Helpful Score: 4
This is my new favorite author. I love how she writes about the people in the story and you feel like you know them all intimately. It's a story about Irish immigrants that came to Lake Erie years ago and the Donaghue sisters trying to survive in todays time and deal with mystery and history of their family in the early days. They own the Whiskey Island Saloon and each has a love story of their own to tell.
Helpful Score: 4
I LOVED this book. It's a romance, but so much more. It has rich characters, a decent plot and was just a great read.
Helpful Score: 4
Pretty good. It's a story of three sisters, their family history, and how they came to own a saloon, and the secret within the saloon.
Parting Glass is the sequel.
Parting Glass is the sequel.
Helpful Score: 4
I loved this book, much drama and a definite page turner! Lots of suspense. I couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 3
If you like romance novels, this is an interesting book and no porn.
Helpful Score: 2
WHISKEY ISLAND was the April 2012 pick in my online book club, The Reading Cove. Overall, I enjoyed it, but felt it was a pretty slow build. The story is two-fold. And the modern-day story involving the Donaghue sisters, Megan, Casey and Peggy, wasn't as interesting for me as the 19th century story of their ancestors. Lena Tierney and the struggles she endured as a poor Irish immigrant was captivating, and I found that I balked when the story switched back to the modern-day plot.
Things really pick up in the final third and I couldn't put it down at that point. So I'm torn between a B- and a C+ on this one. I felt the writing was much stronger in the 1800's storyline so there should've been more of it. :)
I do own the sequel, THE PARTING GLASS, and I'll read it at some point, but for now, I'm not rushing to pick it up.
Things really pick up in the final third and I couldn't put it down at that point. So I'm torn between a B- and a C+ on this one. I felt the writing was much stronger in the 1800's storyline so there should've been more of it. :)
I do own the sequel, THE PARTING GLASS, and I'll read it at some point, but for now, I'm not rushing to pick it up.
Helpful Score: 1
Very good
"It would be great injustice to cram the novel to fit a single mold or genre. From the description on the back cover, the novel would be nothing more than romantic suspense with a dab of history and mystery, a description that would completely undersell the gripping, action-packed, and any other adjective to describe magnificence that "Whiskey Island" is.
The relationships between Megan and Niccolo in the present, and Lena and Terence Tierney in 1880, both have equal focus in the romance of the book. Many social issues are touched on including child abuse, the homeless, mental and physical disability, morality and religion, doing what is right over societal institutions, and of course, love.
What the novel expresses about love is beyond any simple romance novel, subtly centering more on honor, loyalty, and protection of people you care about. ...she asks, "Is it a greater sin to commit an act you know to be wrong in order to protect those you love, or to let them perish because you are afraid for your own immortal soul?" Yes, there is plenty of drama here. " amazon review
The relationships between Megan and Niccolo in the present, and Lena and Terence Tierney in 1880, both have equal focus in the romance of the book. Many social issues are touched on including child abuse, the homeless, mental and physical disability, morality and religion, doing what is right over societal institutions, and of course, love.
What the novel expresses about love is beyond any simple romance novel, subtly centering more on honor, loyalty, and protection of people you care about. ...she asks, "Is it a greater sin to commit an act you know to be wrong in order to protect those you love, or to let them perish because you are afraid for your own immortal soul?" Yes, there is plenty of drama here. " amazon review
A good book that kept my attention and weaved in and out of several stories that all merged together. I am on to more Emily Richards books after this one!
I am still reading this book but I am enjoying it very much. I live in Parma, a suburb of Cleveland, so I find the references to the city sites very interesting. I think it would make a great movie, particularly since Cleveland has been a backdrop for many recent films!
an old man struggles to protect a secret as old as whiskey island it s self
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
A multifaceted charmer, Richards's latest family saga (after Beautiful Lies)intertwines two dramas, separated by a century and linked together by the 1880s journal of Father Patrick McSweeney. The book opens in the year 2000 when the Donaghue sisters reunite at the family-owned Whiskey Island Saloon near Lake Erie. Each sister has problems: Megan is single-handedly running the saloon while waiting for their alcoholic father to find his way home after a mysterious disappearance; Casey has returned after a 10-year absence with somebody's frightened toddler in tow; and Peggy has dropped her plans to enter medical school for reasons she cannot share with her sisters. Spiraling back 120 years in time, the reader is then dropped into the world of Irish immigrants Lena and Terence Tierney. After an accident leaves Terence deformed and jobless, Lena secures a position in a wealthy man's kitchen--but soon learns her employer wants more from her than cooking. Lena turns to Father McSweeney for help, a move that sets into motion a series of events that seamlessly knits together the two stories and reveals a long-buried secret. Though the dialogue can be overly dense, Richards's characters evince impressive depth, and her blend of old and modern makes for a pleasant deviation from the standard historical novel.
Publishers Weekly
A multifaceted charmer, Richards's latest family saga (after Beautiful Lies)intertwines two dramas, separated by a century and linked together by the 1880s journal of Father Patrick McSweeney. The book opens in the year 2000 when the Donaghue sisters reunite at the family-owned Whiskey Island Saloon near Lake Erie. Each sister has problems: Megan is single-handedly running the saloon while waiting for their alcoholic father to find his way home after a mysterious disappearance; Casey has returned after a 10-year absence with somebody's frightened toddler in tow; and Peggy has dropped her plans to enter medical school for reasons she cannot share with her sisters. Spiraling back 120 years in time, the reader is then dropped into the world of Irish immigrants Lena and Terence Tierney. After an accident leaves Terence deformed and jobless, Lena secures a position in a wealthy man's kitchen--but soon learns her employer wants more from her than cooking. Lena turns to Father McSweeney for help, a move that sets into motion a series of events that seamlessly knits together the two stories and reveals a long-buried secret. Though the dialogue can be overly dense, Richards's characters evince impressive depth, and her blend of old and modern makes for a pleasant deviation from the standard historical novel.
WHISKEY ISLAND:
Once a struggling community of Irish immigrants, Lake Erie's Whiskey Island has a past as colorful as the patrons who frequent the Whiskey Island Saloon. A local gathering place for generations, the saloon is now run by the Donaghue sisters, whose lives and hearts have been shaped by family tragedy and a haunting mystery.
When an act of violence sets the wheels of fate in motion, Megan Donaghue, a woman unwilling to trust in love, and Niccolo Andreani, a man unwilling to trust in himself, are determined to learn the truth about one fateful night in the family's long-forgotten past.
As an old man struggles to protect a secret as old as Whiskey Island itself, a murder that stil shadows too many lives is about to be solved - with repercussions no one can predict.
Emile Richards is "a storyteller who uses multidimensional players to lend credibility to storybook situations." - The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Once a struggling community of Irish immigrants, Lake Erie's Whiskey Island has a past as colorful as the patrons who frequent the Whiskey Island Saloon. A local gathering place for generations, the saloon is now run by the Donaghue sisters, whose lives and hearts have been shaped by family tragedy and a haunting mystery.
When an act of violence sets the wheels of fate in motion, Megan Donaghue, a woman unwilling to trust in love, and Niccolo Andreani, a man unwilling to trust in himself, are determined to learn the truth about one fateful night in the family's long-forgotten past.
As an old man struggles to protect a secret as old as Whiskey Island itself, a murder that stil shadows too many lives is about to be solved - with repercussions no one can predict.
Emile Richards is "a storyteller who uses multidimensional players to lend credibility to storybook situations." - The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Once a struggling community os Irish immigrants,Lake Erie's Whiskey Island has a past as colorful as the patrons who frequent the Whiskey Island Saloon. A local gathering place for generations, the saloon is now run by the Donaghue sisters,whose lives and hearts have been shaped by family tragedy and a haunting mystery.
When an avt of violence sets the wheels of fate isn motion.Megan Daonaghue a woman unwilling to trust in love and Niccolo Andreani,a man unwilling to trust in himself,are determined to learn the truth about on fateful night in the family's long fotgotten past.
As an old man struggles to protect a secret as old as Whiskey Island itself,a murder that still shadows too many lives is about to be solved-with reper cussions no one can predict....
When an avt of violence sets the wheels of fate isn motion.Megan Daonaghue a woman unwilling to trust in love and Niccolo Andreani,a man unwilling to trust in himself,are determined to learn the truth about on fateful night in the family's long fotgotten past.
As an old man struggles to protect a secret as old as Whiskey Island itself,a murder that still shadows too many lives is about to be solved-with reper cussions no one can predict....
Once a struggling community of Irish immigrants, Lake Eric Whiskey Island has a past as colorful as the patrons who frequent the Whiskey Island Saloon. A local gathering place for generations, the saloon is now run by the Donaghue sisters, whose lives and hearts have been shaped by family tragedy and a haunting mystery. When a act of violence sets the wheels of fate in mothion, Megan Donaghue, a woman unwilling to trust in love, and Niccolo Andreani, a man unwilling to trust in himself, are determined to learn the truth about one fateful night in the family's long-forgotten past. As an old man struggles to protect a secret as old as Whiskey Island itself, a murder that still shadows too many lives is about to be solved-with repercussions no one can predict.
