Customer Reviews

The Kilternan Legacy

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Irene "Rene" Teasey is still trying to recover from her bitter divorce when she learns that her great aunt Irene, whom she never met, has left her some property in Ireland. Rene is unsure if she wants to go, but her teenage twins, Simon and Snow, are determined to go. Before she knows it, Rene finds herself in a quaint Irish hotel with some sleazy real estate agent trying to buy the land cheap. The twins talk her out of it and hustle her to Irene's property where Rene forces a bulldozer off of her road with a shotgun. Rene isn't at all sure that she wants to get involved in a battle with some land developers, but she falls in love with her new house and feels that she needs to honor her great aunt's wishes of keeping on the old tenants in the cottages out back. In no time at all, Rene is developing a backbone and a real personality and really has the opportunity to come into her own far away from her ex-husband and her family. She even finds a new love interest, Shay Kerrigan, whom her great aunt Irene hated for reasons unknown to Rene. Shay seems to genuinely care for her and her twins, but is he really interested in her or in her property? And why do her new tenants hate Shay? As Rene becomes more involved in the lives of those around her, she finds that she had a lot more in common with her great aunt Irene than she ever knew.

This is a charming little romance/mystery novel that most readers will enjoy. It is a little dated as it was originally published some time ago (this is a reprint edition), but in a quaint sort of way. The main characters were quite well developed and the reader will find herself rooting for Rene and urging her to stand up for herself for once. But the supporting characters were absolutely delightful: Irene's twins Snow and Simon were hilarious and so much like teenagers now, sometimes so very grown up and other times so very not and the lovely Ladies Brandel, two very elderly noblewomen who were so very sweet. The tenants were also quite fascinating. This book is also a very clean romance - no swearing, no sex scenes, although there are some references to domestic violence. All in all, a very well written nice little find by Anne McCaffrey.

I very much enjoyed the Kilternan Legacy. The story about an American inheriting property in Ireland and leaving the states after an ugly divorce to claim it may at first seem far-fetch but I think that is part of it's attraction. Who hasn't wanted to find out that they are the heir to a fortune or lands in far away countries? The characters are believable and engaging. There are some you want to hug and some you want to hit. I don't think there can be a better judge of whether the characters are realistic. I recommend this book to anyone. There is little or no profanity, a little bit of action, a lot of laughter, and a nice little love story.

I am a huge fan of McCaffrey, especially of the Dragonriders of Pern series, but this one is fun and from earlier when she was writing semi- romance books. Great characters and a fun view of Ireland from someone who actually lives there.

I always love the stories the Anne McCaffrey weaves so beautifully. The characters seem like people you could know. The plots keep you reading!
The service from Amazon always pleases me, too.

Other people have written accurate and detailed reviews of this novel. Not being a reviewer I won't even try. Instead I'll use a negative review as a jumping off point to address some of McCaffrey's novels that aren't part of one of her well-known series.

It's a pity that the reviewer can't remove the 1-star rating, which I believe she would if she could. This book really is written by Anne McCaffrey and the description makes it clear that it isn't a fantasy novel. She wrote a fair number that weren't, "The Lady" being the most recent and best. And, since it was mentioned, as with "The Kilternan Legacy" wife-beating is absolutely a reason to leave one's husband and get a divorce, no matter how difficult. (Unfortunately "The Lady", fully set in Ireland, didn't sell well for the same reason the reviewer gave "The Kilternan Legacy" a 1-star rating: it wasn't fantasy. It was her final foray into non-genre writing and showed all of her skill as an author. When an signed copy of "The Lady" was requested McCaffrey was almost shocked, and much gratafied, that anyone remembered it much less wanted one autographed. The reviews given as most useful on the Amazon listing are as this being a horse story -- skip those and read the others.)

Meanwhile she has several fantasy novels that have nothing to do with dragons, spaceships, or other series. The one I know is "No One Noticed the Cat" which Publisher's Weekly accurately described as "An enchanting and sophisticated fairy tale for adults and intelligent children alike". I loaned my copy to other adults and eventually had to get a new one because it never came back. I just found "An Exchange Of Gifts" and "If Wishes Were Horses" so can't comment on them but, as with everything else I've mentioned, they are available on Amazon and reviews are there.

"Black Horses for The King" doesn't fit in with any of those categories. This one I also know, and it's historically accurate novel of a boy who comes into the service of Lord Artos. McCaffrey's love and tremendous knowledge of horses comes through here more strongly than anywhere else but it's not a "horse story". Instead the research that went into making Pern so believable is used as research for a novel set in the actual time. Her ability for "coming of age" stories seen in some of the Pern novels, and others, is also fully realized here.

For those who are interested she has some other, extremely early works and some semi-contemporary ones that are perfectly nice.

Oh, and the cover of this edition of "The Kilternan Legacy" is so bad it's a good example of covers that don't fit.

Very readable but not contempory as it was written about 25 years ago.

I thought I was buying a fantasy book, and so was sorely disappointed. Also, wife beating seems acceptable. This has nothing to do with Pern or dragons, and I am convinced written by a different author with the same name. Deceptive.