The Daughters of Ireland

Starred review from May 15, 2017

In this sequel to The Girl in the Castle, the focus shifts from Kitty Deverill to her cousin Celia, as the ownership of Deverill Castle falls into Celia's luckier and wealthier collateral family branch. Just as Celia finishes her extravagant refurbishing of the estate, the Crash of 1929 takes her family's fortune and the lives of her husband and her father. All Celia is left with is the death of her own dreams and a blackmailer who tells her that her beloved father was not the man she thought he was. Determined to salvage his reputation, Celia undertakes a dangerous journey of discovery to the source of her father's fortune, only to find that while he may have made the devil's own luck, she has just enough pluck of her own to start over far from where she began. For lovers of meaty family sagas, the Deverills are rich and dysfunctional in just the ways that make their adventures and tribulations so much fun to read. VERDICT This series is highly recommended for Downton Abbey addicts looking for a new story to sink into, and for readers who love exploring the depths of women's relationships over the course of their lives.--Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
Readers of Montefiore's The Girl in the Castle (2016) will relish this equally juicy sequel. The second in a projected trilogy features the same trio of women bound by both family ties and their obsession with Deverill Castle, the setting of many of their most cherished and tragic memories. Though no longer the owner of the Castle Deverill, Kitty longs for both her lost home and for Jack O'Leary, her first and truest love. Meanwhile, her cousin, Celia Mayberry, the new mistress of the manor, throws her heart and soul into restoring the castle, while across the ocean, Bridie Doyle, daughter of the former cook, has become the toast of New York. Though much of the action in this installment revolves around Celia, the stories of these three women are inextricably linked by past decisions, present struggles, and future dreams. As each stands at a crossroads, the stage is meticulously set for the final denouement. Guaranteed to satisfy the appetites of fans of meaty family sagas.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)