The Lady of Galway Manor

The Lady of Galway Manor by Jennifer Deibel is a tale about a father and son silversmith’s who create claddagh rings and an English lady who wishes to learn the craft. The author transports readers back to 1920 in Ireland when the Irish rebellion is taking place. When Galway City gets a new English landlord, tensions rise. I thought The Lady of Galway Manor was well-written with developed characters. The author captured the time and place beautifully. The feelings between the English and Irish were realistic along with the attitudes of the people on both sides. The story captured the unrest and instability in Ireland. It was a tense time in the Emerald Isle. I liked Anna or Lady Annabeth De Lacy. She is an intelligent, creative, and compassionate woman. Stephen shows her around the city, and she gets a chance to truly experience it. She is amazed at the creativity (the arts) of the people. I just loved Stephen’s father, Seamus. He is a lively character who added humor to the story. Stephen is a dower fellow who wishes to get away from the legend of the Claddagh. Life has dealt Stephen some cruel blows which have changed him. He is bitter and is not willing to let go of it. The vivid descriptions of Galway City brought the scenery alive for me. I enjoyed learning about the history of the Claddagh (I have a sterling Irish Claddagh ring of my own). The romance between Stephen and Anna developed over the course of the book. I enjoyed watching Anna and Stephen fall for each other and deal with issues keeping them apart. The ending was lovely and emotional. I like how everything played out for the characters. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will be delighted with The Lady of Galway Manor. The Lady of Galway Manor will send you back in time where there is astonishing tension, a displeased silversmith, a devious dad, an artistic Annabeth, an unsolicited suitor, and a surprising secret.

If you love a good romance that has action and adventure with a lovely ending, then this is your book. I believe this is my first book by Deibel and I can assure you, it will not be the last. The setting is in Ireland in the 1920’s. It centers around jewelry making and especially the famed Claddagh rings. You will love Lady Annabeth De Lacy, the heroine. She is full of grace, yet opposed to her aristocratic peers, she is able to look past the prejudices against the Irish see the people for who they really are. Annabeth’s father has allowed her to indulge her artistic tendencies by apprenticing with the local jewelers whose ancestors had originally crafted the famed Claddagh rings. Anna finds herself feeling at home with the aging Seamus Jennings and his handsome son Stephen. If only things were different and Stephen was not so unfeeling and abrupt with her. For the sake of her family’s future, Anna had been promised to another. A man her father has chosen to saved the family from financial ruin. A man old enough to be her grandfather. Stephen Jennings has worked in his father’s jewelry shop ever since he was a boy. But after being rejected by the woman he once loved, he no longer believes in true love and wants to leave the Jewelry business and start anew somewhere else. Until Lady Annabeth enters the shop and his life. Stephen discovers God’s love through Annabeth and her sweet ways. A beautiful and interesting story with a bonus at the end……I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Publisher but wasn’t required to post a positive review. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

*** Enjoyable Irish Tale *** Galway City, Ireland, 1920 Claddagh rings, an Irish village, the War for Independence between the Irish and the British, finding common ground, several cups of Irish tea, some danger and romance are all beautifully woven together. “She never dreamed Galway would be so endearing and exciting. A city teeming with music, architecture, and art – the very last thing she’d expected. And it seemed God had created the moment as a gift to her very soul.” “On the surface, he seemed unbothered by the strange visit. But the fact that he’d downed three cups of tea in less than twenty minutes told otherwise. Some men turned to the bottle. Seamus Jennings turned to the cuppa.” I was gifted this book for my honest opinion without expectation or compensation.