Rose O’Neill never dreamed of leaving her beloved Aran Islands for anything further than Dublin, but when she meets Adam Blakely her deceased brother’s best friend from their time serving in the Spanish American war, everything changes. Adam arrives on Kilronan’s shore humbled by his experiences and determined to return Donal’s personal belongings to his family. What was intended to be a short stay becomes months, and Adam and Rose fall hard for each other. Only a telegram from America, with news of Adam’s father falling ill, will get him to leave Rose. With a promise of marriage and passage for her soon, he leaves to race to his father’s deathbed.

Soon after Rose feels ghosted and cannot ignore the life growing inside her. Feeling as though she has run out of options, Rose books her own passage in steerage to cross the pond and find her beloved in New York. Her arrival is not welcomed, and Rose ends up like many Irish immigrants living in tenements and working for pittance in an effort to make headway in town set against “her kind”. In fire fighter Joe Kavanaugh, she believes she has a better future despite still carrying a torch for Adam. Rose is pragmatic and does what needs to be done to not only survive, but also to get ahead despite the many many obstacles thrown in her path.

Rose’s story takes place during a time of great change and great historical figures. Going from the Spanish-American War, through WWI and the Spanish flu epidemic and into Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties, she serves witness to so many societal changes. The Tammany Hall machine that ran New York City at the turn of the century and Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency also serve as important background to Rose’s life.

Though labeled historical romance, this reads more like general historical fiction after the first few chapters, and Rose is one readers will want to root for. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this tale, especially after Rose makes it to the Lower East Side. It’s obvious the amount of research the author put into Irish Eyes, to make the reader feel immersed in turn of the century NYC.

Thank you to NetGalley, Joffee Books, and the author Hope C. Tarr for the advanced copy of the book. Irish Eyes is out on December 7th. All opinions are my own.

An amazing saga that grips you from the very first page.
It follows the life of a young Irish girl who follows her true love from Ireland to America and although he is true to her his family and events take action to ensure they do not get married.
From then we follow their separate lives to see how their life events change and evolve them and although true in their love for each other will they ever find true happiness and finally get together.

A heartfelt thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC of Irish Eyes. Being of Irish descent I'm attracted to books about where my grandmother hails from.

My great grandmother and her children sailed in steerage "AFT" to come to America after the death of her husband, my great grandfather. The details of what steerage class was like was very detailed. I was mesmerized by the intake forms that were completed prior to the sailing and then once again when they arrived in NYC.

This was a love story, a walk through history, and a rags to riches tale of Rose O'Neil. I enjoyed the book thoroughly.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

I love books that both cover a new era for me and make me think. Rosie meets Adam after her brother dies in the Spanish American War. The book follows their relationship over a long period of time and how expectations are not always realised. She follows him to New York and it was fascinating to read more about New York at that time. Life is not always a fairytale and there are several bumps in the road ahead.
I liked Hope C Tarr’s writing style and I will be keen to read more books by her.

I imagined this book to be something different than it was. The story was very slow and not something that I would pick up in a bookstore. It just seemed as if there were alot of plot holes that made me second guess my reading.

A lovely story about a woman from Ireland and how her life went upon coming the sattes. Very absorbing and well written.

Adam, a wealthy American, travels to Ireland to meet the family of an army buddy killed in action. He meets and falls in love with Rose, the daughter. They are star-crossed from the start. Summoned to return home, Adam leaves a pregnant Rose behind. When she follows him to New York, she is dismissed by his mother and finds out he has become engaged to a childhood friend, Vanessa. She is on her own to survive until she meets Joe, her firefighter savior, and they begin a life together. What is most enjoyable about Hope C. Tarr’s novel is seeing her characters’ lives play out against the history of New York City from Tammany to speakeasies. The reader is engaged from page one. We would enjoy continuing their stories

When I requested this I hoped for something like Colm Toibin's masterpiece, Brooklyn but sadly the Irishness of the protagonist, Rose , was the only thing these two books had in common.

Rose is 17, her beloved brother Donal has been killed in the Spanish American war. His best friend Adam comes to Inis Mor to had back his army tag and they fall in love. They plan to marry.

Things go wrong, there is a scheming girlfriend and interfering snob of a mother for Adam to deal with. Will they be able to overcome these obstacles and find true happiness?

There were a number of problems with this book. First, the stereotyping of the Irish. One of the characters, joe,, starts off as a lovely, caring man but turns into an arrogant drunk (well he is Irish after all). His story would have been more meaningful if he had been allowed to develop as a character instead of turning to drink. Another problem is the timing. The novel spans 25 years but some years go past ignored and although the historical background is there, it too is undeveloped. For example WW1 is dealt with in a few pages but we get no sense of the impact it was having on wider society other than the predictable tragedy. Finally it was all too easy to see what was coming.

I am sure many will enjoy this book. For me it was a little too modern with modern language and attitudes throughout which weren't totally believable. For example the hold that the Catholic church had on its members at that time isn't shown. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wow! This book is absolutely amazing. The descriptions are so touching and vivid. As soon as I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I recommend this book to every other reader out there.

Reminiscent of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, this wonderful love story takes us from the Aran Islands to the Lower East Side during the turn of the 19th century into the 20th. I absolutely adored this book and read it voraciously. I loved the characters, as flawed and real as they were. I loved reading of genuine true events that took place in history and how the characters fared throughout. The happily ever after ending was pretty obvious from the word go, but it had an unexpected final scene that rounded out the entire backstory and made some of the earlier plot holes make a lot more sense.
I loved smaller details, like how Rose’s accent changes from a thick Irish one to a more broad American accent. How her story with two men, completely different from each other, played out. And seeing New York City through her eyes was fascinating. The author clearly did a metric ton of research and it shows.
Truly one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

Irish Eyes is a historical fiction novel by a new-to-me author, Hope. C. Tarr. I enjoyed the writing style but the story moved a little too slowly for me and it just didn't keep my interest. If this had not been an ARC, I probably would have stopped reading and put it into my did-not-finish pile. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have never come across this author before but I will be looking out for more. Not only is this a good story, which would make an excellent drama series by the way, but you can tell that a good deal of research has gone into the authenticity of the literature. It is quite a long book but actually I was left wanting to know more; always a good sign.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hope C. Tarr, Joffe Books, and Lume Books for the opportunity to read and review, Irish Eyes.

I was completely hooked after reading the first chapter in this amazing saga. My ancestors came from the same area of Ireland as Rose, the main character and I thoroughly enjoyed Hope C. Tarr's ability to transport the reader to Ireland with her perfect descriptions of the Aran Islands.

I also loved how accurately Tarr shared how the characters would have communicated and interacted during the early 1900's in both Ireland and then in New York when the story moved there. She also did an excellent job of showing how the different classes were treated in New York, in this case particularly the Irish immigrants compared to those who were considered high society.

I was absolutely enthralled with Tarr's attention to detail with the historical events that happened during the span of her book. She covered wars, suffrage, voting, devastating fires, the Spanish flu, and many other interesting events that occurred during the early 1900's. It was also extremely interesting to read about what women's roles were in New York during this time period.

I truly enjoyed reading this novel and I can't wait to tell others about it. I thought Tarr's writing style was wonderful and in the future I look forward to reading more books written by Tarr.

Thank you to NetGalley, Joffe Books, Lume Books and author Hope C. Tarr for providing me with this eARC

I really loved the beginning of the book. I absolutely fell in love with stubborn Rose and loveable Adam.
I love how Rose always determined to move forward no matter the obstacles. Adam, while at times naive always tries to do the right thing.
I like the story, however due to the way it’s written - Rose recalling her past - the reader always feels a bit removed from the characters, and especially their emotions. Which is not necessarily a bad thing it just means for me I didn’t emotionally connect with the characters as much as in other books.
All in all a solid read
3.5 stars

Wow. A beautiful and heartbreaking story about history, family, love, and war. Very well written book that I couldn’t put down. A huge thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read!

Thank you to Net Galley and Joffe Books, Lume Books for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Rose O'Neil is a young woman living in Ireland. When her brother dies in the war, his friend Adam comes to visit, and they fall in love. Soon Adam returns to New York, and Rose finds herself pregnant. This begins her journey to New York and her search for Adam. I really enjoyed this Historical Romance, that takes place in the early 20th century. It was interesting to learn about big city life at this time in history, as well as read Rose's story. I plan to read more by this author.,.

I am a sucker for any period drama, and this one was right up my street. I loved the time period and all the historical details and the US setting was mezmerizing. I hope to read more from this author.

This is an epic novel spanning twenty five years, and two continents.

When rich Adam comes to the remote Irish Island of Inis Mór (pronounced Inish More), to meet the family of his fellow soldier, he falls in love with the little sister Rose.

In a way this is a predictable plot line, the affair is doomed; Rose finds herself alone and pregnant in a New York that is hostile to the Irish.

What follows is a predictable story line with stereotypical drunken Irishmen, a scheming mother/wife and missed opportunities and convenient deaths.

I was not entirely sure about some of the choices that Rose made, or how Adam could be so forgiving of his mother, who had kept all the letters for all those years.

I found Adam’s wife very two dimensional, and think if this story had been from the French maids point of view it may have been a very different one altogether.

For lovers of sweeping historical romance this one is for you.

Historical second chance story!

This is the first time that I read a book by this author. It’s well written!
The story starts with Rose learning of the sudden death of her dear brother Donal through his close friend Adam. When they meet, it’s a mutual attraction and love is in the air! After a beautiful romantic evening, Rose becomes pregnant, but Adam must leave her to be with his father who is ill in New York. Remembering their promises to each other, she decides to find him there, but only faces deception and danger in this new place for her. Only wanting a second chance, she forgets him and moves on with her life with her children.
Will she make peace with her past and be happy with her new life?

Thank you Lume Books and NetGalley for sending me a copy to review!

I liked the story of an Irish immigrant girl arriving to New York during the Gilded Age. I really enjoyed reading about the struggles of that class as I am apparently more informed on the wealthier classes. Well researched and engaging.
Here is where I found flaws. Rose, the main protagonist and the voice of the book, was not a very empathetic person. She marries a man she does not love, has twins of which she has a favorite and other than her friend Greta, does not seem to trust anyone. Why? Her husband, though flawed, tries to make things work and then just seems to give up. He pursues a "political" career encouraged by questionable characters and she goes on to establish a store which eventually becomes a Macy's like department store. Plausible at the turn of the century?
Adam, who is her true love, is weak. His wife is portrayed as a horrible person with apparently no redeeming qualities other than being from the right family. Of course Rose reconnects with him and has an affair. Not quite sure authors feel the need to describe the sex. I think we get it.
I would of liked to have seen the characters a little more well rounded and not such tropes. As I stated earlier, I really enjoyed the historical aspects of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.