A Dance in Donegal

GIVEAWAY

DEIBEL, JENNIFER

A DANCE IN DONEGAL

All her life, Boston-born Moira Doherty has relished her mother's descriptions of the Emerald Isle. When her mother dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1920, Moira is compelled to fulfill her dying wish -- that she become the teacher in Ballymann, the beloved village in Donegal, Ireland, she's heard so much about.

After an arduous voyage, Moira begins a challenging new job in an unfamiliar and ancient country. Though a few locals offer a warm welcome, others are distanced by superstition and suspicion. Rumors about Moira's mother are unspoken in her presence but threaten to detail everything she's journeyed to Ballymann to do. Moira must rely on the kindness of a handful of friends -- and the strength of Sean, an unsettingly handsome thatcher who keeps opping up unannounced -- as she seeks to navigate a life she'd never dreamed of...but perhaps was meant to live.

My Review:

Any time a novel wants to take me to Ireland, I'm more than willing to comply and when the story inside turns out to be both inspirational and compelling...well, I'm dancing a happy reader's jig. What an incredible debut novel!

Deibel creates lush imagery with her words as she transports readers back in time to a secluded Irish village which is both entrancing and repelling. Gah! But some of these characters made me want to hurl the book across the room a time or two. (No worries, my home is a book-safe zone and no pages were crumpled or spines broken during the reading of this book.)

Moira is on the kind of transforming journey that has her confronting both heart and faith. Sometimes she stumbles with near disastrous results and that kept me flipping pages in a frenzied state of angst. But other times she's quietly triumphant as she grows in strength and character.

Sean's steadfast courage and quiet dignity were the perfect foil for Moira's fiery temperament and I agonized over their very slow burn romance (see previous comment about book hurling.)

This engrossing debut novel definitely has me on high alert for Jennifer Deibel's next Irish adventure. Hope it releases soon.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Dance in Donegal, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winners announced on Saturday March 13  2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!