, 2012
In a marriage of convenience, Ireland Rose Lovell finds herself with lots of time on her hands while her sea captain husband is at sea. She gets involved in volunteering at one of the local orphanages. When her husband dies shortly after returning home from London, she's at a loss. A friend of her husband's asks her to take in a young girl. When the girl gives up her baby, Rose suddenly finds herself a mother. But what her heart longs for the most is love. Will she ever have someone who loves her?
Overall the plot was pretty good. Set in the years after the Civil War, I got a glimpse into the life of a young woman trying to find her place. There were times that the book dragged. And the further I got into it, the more I noticed the grammatical errors. I was able to ignore them and enjoy the story. It's probably not one I'd have bought if it hadn't been free.
Overall the plot was pretty good. Set in the years after the Civil War, I got a glimpse into the life of a young woman trying to find her place. There were times that the book dragged. And the further I got into it, the more I noticed the grammatical errors. I was able to ignore them and enjoy the story. It's probably not one I'd have bought if it hadn't been free.
May 12, 2012
It was free on kindle and I thought it would be a light read. Light is an understatement. Can't think of much to redeem it. Characters were shallow. It seemed like someone sat down and wrote it all in one sitting, never retreading what they wrote to see if it made sense. There was ominous foreshadowing that lead to nothing, numerous grammatical and typographical errors, instances that refer to a character saying something they didn't say, characters whose name changed in the middle of the story, a less than satisfying love story... I don't even get how people can say "history came alive". I learned a little about what was expected socially from southern women at the time...(wear a hat outdoors, don't shake hands...) But that is about it.
February 21, 2015
Let's set some things straight. The description of this book makes it sound like a arraigned marriage romance, It is not. This is the story of a woman who is named Ireland Rose. It is a long drawn out story with little that happens until the end of the book. The last 20 pages were my favorite of the whole book. This was a clean Christian read with little preaching. It could have been cut in half and if she had added a little spark between the two main characters it would have been a sweet story.
September 9, 2011
A great historical gem. Reminds me of Gone with the wind. The story kept me guessing. Loved the locations too.
Want to read
September 7, 2011Omgeee! i want this book :)
Want to read
September 8, 2011---->looks depressing<----
Want to read
September 9, 2011Looks good...
Want to read
January 16, 2012This is my third time trying to win. Please let this Irish lass win. I am kissing my four-leaf clover for good luck!
February 9, 2012
I have heard tale of this book when I was in Baltimore last. I live only a few towns over in Durrus! I cannot wait to read this!
October 18, 2011
About half way through this book. Very good so far!
August 23, 2021
Good story
So she had a good storyline. Then why did I only give 3 stars?
1. She needs someone to proofread her books. The editing on this is very poor: misused punctuation/quotation marks. In one case she used the wrong character’s name. There are several places where the wrong word was used: “hear” instead of “here”; “next” instead of “nest”. And there were where parts that felt incomplete, almost like she was making a note and didn’t go back and actually edit the note into the story.
& 2. She spent so much of the book being so descriptive that the last chapter and epilogue felt rushed. You know how you’re reading a bedtime story and realize the kid is asleep so you say “and they all lived happily ever after. The end”? I feel like that’s what the author just did here.
So she had a good storyline. Then why did I only give 3 stars?
1. She needs someone to proofread her books. The editing on this is very poor: misused punctuation/quotation marks. In one case she used the wrong character’s name. There are several places where the wrong word was used: “hear” instead of “here”; “next” instead of “nest”. And there were where parts that felt incomplete, almost like she was making a note and didn’t go back and actually edit the note into the story.
& 2. She spent so much of the book being so descriptive that the last chapter and epilogue felt rushed. You know how you’re reading a bedtime story and realize the kid is asleep so you say “and they all lived happily ever after. The end”? I feel like that’s what the author just did here.
August 3, 2018
I went ahead and gave it two stars because I did enjoy the story enough to want to know what happened. That being said, I agree with several of the other reviews. The pacing was very slow at first and way too fast at the end. The "romance" was sort of tacked on at the end like a consolation prize for all she had lost. And the grammar was awful, full of misplaced quote marks, not nearly enough commas, and several instances of words that sounded like what she meant but were not (ex: she said aversion when I am pretty sure she meant diversion). As much as I wanted to love this book, I just couldn't.
March 20, 2025
A sweet romance that wanders for the first 2/3 of the book with many different things happening from meeting new people, to finding love letters in the attic, to her husband dying, to doing charitable work. However, nothing really comes of anything. The last part of the novel picks up quite a bit and ends in an obvious way for the average reader.
While this was labeled as Christian, the Christian aspects are limited so it seems more like family-friendly.
The novel has many grammatical errors, which limits the reader's enjoyment.
While this was labeled as Christian, the Christian aspects are limited so it seems more like family-friendly.
The novel has many grammatical errors, which limits the reader's enjoyment.
September 26, 2023
Return to Ireland
Ireland Rose was born in Baltimore to Irish parents who fled Ireland due to the potatoe famine. Now they want to return and she has a choice to make, stay and marry a widow from Charleston, SC or go to Ireland with them. So she chooses marriage to a man who is older than her. So when he dies her lifes changes but is for better or worse. Read to see how her life is going with Gods help.
Ireland Rose was born in Baltimore to Irish parents who fled Ireland due to the potatoe famine. Now they want to return and she has a choice to make, stay and marry a widow from Charleston, SC or go to Ireland with them. So she chooses marriage to a man who is older than her. So when he dies her lifes changes but is for better or worse. Read to see how her life is going with Gods help.
January 16, 2025
A Book Like One I Never Expected
This book was a really good one! It included so many subjects, that kept me guessing all of the time. Wealthy living, poor living, adults, children, different countries, and the sea. There was also happiness, loneliness, sadness, and romance. If you enjoy a great historical fiction I would suggest that you read this one!
This book was a really good one! It included so many subjects, that kept me guessing all of the time. Wealthy living, poor living, adults, children, different countries, and the sea. There was also happiness, loneliness, sadness, and romance. If you enjoy a great historical fiction I would suggest that you read this one!
September 12, 2017
Free Ebook
She's a young wife, married to a much older man. It's a marriage of convenience and then he dies. She has a guardian, but he's an angry sea captain. So many things happen to her before she finds love and a family of her own
She's a young wife, married to a much older man. It's a marriage of convenience and then he dies. She has a guardian, but he's an angry sea captain. So many things happen to her before she finds love and a family of her own
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