Yesterday's Dreams (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

History..Legacy...Destiny...

Kara O'Keefe had not realized, at the age of eight, how much her Grandda had left her at his passing. All she knew was what she had lost: Her beloved grandfather would no longer tell her magical tales of ancient Ireland and the Sidhe, the Fair Ones, beneath blanketing stars. He would no longer share with her nature's secrets or push her to find that brilliant swirling point deep inside that made her music almost magical. All she knew was...she had lost her greatest treasure.

At twenty-three, Kara O'Keefe will find that she was wrong as she is abruptly confronted with the wealth, and weight, of her fantastic and until then unrealized inheritance...and the threat of losing her father next.

Once destined for Julliard as a prodigy on the violin, Kara is now merely a very gifted music instructor--or as she sees herself. It is at Yesterday's Dreams, a pawnshop tucked away on a quiet New York back street, where Kara discovers her true legacy, her own inner power, and destiny and danger both begin to stalk her. Forced to give up Quicksilver, her cherished violin and only physical link with her long-gone Grandda, Kara's selfless sacrifice becomes the key to her destiny.

Confused by the sudden radical turn her life has taken and pursued by malevolent forces she does not understand, Kara O'Keefe must place her trust in a dead man she loved but never truly knew and the living myth that would teach her who she really was. Has she inherited the tenacious strength of her Celtic ancestors, or would she fall beneath the onslaught of uncompromising fate?

About the Author

The youngest of five children, Danielle Ackley-McPhail devoured so many books from a very early age that naturally she bagan to find the seeds of her own stories. With this, her first novel, Danielle explores the rich mythology of her Celtic heritage and her long-time fascination with fantasy in general. While she grew up in a small town in New Jersey, she now lives in New York with her husband Mike, mother-in-law Teresa, and four extremely spoiled cats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Vivisphere Publishing (October 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587761122
• ISBN-13: 978-1587761126
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,455,849 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Olcas on the Streets of New York, July 28, 2002

By	Daniel J. Cragg (Springfield, Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you've ever haunted an antique shop or an antiquarian bookshop, if you have even a touch of Irish in you (or wish you did), or if you just enjoy a good read, "Yesterday's Dreams" will more than satisfy those itches. Kara O'Keefe, the heroine of this novel, is Everyone: an honest, decent young woman who does not realize her true potential. In her we can all see a bit of ourselves and as Ms. McPhail guides her Kara through this story Kara never loses her humanity, even when faced, at the end, with ultimate evil, Olcas, the inimical Power that haunts every page of this compelling story. "Yesterday's Dreams" is an elegantly written book, as deep as the River Shannon and as swift as Maggie's sprite. It's also an auspicious beginning for this new writer who seems to have sprung among us like Athena from the head of Zeus, fully armored and wise in the ways of literature. And best of all, I don't think I'll miss my guess when I predict a sequel to this fine novel. Congratulations, Danielle, and keep up the good work!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A modern-day novel spiced with Celtic ancestry and lore, May 16, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Yesterday's Dreams is a modern-day novel spiced with Celtic ancestry and lore, as a young woman with a gift for the violin and an inherited, pivotal power must confront the legacy of her family's ancient past, in order to renew hope for the future. A powerful, poignant tale of discovering the truth within and reaching out to embrace one's identity, Yesterday's Dreams is author Danielle Ackley-McPhail's debut novel and documents her as a writer of talent, imagination, and superb storytelling ability.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Fantasy with a few Twists, March 6, 2002

By	John Q (New York City) - See all my reviews

Though this story has all of the stock characters we are used to seeing in a good fantasy book--Good elves, evil sorcerers, bad pawns, good-but-unsuspecting heros--there are some really neat twists to the standard conceptions. The author takes what everyone "knows" about elves and magic and puts a slant on it that really caught me by surprise and made me think. (I won't give specifics because I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read it.)

The imagery throughout the book is absolutely fantastic, involving all of the senses. The story itself is a well-rounded combination of inner-though, entertaining dialogue, and action. The use of memories to add dimension to the characters and to move the plot along works very well. And I have to say that the character Beag Scath, a sprite, was just too much. I loved every scene he was a part of and I think he added a lot, even though he was more a side character. The same goes for Pixie, the main character's cat, I actually laughed out loud at some parts.

I recommend this book to everyone I know and meet. It is hard to find a fresh approach to the same old fantasy figures, but I think Yesterday's Dreams does an excellent job of it. I really hope there is a sequel because the story just cries out for it.