A Dance in Donegal (editie 2021)

I received this book for free from the Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. This is the story of a young woman who moves to Ireland in 1920, shortly after her mother's death, to the village her mother left as a young woman herself, to become the town teacher. Unsurprisingly, she meets a young man, and a very gentle, circumspect romance unfolds. However, she also makes decisions that the town does not support, which combine with rumors about her "secret" to provoke a tragedy. There is a strong subtext around Christian faith that may be welcomed by some readers, while others might prefer to avoid that. A good perspective on Irish village life in the 1920's. Reading this book last week, I found myself reflecting on how people's shared, yet false, beliefs led to a tragedy in this story in the context of the events in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. On one level, this was a very gentle, faith based, story. On another, it showed how easily people can turn against someone, and how devastating those consequences can be. I felt like the ending didn't fully acknowledge the latter. ( )

We walk the countryside in the village of Ballymann in Donegal, Ireland through the eyes of Moira Doherty as she takes in the beauty of what was formerly her mother’s home.
Young Moira has left Boston with the ink barely dry on her teaching certificate, and has taken a job in the small village in Ireland, as the new teacher.
We see how these people live, with the domes over their beds and learn why, the thatched roofs, and the superstitions they all seem too possess.
There are a couple of young men whom Moira takes a fancy too, but she is just enjoying being in the home of her roots, but there are some that begin tormenting her, and one of her students is not very nice to her, but keep reading!
There are some sweet happenings here, and others you will need the tissues handy for, but I loved the strong Love of God these people have, and how they shared their love with others.
I received this book through LibraryThing and was not required to give a positive review. ( )

Moira had always expected to go to her mother's homeland someday, but that day comes much sooner when her mother dies. Dreams of her mother begging her to go impel Moira to accept the post of a teacher in Ballymann. Life is not what she expects there and she must find the strength to endure what comes her way.

I think the strength of this book lies with the author's ability to describe the setting. Ballymann comes to life as far as setting, dialogue, and the way of life for the time period. I wish I'd realized there was a glossary of Irish phrases in the bac. It would have been helpful in understanding what was being said a lot of the time.

The plot itself was alright. Teaching was Moria's career, the reason for her being there, but there was very little of it. In fact, about halfway through the book, she chooses to care for a sick child for several weeks, leaving her students without a teacher. Moira becomes aware of the secret concerning her mother and spends more time worrying over it than doing anything to learn the truth. The secret is partially revealed and then "the truth" is resolved right before the end. it was not satisfying and felt contrived.

The romance happens so fast and with very little deep conversation between the two. It was difficult to take it seriously.

The book description had such potential. I was expecting to see Moira's struggles with learning a new culture and language, but this is glossed over. There were also a lot of more religious details that I was not expecting. It felt like the author was beating me (the reader) over the head with her faith.

Clean but I am clearly not the target audience for this work. Readers looking for a quick, Christian romance might enjoy this one.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are my own. ( )

I enjoyed this book, it was a lovely story of a woman traveling to Ireland to teach and falling in love while uncovering her mother’s secrets. The characters seemed like a lot of fun and her trials were moving, but overall this book wasn’t a winner for me. I’ve read some Christian Fiction and I normally don’t mind it, I just found this book had an excessive amount of praying and talking to God and reciting scripture. I should have saved this book for next year as it fits 11 prompts of The 52 Book Club’s 2021 reading challenge.

#1 – Set In A School
#2 – Featuring The Legal Profession
#7 – An Author With Only 1 Published Book
#10 – Related To The Word “Fire”
#12 – Title Starting With The Letter “D”
#27 – First Chapter Ends On An Odd Page Number
#43 – A Character With A Pet Cat
#44 – Includes A Garden
#47 – A Character With A Disability
#48 – A Cover With A Woman Who Is Facing Away
#51 – Published In 2021 ( )

What a lovely story. I thought it was well-written and moved along at a gentle pace. I will share my complete review soon. ( )