On Wings Of Dreams ~ Patricia Gallagher

Tags

historical romance, new york, North America

 (3.5 stars) Not as good as the first two in the series, but still a satisfying read

If you have read the first two books in this series Castles in the Air and No Greater Love and want to avoid spoilers you probably don’t want to read further. On Wings of Dreams continues the story of Devon Marshall and Wall Street banker and millionaire Keith Curtis. Now married and with twin daughters in addition to Scotty they spend their time between Halcyon on Hudson and New York City. Devon continues to work as a freelance journalist and also becomes involved in the suffrage movements and campaigns against child labor, which causes some tension in her marriage. On a trip to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia Devon is reunited with her former fiancé Daniel Haverston who much to Keith’s chagrin is still deeply in love with Devon. Worse yet, their son Scotty strikes an immediate attraction with Haverston’s daughter Fawn that develops into a lifelong love that causes tensions between Keith and Devon.

While I enjoyed this book very much and wanted to follow Devon’s story to the end, I did find this to be quite a bit slower paced with not as much action as the previous two in the series. The author does provide a glorious look at life in the upper crust society of New York, Washington, the reborn south including a tilting contest on a Virginia plantation (loved that!) to the opulent castles of Newport, Rhode Island and more. I also very much enjoyed the effortless way the author brought in so many wonderful details of life in the late 19C, the clothes and furnishings and social mores along with the main players of the day from presidents to railroad barons. As in the first two books, Devon and Keith’s story does have a soap opera/TV mini feel to it but still very entertaining. My only real complaint is that while not quite qualifying as a true “bodice ripper” there’s quite a bit more in the scenes between Devon and Keith than in the first two books and I would not recommend this for a younger reader. All in all an entertaining read and an interesting peek into 19C life, but only for fans of the first two books who have to read the rest of the story (and I did).

No Greater Love by Patricia Gallagher

Tags

historical fiction, historical romance, new york

A very worthy follow up to Castles in the Air

No Greater Love begins in 1873 shortly after Castles in the Air left off. Desperate for a real home and family Devon Marshall agrees to marry Reed Carter and start life afresh with him in Texas, which turns out to be quite a bit rougher than she expected. Devon tries to forget her love for Keith Curtis and their child Scotty and build a new life with Reed, but he’s not the perfect man he appeared in the first book and she struggles to return his love. Their marriage is further hampered by spoiled young miss Melissa Hampton’s designs on her husband. Reed is appointed as a junior Senator to Washington DC and the Carters try for a fresh start in the Nation’s capital. Devon eventually accepts an assignment to report on a sensational trial in New York that brings her back in contact with the now widowed Keith and sparks fly once again….

Despite the impression the book’s cover would give as being just another historical romance, Gallagher’s knack of blending her characters into that of our nation’s history and the perfect touch of those wonderful little historical details of the clothes, furnishings and customs of the Victorian era made for a near perfect mix of romance and history — from the desolate landscapes of Texas, to the corrupt politics and politicians of US Grant’s presidency and more as Devon continues her career as a social reporter following the Grants on their world tour at the end of his presidency. As in the first book, Devon and Keith’s story does have a soap opera/TV mini feel to it, but I found it to be highly entertaining and frankly had a hard time putting it down. Four stars and I’m now off to start the final book in the series, On Wings Of Dreams.

Castles in the Air ~ Patricia Gallagher

Tags

historical fiction, historical romance, new york

Despite the cover, this is so much more than an historical romance

Castles in the Air begins at the end of the Civil War as Devon Marshall’s father commits suicide after the building containing his newspaper business burns to ashes. Devon realizes that the only way to continue a career as a journalist is to strike out for New York, so she breaks off her engagement to an injured war veteran and finagles her way onto the private rail car of banking tycoon Keith Curtis who makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Once in New York and not wanting to depend on Curtis for support, Devon strikes out on her own, but she soon finds that obtaining employment as a female journalist is virtually impossible without connections and takes other jobs instead — jobs that end up with unforeseen complications.

Married Curtis can’t forget Devon and rescues her from her latest job as one of the “birds” in a cage at a notorious saloon and unwilling to fight him any longer Devon agrees to become Curtis’ mistress (his wife is an invalid, or is she just pretending to be paralyzed?) and as much as he’d like to he cannot marry Devon. The book continues with the ups and downs of their relationship and Devon’s involvement in different circles of New York society, dirty politics, emancipation for women, and more. Eventually Devon does obtain a job as a journalist reporting for the women’s section of a local paper and she is able to take further that job as she is assigned as one of the many female reporters following the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant from the viewpoint of Mrs. Grant and the social whirl of Washington DC.

Although the basic premise of the storyline sounds like your basic historical romance, and at times it did seem to take on a soap opera/TV mini series type of quality, I have to give the author credit for including a great deal of historical facts and characters. In addition to being entertained with a good story, I obtained a wonderful inside peek at the people and history of late 19C politics with it’s dirty politicians, social scandals, railroad barons, the social mores of the day and more as Devon must ultimately decide between her love for Keith and their son or her independence to strike out on a new life that she can live without secrecy or fear of discovery and scandal.  Devon’s story  is continued in No Greater Love and On Wings Of Dreams.

So Many Partings ~ Cathy Cash Spellman

Tags

ireland, new york, North America

(3.5) A “wee” bit of a rags to riches family saga

So Many Partings is the story of Tom Dalton, illegitimate child of the younger son of the manor Drumgillan and Irish peasant Mary Dalton. When Tom comes to New York as a young man fresh out of college and fresh off the boat, he finds friends and obtains work among the other Irishmen at the docks. Eventually Tom is mentored by ruthless businessman Diamond Jim Mulvaney and as he proves his mettle he quickly moves up in the ranks and hopes to one day earn enough to be able to court Diamond Jim’s daughter Dierdra (much to DJ’s consternation).

The rest of the book details early 1900’s New York as Tom’s work in Diamond Jim’s empire involves him with the Tammany gang, dirty politics, and a labor strike at the docks between the Irish and the Italians that leads to tragic consequences for Tom and his new family, and finally culminates in the story of Tom’s beloved granddaughter Megan and the treacherous betrayals by Tom’s two sons.

While I enjoyed this book, at the same time I found something missing. It’s not quite BIG enough in scope to be an “epic novel”, nor is there enough romance to keep me on the edge of the seat waiting for two lovers to finally get together. Additionally, most of the characters were a bit clichéd and unoriginal – the madam with the heart of gold, the big Irish dockworker with the soft side no one knows, the ruthless business man who lets no one in his way (well almost), a few Mafioso types – that as much as I enjoyed the book I felt like I just left the table after a full meal and I’m still needing something more. It’s a good book, not a great one, although it did quite well for this housebound reader on a snowy winter afternoon. Not too light and not too heavy, and definitely no where near as good as the author’s fabulous Paint the Wind. 3.5/5 stars.

 

Wanderers Eastward, Wanderers West by Kathleen Winsor

Tags

copper mining, historical fiction, montana, new york

And so, rather than make apologies for the devastation they had accomplished so far they deprecated it. 

And you’re not going to know what that quote means until the very end of this door-stopper sized book! This one starts in 1861 and tells the parallel tales of Matt Devlin as he begins to carve a new life in Montana, along with that of his brother-in-law Joshua Ching in New York as he winds his way to great fortune through the manipulation and financial downfall of others. Matt, his brother Pete and their partners and eventually his sons are involved in the early days of mining the Montana Rockies, first gold then silver and finally digging to the depths of the inner mountains for the remaining treasure – copper. The early boom towns grow and die, although one town long thought dead begins to grow and change as does the landscape surrounding it – Butte.

On the other side of the country, Jason’s wealth grows and he becomes one of New York’s elite rich and marries his daughter Susan (Suky) into one of the “old” families short of cash. The story carries them through the financial disasters and depressions of the time, as well as intertwining with Matt’s children with his. That’s about as far as I care to go, beyond that I’d be writing a full length book report and you know I don’t do that. Suffice it to say, this book is packed with plenty of extramarital affairs (but no bodice ripping, I promise), sneaky stock dealings, railroad barons, roaring mining towns, scandalous actresses and mistresses, the cigar smoking cussing Lily in her men’s clothes all intertwined with Morgan Devlin as he reaches for the huge wealth buried in the mountain he must destroy to reach the copper inside it.

Although I wouldn’t call this one an action packed, can’t put it down until you know what happens next type of book, it was still entertaining for those like a big fat (and I do mean fat) book packed with plenty of history and intrigue and colorful characters. Just be warned, there are a lot of characters and the story switches back and forth quite a bit between Montana and New York so if you don’t like a switching POV or if you’re looking for a book with star-crossed lovers, a pure and saintly hero and heroine who get their HEA in the end, this isn’t the book for you. For those of you who read and loved her more famous book, Forever Amber you might want to give this one a whirl. 4/5 stars.