THE IRISH BRIDE By Alexis Harrington St Martin's Historical Romance March 2002 ISBN # 0-312-97956-8 {Click here to buy this book} The opening of "The Irish Bride" by Alexis Harrington is set in the south Cork town of Skibbereen in 1855, a time when Ireland was

It's this setting where we meet Farrell Kirwin who's running from Greensward Manor where the landlord's son, Noel, has tried to have her way with him. A swift slap has given her the opportunity to run for safety but at the expense of his anger. Upon arriving home to her family cottage she finds her brother dead. Michael was employed by Noel to collect rents and evict tenants; a job that hasn't gone over well with his peers. It was during an eviction of a close family member to the Kirwin's that an accident occurred that resulted in Michael's death. Now Farrell finds herself on the run with Aidan O'Rourke, the brother of her intended and the man who indirectly caused her brother's death. A ship for America is where they're bound, if they can just make it to Queenstown.

Aidan O'Rourke has loved Farrell since they were babes and grabs at the opportunity to be with her forever now that they're running away to America to escape retribution from Noel for both of their actions. Their priest has married them in secret, in order to save Farrell's virtue while traveling she's told, but Aidan has no intention of letting her go. In time, he hopes that Farrell will forget his brother, to whom she was betrothed, and love him.

In America, Aidan and Farrell land in New Orleans, then up river to St Louis where they get a stage coach west to Oregon. Aidan has heard of free land there for anyone who wants it and is determined to make a better life for Farrell and himself. But when he discovers that Noel has followed them to America Aidan and Farrell must decide between fight or flight.

Very minor issues niggled me, but only because I'm probably a bit more tuned in to Irish issues than most reviewers and the average reader. One of the issues was Farrell Kirwin's name. In Ireland, Farrell is a man's name which translates in English as Fergal. It took a few chapters to forget that the heroine's name wasn't Fergal as she grew into the name of Farrell. By the end of the story the name well suited the character. Equally, Kirwin isn't an Irish name. Sibbereen is located at the very southern edge of Ireland's largest Gaeltacht, Irish speaking area, and most Irish names would have been written in Irish. I can see, however, the need for an Anglicized name for American readers as most traditional Irish names are difficult to read and pronounce from the written form.

As well, because Skibbereen was an Irish speaking area there was no mention of Irish being spoken, though Aidan's use of endearments helped to add flavor to the story. The main endearment is confusing though, céadsearc which was explained as meaning sweetheart, where as the translation for sweetheart is muirnín. A pronunciation guide would have come in handy for the average reader as well as Aidan says a few lines in Irish that have no translation for the reader.

I will say that the biggest thing that bothered me about "The Irish Bride" was the end. This book has an epilogue. I feel that this final section of the story was so rushed that it could have been left off the story and the story would not have been lacking. But as I turned the last page I was left of a sense that there should have been more. I didn't feel a closure. I felt this on the last page of the last chapter, and looked at the epilogue as a view into the hero and heroine's future but it was so choppy that I feel that the story would have done better without it.

But as I say, these are only minor things. With a quality story like this, even the most knowledgeable reader can overlook minor errors. They can be forgiven with the amount of research that actually went into this story.

Of all of the Irish set stories, or stories with Irish characters, that I've read I have to say that "The Irish Bride" comes as close to perfect as a writer can get. It's obvious that Ms Harrington has put a lot of time and research into this story as this picky reviewer was hard pressed to find any serious errors or inconsistencies. The characters of Farrell and Aidan were extremely well developed. The reader can feel their poverty, their despair, their fear, and their excitement at making a new start. And the love they finally share together.

The opening scenes of the book seem to have been written as if Ms Harrington were a witness to the Famine itself. The poverty of the Kirwin's seeps from the pages, as does the fear when Farrell and Aidan realize what peril their in because of their actions, regardless if they were right in what they did or not. Their "better" had been slighted and he meant to have revenge. There is so much detail written on each page that each setting is written to include a history lesson for the reader without their knowledge - Ireland, New Orleans, forging west to Oregon and making a new life for themselves in the New World. And all the while, neither Farrell's nor Aidan's character personalities, desires nor goals wavered.

Plotting throughout the story seemed to stay on track. Ms Harrington had a vision for this story and was able to remain focused through to the end. When the last page was turned there were no loose strings left for explanation. This story was tightly wrapped up with no questions left to be answered.

This reviewer is difficult to please on the best of days when it comes to Irish set stories or those with Irish characters. But I have to admit that I'm impressed with "The Irish Bride" and I'm sure readers with a love of Ireland, or even those who love Americana, will thoroughly enjoy this story and I will recommend it with glowing accolades to anyone I know who's looking for an exceptional read.