Gold Medal Winner, romance - IPPY Awards
Finalist, romance - Kindle Book Awards
2nd Place, romance - International Digital Awards
Finalist, historical romance - National Readers' Choice Awards
Finalist, historical romance - Maggie Awards for Published Novelists
Your feet will bring you to where your heart is. Set against the backdrop of 1840s Ireland and America, To Ride a White Horse is an historical saga of hope, loyalty, the strength of the human spirit, and the power of love.
With Ireland ravaged by famine, and England unsympathetic to its plight, Kathleen Deacey, a spirited and strong-willed young Irish woman faces a devastating choice--leave her country to find work or risk dying there. Despising the English for refusing to help Ireland, she sets sail for Canada, determined to save her family and find her missing fiancé.
But her voyage doesn't go as planned and she ends up in America, forced to accept the help of an English whaling captain, Jack Montgomery, to survive. As Jack helps her search for her fiancé and fight to save her family and country, she must make an impossible choice--remain loyal to Ireland or follow her heart.
With insight and compassion, award-winning author Pamela Ford captures the anguish of a devastating period in Irish history, illuminates the resilience of the human spirit and celebrates the strength of love. To Ride a White Horse is a deeply-moving novel that wraps itself around the heart and doesn't let go.
Quarter Finalist
Assessment:
In this richly detailed romance set during Ireland’s Great Famine, Irish immigrant Kathleen Deacey meets whaling captain Jack Montgomery when she follows her fiance to America in search of work to support her starving family. The two must balance loyalty to their respective families with their growing love. Though their initial meeting is contrived, the romantic tension between the couple is expertly developed and the depictions of whaling vessel operations and 1840s Ireland and Boston are well-researched and accurate. This is an exceptionally well written and deeply satisfying historical romance.
Date Submitted: July 16, 2016
Contemporary romance novelist Ford (Her Best Bet) steps back in time with a sweeping historical love story that hits all the marks. In 1846, Ireland withers under a devastating potato famine while its indifferent English masters stand by. Kathleen Deacey reluctantly sails to Canada to find work to support her family and search for her missing fiancé. But when she’s tossed overboard by a storm, it’s an Englishman, Capt. Jack Montgomery, who rescues her and provides safe passage as his whaling ship heads home to Boston. Alone and terrified by her family’s plight, Kathleen must accept help from a man who symbolizes everything she despises—and with whom she’s reluctantly falling in love. Pacing the plot for maximum tension, Ford skillfully conveys the anguish and fury of not only her heroine, but all the struggling Irish both at home and abroad. She delivers genuine heat by teasing out the passion between her protagonists. Ford has made a deeply satisfying foray into new territory. (BookLife)
5 STARS! "Expertly drawn characters that not only intrigued me, but, long before the end of the novel had totally stolen my heart. The writing is superb...This is a larger-than-life novel ... I can very heartily and thoroughly recommend this captivating, breathtaking novel."
5 STARS! "I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book ... The story line was riveting, and the characters were fresh, well-developed, and enticing, while the narrative was well paced, absorbing, and emotive. Ms. Ford writes with magic ink that the faeries must have infused with their special dust. Her words often squeezed my heart and occasionally brought a sting to my eyes...This was my first time reading Ms. Ford’s work, but it won’t be the last."
5 STARS! "I loved To Ride a White Horse ... It was written beautifully—I found myself highlighting some passages in the book because of the sheer beauty and I never do that—and I fell in love with Kathleen and Jack. It’s a book I will pick up again and again. I very rarely find books like that so I feel sort of an accomplished joy when I do ... I almost always forget a couple after I finish reading their book but I don’t think I will forget (Kathleen and Jack)."
5 STARS! "I read the first chapter and was hooked. I didn’t want to stop reading it...To Ride a White Horse is what a historical romance should be... A perfect summer read. Definitely add it to the to-read list if you like a good love story."
"This is historical fiction rooted in realism... your own spirit feels tethered to the lead characters ... It's thought-provoking, stimulating, and the kind of story you want to wick out the gaslights by reading page after page until the very last word has entered your imagination and buoyancy has returned to your being ... heart-lifting joy to read."
5 STARS! "I fell in love with the story of both Kathleen and Jack from the moment I began to read this book ... This was a page turner... A wonderful story of personal choices, tragedy, kindness, forgiveness, and the power of faith and love!"
