Review: Love, love, love this series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 17, 2013
Health and long life to you;the love of your heart to you;land without rent to you;and may you die in Ireland.-Irish ToastIn the second book of the Ballymuir Trilogy, Ms. Kelly takes us on a wonderful ride through the hillsides of Ireland. She again brings the land to life and has you dreaming of long walks along the shore with the man of your dreams. She has woven tales of long ago and mixed them with the problems of today. She has you looking for ogham stones and believing in spirits, the power of the mind and looking forward to the lighting of the fires to bring everyone and everything together.Jenna Fahey comes from a very wealthy, American family and has a past that she wishes she could forget as easily has her parents have forgotten about her. She's finally making a name for herself a a renowned Chef at her restaurant, Muir House. This is her passion, her love and her life. She has no time for men or the trouble that they would most likely bring. Then she meets Dev and something has come to life for her. She knows he's up to no good; she knows that she needs to steer clear of him; she knows that she could easily fall in love with him. She has to keep him at arms length for her sanity and for the sanctity of Muir House. Now, she needs to tell that to the rest of her body. As Muir House and the ogham stones sing to her, tell her stories and pull her in a direction that she does not want to go, she has to face the fact that she's fallen in love with Dev and knows, deep down, that he is going to tear her heart out when he takes Muir House out from under her.Devlin Gilvane is a brash, hard-hearted man with two things in mind. 1. Secure Muir House so that he could climb the corporate ladder; 2. Get Jenna in bed. Hmm, his second goal just may be as hard as the first. He has to find a way to get her to realize that the "sparks" between them are more than animosity and the attraction is running both ways. When he realizes just what Jenna may mean to him, he does everything in his power to try to find a just as suitable place for the new resort as Muir House. He is feeling something that he has never felt before and he has no idea how to deal with it!With the help of Vi, who we met in "The Last Bride of Ballymuir" and his Mam, Dev's past and present come together. He starts seeing things more clearly. He starts learning to trust and love in a way that he never thought he would. He starts realizing that there is more to life than money or his job. He learns that the love of a good woman can fulfill everything that he has been trying achieve and make him feel more whole than anything in the world. Now, to prove the Irish Legends of Muir House wrong .... an Englishman and an Irish woman can be together, the walls will not crumble, they will live happily ever after and have the life they have both dreamed of."The Boldest Man in Ballymuir" pulled me in right from the beginning. I loved hearing the tales of old Ireland being told. Again, I could hear the Irish Brogue coming through on the pages. I could see Jenna and Dev on the hill at the ogham stone and feel the pull of the spirits bringing them together. Vi is one of the most wonderful, witty characters I have ever read. Ms. Kelly brought color and a sense of old Ireland to life with Vi. She also brought in a supporting cast that brought the whole book together: Kate (Dev's mam), Maureen (Jenna's sister), Brendan Mulqueen (a surprise when you read the book), Sam (Maureen's ex and a movie star) and all the wonderful townspeople of Ballymuir. We also revisit with Kylie and Michael for a little bit and find out how their lives are getting along. But, what amazes me the most with Dorien Kelly's writing is how she brings the old and new together, the mystery and the solution. There is never a "down" time in the book and you are always looking forward to turning the page just to see what is going to happen next. Please enjoy Jenna and Dev's book, they worked hard to be together and to get their Happily Ever After!