Product Description

Return to the lush green hills of Ireland, where love is touched by magic--and where the Gallagher siblings explore the depths of their fiery hearts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53211 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-01
• Released on: 2004-09-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780515126778
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
In the small village of Ardmore, Ireland, Gallagher's pub is the center of the lively seaside community and the home of three passionate siblings: Aidan, Shawn, and Darcy. As a world traveler and a barkeep, the eldest brother Aidan has just about seen and heard it all, but when a quiet professor from Chicago enters his tavern, he is instantly intrigued--and certain that there is more to Jude Murray than what meets the eye.

Jude has returned to her grandmother's ancestral home to sort out her thoughts, know her heart, and "find Jude F. Murray in six months or less." After a life of deliberate security, Jude finds herself recovering from a failed marriage and a disappointing career. With the pretense of a research expedition, Jude leaves her life in Chicago and moves into the charming house on top of the faerie hill. Surrounded by the awesome scenery and relieved by the simplicity of life, Jude excuses her visions of ghosts and faeries as signs of her mental recovery.

But the inhabitants of Ardmore, and Aidan Gallagher in particular, don't dismiss these apparitions with such convenient logic, and Jude learns to listen more carefully to the messages in the world. As Aidan and Jude draw closer to each other, Jude struggles to discover, balance, and define the complex parts of her soul.

In the character of Jude Murray, Nora Roberts has created a sophisticated woman whose internal development from skittish recluse to confident lover is realistic and convincing. Carefully avoiding the "good man is a solution to all problems" plot, Roberts lets Jude and Aidan interact and develop individually, as well as together as a couple. While this modern tone is refreshing, it feels a bit at odds with the supernatural, faerie themes. As this is the first in a series about the Gallagher siblings and the faerie legend, perhaps these thematic contradictions will sort themselves out in the subsequent novels. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From Publishers Weekly
In her recent romance trilogies, Roberts (Carnal Innocence, etc.) has combined ghosts with lively humor and vivid sensuality. In this first volume of her newest series, Jude Murray, an American psychologist, has come to spend six months at Faerie Hill Cottage on the Irish coast to study Irish folklore and escape her dreary, uneventful life in Chicago. Faerie Hill is haunted by the 300-year-old ghost of Lady Gwen, who turned down the proposal of Carrick, king of the fairies, and is doomed to wander alone until three couples can find happiness. These three will include the engaging Gallagher siblings (Aidan, the eldest, Darcy and Shawn), who operate the local pub. Aidan, who senses the fire beneath Jude's controlled exterior, is smitten with the visiting American. His passion for her draws him away from his responsibilities at the pub as he share with her the lore of the land. Roberts, a storytelling wizard, is at her best here, creating a fantastic setting for the continuing romantic tales of the Gallaghers. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Even the reigning queen of romance novels is entitled to an off book. A superior reading might have endowed this story with the needed depth, but Patricia Daniels was not equal to the task. Jude Murray is in Ireland to escape her life in Chicago and possibly find herself in the bargain; Aidan Gallagher runs his family's pub in Ardmore. He's done his running but beneath the surface is a sense of destiny unfulfilled. Then he meets Jude and understands everything. Unfortunately, Daniels's near monotonic reading makes it difficult to lose oneself in the already fanciful story. Her concentration on proper diction is negated by her giving every word in a sentence equal weight, thus rendering the sentence meaningless. Her Irish accent is better, but with that she loses her diction skills. Despite the popularity of the author, libraries would do well to pass on this one.
-Jodi L. Israel, Jamaica Plain, MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

I can't WAIT to go to Ireland ...
I swear Nora Roberts must get kickbacks from the Irish Tourism board. Who WOULDN'T want to go try and find a village like Ardmore, and the wonderful people in it? Some readers have complained of Jude's "weak" character, and if I had tossed the book away halfway through I might have agreed. But the point is that people do develop and grow, and we got to see Jude get over her insecurities. People who don't think she's a realistic character have clearly never been on the insecure side. And Aidan -- well, who wouldn't want to spend hours in his company? Charming, a captivating storyteller, a romantic, a man who knows himself and his home. I am so looking forward to reading about Shawn and Brenna, and then of course Darcy and ... whomever. I'm not normally into books where ghosts and faeries are spoken of matter-of-factly, but even that aspect of the story was enchanting. I read the book to my husband in 2 days of driving on the way back from vacation, and even he (a Stephen King fan) enjoyed it!

Oh to be Irish!
If this story does not make you want to jaunt off to Ireland and fall in love with a charming rogue, you're either dead or a man!

At first I was surprised to read the reviews from people disappointed with the book. The more I thought about it, though, I had to admit that it is not your typical Nora Roberts mystery/suspense romance. Those who are familiar with her other works, and that of J.D. Robb, would no doubt be disappointed - there really is no mystery. You know in the end that Aidan and Jude will be together. But it's the journey that gets them there that should, and does, entertain you.

I have been a fan of Nora Roberts for a long, long time, and have yet to be disappointed with her work. This novel is a funny, entertaining, magical description of Aidan & Jude's romance.

I laughed along with Jude, for I, along with many others, I'm sure, can relate to her "neurotic" thinking sometimes. I do not, however, believe this makes her a "weak" heroine. It makes her real. I envied her for the friendships that bloomed between her, Darcy and Brenna. And I completely fell for Aidan. What more could a reader wish for in a book?

How long until the next one?

Jewels of the Sun
Irish Trilogy - Book 1

This was not a good read for me. I guess I am one that definitely likes her more recent work because I couldn't force myself to get involved with this one. This was not very exciting, and the story was lacking depth.

Jude Murray runs from her life in America with a broken heard in tow, and heads to Ireland to study old tales and legends. She stays at her grandmothers' cottage, and likes it so much that she longs to become part of the community.

Aidan Gallagher runs the local pub with his family, but is not prepared for the impact meeting Jude will have on his life. Through magic and deep sorrow of a ghost, Jude and Aidan discover their new path in life together.