The Lady of Galway Manor

The time is post World War 1, the location is Galway, Ireland, the major players are Lady Annabeth De Lacy and Stephen Jennings, the situations are tense from the get-go.  Lady Annabeth's father is the new landlord for the Galway area of Ireland.  The locals, for the most part, are resistant to the British rule of the area and plan to make a point of telling the British Government they are not welcome.  Lady Annabeth, or Anna, as she likes to be called is a rather creative type person who wants to learn silversmithing and the making of the Claddagh designs in jewelry.  Her father arranges an apprenticeship with Stephen Jennings and his father.  Stephen reluctantly takes her under his wing and teaches her about the jewelry, the people, and the customs of the area.  

The De Lacy family is in dire financial straits due to Lord De Lacy's mismanagement of family funds. He has been posted to Galway as a last ditch effort to bring his standing with the nobility up to snuff, only he doesn't tell his family this.  What he tries to do is to coerce Anna into a marriage with a man many years her senior, a man whom Anna knows to be a bully, but a man who is willing to bail them out financially.  Anna does not want this marriage at all, and her younger sister, Emmaline is willing to take it on because she wants to live in the nobility/society circles.  Anna doesn't want her sister to take on this man because of his reputation and age.  She feels it is too great a sacrifice.  

Jennifer Deibel has taken real conflicts and woven them into the warp and woof of a completely readable novel.  She has also taken the best and worst traits of mankind and made believable characters who are flawed and real.  The events in the book help to move the plot at a steady pace and keep the reader engaged.  There wasn't much I didn't like about the book.  The autonomy that Jennifer has imbued into Anna gives her the ability to design special jewelry for customers and for herself.  

Five Stars, two thumbs up, and a Celtic Cross Claddagh 

Revell Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.