Where a Wave Meets the Shore: The McBride Family Chronicles - Book 1
The award-winning author of the Conor McBride Series shines a heartwarming light on her hero's Irish roots. The result is a tale that shines as bright as the Emerald Isle itself.
When a stranger from Dublin comes to his coastal village looking for a boat ride to the Great Blasket Island, Tom McBride isn’t anxious for the job. He has enough to handle, working the farm that will one day be his inheritance, and dealing with a contentious father who’s threatening to withhold it. The stranger is hard to refuse, though; he’s on a mission from the prime minister. Tom agrees to the trip, curious about the government’s interest in such a desolate spot. Rising from the sea like a mountain, the Great Blasket is a place of legends, its people mysterious and strange. Steering his uncle’s fishing boat towards it, Tom thinks he’s prepared for whatever it has to offer, but nothing could prepare him for Brigid O’Sullivan.
Dark-eyed and raven-haired, Brigid is the only young woman left among the aging inhabitants of her tiny Blasket village. With most of its population lost to emigration or the unforgiving sea, the island has grown more isolated and its way of life ever more dangerous. The Irish government plans to evacuate everyone to the mainland, but Brigid refuses to give up on her home. For her, the Blasket is a place of magic and power. She thinks its wild isolation fits with her own strange spirit and that she is better of where she is, but from the minute he lays eyes on her, Tom is determined to convince her otherwise.
Irresistibly drawn to him, Brigid soon finds herself torn between the solitary life she thought she wanted and the one offered by the man she loves. Both choices come with loss and grief attached, but when tragedy strikes, changing everything in an instant, she discovers the greatest heartbreak could be never getting to choose at all.
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 8 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 8.50 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: The plot is initially slow moving, but picks up the pace with each successive chapter, the storyline moving with a fluid grace. The story arc possesses a slow intensity; progress meets the pain of leaving the homeland.
Prose/Style: The prose here is imbued with a style reflective of classic Irish literature. The hope and spirit of these characters hops off the pages. The writing reflects stark emotion.
Originality: The originality of the text is apparent throughout the book. This is a spin on boy-meets-girl, specifically the budding relationship between Tom & Brigid.
Character Development: The characters are compelling from the very beginning of the story, quickly gaining the readers’ interest and sympathy. They remain endearing to the audience throughout the plot.
Blurb: This is the refreshing tale of adapting to the ever expanding changes in one’s world, while finding love in unlikely places. Love, laughter and loss throughout. An excellent read that is constantly engaging and enthralling.
Date Submitted: June 25, 2019