Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Chicago, 1892: Maggie O’Halloran knows she is lucky to have escaped New York City with her life, after a notorious gang threatened her and her brother. Now, twisting the wedding ring on her finger, she knows her friend Brendan O’Donoghue’s plan to pretend to be married is sensible. But can she really pretend to be his wife when she doesn’t love him with her whole heart?
Walking Chicago’s cobbled streets, Maggie is more resolved than ever to rebuild her life and when she secures a job at the famous department store, Marshall Field & Company, she is delighted. But when ghosts of her past appear in the millinery department, she knows her true identity could be revealed at any moment, and her dreams once more reduced to ash.
When a chance encounter leads to Maggie making hats for Chicago’s World’s Fair, her desire to become fully independent feels closer than ever. But as gossip swirls about her relationship with her benefactor, can Maggie keep her head held high in this city she now calls home?
When Brendan finds himself in a perilous situation, Maggie’s courage is tested more than ever before. With danger looming, can she and Brendan survive it together? Or will they once more need to flee their home to find safety, and a chance to begin again?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of A New Home for the Irish Daughter to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
A New Home for the Irish Daughter by Kate Hewitt picks up directly from where book one in the Maggie O’Halloran series left off and sees our three main characters Maggie, Danny and Brendan stepping off the train and arriving in Chicago in May 1892. Book one was a fast paced read detailing how Maggie and her younger brother Danny came from Ireland to New York and it subsequently followed the trials and tribulations that ensued with their new life. It wasn’t easy by any means. Instead it was very much an uphill struggle as they adjusted to a totally different life from what they were used to and in doing so encountered lots of trouble and strife. This in turn led to them having to flee New York, the reasons for which I won’t go into for it would spoil the plot of book one but when we return to the characters in the opening chapter things felt very tense and why wouldn’t they considering all that has happened and could potentially do so? Readers new to this series and starting with this second book needn’t worry that it will be impossible to follow. It delivers a satisfying story on its own and filling the blanks and making connections between the two books is easy.
I have to confess that the way Maggie treated Brendan in the first few chapters and for quite a good chunk of the book really irritated me bordering on anger. Herself and Brendan were pretending to be married once they reached Chicago in order to be able to get accommodation more easily and for reasons connected back to their leaving the Big Apple. But Maggie just seemed to go against this at every opportunity and there was many a time I thought she would give the game away before they had established themselves at all in a new city. Could she not have just gone along with things no matter how much it apparently seemed to be going against her being? Brendan had a heart of gold and there wasn’t sinister motives in what he was trying to do but I felt Maggie bucked and kicked against what he was trying to achieve. A bit more positivity and support was needed from her side. On the other hand, I did in some small way see where she was coming from and did feel a tiny shred of sympathy for her, but Brendan was just such a treasure that I was more on his side despite Maggie being the main female protagonist. This didn’t last for all the book but these are the thoughts that came into my head as I was reading near enough up to the midway point.
Brendan has been a saviour for Maggie in more ways than one. He took herself and Danny under his wing and provided for them when they had nothing and were very near to the depths of despair and in doing so his life was altered in ways unimaginable. Yes, I think his intentions are very genuine but the fact he harbours feelings for Maggie means that he will always go that extra mile. Although Maggie tries to hide it I think deep, deep down she has feelings for Brendan, but she fights, suppresses and rallies against them partly because she is very stubborn and also because she is a fiercely independent woman. She has firm dreams and aspirations, and this is to be admired. She doesn’t see herself constrained by the rules of society placed upon women at the time. Yes, we can sense that she would enjoying having love and romance in her life but being married and tied to the house raising children is not for her. She wants to fulfil her dreams to be a milliner. I feel if she could have the balance between a home and work life without being frowned than she would certainly go for that.
I enjoyed the plot of the book overall although I did feel some aspects were repetitive so to speak that they had featured in book one but this time what made them different were a different setting and a few new characters. But look I got over that and it’s me being super picky because truly there was a lot to sink your teeth into once again as Maggie tries to establish a new life for herself and Danny in Chicago. I loved the historical elements throughout that were true. The job that Maggie gets in Fields department story and her meeting Mr. Selfridge a name we are all familiar with. All the thousands of workers toiling day and night on the site where the World Fair is to open. The character of Dr. Holmes I had previously known nothing about, but I had my suspicions throughout as instantly he came across as very creepy and weird. Also the growth of Chicago at the time as a new exciting and bustling city. We just take it for granted these days that those impressive American cites were always there and we give little thought to it. So I found it fascinating. I really appreciated the authors end notes regarding these aspects of the story as it gave me a deeper understanding.
Maggie is a person who spends her life waiting for something more to happen. At times, I felt she really ought to just live in the moment and appreciate the sacrifices that Danny had made for them. But a chasm opens up between the pair and Maggie found herself travelling down a path that to me just seemed that little bit too good to be true. Theo, the son of Mrs. Stein, comes back into her life and she grabs the opportunities that he presents with open arms but I wanted her to be more cautious. Everything seemed to be happening too quickly with regards to her career and I could see things come crashing down if she wasn’t careful. She was almost a bit gullible because she was so intent on making a success of things. So much so that she isolated herself from Danny and Brendan leading to loneliness. I wondered when push came to shove and things once again turned sour would the two men be there for her or would the tables turn and she be the one to help them?
I thoroughly enjoyed A New Home for the Irish Daughter and to be honest I’m surprised how much so given that I haven’t read and wouldn’t be a huge fan of books set in the late 1800’s. The books have a sense of energy, excitement and vibrancy about them as well as a very good character based plot. I’m dying to know what will happen next as Maggie embarks upon the next stage of her remarkable American adventure. There are so many unanswered plots that I hope have a resolution soon just because I’m so eager to find out. But it’s not too long a wait as A New World for The Irish Daughter will be published at the end of July.
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