Faced with an uncertain future,
sometimes all you have left is the courage to dream.
Brianna and Colleen O’Leary know
their Irish immigrant father expects them to marry well. Recently he’s put even
more pressure on them, insinuating that the very future of their Long Island
horse farm, Irish Meadows, rests in
their ability to land prosperous husbands. Both girls, however, have different
visions for their future.
Brianna, a quiet girl with a
quick mind, dreams of attending college. Vivacious Colleen, meanwhile, is happy
to marry—as long as her father’s choice meets her exacting standards of the
ideal groom. When former stable hand Gilbert Whelan returns from business
school and distant relative Rylan Montgomery visits Long Island during his
seminary training, the two men quickly complicate everyone’s plans.
As the farm slips ever closer to
ruin, James O’Leary grows more desperate. It will take every ounce of courage
for both sisters to avoid being pawns in their father’s machinations and
instead follow their hearts. And even if they do, will they inevitably find their
dreams to distant to reach?
Irish Meadows is the first book in Susan
Anne Mason’s Courage to Dream series,
and is the first novel I have read by her. Although I didn’t know quite what to
expect when I first picked it up, I quickly became immersed in Brianna and
Colleen’s story. The tension and hard feelings that radiate between the two of
them, and their father, gave for an interesting beginning to the novel, and the
drama and confusion that quickly followed the arrival of Gilbert and Rylan
captivated me in a heartbeat and had me hurrying to finally get to the
resolution of the story. However, it was not an easy journey to the end, with
tons of twists and turns I could not have anticipated, but once I got there, I knew
that this was going to be a novel I would love.
Brianna
and Colleen are about as different as night and day, which becomes extremely
obvious within the first few chapters. Brianna, quiet and modest, dreams of the
day when she will be able to further her education, all the while trying to
convince her father that a marriage to the prosperous husband he has picked out
for her is the last thing she wants to do. Colleen, while actually longing to
marry, is reluctant to settle for anything less than the man of her dreams, and
therefore desires to have a little fun as she waits for her father to find such
a man. Then, Gil and Rylan arrive to throw their dreams and their father’s
plans into an uproar of hilarious proportions.
I have
to say, if I’m going to be honest with you, Colleen is my favorite of the
sisters. While I understand that she made some pretty bad choices in the
beginning of the novel that she later had to atone for, I also know that she
experienced so much heartbreak in her past that may have helped cause her to
turn out the way she was. Besides, it may be possible that she redeems herself
before this book is over. And there’s just something about Brianna, while I love
her dearly as well, that paints her to be a little bit of a goody-two-shoes,
though she is also a passionate woman with trust issues. Her flaws help to make
her lovable as well, but Colleen is just a little more lovable and interesting
in my mind. As far as the men are concerned, I am terribly unhappy with James O’Leary
for the majority of this novel, for various reasons all related to his
hard-headedness when it comes to money and his children. Eventually, though, I came
to love him as well, though I am not entirely sure if he fully redeems himself
or not. With regards to Gil and Rylan, I fear it is almost too difficult for me
to choose a favorite. Gil is so sweet and kind and forgiving, although a HUGE
pushover, and Rylan has just the perfect amounts of wisdom and wit that make
him perfectly hysterical while at the same time wonderfully intelligent. So let’s
just say I love them both.
All in
all, this was such a sweet, captivating novel that surprised me with its
plotline while pleasing me with its characters, and it easily earns all five
bookshelves. Susan Anne Mason created such a touching story amid Irish Meadow’s pages, and I cannot wait
to read more of the O’Learys as she continues on the series with A Worthy Heart. I highly recommend this
novel if you are looking for something new to read, and know that I will always
remember this as a book that I absolutely loved.
Happy
reading!
To see where I’m linking up, check out my Where I Party
page.
All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Susan Anne
Mason and Bethany House Publishers.
