In this dual timeline and multiple perspective novel, readers follow Erin, an American visiting Roone Bay in Ireland, as she attempts to reconnect with her past, specifically her ancestor Nellie (who was the first of her family to arrive in America) and her missing daughter Annie. As Erin settles into life in Roone Bay, local historian Finn refuses to help her discover her family’s past and her place in their local history until one rainy night when a sharing of stories brings Finn and Erin closer together. The path to happiness and to her great-grandmother and great-aunt’s secrets is by no means easy, as devastating discoveries and new information might just change everything Erin knows about her family’s Irish heritage and her chance for a new life. The fantastic narrative threads of this novel connect readers to Nellie, fleeing the famine, and Erin, whose modern struggles might resonate with readers, as they both search for family and belonging after a time of struggle. All of the characters are complex and unique, with backstories and personalities revealed to the readers as the novel progresses. A fantastic, charming, and immersive historical fiction novel, readers will love the dual perspective’s blend of historical and modern fiction in O’Shea’s latest book.

This book will bring every emotion to the fore! It’s heartbreaking, emotional and intriguing in equal measures.
Following Erin Ryan’s journey to Ireland to research her father’s family that she has found detailed in an old family bible, with missing details.
Erin is keen to escape her parents who, while caring can be overbearing.
When Erin reaches Roone Bay she asks directions to the hotel, a local points her in the right direction (she may be seeing a lot more of him). On reaching the hotel it seems there’s no one around so Erin makes herself comfortable with a coffee. The Noel appears to assist with her luggage, it’s not until later that she discovers he is actually the owner.
As Erin starts to ask around about her ancestors Nellie and William O’Mahoney she is told that the best person to help would be Finn Sheehan but as he is a recluse may not speak to her!
Erin has deep wounds that have to be accepted and worked through for her to find peace with herself, working through Nellie and Annie’s story helps her to achieve this as their similarities in their stories.
The sadness in Erin, Nellie and Eilis’s stories really brought out the tissues. I liked Livvy’s explanation of bragging.
This book just keeps you reading and will stay with you long after it’s finished.

So if you know me, you know I am half Irish and I love love love Ireland! It is such a beautiful country with lovely people. Many years ago, after a difficult break up, I went to Ireland and found some healing there, so I could relate to Erin. And as Erin’s great-grandmother came over from Ireland, so did my great-grandparents, but mine came after the Famine. I loved this story and I loved the “toggle” between Nellie’s story (which is a sad one – but not too sad!) and Erin’s. It reminded me a bit of one of my favorite Irish authors, Maeve Binchy.

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

A compelling Irish story going back to the potato famine times. After Erin suffers a personal tragedy she needs to get away and so decides to go to Ireland and see if she can trace any of the family that she has grown up hearing about. I loved the characters and storyline in this book with both of the genealogy and the history aspects, throw in a bit of romance and you have a perfect story

The Irish Child by Daisy O’Shea was a family saga that took place mostly in one time, with flashes to long ago. Erin had had a rough time and needed to get away. When she told her parents she was going to Ireland they couldn’t believe it. For what purpose? She just needed to. Her ancestor, Nellie O’Mahoney had come to the newer nation during the Great Hunger. The Irish didn’t call it the famine, because it wan’t. There was plenty of food, but the great lords exported for a profit, leaving the rural Irish to deal with a disease that was turning potatoes black and inedible. Nellie’s husband had been smart, he had planted some other vegetables as well and warned her never to tell anyone she had food. Then he accepted his landlord’s offer for a new life and went on a great ship to America. He promised to sent for Nellie and little Annie. They didn’t hear from him. Little Luke was born. His da didn’t know abut him. When they got off the ship two things happened: a man came to meet them, telling them that da was dead, and Annie ran off, thinking she saw da and got lost.

Erin got a slow start in Roone Bay, but eventually she settled in, until her parents showed up, and with them the man they wanted her to marry. She was having none of it. But people saw him and made assumptions. Erin was a good character: a woman in search of herself. She was surrounded, in Ireland, by caring, smart people and she grew into herself. She still could find not trace of Nellie or Annie, but she hung in, asking when she could. Tramping graveyards. The only man in town who cared about history slowly decided to help. What a good story this is, but genealogy always appeals to me, finding how information that was lost. The plot was good and moved slowly with lots of interruptions. It was a good read. Thanks, Daisy O’Shea for writing about Ireland!

I was invited to read The Irish Child by Bookoutre. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #DaisyOShea #TheIrishChild

This book had me wanting to head to Ireland to search for my own lost relatives! Have you ever been? It’s definitely on my list of places I’d like to visit. I really enjoyed the authors style of writing. It really helped me to visualise the main characters surroundings but also feel all the emotions that she was feeling. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Erin has suffered a horrific tragedy, an accident that took her husband‘s life and left a permanent scar on her heart. Every time she closes her eyes she re- lives that traumatic day. The only way to get away from it is to get away from home.
She grew up hearing stories about her long lost Irish family and she’s looking forward to the opportunity to find out where she came from.
Erin is staying at the most adorable bed-and-breakfast and wants to get started right away with researching her family tree, but it doesn’t appear that it’s going to be as easy as she thought. Everyone is very friendly except for the one man who might be able to help her get the information she needs. In a moment of weakness she is able to soften the Irish brute and convince him why it’s important to her to find out what happened to members of her family. Erin might have come to Ireland for one thing but a whole new reason might make her want to make her stay.

A delightful story, a pleasure to read. It gives an interesting insight to life in Eire at the time of the potato famine and what led to many inhabitants seeking to find another place in which to live. The hardships faced by immigrants hoping for a better life are also well portrayed, and especially the difficulties facing displaced women. At the same time, we meet Erin, who is trying to find a way to go on after experiencing an extreme tragedy, and who, trying to make sense of her ancestor's journeys through life, might just find a new path to happiness, fulfilment and love. The characters are interesting, and there is a great sense of place. I really enjoyed it.

With her marriage over, Erin goes to Roone Bay, Ireland to start over and unravel the story behind the mysterious note in her family’s ancient Bible. She wants to know more about her ancestor Nellie, both what drove her to leave for America as well as whether or not she ever found her daughter Annie. Erin doesn't know where to start looking, and former lifeboat volunteer and historian Finn finally agrees to help her after a rainstorm forces him to save her life. The two grow closer and share stories, and a devastating discovery makes her question whether this truly will be her forever home.

We begin with the circumstances leading Nellie and Annie to go to Boston during the potato famine. It's from Annie's point of view, and it's heartbreaking to see how fast children can get lost. From there, we get to see Erin's arrival in Ireland and follow her as she tries to acclimate to a new country. We also see Nellie's story, and how she survived in Boston after the traumatic arrival.

The dual timelines show both women with their insecurities and pain, trying to make a life in a new country with welcoming people around her. Finn's secrets are devastating to Erin only because of the full extent of her loss, which we don't know about in the beginning. Her parents are pieces of work, more concerned with appearances and their views of the world when they talk to Erin. They love her, but it feels very conditional, which is likely why she's so out of sorts and searching for a place to belong. She finds it by accepting the way others reach out and allowing herself to feel again. This is a great story about moving on from grief.

The Irish Child is the second in the Emerald Isles series by Daisy O’Shea. It’s not necessary to have read the first book in the series in order to enjoy this one but it was a fantastic read so I suggest you go back and read it if you get the chance. This book focuses on a new character Erin Ryan, but the setting of Roone Bay remains the same and as beautiful and enticing as ever. The story opens with a brief prologue set in 1847 at the height of the Irish Famine as a young child named Annie and her mother Nellie and baby brother are emigrating to America after their father finally sent money for them to travel. Things are at a desperate stage in Ireland as the population’s staple food source, the potato, has failed for several years due to blight. As a result of this millions of people have either emigrated or died.

Annie and her family reach Boston but as they wait for their father to collect them Annie gets separated from her mother and knocks her head falling unconscious and so the story begins. I was desperate for the prologue to carry on from where it left off as I wanted to know what happened to Annie. But the story unfolds over the course of the book thanks to Erin as she herself is undergoing a personal journey in the wake of tragedy. The two stories between the past and the present slowly but effortlessly start to emerge and again I was so impressed by the writing of Daisy O’Shea and I was again getting Maeve Binchy vibes which is only a good thing.

Annie arrives in Roone Bay as someone who is lost and directionless. She has been through great trauma following the loss of her husband Kenny in a car crash and she is attempting to find peace and move on. She is disillusioned and feels abandoned and is in a state of depression which she is finding difficult to shake off. ‘Everything I had ever believed in, my future, my love, simply gone’. She believes she has a connection to Roone Bay as her ancestor Luke O’Mahoney came from the area and by tracing her roots she hopes it will help her in some small way. She feels a connection/pull to Luke’s mother Nellie and by finding some trace of her ancestors be it records of where they lived or the cottage itself or even records of when they left and maybe it will help her start the healing process. ‘The strange thought came to me that if I knew where I’d come from, maybe I’d have a better idea of where the future might be’.

Erin stays in the local hotel which has been newly opened. Characters from the previous book make an appearance as they are connected to the hotel and it was lovely to see them mentioned again and to see how they are getting on since we last left them. But it’s Erin whose story is waiting to be told and also the story of the past which I have to say was absolutely riveting and really reminded how much I love history. Don’t worry this book doesn’t read like a history book at all as there are alternate chapters between Erin and her search for answers in the present and Nellie’s experiences in the past. It was evident the author had done lots of research into the Famine and as I was reading I was reminded that this is a part of Irish history that shouldn’t be forgotten and I was thinking I would definitely have to teach this topic to my class in the coming school year. The chapters set during the Famine and Nellie’s subsequent journey to America and her experiences there were fantastic. Everything felt so real and vivid and my own history lessons from when I was in school came flooding back to me and reminded me what an awful time Famine was in Irish history and how it changed the social and political structures of the time.

I won’t go into detail as to the specifics of Nellie’s story but suffice to say it was brilliantly told and the desperation, hopelessness and despondency that pervaded throughout Ireland at the time can be felt with every turn of the page that Nellie featured in. I found her story to be engrossing and fascinating. She showed herself to be a determined mother who always put the needs of her children first and foremost and as the American aspect of her story unfolded I couldn’t get enough of it. There were so many twists and turns and above all else I was desperate to know what had happened to Annie. The author showed that when so many people left Ireland at the that time given they had no other choice the grass wasn’t always greener on the other side and that difficulties and adversity waited them on foreign shores. That may be true for quite a number of Irish emigrants but also there were plenty as who did succeeded with Noel the owner of the hotel being one.

Nellie’s story in the past ever so slightly edged it out for me over Erin’s but that’s not to say Erin’s wasn’t brilliantly told. It certainly was. I love the author’s writing style and you can tell that she is deeply invested and interested in the topics and themes that she is writing about. There is great characterisation and you feel such an emotional response especially regarding the Famine aspect of the plot. Erin is in no rush to return back to return to her old life for it has changed irreparably and she can’t stand the pressure her mother puts on her to find a new man. She feels smothered and Roone Bay is affording her the chance to find some air and also find the part of herself that has been lost after such a hideous time. Erin is told about a local man named Finn, who might be able to help her with search into her ancestry. She goes to call on him at his cottage but he is not the most welcoming and she is instantly turned off.

Finn is a loner and not sociable preferring to live in his cottage with no water or electricity with just his dog for company. He is a musician and knows a lot about the history of the local area and of course he is good looking. Is he meant to help Erin in her quest or will he maintain his stand offish demeanour? He definitely hid behind a smokescreen making it hard for people to get close to him. I wondered was Finn hiding something in his own life that made it difficult to open up to people as when he first met Erin I found him to be unnecessarily rude and even a bit obnoxious. She only wanted a little help after all and aren’t us Irish known for their hospitality? As Erin treads in Nellie’s footsteps she feels that she is doing the right thing and Roone Bay is where she needs to be. Finn starts to melt a little bit and I enjoyed the slow burner of their friendship and that over time they started to work together to find the answers that Erin so desperately wanted.’I still have that feeling that I’m meant to be here. Like a pigeon that lost its bearings and final scented home on the breeze’.

The Irish Child was a thoroughly enjoyable story with both compelling thought provoking characters and an appealing and riveting plot. I do hope the author continues to write more in this series as I am loving it and it reminds of the old favourite Irish authors that I grew up reading like I have said Maeve Binchy but also the early days of Marian Keyes and Sheila O’Flanagan. I loved the ending and wasn’t expecting it but it fitted so well with the overall story and I was deeply satisfied when I reached the final word. More like this please Daisy O’Shea.

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Get ready to be transported across the sea to Ireland. I love books set there- the history, the people, really everything about Ireland is appealing! Thank you Bookouture for inviting me to be part of the Books on Tour for “The Irish Child”.
Erin travels to Ireland from Boston after losing her husband. She decides to research her ancestors. What follows is a time slip story between Boston and Ireland.
The story is heartbreaking, yet hopeful. This should be in everyone’s list of books to read this summer! Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheIrishChild #DaisyOShea #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetInIreland

O’Shea’s latest is set in Roone Bay again & what a lovely setting in Ireland! Partly historical fiction as it alternates in the past, it’s also a compelling, wonderful, immersive, yet heart-breaking, women's fiction story of discovering the legacy of an Irish family.

Thank you, Daisy O’Shea, Bookouture, & netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

Heartbroken Erin leaves her hometown of Boston for a new beginning. After losing her husband in a tragic accident she has never felt so alone as she does right now, she needs a change. So she moves to Roone Bay on the beautiful southern coast of Ireland. She is determined to find the answer to a note she found in her family’s Bible. She has thought about that note since she was a child. When Finn, the local historian refuses to help her solve the mystery, she wonders how she will ever find the truth. Erin wants to know all about her ancestors, and why Nellie left Ireland and settled in America? Erin also knows about Annie, and must uncover everything she can about the missing child. Erin feels close to her ancestors in Ireland and is soon offered a job. She must decide if Ireland is her new home or is America where she belongs.

The Irish Child, written by author Daisy O’Shea is a wonderful story about family and the need for new beginnings. I loved Erin’s story and my heart broke for her. I cheered her on as she uncovered her family’s history. O’Shea is phenomenal in her description of the Ireland Coast. Feeling the sea breeze on my face is exactly what I needed. This amazingly written time slip story had me fly through the pages making this book an unputdownable treasure. This is the second installment in the Emerald Isle Series but can be read as a standalone. I highly recommend this book.

THE IRISH CHILD by Daisy O’Shea is a captivating dual timeline Irish family saga in this women’s fiction/romance/historical fiction mash-up. This book is the second in a series that is loosely tied together by the Roone Bay setting, but it is easily read as a standalone with some of the characters carried over from The Irish Key.

In the present-day timeline, Erin has physically survived a tragic accident and the loss of her husband, but mentally she cannot move forward. When she discovers a mystery in the family Bible surrounding an ancestor named Nellie, it inspires her to travel to Ireland to look for answers. It is also the perfect escape from her overbearing parents and a chance to find peace.

In Roone Bay, Erin begins to feel a connection to not only her ancestor but also the current inhabitants. She soon discovers she is stronger than she believes and can cope with the painful memories and return to her love of music without feeling guilty. With a job offer and a possible love interest, Erin begins to want to set down roots and stay.

In the past timeline, Nellie, her husband, and their small daughter are trying to survive the Great Hunger in Ireland. Her husband leaves for America and promises to send money for Nellie and Annie to follow. When Nellie eventually gets her husband’s ticket, she now has two children that she must get to America. At the crowded dock, after a terrible voyage, Nellie loses her daughter and discovers much worse. Her journey is a story of terrible loss, fighting to survive, and always moving forward.

I loved this emotional story even with the depiction of a horrific time in Irish history and all the difficulties of both the main female protagonists. The author’s writing pulled me into both timelines effortlessly and I found both intertwining stories gripping. There are no punches pulled in the descriptions of famine, loss, pain, and grief but the author tempers it with the strength, courage, and love of both Erin in the present and Nellie in the past.

I highly recommend this beautifully told story. This women’s fiction/romance/historical fiction mash-up is an emotional and engaging Irish family saga.

Boston-born Erin arrives in Roone Bay ostensibly to search for her Irish roots and to discover why her ancestors left Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century to make a new life in America. However, there are complex personal reasons as to why Erin has left America and we learn that she too has secrets and has suffered her own fair share of heartache.

As always the author draws you into this lovely Irish coastal town which we first came across in The Irish Key, and whilst this is definitely a stand alone story and can be enjoyed as such, it was lovely to meet up with some of the well loved characters we have met before. The gentle pace of the story moves between two time frames so that we can picture life during the troubles of the past whilst at the same time enjoy Erin's journey of discovery in the present day.

There's a gentleness to the story which I rather enjoyed, and with neither time frame seeking to steal the limelight, I felt an affinity with Erin's story as she tentatively made changes to her life and her burgeoning relationship with the handsome Finn brought an interesting romantic element. Bringing the past to life in a special way Nellie's rather sad story explained her reasons for leaving Ireland during the time of the Great Hunger and as my own ancestors also left Ireland during this tragic time I felt an immediate connection to her story.

The Irish Child looks at the heartbreaking secrets of the past, weaving together the bonds of motherhood, and of the family ties which, even though broken, can be pieced together in time.

The Irish Child marks the latest addition to the captivating novels by the talented author Daisy O'Shea.

In the midst of recovering from her marriage falling apart, Erin embarks on a journey to Ireland, her ancestral homeland. Settling in Roone Bay, she delves into uncovering the mystery surrounding her ancestors leaving Ireland and what happened to Nellie’s daughter during the voyage to Boston.

Daisy's descriptive writing style painted such vivid picture that it left me yearning to explore the Emerald Isle myself! I felt a deep connection with Erin, as if she were my closest friend. This book had me completely engrossed, unable to set it aside! Have some tissues handy.

Get your hands on a copy now.

Daisy O'Shea combines in her latest novel The Irish Child two storylines. One is set in the 1800s following the hardships that Nellie O'Mahoney endures. Nellie is young Irish mother of two. The Irish population is suffering from the Great Famine. Nellie's husband has left for America, in search for a better future for himself and his family. About a year later, Nellie crosses the ocean together with her two children. Many die on the way to America, but Nellie and her children manage to reach America alive. But then, after disembarking, disaster strikes.
The other storyline is set in, I think, the 1970s and tells the story of Erin. Erin is from Boston and has set out to Ireland in search for information about her ancestors, and especially to find out more about Nellie. Erin knows only a little about Nellie's hardships and as she is going through some issues of her own, finding out what happened to Nellie and how she endured it all, might just be what Erin needs.
The story is mostly set in Ireland, in the fictional village of Roone Bay, on the southern coast. It gives a nice look into the closed island culture that perhaps is still present in small villages. Next to that, this novel teaches its readers a lot about the Irish history and the history of Irish immigrants in Boston. It made me wonder how this all connected to the author of this novel.
Daisy O'Shea is one of the pen names used by Sue Lewando. Originally from the UK, Lewando recently moved to Ireland with her husband. Together they are refurbishing an old farmhouse in West Cork. This is probably the inspiration behind The Irish Child.
O'Shea has written a beautiful novel. It is so full of hardship and heartbreak, that it is not always an easy read. O'Shea's writing style definitely makes it worth your while. She knows how to captivate an audience. Switching between the two stories, she builds up the required suspense that keeps the reader going. With every page you read, you uncover new secrets, which make you want to read even more, desperate to know how it will all come together.
With The Irish Child, O'Shea introduced me a part of the Irish history I do not know much about. I have been in the area, but that was years ago. I do not remember if I happened upon anything relating to the Great Famine during that trip. Perhaps, one day, when I visit the region again, I will look upon the beautiful landscapes with a totally different view.

I found the dual timelines interesting, watching how they connected over time. I expected more of a mystery based on the summary, but that was my fault for not looking into the author's other works as well.. This is a fine book and its intended audience will enjoy it.

What a beautiful story about an Irish family’s legacy’.
I was drawn into the story from the first page to the last page. The suffering the Irish went through during the famine was heartbreaking to read about. The authors writing made you feel so many emotions.
The setting goes between Ireland and Boston in a present and past timeline.
The story is heartbreaking in many ways. But, it is also a story full of resilience, bravery and sacrifice.
I highly recommend this wonderfully written book.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This story was so sad at times. Two women each dealing with losses and trying to move on. I think it’s a well written book. It will tug at your heartstrings

Another beautiful read in this series. Told from two perspectives over two timelines. Eirn’s who goes to Roone Bay from Boston to discover what happened to her ancestors only to find herself, and Nellie’s as she and her children leave Roone Bay for a new life when she leaves famine-stricken Ireland in the 1800s. Although this reads perfectly well as a standalone it was lovely to meet the characters from The Irish Key again. With characters you'll become invested in this is fast becoming a favourite series of mine and I can't wait to visit Roone Bay again soon