Maggie’s aunt had worked for the Driver family since Benjamin was a young child; his younger brother, John, was away most of the time and Benjamin was almost a recluse sine the death of his wife three years before. He had loved Lydia, even though she had never loved him; they had been promised by his grandfather and her father years ago. She was, however, in love with someone else and never allowed Benjamin to forget it. Upon her death, the only thing he did was maintain his sculpting/wood carving business.

Ms. Tracy Jones has written a great novel about the hardships faced during the potato famine in Ireland and the sacrifices they lived through; she has given us a marvelous cast of characters who came alive during the story and were unbelievably realistic and credible! This is not a short book; however, it was so spell-binding that I read it in one sitting; I could not put it down. And, of course, the plot was unique and convincing, even after all the surprises! The ending was suspenseful and greatly enhanced the storyline.

I certainly enjoyed this book and look forward to others by Ms. Jones. The pathway to the freedom to love, the ability to recreate the situation to create this well-written love story, and the capability to show how this book expanded to appeal to all genres showed that Ms. Jones has, indeed, the skill and talent to keep the readers happy! I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual

Reviewer: Brenda Talley
August 20, 2007