Haunting Beauty (A Mists of Ireland Novel) [Mass Market Paperback]

Erin Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Mists of Ireland Novel | Publication Date: August 4, 2009

Danni always believed she was an abandoned child. Then the seductive Sean Ballogh appears out of nowhere with a startling story challenging everything Danni thought was true. He claims that Danni's family has been searching for her ever since she disappeared twenty years ago. He's come to bring her home to Ireland. Now, Danni must rewrite history to save her family, to fight a force more evil than she ever imagined, and to reunite herself with the man she was destined for-or risk living forever in time as nothing more than an ethereal memory, a tragic and haunting beauty.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A complex, mysterious, and very satisfying story!"
-Diana Gabaldon

"A mystical tale of intrigue and seduction...The imagery is breathtaking and the prose is beautiful and authentic...you live the story, not just read it."
-Calista Fox, author of Object of Desire

"A dark and passionate romance with the literary brilliance of The Time Traveler''s Wife."
-Kathryne Kennedy, author of Enchanting the Lady

From the Back Cover

"A COMPLEX, MYSTERIOUS AND VERY SATISFYING STORY!"
--Diana Gabaldon, New York Times bestselling author

"A BOOK THAT YOU WON'T WANT TO PUT DOWN."--Night Owl Romance

A mysterious stranger. A lost woman. A terrifying legacy.

Danni Jones doesn't believe in destiny until she meets the seductive Sean Ballagh.  He lures her back to Ireland, to a moment in her own past when her life was destroyed.  He gives her the chance to change everything.  Sean is not what he seems and Danni isn't certain she can trust him, yet she cannot resist him or what he offers no matter how much she fears the consequences.

Now, in a land where the mystical and the occult are as vivid as the emerald fields, Danni must fight the forces that threaten to rip her and Sean apart and rewrite history to save herself and the one man she was meant to love--or live forever in time as nothing more than an ethereal memory, a tragic and haunting beauty...

"A DARK AND PASSIONATE ROMANCE WITH THE LITERARY BRILLANCE OF THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE."
--Kathryne Kennedy, author of Enchanting the Lady --This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425228177
• ISBN-13: 978-0425228173
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,194,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 starts -Haunting Romance with a touch of Irish Magic, August 21, 2009

By 

melindeeloo (sb,ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Haunting Beauty (A Mists of Ireland Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

It starts with a vision of her own death and a compelling stranger that Danni `knows' she will meet again. Danni has been denying the gift that forced her from foster home to foster home after being abandoned by her mother as a child. Now Shaun, the man from her vision, appears in the `flesh' on her doorstep offering Danni her fondest wish - Shaun tells her of a father and extended family in Ireland who want her. But even as Danni is drawn to Shaun, Shaun is keeping secrets - more secrets than he even knows. It will take a bit of Irish magic, love, a leap of faith and a trip to the past for Danni and Shaun to avert a past tragedy and for them to even have a ghost of a chance at a future together.

I really really liked Haunting Beauty though it took me a while to understand what was really going on. I wasn't initially sure whether it was a ghost story or a time travel romance even though the Danni figures this out fairly quickly. Because key elements of the story are told in visions or dreams, Haunting Beauty has a non-linear flow that actually works to reinforce the haunting feel and to build the tension as Danni struggles to find a way to change the events of the night which had such tragic consequences for Danni and Shaun and for both of their families.

I liked the magical feel that the visions and the Celtic lore brought to the story, but it was really Danni and especially Shaun who won my heart. Both the leads are quite likeable and have an appealing vulnerability. Both have been alone for so long and have experienced such emotional hurt that makes it hard to trust again, but despite that, the connection between Shaun and Danni is so powerful that they can't help putting themselves in the position of being hurt again - even when it looks like there is no possibility for a future together.

If there is a weakness to the story it is that there alot different kinds of mystical things going on (visions, dream sequences, time travel) and there are a few threads left dangling even after the story resolves itself - how does the White Lady fit in? But it turns out that the tale is not complete and the story of Danni's twin is yet to be told. Though I can't imagine where author Quinn will take us next, when the story continues with Danni's also magical brother Rory, I am looking forward to his tale in Haunting Warrior.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, August 25, 2009

By 

Lynn K. Coulter (Park City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Haunting Beauty (A Mists of Ireland Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Mysticism combined with romance wrapped up in a beautiful mist of Irish folklore and time travel. Wonderfully evocative writing. Characters that jump off the page. A plot that kept me guessing. A chemistry that smoldered. I was transported along with Danni and Sean to another time and place. My sole disappointment in this book was when the journey had to come to an end. I'm just glad to know that "Haunting Beauty" is only the first in a series of books about this family, their adventures through time and the evil Book of Fennore.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinatingly Complex!, September 15, 2009

By 

Amy C (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Haunting Beauty (A Mists of Ireland Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Abandoned at a young age, Danni has always felt different. Afraid to open herself up and explore the oddness of who she is. Danni never knew what happened to her family. She grew up in foster home after foster home. And then one night a strange, yet somehow familiar man, appears on her doorstep, and from that moment on, everything changes. This man, Sean Ballagh, claims to know where her father is, who she is, where she's from. He has answers she's lived her entire life wondering about.

Now's her chance to discover her past, as visions unfold, and an amazing journey sweeps both Danni and Sean back in time to twenty years in the past, just a few days before the terrible events unfold that will change their life to the one they just left. It's not often second chances are given. Does Danni have the power within herself to alter the tragic events?

The imagery and tone created a mysterious and vivid story. The twisted, tangled, and devastating events from the past catapult this book on a journey to uncover the secrets that will allow Danni and Sean to find the peace and answers they need to heal and find the love of of a family Danni has always yearned to have. The twists and turns this dark tale takes you on was at times confusing, and some things were left unanswered or rather unanswerable, but I chalk that up to storytelling and the beauty of fiction. Let your mind wonder and explore the possibilities.

Complex and fascinating to say the least!