Het blijft een boeiend verhaal, maar het leest toch net wat minder prettig dan deel 1. De vaart is er een beetje uit lijkt wel. Veel uitweidingen ook. Jammer, want de plot is echt wel interessant en de karakters ook. Hopelijk is deel 3 wel weer wat vlotter.

Het speelt zich af in de jaren voor de tweede wereldoorlog en wat je er vooral uit proeft is heimwee. Heimwee naar een tijd die nu achteraf onbezorgd lijkt, maar die toch haar eigen uitdagingen had. Ook de beurskrach komt naar voren. Het einde is wat abrupt, maar ik ga toch meteen verder dus dat geeft niet. Het was een lekker boek. ( )

The Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore is the second book in a series about the Deverill family. It continues the story of the first book, The Girl In the Castle, so readers should start with that one before reading this one.

The book is set in 1925, when the Deverill family is trying to recover from the losses of World War I and the Irish War of Independence. Celia Deverill, who belongs to the London branch of the family, has bought the ruins of Castle Deverill, which was burned down by rebels a few years ago. The castle belonged to her Irish cousins Kitty and Harry, and Celia has fond memories of spending time there as a child. She wants to restore the castle to its original beauty and share it with her children and her cousins’ children.

Kitty is married to Robert, but she still loves Jack O’Leary, her childhood sweetheart. She lives near the castle with Robert and her half-brother, who is the son of her father and his mistress. Kitty is happy enough with her life, but she can’t forget Jack. When she sees him again after many years, she has to decide whether to stay with Robert or to run away with Jack to America.

Bridie Doyle used to be Kitty’s maid and her father’s lover. Now she is a rich and glamorous woman in New York. She enjoys her life of parties and suitors, but she misses her son, who lives with Kitty and Robert in Ireland. She goes back to Ireland to try to get him back, but she realizes that things have changed and that she doesn’t belong there anymore. She has to find out where her true home is, and it’s not what she expected.

The Daughters of Ireland is a rich and sweeping novel that follows the lives of the characters over several years. The author writes with a lot of detail, which makes the settings come alive. I felt like I was in Ireland or in New York, seeing what the characters saw and feeling what they felt. The author is very good at describing things, but sometimes I thought she went too far. I didn’t need to know every detail of what people wore or ate. Sometimes I wanted to skip some parts that were too long and boring.

The characters are very well-developed. I didn’t like all of them, but I understood them. Kitty was hard for me to like. She was selfish and careless with other people’s feelings. She loved Jack, but she hurt Robert and Bridie. She always wanted more from life, but she didn’t think about the consequences of her actions. I was annoyed by how she acted around Jack, when Robert was so good to her.

I liked how slow and gentle this novel was. It wasn’t a fast or exciting story, but it was a deep and emotional one. It was about a family and their loves and loyalties. It was about Ireland and its history and culture. It was about love in different ways: romantic love, family love, friendship love. It was a beautiful tribute to love. ( )

3.5* ( )

I wanted to like this story. Set during the 20s and early 30s, the reader follows the lives and choices of three women searching for love, or more humanly, the greener grass on the other proverbial side. I deeply dislike infidelity although,, some readers may ot find this an issue.

The story felt like a soap opera and wasn't what I expected. The end left many unresolved plot lines but I understand this book is part of a series. Perhaps I would've enjoyed it more reading book one first?

Overall, I give this a 3 out of 5 stars. I hope others find this more enjoyable than I.

I received The Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore as an Early Reviewers title compliments of LibraryThing and William Morrow / Harper Collins Publishers. All of my review is mine and mine alone. ( )

Prachtig verhalend boek met trage verhaallijn maar mooi van begin tot eind. ( )