THROUGH THE BARRICADES by @denisedeegan Fabulous #Irish war time #HistFic #SundayBlogShare

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Rosie Amber

Through the Barricades by Denise Deegan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Through The Barricades is an Irish based historical fiction.

The prologue opens in 1906, a house fire. Maggie Gilligan’s father gets her to safety out of a bedroom window. His last words to her are “Make a difference in the world, Maggie”.

Chapter one begins in 1913, Dublin. It is seven years after her father’s death. Maggie meets Daniel and Michael, two boys who help her with a flat bicycle tyre. They talk of trouble in the city, strikers are causing riots, Maggie fiercely defends them to the surprise of the boys.

Daniel is intrigued by Maggie, his privileged upbringing has sheltered him from the plight of the poor. He is determined to see Maggie again and learn more. Maggie challenges Daniel to help her at a food kitchen and her determination to help those in need and fight for their rights opens his eyes to so much more.

They become friends, joining the Na Fianna, a scouts youth group, but one of many rebel groups within Ireland wanting equality and an end to British rule. Daniel realises that all his education has been about British history, he hears of the 1695 Penal laws used to suppress the Irish. As his love for Maggie grows, so does her determination to fight for Ireland. Desperate to protect her he believes that when WW1 breaks out if he signs up and fights for the British army they will allow home rule for the Irish once the war is over.

The war for Daniel and Michael is terrible, they are sent to Gallipoli and the reality is devastating. Back home Maggie cannot rest, she takes on dangerous work for the rebels which culminates in the Easter Rising of 1916.

I really enjoyed this book, I read it all in one afternoon and evening as I was so engrossed in the storyline, the passion of the characters, the historical detail and the experience I came away with from reading this. Like Daniel I learnt about the background to the Easter Rising, and I learnt about what it was probably like fighting in Gallipoli. Truly horrific on both accounts.

Recommended for those who like good detailed historical fiction, yes it is laced with a romantic theme, but it was subtle enough to be part of the passion of the book.

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Book Description

She was willing to sacrifice everything for her country. He was willing to sacrifice everything for her.

‘Make a difference in the world,’ are the last words Maggie Gilligan’s father ever says to her. They form a legacy that she carries in her heart, years later when, at the age of fifteen, she tries to better the lives of Dublin’s largely forgotten poor.

‘Don’t go getting distracted, now,’ is what Daniel Healy’s father says to him after seeing him talking to the same Maggie Gilligan. Daniel is more than distracted. He is intrigued. Never has he met anyone as dismissive, argumentative . . . as downright infuriating.

A dare from Maggie is all it takes. Daniel volunteers at a food kitchen. There, his eyes are opened to the plight of the poor. It is 1913 and Dublin’s striking workers have been locked out of their jobs. Their families are going hungry. Daniel and Maggie do what they can. Soon, however, Maggie realises that the only way to make a difference is to take up arms.

The story of Maggie and Daniel is one of friendship, love, war and revolution, of two people prepared to sacrifice their lives: Maggie for her country, Daniel for Maggie. Their mutual sacrifices put them on opposite sides of a revolution. Can their love survive?

About the author

Denise Deegan

Denise Deegan lives in Dublin with her family where she regularly dreams of sunshine, a life without cooking and her novels being made into movies.

Denise has been a nurse, a china restorer, a pharmaceutical sales rep, a public relations officer, an entrepreneur and a college lecturer. Her most difficult job was being a checkout girl, although ultimately this experience did inspire a short story…

Denise writes for both adults and teenagers. Her novels have been published by Penguin, Random House, Hachette and Lake Union Publishing. Writing under the pen name Aimee Alexander, Denise’s contemporary family dramas have become international best-sellers on Kindle.

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#NewRelease WHAT I LOVE ABOUT DUBLIN by @AmandaLaneley #Romance #Dublin #fridayreads

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Rosie Amber

What I love about dublin by Amanda Laneley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What I Love About Dublin is a HEA ending romance. Twenty something Sara has come to Dublin for five months to teach Spanish. She’s leaving behind a broken heart in Chile when she broke up with her ex after they wanted different things from their relationship.

Her contact at the University gives her an address for a flat share but her new start is shaky when she’s told they are only taking boys for flatmates. With no where else to go it’s up to Sara to try to win round Daniel. Daniel wants to adhere to the “no girls” rule but struggles with his attraction for Sara and their common love of travel. There follows a tempestuous on / off relationship between the couple, fortunately ending in a HEA finale.

This is a dialogue lead story, relying on the dialogue to move the storyline forward, for this reason it is slow paced and takes away the delight of the setting. There are some good secondary characters which support the two main characters and add some interest to the story.

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Book Description

Let’s suppose you are a heartbroken woman trying to get over the pain of a failed relationship. You’ve always wanted to see the world. What do you do? Perhaps you would do what Sarah does: travel alone to Dublin and leave your worries behind. She wants to start from scratch, to forget about it all; to enjoy the lush green countryside, the Celtic music, the famous pubs. However, her life turns upside down when she finds herself living under the same roof as Daniel, a handsome yet stubborn Irishman.
Both Daniel and Sarah have their reasons for not falling in love, but love has other plans.
Things become more complicated because love affairs are prohibited between housemates. This is an unbreakable rule that also applies to the three other residents: a shameless womanizer, an absent-minded musician and a new female best friend, intrusive and meddling. It’s a fun and exciting intercultural household for Sarah to adapt to! And as if that wasn’t enough, she also has to deal with Daniel’s heated misunderstandings, with an insistent ex-boyfriend and some compromising situations with a very sexy Frenchman.
This is a new life in Dublin and there is certainly a lot to love!

About the author

Amanda Laneley

Amanda Laneley is passionate about writing and exploring the world. She has traveled through five continents, collecting anecdotes and stories that she turns into novels.
She loves the movies of Meg Ryan and the novels of Jane Austen. She adores learning and thinks that there aren’t enough hours in the day to do it. She loves to dance, laugh and share a beer with good friends.
She was a professor, entrepreneur and hypnotic therapist before devoting herself to writing.

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Guest Author Sharon Black

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Rosie Amber

Please welcome Sharon Black to the blog today as she tells us about her debut novel “Going Against Type”

1) Where is your home town?

I live in Dublin. I was born here and I now live in Sandymount, which is right by the sea.
2) How long have you been writing?

I’m one of those people who literally started writing as a child. I was always writing stories, filling copybooks, later on starting books which I never finished. After I got my degree, I trained as a journalist and I worked for national newspapers here in Ireland. I’ve also had some short stories published and I won a national short story competition a few years ago.
3) What was the one idea which sparked off “Going Against Type”?

When I was growing up, I adored the old Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s on TV. My favourite romantic pair on screen, were Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey. In the film Woman of the Year, he plays a sports writer and she plays a high brow pundit. So I thought I’d see what would happen if the roles were reversed a bit. My heroine is a sports writer and my hero is a fashion writer who knows very little about sport. I actually make a reference to Woman of the Year in my book!

4) Where is your book set?

Going Against Type is set in Dublin.

5) Introduce us to Charlie.

Charlie is a single, Dublin born woman in her late twenties. She lives for sport, and actually tried to pursue a professional career in sport, until she was injured. She loves her job and she is great fun. She’s very feisty and doesn’t pull any punches. She’s also a bit vulnerable. She hasn’t had a lot of luck with men.

6) Please tell us all about Derry.

Derry is very good looking, droll and at ease with himself. He dates a lot of women but hasn’t had a serious relationship in a while. He has quite a high position in his paper, but he doesn’t talk about it. He’s originally from Cork and still has a very faint, lilting accent. He is attracted to Charlie because she’s very pretty, but also because she’s very different to the type of woman he usually dates. He finds her refreshing and challenging.

7) What type of things does Charlie write about in her new column?

As the only woman on staff in the sports department, Charlie knows she has to make her mark, or Side Swipe will be handed to one of the men. She is a bit of a purist when it comes to sport, so she just tells it how she sees it. For example, in one column she attacks highly paid soccer stars for wasting their time promoting underwear or writing their autobiographies. In another, she pokes fun at the women who make Ladies’ Day at the races, all about the designer clothes.

8) How does she come into conflict with a rival columnist?

As well as being a fashion writer, Derry writes a column called The Squire for a rival paper. He reads Charlie’s first column and decides to take Side Swipe down a peg or two. He actually thinks it’s written by a young guy, trying to make a name for himself. Both columns are written anonymously.

9) Where and when do Charlie and Derry meet face to face?

Charlie and Derry first bump in to each other at the Galway Races. Literally! By that stage, they have already had a few weeks of attacking each other through their columns. The attraction is instant but it’s not how they first get together!

10) Tell us where readers can find out more about you and your books.