I had an advanced copy of this novel which was published in April, 2023 and I’m very late in getting to it. I wish I had not taken so long as I really enjoyed it. It’s such a good story, well written, one that will appeal to historical fiction fans, those with an interest in Irish history, and those who are attracted to female characters who are strong and resilient in the face of adversity and grief. It’s an old story in some ways but it doesn’t get old to read about. In the 1800’s people coming to America for a better life and finding difficulties here as well.

Eileen O’Donovan, at 16, is married off to a much older man against her will because of her family’s financial problems. Her brother Michael, joins the Irish Republican Brotherhood has to leave Ireland unexpectedly after getting into some trouble. Their experience with hardship, in the home country as well as America is told spanning the next four years, across Bantry, Ireland , Manhattan, Holyoke , MA , St. Louis, MO. This is a story about history, about family ties, love, and resilience, which the author describes as an “attempt to imagine the life of my great- grandmother.”


I received a copy of this book from She Writes Press through NetGalley.

This story pulled me in from the first page and stuck with me long after I closed the book. Heartbreaking at times and engrossing. This one touched my heart. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honesty review and apologies for the late review.

Eileen O’Donovan’s life is not at all like the heroines in her beloved books. She works in a large manor house and the English gentry who own the home and all the land in the area give her access to the library. With her nose in a book much of the time, Eileen has aspirations of becoming a teacher or librarian. Her mother and brother put a damper on her dreams. After desperately pleading for assistance from her local priest Father Hugh, Eileen is forced to marry a widower more than twenty five years her senior. Her mother and eldest brother Martin, who has taken over since her father’s death, think this is the best future for her. Eileen sees the futility in her situation and makes the best of it until another crop failure has them emigrating to the United States with many other Irish in hopes of a better future.

Michael, Eileen’s other brother, is already in America after getting into a spot of trouble with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and is excited for his sister to join him in St. Louis. It seems the hot head can’t stay out of trouble and finds himself working for the IRB and the Irish cause in America. Eileen’s future in America is also fraught, but she is resilient and is determined to have a better future than the one promised to her in Ireland.

Overall Eileen’s story was an interesting one. It would have been nice for the frame story introduced at the beginning of the novel, Eileen on her deathbed talking to her granddaughter, to have closed at the end. The organization of the story was also a little troubling. Michael’s POV was so prevalent he fought for my attention, when this felt like Eileen’s story. I also wish the character of Bess was either fleshed out a bit more or removed.

Thank you to NetGalley, She Writes Press, and of course the author Marian O’Shea Wernicke for the advanced copy of the book. Out of Ireland is out now. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Marian O'Shea Wernicke, and publishers for gifting me a copy of your book in return for my honest review.

4/5 stars

In the late 1860s in Bantry, Ireland, sixteen-year-old Eileen O’Donovan is forced by her family to marry an older widower whom she barely knows and does not love. Her brother Michael, at age nineteen, becomes involved with the outlawed Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret organization dedicated to the violent overthrow of British rule in Ireland. Their fates intertwine when they each decide to emigrate to America, where both tragedy and happiness await them. An exciting coming-of-age story of a brother and sister in Ireland still under the harsh rule of the British, Out of Ireland brings alive the story of our ancestors who braved the dangers of immigration in order to find a better life for themselves and their families.

This was a wonderfully educational and entertaining read. I learned so much about the Irish Republican Brotherhood, I will admit I knew very little about it to begin with, so I learned so many new facts/tidbits. I loved the relationship between Eileen and Micheal it was wonderful to read about such a strong relationship between the two. While the first 3/4ths of the book was wonderful and has so much going for it, I thought the last part felt kind of rushed. I wish there was more even if it was an epilogue.

This is a great book for Historical fiction lovers, especially those that love Irish history. The characters were strong and I enjoyed reading about the hardships they faced and how they never gave up.

An absolutely wonderful read!! From the first page I was drawn in and held captive.
Eileen is the central character and my favorite one in the story. She was strong and resilient and came back time and again from the knocks life threw at her, and there were many. It's heartbreaking at times and anyone who knows Irish history will know that this story could really have happened.
Forced to marry a man in his forties by her mother and brother Martin, sixteen year old Eileen is distraught. She asks her brother Michael and the local priest Father Hugh to help to get it stopped but there is no help and the marriage goes ahead. She knuckles down and gets on with life and when she has a son, soon afterwards, he becomes the center of her world.
Her brother Michael is involved in the Irish Republican Brotherhood and sick of being ruled over by the English and treated like an inferior being. He's a bit of a hot head at this time and in fact doesn't really change that much even when he goes to America.
Eileen and her husband and child also emigrate to America because of hardship at home and fearful of what the IRB could do to them because of Michael but the Irish are not welcomed in many places here either.
I especially liked the part of the book that took place in Ireland. It resonates with me because my great-grandmother lived through the Famine years and I know a lot of her story. What happened to Eileen wasn't unusual. Father Hugh was another great character. He was sympathetic and became a good friend to Eileen. Most priests were not like this in the Ireland of the time.
Once Eileen reaches America it's a totally different story. Still hardship but she also gets a chance at life and she grabs it with both hands. I think she would have become a formidable lady over the years.
I 'dropped a star because I would have liked more in the ending, or even an epilogue. I wanted to know what became of Michael and also Bess, the maid in the house where Eileen lived when she first went to St, Louis. The opening part of the book begins with Eileen as an old lady with her grandchild and this could have been padded out a bit more because of the ending.
I read this in two days and I'd highly recommend it.

Thanks to She Writes Press and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

My interest was caught by Out of Ireland when I saw it was about the Irish Republican Brotherhood which arose to fight for Irish independence from Britain.

The novel tells the story of an Irish family struggling to survive after the death of their patriarch. The eldest son will inherit the farm, along with the requirement to hand over a percentage of the crop to the English landowner. The daughter, Eileen, is an intelligent sixteen-year-old with a love of books, who is forced into an arranged marriage with a man who has lost his beloved wife and son. She does not love her withdrawn husband, but takes on her yoke dutifully. When she births a son, he becomes the shared love of the family.

The younger son is involved with the Irish Republican Army, fighting for Irish independence from Britain. He is also hopelessly in love with the landowner’s daughter. When she finds a gun he has hidden in the stall of her horse, marking him a rebel, he flees Ireland, first for London, then to New York City. In America, he seeks to join the Clan na Gael, ex-pat Irish who send money and arms back home to support the cause. Seeking advancement, he moves to St. Louis, MO, where he becomes embroiled in a crime syndicate claiming to support the Irish cause.

Crop failures impel Eileen and her family to follow her brother to America. The depredations and unsanitary conditions of steerage, chillingly rendered, culminates in tragedy for Eileen. Life in America has additional challenges for the family, and more sorrow comes their way. Eileen joins her brother in St. Louis to start anew.

I was impressed by the descriptions of daily life in Ireland, well weaving in the complicated political situation. The personal story was engaging and poignant. The ending was perhaps a little too sweetly wrapped up for me, but will satisfy romantics. It was an enjoyable read.

I received a free egalley through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Historical Fiction ~ Bantry Bay, Ireland ~ New York City ~ Mt. Holyoke, Massachusetts ~ St. Louis, Missouri ~ Family ~ Love ~ Tragedy ~ The “Irish Troubles” ~ Immigration ~ Loveless Marriages ~ Poverty ~ Siblings ~ Heartbreak ~ Coming-of-Age ~ Searching for Better Lives ~ British Rule ~ Engaging Characters ~ Quick-Read ~ Women’s Fiction ~ Recommended

This would have been a 4-star book if only the author did not mention Ellis Island as Michael’s U.S. disembarkation point in 1870. Ellis Island did not open until 1892! Overall, I felt this book could have been so much more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the author & publisher - She Writes Press - via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In honor of my maternal great-grandmother, Ellen Hickey Sullivan Jewett, And all her descendants in the Word, Bender, and O’Shea families.’

This story begins in 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, and although it doesn’t stay there long, it will return there as the story continues.

This is a story of family, the lifelong heartbreak of losing someone near and dear, of decisions and repercussions, of love for family, country and so much more.

Chronologically, this family’s story begins in 1867, in Bantry Bay, Ireland when 16-year-old Mary Eileen Sullivan is, literally, up in a tree. From there she can see her mother with her hands on her hips calling her to get down from that tree ’this instant’, while Mary pretends to hear nothing, her focus on the clouds that portend a coming storm, along with the darkening sky. That isn’t the only storm that is headed their way, however.

As her mother begins to speak to her about how hard things have become on the farm, and as the price of what they can sell from the farm has fallen, while the price of what they need has risen, she has come to a decision. Her mother, along with Michael, one of Mary’s brothers, have decided it is time for her to marry, and have chosen someone for her, a 28 year-old, balding widower.

It isn’t as though Mary is not contributing to the family income, she has been working at Blackthorn House, where there are walls covered in books. For her, it is like heaven, as they allow her to borrow books as one of the employees. And now this will be taken from her, as well.

She turns to her brother Michael, as well as the priest, and while they both do what they can to help, it is to no avail. And all too soon, she is married. And not all that long after, a child is born.

Her brother, Michael, meanwhile is involved with the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and soon needs to leave Ireland for his own safety. Eventually, after Mary’s son is born, she and her husband decide that with the way things are in Ireland, perhaps America has better prospects for them, and so they make arrangements, and head there. By the time they arrive, they are already different people, broken.

This was a heartbreaking read, at times, so many struggles as they make their way in America. I loved how personal this story felt at times, but also how it brings the era and place to life for the reader.

A lovely read for me, and a lovely tribute to her great-grandmother.


Pub Date: 25 Apr 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by She Writes Press / Caitlin Hamilton Press

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review “Out of Ireland” prior to publication. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

I read this Advanced Reader Copy thanks to NetGalley and definitely wasn’t disappointed! The author has a way with words that keeps you reading each night far longer than is wise for a mother of 3 young kids 😅
I enjoyed hearing a different side of history I’m not familiar with in the fight for Ireland’s freedom and families who made it through the potato famine.

Trigger warning: infant loss, and what I’d say is a level 3 spice scene

in 1860s Ireland Elileen and her brother Michael are forced to immigrate to America. There they find a. better life but not before finding that life in America will be full of challenges. The story of many of our Irish ancestors.

Set in Bantry Bay, Ireland in 1867 during the British domination, the novel follows the story of Mary Eileen O’ Donovan, a young woman who is forced to marry a man because of “duty” in order to support her family.

This character finds the time to read during her days of hard work and self-instructs herself through books.
On the other hand, her brother Michael tired of the injustices joins the Irish Republic Brotherhood.

The novel portrays the poverty in the country and the necessity of the people to move abroad leaving everything behind and shows how hard is to leave family, friends, and belongings and adapt to the new home.

This is also about resilience, the fruits of perseverance, and how no matter the changes that people need to make in order to fit, their essence remains.

I think that the ending was a bit rushed because I was expecting to know more about the character that appears in the opening and also more about Eileen but despite that, I enjoyed reading Out of Ireland, and definitely it increased my interest to learn more about Irish culture I learned about the Fenians and life in Ireland under British power and the impact of Irish migration in America.

Thank you Netgalley and She Writes Press for the electronic ARC.

I seldom consider how my fellow countrymen's families immigrated to America. What was it like before a family makes a decision to leave their origin country? What do they leave behind, and what are they leaving for? We all have a history, and Out of Ireland tells one family's story with different decisions made, and the resulting impacts to those decisions. This is a story of a young woman and her brothers and the paths the three took. Brutal at times, sad at others, the reality of the harsh living in Ireland, a new America, and racial/ethnic prejudices that are devastatingly present in both countries broke my heart and yet gave me such an enriched understanding of issues i knew not enough about.

Out of Ireland is a beautiful and well-told story that had me yearning for more. I learned, i cried, i loved and I would recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction, women's fiction, or just a really well-told story.

I am grateful to NetGalley and She writes Press/Caitlin Hamilton Marketing and Publicity for the opportunity to read this treasure of a book in consideration for an honest review. All opinions noted here are mine.

Most people have heard of the Irish famine in 1848 and of the resistance movement against British sovereignty that consumed much of the twentieth century. In this attempt to understand her great-grandmother’s life, Marian O’Shea Wernicke examines the years between the famine and the Easter Rebellion of 1916. In the process, she creates a compelling tale of a young Irish girl, Mary Eileen O’Donovan, whose impoverished family forces her to marry a neighboring farmer in his forties when Eileen, as she’s known, has barely passed her sixteenth birthday.

In material terms, it’s a good match, but it is not what Eileen wants from life. A bookish girl, she has ambitions of studying to become a teacher, but pressure from her family puts paid to those plans. Eileen grudgingly agrees to wed John Sullivan and does her best to make him a good wife. When she becomes pregnant, the couple’s newborn son unites them for a while, but John’s morose nature and frequent drunkenness make him a difficult man to love, especially for an idealistic girl.

When the crops fail and Eileen’s younger brother falls foul of the Fenians, Eileen and John decide their only choice is to emigrate. But leaving Ireland turns out to carry a high price as well …

I will be interviewing this author for the New Books Network (link below) in May 2023.

This was a good book, following a bit of the lives of two members of the O'Donovan family from rural county Cork Ireland, in the 1860's and 1870's. Both story lines were compelling - the characters were decently written and I could understand their choices and felt their sorrows at the tragedies they endured. Likewise, I could feel their happiness when the characters did experience joy in their lives.

That being said, I felt this book could have been much better if it was expanded on. The story starts out in the 1930's with Eileen on what we presume to be her death bed. I'd hoped we'd come back around to this time (and Maggie) at the end of the book, but that did not happen, making the whole ending feel more rushed than it needed to. Likewise, a few parts of Michael's "work life" felt like too big of a jump from where he had been - there was one sentence near the end that may have helped to explain things, but it still felt like a bit of stretch and led me to doubt if this was what the author was going for or not.

Despite this, I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical fiction or wants to read more about the often overlooked time of post-famine migration from Ireland.

Out of Ireland tells the tale of Eileen O’Donovan, a sixteen year old who is forced to grow up too fast when her family forces her into a marriage with a much older man. It also tells the story of her brother, Michael, who is a part of Irish Republican Brotherhood, and finds himself in deep trouble.

As tragedy after tragedy strikes the O’Donovan’s, their journey eventually takes them to America, where the road isn’t always easy for them too. I love that the author builds such a strong relationship between Eileen and Michael, they definitely need each other to get through the trials and tribulations that life throws at them.

The author did a great job at writing about the history of Ireland as well as writing about the fictional story of the O’Donovans.

Out of Ireland tells the story of Eileen, a sixteen year old living on a small parcel of land in Bantry, Ireland with her widowed mother and two older brothers. Life throws the family curveballs, from the early death of her father in his 30s to her brother Michael joining the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood) to being set to marry a widower in order to help her family financially. Her brother becomes wanted for his participation in IRB and after a short stay in London, moves to America with the help of those wanting to support the Irish in their fight for freedom.

After her mother’s death and several years of poor harvests, Eileen and her husband decide to leave for a new life in America, with the hope that life will get better. While tragedy stays constant in her life, she makes her way from landing in New York to eventually settle in St. Louis with her brother and finding a life that she can rebuild after much suffering. Meanwhile, Michael falls in with a group in St. Louis who are supportive of the IRB and the Irish in their fight to be free of Britain. One Christmas Eve, he meets the boss’s daughter and vows to prove his devotion to her father and his worth in order to be with her the rest of his life.

I enjoyed the characters and learned something about Irish history in reading Out of Ireland. Strong characters, perseverance over tragedy, and finding renewal in life - you will easily fall into the story and hold on for the ride. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on April 25, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #marianosheawernicke #outofireland #shewritespress