#BookReview - The Woodsman’s Rose (Donovan Family Saga, Book 2) by Gifford MacShane #HistoricalFiction #WesternRomance @AuthorGMacShane @maryanneyarde

 

Thanks to The Coffee Pot Book Club I have been introduced to some fabulous authors, and today is no excerption. Today it is my very great pleasure to introduce you to historical fiction author, Gifford MacShane.

The Woodsman’s Rose

(Donovan Family Saga, Book 2)

By Gifford MacShane

1880's Arizona.

Daniel Donovan wants nothing more than to get married, unless it's to restore his friendship with his closest friend, Alec Twelve Trees.

Alec is raging about his mother's murderer, whose identity Daniel knows but will not reveal, as the killer is dead and the family he left behind would be compromised if the knowledge became public. But Alec cannot recognize any needs but his own, and the rift between the friends grows wider every day.

Daniel's fiancée, Annie, is a delicate girl, her health frail and her future uncertain. Prone to vicious headaches that at times rock her to her knees, she’s accepted Daniel’s ring but is hesitant to name their wedding date, worried that marriage and possible pregnancy will exacerbate her physical problems.

Annie inherited the gift of insight from her Welsh mother and digs into the past, searching for a way to help Alec and Daniel mend their relationship. But when she discovers the secret behind the murder, it’s more horrifying than she could have imagined.

It may take more than Annie’s small strength and inherited skills to bring the friends together again. And that’s before a new enemy shows his face.

Those Donovan boys really stole my heart, in particular, Daniel Donovan. I read some of the passages with Daniel in them to my husband, and I asked him why he could not be more like Daniel. My husband rolled his eyes, muttered something about fiction characters would be the death of him, and walked out of the room shaking his head. Still, I think I made a valid point—he has never built a house for me, nor has he ever risked his life too…Shh! I must not give away the story!

Asides from Daniel there was another Donovan who I adored that was the head of the family, John Patrick. John Patrick has a wonderful way of dealing with people who hurt his family—he strikes them where it will hurt the most. The wallet!!

There is a vast cast of characters in this book, and at times I did have a little trouble keeping up with who everyone was. I think this was down to not having read the first book in the series. I kept getting Jesse and Annie mixed up, and I think that was because both are extremely vulnerable characters. It wasn’t until the latter half of the book when Daniel and Annie’s relationship took centre stage that I stopped feeling quite so muddled. I think a cast list at the beginning of the book would really have helped. If you are like me and decide to read book 2 before book 1, then this is what you need to know:

Daniel and Annie = couple

Adam and Jesse= couple

Brian = now he is an interesting Donovan as he lives with Adam and Jesse, but he is also in love with Jesse.

Jake = the youngest brother, who is mentioned a lot at the beginning of the book.

John Patrick = the coolest dad ever.

Molly = the loveliest mother ever.

There are a fair few more Donovan’s, but I can’t remember their names.

I thought the story was really fast-paced, which I think was also one of the reasons why I had trouble keeping up with who everyone was at the beginning. An awful lot happens in this novel, so it is a page-turner. There were times when I found myself reaching for the tissues, and there were times where I feared for one of the character’s life. The author certainly knows how to write a compelling plot.

Despite my initial inability to keep up with all the characters, I did think this book was really rather wonderful.

I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab your copy HERE.

Gifford MacShane is the author of historical fiction that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.

Her novels feature a family of Irish immigrants who settle in the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s. With an accessible literary style, MacShane draws out her characters' hidden flaws and strengths as they grapple with both physical and emotional conflicts.

Singing almost before she could talk, MacShane has always loved folk music, whether it be Irish, Appalachian, spirituals, or the songs of the cowboys. Her love of the Old West goes back to childhood, when her father introduced her to the works of Zane Grey. Later she became interested in the Irish diaspora, having realized her ancestors must have lived through An Gorta Mor, the Great Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1800s. Writing allows her to combine her three great interests into a series of family stories, each including romance, traditional song lyrics, and a dash of Celtic mysticism. Having grown up in a large & often boisterous Irish-American family, she is intimately acquainted with the workings of such a clan and uses those experiences to good purpose (though no names will be named!)

MacShane is a member of the Historical Novel Society, and is an #OwnVoices writer. A self-professed grammar nerd who still loves diagramming sentences, Giff currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Richard, the Pied Piper of stray cats.

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