Ireland Rose [Kindle Edition]

Patricia Strefling (Author)

Book Description

A Sweeping Historical Romance:

Baltimore-born Ireland Rose, daughter of Irish immigrants, must be married by her seventeenth birthday. Rose's father finds a suitable husband, Captain Camden Lovell, twenty-seven years her senior. Captain Lovell takes his bride to Charleston, provides her with a beautiful home on the Battery and good standing in Charleston Society. Three years later Rose is a widow. Captain Wyatt, her husband's trusted employee is now in charge of her affairs. Rose senses he does not like her. One day he brings a young woman with child to her - and a secret that must be kept. A little girl is born, and Rose becomes a mother. Captain Wyatt offers to marry her in name only to protect her from Charleston society gossip, but she is determined she will not marry a second time for protection. She will marry for love or live alone. Just three months later, August 31st, 1886 the city of Charleston suffers the worst earthquake of the century. Her beautiful home is in shambles. Rose has no choice but to return to her parents' birthplace in Ireland. The only record she has of her Irish ancestry is in her mother's Bible. She and her infant daughter take the next ship to Ireland. She has begun to hope she has finally found happiness when Captain Wyatt comes with news that shatters her heart. Every person Rose loves is taken away. Her faith in God is shaken. There is a plan for her, but she can't see it. Captain Wyatt breaks her heart, not once but twice.
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patricia Strefling writes historical and contemporary inspirational romance. She recently published her fourth book and is working on her next novel. When not writing, she loves to travel, meet new people, crochet, and read. She and her husband have three grown sons and make their home in Southwest Lower Michigan.

Product Details

• File Size: 527 KB
• Print Length: 282 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1449721850
• Publisher: Westbow Press (September 8, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005M071XM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,284 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Pros and Cons April 24, 2012

By Loree

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a Christian historical romance. I like that genre, but some people may not and this description was not clear.

The things I liked about this book were 1) The plot. It was unique, entertaining and somewhat unpredictable; and 2) Character Development. The characters were all well-honed, some complex, some more simple, but all well done.

The Cons: 1) Way too long. There were just too many descriptions that took up a lot of pages and contributed nothing to the book; and 2) Editing could be better, although I've seen way worse and it didn't bother me all that much.

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Story that Grips the Heart November 16, 2011

By Cindy Lynn Jacobs

Format:Kindle Edition

This historical romance brings history to life beautifully through the author's main character Rose. The story relives the 1886 Charleston earthquake which is almost symbolic of Rose's life. Her small world is shaken and torn on more than one occasion. First by becoming a widow. Secondly, by being scorned by society for making a decision of the heart. Then again when her heart is broken. But she seeks strength and wisdom. She continues to hope for happiness despite her many trials. "Ireland Rose" reveals how God always knows the outcome. Even when we doubt and struggle and hurt, God has a plan.

Kudos to Author Patricia Strefling for doing an excellent job weaving both the history of Ireland and Charleston into this beautiful storyline.

67 of 73 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book...except for... March 9, 2012

By Adly Teoh

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I agree that this writer is gifted! Her books are a delight to read - well done!

I have to say that the numerous errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation and word usage) did affect the flow of the story, and were a distraction. I don't know where authors get their proofreaders, but - at least in Kindle books - they could do much better.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time or money July 20, 2012

By Laurajc5

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had high hopes for this book because the storyline sounded interesting. Boy was I disappointed! The worst thing about the book were the incredible grammar and spelling mistakes; quotation marks missing or in the wrong place, misspelled words, missing words, and much more made it really difficult to follow sometimes. Even transferring the document to Word would eradicate 90% of the mistakes. The historical information is so inaccurate it was laughable! A widow woman inherits a house and business in the mid-1880's? Not gonna happen. And then the plot had her give the house to a black family? There would be serious repercussions if this were a serious novel. That would not happen in Charleston right after the Civil War. The whole storyline was just unbelievable and so crazy, I had to laugh out loud at some of the twists. There is no way someone traveled back and forth to Ireland that many times in one year. A voyage to England alone took months, and they didn't just hop on a ship as portrayed in this story. And who in their right mind would give an illegitimate child to the widow of the father, and say that was a good solution?! And why was it sociably unacceptable for Rose to have a baby born to a single orphan, but it was completely acceptable for a widow to adopt her husband's illegitimate baby?

I would not recommend anyone wasting their time on this book, even if you get it for free. I can't believe this author has more books published. I hope her other ones are better edited and written, although I won't waste my time to find out.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the worst book I've ever read... July 7, 2012

By The Duncan's

Format:Kindle Edition

Bad editing, worse spelling. Plot so-so until Rose decides to give baby away. Really, give the baby to the widow of a philandering man. So, she can see her husband every day, and be reminded of his unfaithfulness? Abandoned by her father, given away by her birth mother. On what planet is it GOOD for the mother, that had her for the first year, to give her away?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Finish It May 8, 2012

By Julie Norman

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I seem to be the odd woman out here with not particularly liking this one. I even got it when it was offered for free on kindle. But I was halfway through this story and finally got tired of it, skimmed and then read the last chapter. I was waiting for the story and plot to start, but it seemed like it just kept going. There also is a need for better editing in grammar and punctuation.

The Good Parts
1. An interesting storyline and setting.
2. Appreciation to the writer for finishing a book, it's not as easy as one thinks
3. Clean story, no language, sex, violence
4. Lovely cover

The Not So Good Parts
1. One or two dimensional characters. The main character, Ireland Rose was too perfect and didn't seem to have any real flaws. The protagonist, Wyatt, wasn't around much in the half that I read and when he was, he was brooding and didn't "think" or say much more than he wanted to stay away from Rose.

2. This needed more editing for grammar and punctuation. The greatest flaw was in the quotation marks around dialogue. I had to read some parts a few times to figure out if someone was actually speaking - which took me out of the story. There were some ebook formatting issues with indents/paragraphs too.

3. The story meandered a lot and it felt more of a diary. Rose did this, she decided to do that, she realized this, etc. It could have been tightened up a bit more and as my English Prof said c/c - Cut the Clutter. Because of this, I felt like I didn't really understand where the book was going toward.

I really wish I had better things to say, but I can't in good conscience give it more than 3 stars. And I did want to really like the story too.

More About the Author

Patricia Strefling, author of many inspirational romance books, contemporary and historical. She enjoys writing stories that inspire and encourage. Patricia loves to travel and crochet and is always ready for more exploring and finding inspiration wherever she goes. Mother of three grown sons and five grandsons. Patricia lives with her husband in SW lower Michigan.


Patricia Strefling's Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/patricia.strefling.author

Follow Patricia Strefling's blog -
http://patriciastrefling.blogspot.com