Sandy C. (sjclaar) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This was so great I wanted to go on to the next in the series. I couldn't get it. If you are going to read this get the next one at the same time you will certainly want to keep reading the series.
Laura D. (LauraDe) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 49 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Truly enjoyed this book. It is one in a series of 4 and I am excited to begin the second. Don't miss reading the prologue as it is essential to the storyline.
The rich irish heritage and history is fascinating and the characters are engaging.
The rich irish heritage and history is fascinating and the characters are engaging.
Cheryl T. (Purple) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is another great work by the thoene's. Can't wait to read all four books. They really know how to write.
Priscilla A. (priscillamylove) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 83 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The Galway Chronicles
The village is in sore need of a miracle. Struggling under grinding poverty & a greedy landlord. Ballynockanor is a story of a thousand Irish villages where an English usurper is despised by his Irish tenants
The village is in sore need of a miracle. Struggling under grinding poverty & a greedy landlord. Ballynockanor is a story of a thousand Irish villages where an English usurper is despised by his Irish tenants
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful-as are all Thoenes' books. I love their historical writing!
Kathleen Marie (kathleenmarie) - , reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 91 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Fabulous book but I have two copies! This is a story about Ireland during the "Great Hunger" and the people who helped and survived. It is a love story on many levels. The series is a must read. The series defined Irish history and the "Gorta Mor" like nothing I have ever read. The writing is emotionally powerful, incredibly skilled and intelligent in presentation. It is brim full of their evident passion for the people and the times they portray. Brock and Bodie Thoene are authors for our time! Fifty years from now people will still be reading and marveling over their work. They are the best historical novelists of their generation.
Peggy S. (pollopusher) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 2 more book reviews
Wow! The Thoene's do it again! They certainly did deliver. They gave a good overview of some of Ireland's torrid history and gave a face to the revolutions of old. Along the way, we follow one family's fight to live amongst this corrupt system that kept them enslaved to the English for years, much like America's sharecroppers were.
Well done! Easy read, great story!
Well done! Easy read, great story!
Debbie G. (hopehope) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 163 more book reviews
A great book the beginning of the Galway Chronicles.... Setting is back in Irealand in the 1700 and 1800's when the british rule. Another good read from the Thoene's. dg
Daryl B. (mikdar) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 27 more book reviews
t was a time when English landlords held power over Irish tenant farmers and seeds of bitterness were sown that would last for generations. In an endeavor to eliminate all influences of Irish heritage, the English forced an intellectual and spiritual bondage on Ireland as well as a bitter physical bondage of servitude. Freedom had become so rare that the Irish coined a saying, "In Ireland only the rivers run free." Yet one poor, befuddled old woman speaks of freedom, truth, and hope. Mad Molly Fahey promises the priest and villages that a miracle is on its way.
Fiction, takes place in the year 1841 in the village of Ballynockanor, Ireland. Action-packed story of a time when English Landlords held power over Irish tenant farmers....
Wonderful book, as always by the Thoenes. Their weaving of research and their story is excellent.
Sharon B. (msbraun2001) reviewed Only the River Runs Free (Galway Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 93 more book reviews
I admit up front that I love the Thoene's books! This one was a slightly different setting and I loved the insight into the history of Ireland. As always, they tie in Christian characters into a historical setting. Loved it!