James O’Leary is a tyrannical, wealthy, Irish immigrant who owns a horse farm in Long Island New York in 1911. His two oldest daughters Brianna and Colleen are beautiful, and he is certain he can find them rich husbands who will protect their struggling business, as well as keep their family in the right circles of “society”. Both the girls have other ideas, Brianna wants more than anything to go to college and Colleen, being a shallow and selfish girl just wants to have fun flirting and going to parties. Their father thinks a woman going to college is a waste of time and money, why after all do they need an education to be a wife and mother? Years earlier the O’Leary family had taken an orphaned stable hand Gilbert, and welcomed him into their family as a son. Gilbert returns to the farm after college to assist James through a financial rough patch. Sparks fly between Brianna and her old friend, Gilbert, and things get complicated from there. James attempts to use his daughters and Gilbert as pawns in his attempt to save himself from financial ruin by trying to control their lives. Meanwhile, a distant relative, Rylan comes to stay at the farm to continue his seminary training and begins a friendship with Colleen that changes her life.
This was a light, entertaining read with lots of family intrigue and engaging characters that kept me interested. I enjoyed that is was written from the main characters perspectives, I like having insight into the thought process of all the characters. I did find that the character of Colleen who started out as bratty, selfish, vindictive and extremely shallow had a complete turnaround that changed her overnight into a completely different person, it was totally unrealistic and far fetched. I find it disappointing with Christian novels where the main characters are physically, perfectly beautiful. There is not one physical flaw on any of them. Beautiful hair, large stunning eyes, the women have perfect figures and the men all have broad shoulders, tall, gorgeous hair, strong jaw lines and all of them have a cleft in their chin?
I find those characters, even though they may have an interesting story, unrealistic.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group
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