Flight of the Earls: An Heirs of Ireland Novel by Michael K. Reynolds

It’s 1846 in Ireland. When her family’s small farm is struck by famine, Clare Hanley and her younger brother, Seamus, set out across the ocean to the Promised Land of America.

Five years prior, Clare’s older sister Margaret and her Uncle Tomas emigrated in similar fashion and were not to be heard from again. But Clare must face her fears as she lands in the coming-of-age city of New York. There she discovers love, adventure, tragedy, and a terrible secret which threatens to destroy her family and all she believes.

Flight of the Earls is the first book in a historical novel trilogy based on Irish immigration in the 1840s.

My Review:
The rough life during Ireland's potato famine is the setting of this historical novel. The plot moves at a steady pace, and although at times dreary, the reader has hope. A good bit of both Ireland's and American's history are woven into the story line.

Characters are believable. Clare Hanley,  a responsible, determined young lady manages to avoid terrible happenings--some, while the reader holds his breath. It's interesting to watch Clare weave in and out of life's struggles. Her father insists that Clare take her troublesome brother, Seamus, with her to America and Seamus stumbles toward trouble. Clare has her hands full.

I look forward to the second in this series, which will be about Seamus.

Discussion questions are included.

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and B&H Books for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.