Book Review: The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

THE YELLOW HOUSE delves into the passion and politics of Northern Ireland at the beginning of the 20th Century. Eileen O’Neill’s family is torn apart by religious intolerance and secrets from the past. Determined to reclaim her ancestral home and reunite her family, Eileen begins working at the local mill, saving her money and holding fast to her dream. As war is declared on a local and global scale, Eileen cannot separate the politics from the very personal impact the conflict has had on her own life.

She is soon torn between two men, each drawing her to one extreme. One is a charismatic and passionate political activist determined to win Irish independence from Great Britain at any cost, who appeals to her warrior’s soul. The other is the wealthy and handsome black sheep of the pacifist family who owns the mill where she works, and whose persistent attention becomes impossible for her to ignore.

I got this book back in 2010 when I won it from a blog.  Unfortunately, I didn’t keep track where I won it from though.  Since then it has been sitting on my To Read shelf, patiently waiting.  Then a few weeks ago, I saw it listed as the Kindle Deal of the Day for $2.99.  I had recently started a mini book club with two of my friends and since they both have Kindle Fires, I thought this would be the perfect book for us to read.  So THE YELLOW HOUSE got bumped to the top of my reading list just like that!

As you know, I LOVE Historical Fiction and this book gave me plenty of it. I love reading books and learning about parts of history that I never even knew happened.  Since I grew up and have always lived in America, I had very little knowledge of the political and religious uprisings that occurred in Ireland.  This was another book that gave me a greater appreciation for the country and era that I grew up in.

The story was also filled with family secrets and struggles that I think most of us can relate to.  Eileen and her family loved each other deeply, were hard working, but also had a bit of the past that prevented them from moving forward.  Some of the twists in the story were expected but others made me drop the book and gasp in surprise.  You also can’t have a story without a little romance and the author kept the love lives in the story interesting!

If you would have been eavesdropping while I was reading this novel, you would have heard laughter, gasps, sniffles, and even a few sobs.  This novel kept you focused and interested.  All the characters were easily imaginable and Eileen was someone I would have loved to have been friends with as well as been afraid to cross! She definitely made life interesting!  This would be a great choice for book clubs as there are a lot of topics worthy of discussing including: family loyalty, politics, religion, war, friendship, love, dreams, values, grief, and parenting.  This book has it all.

Another thing I loved about this book was that it was the author’s first novel.  It thrills me to find a new author and then to fall in love with their first novel.  I’m always excited to hear of their next novel.  Since it took me so long to read this one, Falvey has already come out with her second novel, THE LINEN QUEEN, which is also set in Ireland and has been added to my To Read list.  Falvey is also working on her third novel.

Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for review. If you choose to purchase this book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com.