Customer Reviews

Maiden Voyage

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Some of these reviews really bother me, especially the one accusing me of never having been to Ireland (which is where I spent many summers as a child, many more vists as an adult). As for the characters being "stock," each was based on a very real person. In all honesty, I should have a thick skin by now, and I certainly respect opinions of all sorts, but how could one possibly think I wrote such a detailed description of Dublin without having ever been there? And as for ghosts in Ireland, especially in certain Dublin houses....well. There are indeed those of us who know for a fact that my tale was not entirely fiction!

Having lived in Ireland and abroard, MAIDEN VOYAGE brought back memories of Dublin and her people; and Ireland in general. Judith captured the feeling of the Irish people with her pub sceens.

I do enjoy a GOOD ghost story! It helps us all live in hope.

I enjoyed O' Brien's tale of an Irish American woman who inherits an 18th century townhouse and the ghost that inhabits it. I actually shed a few tears at the end, and the humor was refreshing and well- written. The idea of reincarnation and the ability of two souls finally reuniting was sweet. The idea of the Fitz( the ghost) and Kitty( his fiance/ wife) enjoying their brief time together was poignant and hopeful.
The problems with this novel , I think, are it's very slooooow start, and the fact that its plot is riddled with holes. The end is unsatisfactory, because I don't feel like the main character and the ghost have enough time together, nor do they get to say goodbye to one another. The modern villian, Roger, had motivations that weren't fully explained. The dark force that was also in the house was never explained or satisfactorily exorcised.
Anyway, if you like time travel romance, this one was certainly different than most, as far as how the time seperating the lovers is bridged. It has a unique and imaginative, if poorly developed plot, great humor, and some endearing characters. At the end you may feel like youv'e been left hanging.
Anyway, the book was good enough to make me want to look at some of O' Brien's other work.

"Maiden Voyage" ended up on my recommedation list from amazon after I purchased Diana Gabaldon's latest novel "Drums of Autumn" . I love historical fiction and intelligently written romance, especially when it involves Ireland, Scotland or England, so I thought I'd give "Maiden Voyage" a try. I opened the novel expecting something similar to Diana Gabaldon's writing; thoroughly researched and eloquently written historical fiction with a healthy dose of romance for good measure. "Maiden Voyage" was a grievous disappointment. Filled with shallow unbelievable characters, a typical rote romance plot, and cloying stereotypes displaying a terrible ignorance of Irish history and culture, I found the book truly painful to wade through. Ms. O'Brien ought to visit Ireland and interact with some Irish citizens before attempting any more novels set there.

If you want an excellent work or romance/ historical fiction, try Diana Gabaldon. Her characters are believable and intelligent, and her history is thoroughly researched.

Well, I hate to be negative but I found Judith O'Brien's Maiden Voyage to be uninspiring. There was no romance; just a quickie between two people that you didn't even think felt anything for each other through the whole book. A ghost that's in love with a sickly, childlike, couch-ridden maiden. The people of Ireland were depicted as strange and the location depressing. The only good part of the book was the pub scenes. Which took up about a page.