Set in Ireland, the main character Sive and her husband Dan appear to be doing well, but Dan's accident reveals a deep depression and a hidden past. As Sive sorts out her life, she moves to a magical cottage owned by an elderly man. The ending is a bit ambiguous.

The novel tells a pretty good story, but I like books that contain more cinematic scenery description, more character development, and a more realistic story line. How many people do you know who've inherited a house and fortune after knowing someone a few months?

As other reviewers have noted, there are some inconsistencies with names. Additionally, each chapter is named after a painting. I'm not sure what connection readers are supposed to make with them.

Overall, I feel the book was okay for an emerging author, but believe she would do well to incorporate more believable dialogue and help readers see the characters as they are speaking. ( )

I received Mending Lace as an e-book. The main characters, Sive and Dan Gallagher are young couple living the dream. However, their marriage is tested when Dan ends up fighting for his life after a car accident. When he starts to recover physically, he fights a deep depression as well after losing everything he worked for. While her husband mends, Sive unravels the nightmare of the lies and financial chaos she is in. What Sive now faces is the realization that what she and Dan had has suddenly evaporated into a mist.

Sive’s life is made worse by Dan’s mother. She controls everyone and believes her daughter in law is not worthy of her son and blames her for her son’s downward spiral.

However, as Sive finds her own inner strength, she learns that The Gallagher family has a secret, a secret that must be told which may be the key to begin the healing.
I really enjoyed this book. There are also two other sub-stories which are equally enjoyable ( )

DISCLOSURE: An electronic copy of this book was provided for review by the publisher, Poolbeg Press Ltd,, via Library Thing.

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This slow-moving novel tells the tale of several people facing difficult times in their lives.

At first, it focuses on Sive and Dan Gallagher, a young couple whose outwardly-perfect life comes apart at the seams when Dan’s business collapses and he is severely injured in an automobile accident that may or may not have been part of a suicide attempt.

Sive gets a trio of blows – first Dan’s accident, then the news that he has lost not only his business but also the home they had created together. The final straw is when her recovering husband bars her from his hospital room for no discernible reason.

There ensues a long, long section where she plays the patiently waiting wife and tries to pull herself together with the help of her best friend, who turns out to be battling demons of her own. As is – it is ultimately revealed – Dan himself. Meanwhile, there’s an unexpected friendship developing between Sive and the elderly man who owns the cottage she rents, a blossoming romance for her widowed father, and the occasional hysterical screaming match between Sive and her mother-in-law from hell. There’s also an occasional bit of New Age woo-woo here when it seems that Sive’s late mother is occasionally contacting her daughter and son-in-law.

There’s a lot of surface angst going on here, but no real emotional connection, at least not for this reviewer. There was a fairly distracting side-note, as Sive is referred to as vegan yet she happily eats eggs and dairy products. Perhaps “vegan” has a different meaning in Ireland? There’s also a disconcerting scene in which best-friend Beth is suddenly referred to as Sive (who isn’t even present) in one long scene. Somebody really should have caught this one in the editing process.

The conclusion has some happy endings, but Sive and Dan – who have at least begun talking to each other, if not living under the same roof – appear only to be moving toward an understanding that may or may not lead to an eventual reconciliation.

This is a near-miss novel that ultimately feels cobbled-together and awaiting one final editing to smooth out the rough edges and blend the various threads more professionally. ( )

Sive and Dan have a great life, until they don't. Dan loses everything they owned and then nearly dies in a car wreck. Sive has to learn to survive and develop her independence as well as stand up to her formidable mother-in-law.

Could have used some editing, wrong names used and too many declarative paragraphs. ( )