Review: The Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore

The Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow! This is one of my favourite reads this year. This is the first novel I've read by Santa Montefiore and The Daughters of Ireland is the second book in her Deverill Chronicles series. Although I've known about this writer for a long while, I wonder why it has taken so long to pick up one of her novels?

As you'd expect from a family saga, there's plenty of intrigue and history as we observe the life events and dramas following the three young women between 1925-1938. The narrative is richly descriptive and interwoven with fascinating highly developed characters. Each thread is informative as we delve into the differing worlds where love, secrets, deception and tragedy envelope the protagonists and notable secondary characters.

The journeys' the characters embark on take you around the world from Dublin and London to Manhattan, South Africa and Argentina. Ms. Montefiore's writing brought to life the locations I've never visited as well as igniting memories of those I've had an opportunity to explore myself. The visual impact her writing brought made me think this trilogy would be perfect for small screen adaptation.

On finishing this novel, my first impressions were; I can't wait to read the third part of this trilogy and I must read part one too. There are many threads with loose ends which leave a yearning to follow the lives of Celia, Kitty and Bridie to their conclusions. Despite diving in right in the middle of the saga, the author does a wonderful job of explaining who everyone is and their role within the narrative. It wasn't difficult to follow the proceedings and I didn't feel I needed to read book one before I embarked on this one so, I'm grateful this inclusion helped to enhance my overall reading experience.

On a final note, I fully intend to read this trilogy in its entirety. If you're looking for something to submerge yourself in with a fascinating setting in twentieth century Ireland, I highly recommend The Daughters of Ireland.

5 stars

***arc generously received courtesy of the publisher William Morrow via Edelweiss+***




View all my reviews