Customer Reviews

Midsummer Lightning (Irish Eyes)

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Some of my favorite reads this year have been penned by relatively new or first time authors. Set in a castle in contemporary County Cork Ireland, Kate Ivers' debut novel for Jove's "Irish Eyes" line is worth making a trip to the bookstore to purchase.

American hotel executive Kelly Sullivan is set to become the next VP of her company. Before jetting off to Ireland, her boss implies that the promotion is all but hers after she cements the sale of Whitlock Castle and turns it into a luxury hotel for the company. The O'Meara family, who Lawrence Hotels is buying the castle from, has lived at Whitlock for generations. They don't want to leave, but finances dictate otherwise. They agreed to the sale not only because they had to, but also because the CEO of Lawrence Hotels promised on a handshake not to dissemble the castle's interior.

When hard-nosed, strictly business Kelly arrives at Whitlock, she tries not to involve herself with the O'Mearas on a personal level. She has a promotion at stake, after all. But the O'Meara clan--which consists of the sinfully handsome Conor, plus his father and two spinster aunts--are hard not to love. The elders treat Kelly like family and make her feel more welcome and at home than she has ever felt in her life. Between her burgeoning affection for the elders, her growing love of the Irish countryside and the castle itself, not to mention her steamy affair with Conor, Kelly is done in for. So when her boss outlines his intention to gut the interior of the O'Meara family's precious Whitlock in order to turn it into a medieval theme park, she vows to do all she can to stop him.

Conor O'Meara is physically attracted to the snooty Yank the moment he lays eyes on her. He doesn't do anything about their mutual attraction at first because he finds Kelly too prickly to warm up to, but he quickly realizes that she is all bark and no bite. During the time Conor and Kelly work together to figure out a way to save Whitlock Castle from being rendered extinct, Conor grows more and more attached to the feisty American and realizes he now has two problems. Not only must he save his family home from Lawrence Hotels, but he must figure out a way to fix his broken heart if Kelly decides to leave him for her glamorous job when all is said and done...

Midsummer Lightning has a lot to recommend it. Great characters, engaging plot, and a vivid setting. Stop by the bookstore and pick this one up the next time you feel like indulging in a little Irish escapism.

- full review originally published in The Romance Reader

Midsummer Lightning is a great book!

American hotel executive Kelly Sullivan is one move away froma promotion-by coordinating the sale of Whitlock Castle in the village of County Cork, Ireland. With its lavish banquet halls, minestrel galleries, dungeons, and rich Celtic tradition, it could be converted into more than a luxury hotel-it could be moneymaking magic. Unfortunately, the nineteenth-century Gothic treasure has been entrusted to Conor O' Meara, an Irishman as stubborn as he is handsome. And for Kelly, as much of a challenge as he is a temptation.....

This book was great, I liked the main characters Kelly and Conor a lot. I laughed at the parts where the book mentioned "scandelous" red underwear by the Irish woman who wear knee-length bleached white cotton underdrawers!

Kelly Sullivan, a hotel corporation executive desperately trying to make vice president in a business she loves, and Conor O'Meara, the heir to a modern day Irish castle that Kelly's company wants to make into a Disney-style theme park, are a real, loving, passionate pair of lovers in this contemporary romance novel by Kate Ivers. Who does a great job of making the modern day Irish come alive when a big American hotel company threatens their cherished landmark, Whitlock Castle - and Kelly is the hatchet woman! Conor O'Meara must be the sexiest man alive, I loved him. And his former girlfriend,who has to be that redheaded beauty from Riverdance. They all cast their spell, along with the enchanting Irish countryside. This is a wonderful read.

Heroine: average/voluptuous

Kelly Sullivan finally has a chance to wow her standoffish upper crust parents by landing a major promotion to Vice President of Lawrence Hotels. All she has to do is slum in Ireland for a few months and assure the smooth transition of a beautiful Gothic castle from its current owner to her boss' eager, waiting hands.

But she hadn't counted on falling in love with the quirky old estate. Nor did she expect to care about what opinion the current owner, handsome Conor O'Meara, had of her. But care she does, and now she has to find a way to make everyone in her life happy. Yet the harder she tries to win, the more it seems like she is going to lose everything she has fought for.

If she can only make it work by giving up one thing she desires, what, or who, will it be?

What worked for me:

I am so glad that the heroine didn't stay prickly through two-thirds of the novel!

The sexual tension was pretty good. (And let's face it, you can't go wrong with a hero who is an Irish version of Mel Gibson!)

I love happy endings, and this one certainly fit the bill.

Size-wise Kelly was average and on a diet at the beginning of the book. But the hero preferred her on the curvy side, a shape that was easy to maintain once she discovered full Irish breakfasts.

What didn't work for me:

There were some minor mechanical flaws in the writing that distracted me now and then.

Overall:
"Midsummer Lightning" is a pleasant way to pass a rainy afternoon.

Warning: there are some steamy scenes and coarse words in this book.

If you liked "Midsummer Lightning" you might also enjoy: "The Independent Bride", "The Librarian's Passionate Knight", "The Course of True Love", "Born to be Wild", "More to Love", "Runaway Bay", "His Seductive Revenge", "His E-mail Order Wife", "Dear Cupid", "Spellbound", "It Had to be You" or "A Worthy Heir".

When strictly-business Kelly Sullivan meets drop-dead gorgeous Conor O'Meara, with the intent of turning his family's ancestral castle into a luxury hotel, sparks fly from their first moments together--and build into some luscious, tender heat when they succumb to a two-different-worlds romance despite their better judgment. MIDSUMMER LIGHTNING features two nosy Irish aunts and a former flame of Conor's to up the ante of the suspense, as well as a pair of impossibly snooty parents and some corporate villains out only for their own gain, at Kelly's expense. Kate Ivers has done an admirable job portraying her breezy, contemporary heroine while credibly allowing Kelly to undergo a total attitude adjustment by the story's end. Conor O'Meara is an Irishman any woman could fall in love with, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story!

If first appearances are critical for making lasting impressions, American Kelly Sullivan and Irishman Conor O'Meara will think very low of the other for eternity. Conor failed to meet Kelly at the airport as previously arranged. When she reached Whitlock Castle, Kelly came across as an avenging demon. Still, they are attracted to one another.

Kelly heads up Lawrence Hotels' transition team which plans to convert the castle in a luxurious hotel. Conor is the temporary manager of the hotel while is father lies in a coma. Kelly knows that this assignment will be the springboard for a veep job. However, her boss Matthew Lawrence changes the project from restoring the castle's beauty into a medieval theme park. As Kelly and Conor fall in love, will she choose her career or her man?

MIDSUMMER LIGHTNING is a warm contemporary romance that centers on modern development vs. cherishing our heritage. The story line is fast-paced and the romance adds to the overall dilemma facing Kelly. The lead characters are intelligent and charming and the hero's aunts provide local eccentricity. Kate Ivers writes an entertaining tale that focuses on a real world problem without preaching the cause.

Harriet Klausner