Shadow Mountain
ISBN: 978-1609074616
Published Aug 2013
Trade paperback, 432 pages
Katie Macauley was eight when her
family lost their land during Ireland's Great Famine. Her father
became a broken man and her younger sister died. Katie blames herself
for this loss and vows to make it up to her family even as she enters
into a life of servitude from a young age and is separated from her
family for good.
Eventually she takes on the position of housekeeper
in Hope Springs, Wyoming. But the small town is divided because the
Americans despise the Irish. Despite this feud, Katie finds a family
among the Irish immigrants and must decide whether to follow her
heart in Hope Springs or return back home to gain her father's
forgiveness.
I enjoyed this heartwarming novel
mainly because the author has a way with dialogue and was able to
bring the Irish expressions and culture to life. I was pulled into
the story immediately because of the witty banter between Katie and
the O'Connor brothers. Katie was an interesting character, feisty and
vulnerable at the same time. I was intrigued by the events in the
past that had turned her into such a reclusive figure with barely any
friends in the twenty years she was in servitude.
Halfway through, however, it began to
drag a little for me. The plot was good but came in second to the
romance. I would have gladly forgone some pages of dialogue that
was sweet but that no longer moved the plot along for me. (This is a
long novel of 432 pages.) As a result the story was a little
anticlimactic for me. Everything pointed toward a climactic event
between the townsfolk because of the tension the author skilfully
built from the beginning, but it didn't really happen or perhaps not like I thought it would. Also, the change in Katie's personality was
too drastic in the few months she was there. It was like she was a
different person altogether and some of her internal conflicts no
longer seemed important to the story.
Apart from these issues, this was a
good story. If you like clean romances with good characters in a
genre not labelled Christian fiction, then I suggest you try this
one.
Note: This book is rated C = clean read.
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Sarah M. Eden is the author of multiple historical romances, including Whitney Award finalists Seeking Persephone (2008, Covenant Communications) and Courting Miss Lancaster (2010, Covenant Communications). Combining her obsession with history and affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting witty characters and heartfelt romances. She holds a Bachelor's degree in research and happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library. Sarah has twice served as the Master of Ceremonies for the LDStorymakers Writers Conference, acted as the Writer in Residence at the Northwest Writers Retreat and is one-third of the team at the AppendixPodcast.com. Sarah is represented by Pam van Hylckama Vlieg at Foreword Literary Agency.
Connect with the author: Facebook, Website
Reviewed by Laura
Disclosure: Thanks to the publisher for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
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