Irish Meadows (Courage to Dream, Bk #1) by Susan Anne Mason, a review



About the Book: 
Faced with an uncertain future, sometimes all you have left is the courage to dream.
Brianna and Colleen O’Leary know their Irish immigrant father expects them to marry well. Recently he’s put even more pressure on them, insinuating that the very future of their Long Island horse farm, Irish Meadows, rests in their ability to land prosperous husbands. Both girls, however, have different visions for their futures.
Brianna, a quiet girl with a quick mind, dreams of attending college. Vivacious Colleen, meanwhile, is happy to marry—as long as her father’s choice meets her exacting standards of the ideal groom. When former stable hand Gilbert Whelan returns from business school and distant relative Rylan Montgomery visits Long Island during his seminary training, the two men quickly complicate everyone’s plans.
As the farm slips ever closer to ruin, James O’Leary grows more desperate. It will take every ounce of courage for both sisters to avoid being pawns in their father’s machinations and instead follow their hearts. And even if they do, will they inevitably find their dreams too distant to reach?

About the Author: 

Susan Anne Mason’s debut historical novel, “Irish Meadows,” won the Fiction from the Heartland contest from the Mid-American Romance Authors Chapter of RWA. A member of ACFW, as well, she lives outside of Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and two children.
Find out more about Susan Anne at http://www.susanannemason.com.







My Review:

This was my first read by Susan Anne Mason.  The cover and title are what drew me to this book -- I am of Scotch/Irish descent, so anything that is Scotch/Irish attracts me. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I love that Brianna is a girl that knows what she wants and wants to further her education.  I empathized with her relationship with her sister Colleen.  What a spoiled brat!!  But that seems to be the way of it.  Brianna's relationship with her father is not a great one, but the times were different and the way parents and children communicated and related to each other was different in that time.  I love to read about these differences .. makes me thankful for living in these times.

While the outcome/end of the book might have been a tad predictable, the book was still very enjoyable and it's always fun getting to the end.  I would definitely recommend this book to my friends.


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