Dancing to an Irish Reel by Claire Fullerton (Blog Tour Review & Giveaway)

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After seeing that this book was rated as one of Amazon's "Best Books of 2015 So Far"
my interest was peaked in this book. I wanted to know what made it stand apart
from other new releases. Find out what I thought in my review below...

Dancing to an Irish ReelDancing to an Irish Reel
by Claire Fullerton
Women's Fiction, Romance
Paperback & ebook, 237 Pages
March 6th 2015 by Vinspire Publishing

Summary

On sabbatical from her job in the LA record business, Hailey takes a trip to Ireland for the vacation of a lifetime. What she finds is a job offer too good to turn down.

Her new job comes with one major complication—Liam Hennessey. He’s a famous Irish musician whose entire live has revolved around performing. And Hailey falls in love with him. Although Liam’s not so sure love is in the cards for him, he’s not willing to push her away completely.

And so begins Hailey’s journey to a colorful land that changes her life, unites her with friends more colorful than the Irish landscape, and gives her a chance at happiness she's never found before.

My Review

Dancing to an Irish Reel was first and foremost an immersion into living among the Irish. It was one girl's experience there, the friends she makes, those she associates with, a possible love interest, the culture, the land and the weather, and the superstitions of a country full of old world language and charm. The story felt like a meandering journey of her experiences. 

I liked Hailey and her circle of acquaintances and friends. They were each interesting. I was never sure of Liam and still am unsure about my feelings for him. I feel like you can't sit on the fence for forever and expect for everyone else to do the same. The way of life and language was interesting and very different from life here in America. I felt frustrated along with Hailey when I just wanted to know things about people or what they were thinking and what would happen, but that just isn't the way the people or story was to go. 

There was a completely relaxed feel to the story and the storytelling. It was almost lyrical in parts and the language definitely seeped through into Hailey's character and the story as a whole. I loved the way the culture and the music was weaved into the story in almost every aspect of it. I'm not sure about the romance. I kept waiting for a stronger purpose to the story or the ending or something that was never realized. The end left me feeling far from content and so I'm still confused as to how I really feel about this story. The characters were still unsure and confused of the future and so I'm sure that's part of it. 

I really liked this thought from Hailey because it is so true:
Why is it, I wondered, the second you begin to let somebody in, you give them the power to wreak havoc on your peace of mind.
(location 1550, Kindle ebook) 
Overall, Dancing to an Irish Reel was a unique story and made me feel fully immersed in the Irish way of life. It was full of interesting and complex characters, interesting conversations, a leisure pace, and a slight romance.

Content: Some innuendo, but otherwise clean.

Source: From the tour host, which did not affect my review in any way.

About the Author

PictureClaire Fullerton is the author of Paranormal Mystery, "A Portal in Time," set in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California (Vinspire Publishing) and "Dancing to an Irish Reel," Fiction, set in Connemara, Ireland, (Vinspire Publishing.) She is a three time award winning essayist, a former newspaper columnist, a contributor to magazines, and a four time contributor to the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series. Claire hails from Memphis,TN and now lives in Malibu, CA. Currently, Claire is writing her third novel, which is based on her award winning essay in the 2013 San Francisco Writer's Conference.


Tour-Wide Giveaway

2 Dancing to Irish Reel Key Chains

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 comment

  1. Christina Riggs7/26/15, 8:05 PM

    Great mini taste of the featured books.

    ReplyDelete

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