| Title | : | Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry (Bold Women of the 18th Century, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 414 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2002 |
It seduces her like a lover. It bewitches her like a spell. It is something mysterious and powerful that Darcy McBride must follow beyond the cliffs of Kerry. Ireland in 1755 is a terrible place ravaged by famine and the brutal occupation by the British. There seems to be no escape. Darcy joins a group of smugglers who trade illegally with the French and when the operation is discovered, she is transported to the English Colonies for servitude. Shattered by war and bloodshed, Darcy finds the colonists on a feeding frenzy of survival. She refuses to be devoured and meets them with determination and fire, stopping them in their tracks. When she confronts the brash and attractive Jean Michel Lupe', a surveyor for the Crown, sparks fly, and Darcy meets her match. His blend of refinement and frontier masculinity unsettles and entices her. Together, they are swept into a whirlwind of violence and intrigue that threatens their love and their survival.
"As he stepped out into the pouring rain, Jean Michel had to regain his composure. He was not sure he liked the feelings that were churning inside him. This McBride woman had the ability to reach into his soul and open doors he thought were closed forever. She ignited a desire in him that was beyond anything he had ever imagined. Confused and overwhelmed, he blamed it on long months without carnal pleasures, and pushing it from his mind; he started down the path for the McDermott homestead."
Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry (Bold Women of the 18th Century, #1) Reviews
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Absorbing tale from old Ireland and the American Frontier -- an Irish Heroine to Admire and a Frontiersman to Love!
This was Hughes' debut novel and it is clear to me she has a great writing career ahead of her. Set in Ireland and America, beginning in 1755, this is a captivating tale of a beautiful young Irish girl, Darcy McBride, who has a thirst for knowledge and a spirit of adventure. She survived The Hunger in Ireland that claimed most of her family and when the story opens, she is keeping house for her embittered brother. To pay taxes and put food on the table, Darcy and the young men of County Kerry become smugglers, illegally trading their wool with the French for brandy. In one shipment, they also smuggle in a Jesuit priest who befriends Darcy and teaches her to read and write.
When British soldiers discover the smuggling, Darcy is transported to the English Colonies for 7 years of indentured service, which for a beautiful young woman meant sexual servitude to her owner. One day at Fort Lawrence, Darcy meets Jean Michel Lupe, a surveyor for the Crown and an educated man, who will change her life.
This is a romance, to be sure, but quite unusual in that the hero isn't introduced until half way through the book. Much of what would be "back story" in other historical romances becomes an intense, well-told tale that at times is heart rending. We experience the brutality of cruel English soldiers and savage Indians on the American frontier. But there are many warm, charming moments and we see how times of great hardship affect people for both good and bad. There are some truly, desperately sad moments that will tear at your heart since both life in Ireland and on the frontier was hard. Darcy is a wonderful heroine with a strong heart, a giving nature and great courage. Hughes brings to life a cast of wonderful characters, including the wise and kind-hearted Father Etienne (a kind of hero). Darcy's story has great realism.
I highly recommend it. -
More reviews available at my blog,
Beauty and the Bookworm.
Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry follows Darcy McBride, a young Irishwoman, from her home in the seaside town of Kilkerry to the American Colonies, where she is sold as an indentured servant following her arrest as a smuggler. Of course, Darcy is drop dead gorgeous (apparently the only gorgeous woman in the entire world) despite spending many of her developmental years in the midst of a famine, and everyone wants to have sex with her. While I liked the overall story of this book, it was incredibly slow getting off the ground; Darcy doesn't even get caught until a third of the way in, and then there's a ship voyage before she gets to the colonies, too, all of it in incredible detail. Except that detail isn't really a good thing in this particular book, because Hughes just dumps it all in your lap and tells you what's going on; there is absolutely no emotion in this book, and there should have been emotion. Tons of it. There are several instances of rape or attempted rape, betrayal, heartbreak--and through it all, Darcy and everyone around her appear to remain mostly flat and emotionless, making what could have been a riveting tale somewhat difficult to read. You can't just tell me "She was in love with him," because what does that even mean? I want to know how he made her heart beat faster in her chest, how she found it hard to breathe around him, like someone was squeezing her lungs--things that I can empathize with. But no, there's none of that. And even in the wake of two rapes, Darcy doesn't really seem to care. Hughes says later that "Darcy was terrified of rape" but she does absolutely nothing to show us that Darcy was terrified of rape. Nothing. Nothing at all. It was just...flat.
There are also significant grammar problems in this book, mainly in the "unnecessary comma" department, which makes the sentences seem choppy and stilted, and the "missing and extra quotation marks" department, which makes it a bit unclear where dialogue begins and ends. This could definitely do with another good editing.
I did, however, like that Hughes set the book during what we here in the US call the French and Indian War (I believe it's the Seven Years' War in other places?) because it is a rather underutilized time period in historical fiction. -
From goodreads.com:
Beyond the Cliffs of Kerryby Amanda Hughes (Goodreads Author)
It seduces her like a lover. It bewitches her like a spell. It is something mysterious and powerful that Darcy McBride must follow beyond the cliffs of Kerry. Ireland in 1755 is a terrible place ravaged by famine and the brutal occupation of the British, there seems to be no escape. Darcy joins a group of smugglers who trade illegally with the French and when operation is discovered, she is transported to the English Colonies for servitude. Shattered by war and bloodshed, Darcy finds the colonists on a feeding frenzy of survival. She refuses to be devoured and meets them with determination and fire stopping them in their tracks. When she confronts the brash and attractive Jean Michel Lupe', a surveyor for the Crown, sparks fly, and Darcy meets her match. His blend of refinement and frontier masculinity unsettles and entices her. Together, they are swept into a whirlwind of violence and intrigue that threatens their love and their survival.
"As he stepped out into the pouring rain, Jean Michel had to regain his composure. He was not sure he liked the feelings that were churning inside him. This McBride woman had the ability to reach into his soul and open doors he thought were closed forever. She ignited a desire in him that was beyond anything he had ever imagined. Confused and overwhelmed, he blamed it on long months without carnal pleasures, and pushing it from his mind; he started down the path for the McDermott homestead."
Kindle Edition, Text to speech enabled, 414 pages
Published April 2011 by Amazon Digital Services (first published 2002)
original titleBeyond the Cliffs of Kerry
Leona's Review:
Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry by Amanda Hughes
This is my first read by Amanda Hughes and I was not disappointed.
The story begins in 1755 in Ireland where Darcy McBride and her brother are part of a smugglers group in order to survive in hard times. Life in Kerry has been difficult for Darcy and her brother, Liam, They are the last of their family; the others have died during the Great Hunger of 1740. The smugglers are caught and Darcy becomes an indentured servant. She is bought by Nathan Lawrence, a British soldier. Her new life begins in Massachusetts where it is still the "frontier".
I like the use of defining the chores at this time period such as the skinning deer, baking the beans, making a Sally Lund cake and gardening. I have never heard the term "three sisters" which is corn, beans and squash. Years ago, I was a volunteer in the exhibit of the Maya Indians of Mexico at a museum in St. Paul, Minnesota and I referred to corn, beans and squash as a staple. More information is available on the Web for those interested. When reading a book such as this, we are reminded of how easy we have it when we can go to the store and buy so many things pre-made. It also details the clothing at the time as well as building the cabins.
This is a love story and there are sexual times in the book. As an indentured servant, a woman must obey the commands of the man who bought her; it is still well done. Some bad language but it fits the time and occasion.
There is death as the settlers fight off the Indians and the English and French are at war. Some gory scenes during the fights and the heart begins to beat faster as people flee and run for their lives. "Life on the frontier was indeed cruel". (page 337 Kindle edition)
God is present on the book even though it is not a Christian love story. "When he (Jean Michel) became frustrated he remembered what Etienne had told him years ago, that God always reveals the way; simply wait for it to unfold." (page 309 Kindle edition)
Even though this book tells about the hard conditions there are still some good times in the book. Friendships are made and there is love and kindness.
Some characters are:
Darcy McBride- The main woman character. She has so much strength and is a true heroine of any book.
Jean Michel Lupe- A surveyor in America who falls in love with Darcy
Etienne- A priest from America who comes to Ireland. He teaches Darcy to read and they become close friends.
Nathan Lawrence- He buys the papers of Darcy and now owns her for seven years.
Liam McBride- Brother of Darcy.
Bran Moynaham- Sold into indentured servant for seven years and was returning to Ireland. He was to marry Darcy before he went to America.
Telia- A good friend of Darcy who lives in Ireland.
Raoul LaRoche- A French Voyager who befriends Darcy in America,
The book is dedicated : To my mother. She taught me to love books and to love Ireland.
Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Ronnell Porter for the cover art and design.
I downloaded this book on Amazon.com because it looked interesting. Ireland is one place I have not visited. I also have not read a book about the American frontier in years. I give it a 5 Star rating. I would re-read this book and recommend it to people who like historical novels. The opinions are my own.
You may find Amanda Hughes on goodreads.com and
www.amandahughesauthor.com
Leona Olson
www.mnleona.blogspot.com -
Set in the mid-18th century, the story follows the (mis)fortunes of a young Irish woman named Darcy McBride who is transported to the American Colonies as an indentured servant after being arrested for smuggling. The premise sounds interesting enough, but historical inaccuracies and on occasion truly godawful dialogue in combination with a story that got off the ground at an agonisingly slow pace and dragged on and on through one misery after the next without ever actually getting any real emotions across thanks to being all telling and no showing made this a pain to slog through. In addition, the oh-so-beautiful and desirable protagonist is (to me, anyway) deeply unlikable, arrogant and bitchy one moment, a meek little doormat the next, and I just didn't care about all her many struggles. The fact that the rest of the characters are little more than cardboard cutouts didnt help.
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This book of historical life in Ireland and the American Colonies is quite intriguing and well written. Life for women was indeed hard and most often cruel. Religion was not yet a freedom and times of great suffering were endured by many especially women. They were frequently raped, uneducated, beaten, starved, and worked to the bone for a few precious luxuries. Darcy was one courageous character and I was relieved to see how this book concluded. Kudos for writing a wonderful book.
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A fast and easy read, with a smart and strong woman heroine in Darcy. I loved the story spanning from Ireland in 1755 to the English colonies. A love story mixed with all the struggles of a life of servitude. The author has written a number of series about Bold Women of the different centuries, check it out if this genre appeals to you.
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The story moved along (too quickly, really). I got tired of poor Darcy and all of her hardships. Yes, I know some people suffer life, but this was one thing after another and another until I thought she surely must be on her 9th life!
It begins in Ireland, mid 18th Century. Not a great place to grow up, but she and her brother survived The Hunger. Liam, her only living relative, is an abusive brother. Then when the man she's in love with returns to Ireland after seven years of indenture, I was hopeful. But no, he's changed, and he betrays her. She ends up in America where she's indentured to an older British colonel. He seems to be a gentle man who treats her kindly (except that she is his mistress) but he ends up betraying her also. This poor woman can't catch a break. She's either being beaten, raped or betrayed, and until the very end of the novel her life is sheer misery. Almost every good person who she is close to dies. There is an old mountain man she befriends when her colonel is stationed at Fort Lawrence and their relationship is developed over many chapters, but after an Indian raid on the fort, you never hear about him again. It's the author's responsibility to tie up the loose ends and not leave the reader wondering.
Darcy is caught in the middle of the French and Indian War and life in the northern frontier in Massachusetts is brutal. Everything is brutal!
Even the editing is brutal! Strange time lapses, punctuation errors, sentences that don't make any sense that stop the flow of the text. In many cases I had to read a segment over to try and figure out the author's intent.
I finished this book, but I won't read another by this author. I do give her credit for taking on this time period, and there are some wonderful historic details that enrich the story, but the editing is bone-chilling! -
It's never easy to be Irish. And in 1755 Ireland, times were extremely hard forcing the fine citizens of Kerry to secretly create a trading system with the French that would bring them food to help keep those that survived "The Hunger" from likewise perishing. Darcy McBride did her part to participate in that extremely dangerous activity as did her brother, Liam. Darcy is smart and ambitious and eagerly accepts the tutoring of a Jesuit priest when he is smuggled into the village. She loves the ability to read and write and finds it to her advantage when events turn decidedly more ugly.
The price paid for smuggling their wool for French brandy that provided the food was death and when one of their own betray them, a number of the villagers are hung. Darcy escapes death with the help of a friend and is sold into 7 years of servitude and sent to the colonies of young America. She is sold to Nathan Lawrence who uses her at his convenience. While at the fort, she eventually meets Jean Michel Lupe', a strapping surveyor and a strong, independent colonist with extensive knowledge of the primitive northeast, populated by the Abenaki, and sparks begin to fly.
Fighting is not new to Darcy, and she again finds herself fighting for her life and that of her new love, Jean Michel, and the romance takes a torturous route to freedom for them both. The characters are well developed. The scenes can be clearly visualized and there is a good progression of the plot that never lets down. Recommended for any historical romance fiction fan--this is a good one and hard to put down! -
It is an amazing story of an Irish woman and how she overcomes many obstacles that are in her way. It is a very detailed book and the descriptions of everything make you feel as if you are there. I definitely recommend this book and hope you all enjoy reading it.
To see more of my review
click here to visit my book blog. -
Historical love story
Loved the descriptive scenery in the New World and Ireland. Great love story with tragedy and triumph. I would recommend this book to anyone. -
I read this book a couple of days ago and it was such a great story. I would definitely recommend to read.
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4.5
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I've sort of been experimenting my way through historical fiction set in Ireland and I was caught up in the story of “Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry” instantly. This book paints a good picture of what the Irish went through during the Potato Famine, British domination and what led many to emigrate to America.
The loved the first part of the novel; the description of Ireland's land and people and what happens to both is so moving. Amanda Hughes does a great job in this debut novel of placing the reader alongside the character facing unimaginable hardships and suffering, from oppressed Ireland to French and Indian War in the New World. A good insight into what lengths that people go to in order to survive.
I'm truly not into romance novels and was glad there were no panting, overly sexy scenes. Though there were lots of nail-biting action, which moved the reader along quickly. Warning: a lot of violence too.
To sum it all up...this one kept me up until 2 AM. -
Ireland in the 18C was a tough place even after the famine ended. Darcy and her brother are the only ones to survive from her family and to get by along with others smuggle goods form France in return for the wool of the sheep. Years ago her only love Bran was transported and she longs for him to return so they can marry and start a life together.
When they smuggle in a Catholic priest he realises that Darcy has a thirst for learning and teaches her to read which angers her brother. Then Bran returns and starts a chain of events which will change the lives of people in Kerry for ever.
I really enjoyed this book which features a strong female at its centre and tells how despite dreadful circumstances she manages to overcome what life throws at her. Sometimes though the sex scenes were overdone and added little to the story. -
In 1755 Ireland historical fiction with light romance and lots of action. This is the story about Darcy McBride a beautiful, headstrong, independent young woman from Ireland. The story has adventure, mysteries, a lot of twist and turns, action, passion, and love, it is also a very clean, well written book. It was Amanda Hughes debut book. I got hooked from the first page and it was hard to put down. Darcy was involved into smuggling brandy into Ireland all the men that were involved were hung but since Darcy was a woman she was sent to the English Colonies in America as an indentured slave for seven years. This is one book you do not want to miss.
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Darcy McBride and her brother Liam had survived the Great Hunger of 1740 in their hometown of Kerry, Ireland. With the rest of their family lost to starvation, Liam turned into a bitter, hard drinking man who hated the British for their laws against Catholics. He and Darcy joined a small ring of smugglers in 1755 to trade wool with the French, helping their village obtain food and allowing them a small measure of revenge against the British. Read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c... -
Yet again, Amanda Hughes has awed me with her romantic adventure set in Ireland and the United States. Darcy was an awesome and endearing heroine who found a way to survive and at the same time, help others. Through her ordeals we were able to see the horrors of war, prejudices, and the never failing human spirit that can preserve us or fail us. I look forward to reading more books by Amanda Hughes in the future.
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Loved the story and its characters and had trouble putting the book down. You could almost feel the oppressiveness in this small village in Ireland, yet Darcy does her best to make the most of her life. When Father Etienne teaches her to read and opens her mind to a wider world she hopes that one day she can know more from life than existence and suffering.
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This was refreshing to read after reading lots of YA fiction. I love a good historical fiction book... especially one that takes place in Ireland (British Isles) or the early American Colonies... this has both! Though this book has some mature subject matters I appreciated that it was kept clean.
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The story starts in Ireland and ends in Pre revolutionary war America. The things that happened to Darcy made my heart ache and just when I thought things would go her way it went quite the opposite. I enjoyed the book and plan to read more of Amanda Hughes' work.
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This was a great book. The characters were believable and there was a lot of action. Darcy was an amazing woman who was brought to the new world as an indentured servant. She is full of spirit to the very end of the book. Would read again.
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Another amazing read by Amanda Hughes. I've read two of her books and will be starting a new one very very soon! She's now one of my favorite writers. I love the roller coaster adventures she puts out. This book was amazing! Again I never knew what was going to happen next! Love it! :D
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Very good. I enjoyed this book very much. This interpretation of historical fiction is right up my alley!
