Thursday, January 28, 2010

Review: Now & Then


This is an Avon novel by Jacqueline Sheehan.

Book Blurb:

Living a dog's life...now and then

Anna O'Shea has failed at marriage, shed her job at a law firm, and she's trying to re-create herself when she and her recalcitrant nephew are summoned to the past in a manner that nearly destroys them. Her twenty-first-century skills pale as she struggles to find her nephew in nineteenth-century Ireland. For one of them, the past is brutally difficult, filled with hunger and struggle. For the other, the past is filled with privilege, status, and a reprieve from the crushing pain of present-day life. For both Anna and her nephew, the past offers them a chance at love.

Will every choice they make reverberate down through time? And do Irish Wolfhounds carry the soul of the ancient celts?

The past and present wrap around finely wrought characters who reveal the road home. Mystical, charming, and fantastic, New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Sheehan's Now & Then is a poignant and beautiful tale of a remarkable journey. It is a miraculous evocation of a breathtaking place in a volatile age filled with rich, unforgettable, deeply human characters and one unforgettable dog named Madigan.

This book was submitted for review and I retain my copy. :)

Now & Then is a wonderful read and I enjoyed it very much.

Anna O'Shea is a very modern woman: educated, independant - anything she desires is within her grasp - except for one thing, a baby.

Joseph O'Shea is sixteen years old and adrift - not a child, but not quite a man either. He is lost, without a mother, and his relationship with his father is strained at best.

Anna and Joseph are thrown together and back in time - neither knows if the other made it safely and neither knows why they were sent - but for whatever reason they are in 1844 Ireland.

What unfolds in Now & Then is a tale of love - love lost and love found - friendship born in the oddest of places - and family.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. :)

I give Now & Then 5 out of 5 stars.

M

4 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

I saw a review of this somewhere else, and they sure like it. I really want to read it now

Michelle Greathouse said...

Hey B,

It was a very good book - and completely out of my normal genre's. :)

M

Danielle said...

I would never, ever have thought that that plot went with that book cover. Seriously?! The cover looks like a contemporary romance (and a rom-com one at that) while the plot sounds sort of epic. Wow. I really have to give this book a read. Great review!

Michelle Greathouse said...

Danielle,

I agree completely about the book cover - and I have to say I would not have picked it up at the book store. I know we are not supposed to judge a book by it's cover - but I do. If the cover does not catch my eye - I won't pick it up and read the back blurb. That is awful because I know I have missed out on some pretty awesome reads because of that.

But that is why I love this blog - I have found some pretty great books by reading everyone's reviews. :)

Have a great day.

M