The Irish Family Secret is the third book in a series, but they can also be read as standalones. I haven't read the previous two books, and don't feel that anything was missing from this as a result.

This is a book full of secrets, and I was totally immersed in them and could not stop reading as I just needed to know what had happened. It's also a story about family feuds, resolution and community. I really felt as if I were in Roone Bay whilst reading.

Daisy has written a really beautiful, heartbreaking and heart-warming tale which switches between the lives and secrets of Ginny in the present day, and Molly in the 1920s. I loved the similarities between them showing that some things can transcend time.

The Irish Family Secret by Daisy O’Shea is a moving story about two families who have feuded forever. Somehow the feud seems to renew itself every generation when something untoward happens. In this generation, it is Ginny O’Brien and Ben Savage. They lived on adjoining farms and had been friends, despite the difference in their ages, years before. Then something happened, Ginny left to go to college, and Ben overturned a tractor and was killed. Suicide? Both families blamed the other until Ginny came to town as part of her work as a archeologist. She met Ben’s younger brother, Ruari, who was unaccountably nice to her, and things started to change. She had hidden what had happened so deeply that it was habit now. Could she open up to Ruari? If not, there was no hope for a relationship. At the same time, both were deeply interesting in their ancestors, Molly and Davan. Molly was only fifteen when she fell pregnant with Davan’s child. He wanted to marry her. Her father thought differently and had him arrested. She was sent to a convent and he was sent to prison, where he nearly died several times. When they both returned home and subsequently disappeared, everyone thought (hoped) they had run away and were living a good life.

Secrets foment and grow out of proportion. Someday, someone will find out and then people will be hurt. Ginny’s secret got out and people were mostly sympathetic. She was a good character who carried her secret heavily. She visited her family but had never come to stay like this trip. Ruari had his own business. He was not interested in following the family way. And, when the secret came out, he understood, and helped his family understand. It was a good story with roots in the past. I always love genealogical mysteries. Daisy O’Shea writes of modern Ireland and seems to get it right.

I was invited to read The Irish Family Secret by Bookoutre. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #DaisyOShea #TheIrishFamilySecret

This was such a gorgeous book with such a stunning cover that grabs your eye instantly. I loved that the author brought us straight back to the past in the 20s, giving us an insight & background into how the feud between the two families began, a feud that continued for years & generations.

I'm always a big fan of dual timelines and this one flowed beautifully & seamlessly. Ginny returns home to Roone Bay after a traumatic event left her no choice but to leave, what follows is a complex family drama with secrets threatening to be revealed that could shatter lives & fuel the long standing feud.

I really enjoyed the archaeological aspect of the story with Ginny's job as an archeologist and clear love of the archaeological past of Ireland.

The Irish Family Secret is a well written, beautiful, emotional story that really brings home how much the past, particularly tragedy can have a ripple effect throughout generations and years ahead. It's also a love letter to the beauty that is Ireland.

This is a gripping and heart-breaking women’s fiction story that flows between the present and the past of two Irish families finding forgiveness. In book 2 of O’Shea’s #EmeraldIslesseries, set in fictional Roone Bay, she once again brings readers a story with vivid descriptions and a story that will touch you and tug on your heartstrings.

Thank you, Daisy O’Shea, Bookouture, & netgalley for my early gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

Daisy O’Shea’s The Irish Family Secret is an engrossing tale of family loyalty, buried truths, and the powerful bonds that both unite and divide. Set against the lush and evocative backdrop of rural Ireland, O’Shea masterfully weaves a narrative that is as rich in its emotional depth as it is in its suspenseful plotting.
At the heart of the novel is Ginny Kingston, a woman forced to confront the tangled web of secrets that have long defined her family’s history.
Where The Irish Family Secret truly shines is in its exploration of themes like identity, guilt, and redemption. O’Shea doesn’t shy away from the darker corners of family dynamics, exposing how secrets, even when well-intentioned, can cause irreparable harm. Yet, the novel also leaves room for hope and reconciliation, offering a nuanced view of how families can both wound and heal.

The Irish Family Secret is the third in the Emerald Isles series by Daisy O’Shea. Each book is a stand-alone story connected by the location of Roone Bay in Cork. I have adored this series so far and this new story proved to be another fantastic read with strong central characters, an engaging plot with a mystery at its centre and the history and heritage of Ireland is brought to life through rich and engrossing writing. Daisy O’Shea is a real talent and I love how she is bringing the culture of Ireland to the fore in these wonderful stories. I do hope she continues to write many more books in this series as I know I won’t grow tired of them at all.

The prologue takes us back to 1923 to the O’Brien family farm which is more or less a rocky outcrop with land not much good for farming but still they persist. Neighbouring farmer William Savage barges into the O’Brien household.He is on the warpath. His daughter Molly has disappeared and he believes young Davan O’Brien to be the root cause. The families never had an easy friendship. In fact it was non existent as there has long been battles over land rights. But this new incident cements the rift between the two families which still exists in the modern day.The reader is then taken forward many years to the more modern day. It’s never actually specified exactly what year or decade it is and nor has it been in previous books. I often wonder has the author ambiguously done this? For I’d love to know the specific date I am reading about. There are lots of little clues as to whether it could be the late 1970’s or early 1980’s as when I am reading I see things and think oh such and such a thing hasn’t already happened in Ireland and is clearly evident from the themes and issues explored in this book that the church very much held a firm grip over society. Not knowing the specific date doesn’t ever detract from my enjoyment or understanding of the story and really it’s inconsequential overall but still there is a little niggle within me that wants the answer.

Ginny Kingston leads a transient lifestyle working as an archaeologist. She has returned to Roone Bay for ten weeks as part of her work cataloguing the old monuments scattered across Ireland and hopes to discover more. I loved this aspect of the storyline as it felt like my history lessons from school were all coming back to me with the mentions of rath’s, fairy forts and souterrains. For people unfamiliar to this aspect of Irish history lots of information is provided but never at any point did it feel like a boring old history lesson. Everything came to life so well and the historical aspect was balanced perfectly with the more human and emotional side of the story that the author was trying to convey in terms of Ginny. How her story bears uncanny resemblances to that of Davan and Molly. The couples story is told in chapters dotted throughout the story which appeared at just the right time. When Ginny discovered something in the present we were taken back and could see how this unfolded in the past. Things were drip fed to the reader but I enjoyed this as I don’t like a rush of information all at once, left towards the end and therefore the climax and ending feel rushed and unsatisfactory. Instead the pacing was spot on throughout.

Ginny is a complex person who left the windswept landscape of Roone Bay under a cloud of suspicion which only entrenched the feud between her family and the O’Briens. She has kept running never wanting to bring forth her feelings to the surface. I could sense that something serious must have occurred in her past but now that she is back are things that were secret for so long about to be exposed or is it best to let sleeping dogs lie? Ginny is an emotional person who is always searching for something as is the norm with her profession. But one wonders will she ever find what she is looking for that will have her become happy and content and no longer filled with this longing and a sense of apprehension? Ginny’s personal history is slowly revealed and the author certainly packs an awful lot into the pages. The countryside, rocky landscape, coast, nature, history , farming, family and love are all themes that feature heavily and are interwoven throughout the plot to perfection.

Ginny goes on a journey and in doing so attempts whether she at first wanted to or not to mend the deep chasm between the two neighbouring families that has stretched down through the decades. She was keen to discover what really happened with regards to Molly and Davan but in doing so she began her own personal reflections. Ruari, one of the sons of the Savage family that currently lived beside their farm, was the man who began to draw Ginny out of herself in ways she had never expected. She could be rigid and uptight and close herself off when she had to get emotional or confront things that she wished to brush under the carpet but her time in Roone became like a reawakening and a journey to acceptance, healing and forgiveness.

Initially, Rauri came across as brash, rude and offensive but his reasons for this soon became clear and I could understand them but deep down there was goodness in his heart and he was willing to share this. But was Ginny willing to accept it given the history between the two families? What they discovered was intriguing and just made the entire story come full circle and I was gripped by every page. Daisy O’Shea really brings her characters and their storylines to life and discusses issues which were very important in Ireland at the time. Those of the role of women, the dominant position of the church and stigma and divorce amongst many others and she does so with sensitivity, fairness and tact.

The Irish Family Secret is another triumph for Daisy O’Shea showing how the past can deeply affect the present but there is always room for hope and forgiveness. I would definitely recommend this book and can’t wait for what the author has in store for us next.

The Irish Family Secret by Daisy O'Shea is the third in a series of stand-alone books set in Roone Bay in picturesque rural Ireland. Immediately, the highly illustrative nature of O'Shea's prose grabs the reader, drawing them into a complex family saga

The beauty of this book, is that it spans generations within the same families, not only reflecting the interaction between the families and the individuals, but also the community in which they live and the deep connection to the land on which they live and nurture

Ginny returns home to Ireland, brought by her work as an archaeologist. She is surrounded by a myriad of secrets, not just that within the families, but her own

The central tenet of the book is resolution between the warring families, but will the age-old secret shatter the tentative truce?

A fantastic read, perfect to cosy up with on a cold day. Riveting and relatable, complex and comforting. Outstanding

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley and Daisy OShea for this lovely ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This was a really good book. I’ve loved reading Daisy’s books set in Roone Bay Ireland. In this one we get an image of the muddy hills and land with a lot of history. Ginny returns home after many years of avoiding it, thanks to her work. Ginny’s story unfurls throughout the book, along with her family history and the feud with the Savages that has gone on for generations.

I like the relationship between Ginny and Rauri. Although in the beginning it seems there’s no hope for them, as Rauri learns more about Ginny’s past and how it intertwines with his family’s, things change.

I hope Daisy writes more books based in Roone Bay in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC of this book.

This dual time story takes us back to Ireland where we follow Ginny Kingston’s return to Roone Bay after an absence of ten tears. We get to know early on in the novel that there are hidden family secrets which if exposed will further strengthen the animosity between two neighbouring families. The Kingstons and the Savages have had some dark moments between them but with Ginny’s return to Roone Bay there may be hope for the future. This heart-warming family saga takes an emotional look at the family history between these two warring families and does so with an evocative look at how things were handled in the past whilst also bringing to life Ginny’s story and her abiding love for Ireland’s archeological past.

The author writes writes well, bringing both place and people alive in the imagination and her descriptions of rural Ireland reflects both the beauty and the history of the country. The Irish Family Secret is now the third book in this Emerald Isle series and whilst there is a mention of one character we have come across in previous novels this story works well as a standalone although as with any overlapping series it is nicer to start at the beginning with book number one.

The Irish Family Secret is an emotional story reflecting how the tragedy and heartbreak of the past can still influence the future but with love, hope and forgiveness future generations can go forward with peace in their hearts.

I dont know how I feel about this book, to be honest it was not my favourite book by this publisher however I enjoyed the narrative of the characters and being set in Ireland that did raise my interest. The characters in this are well rounded however I did find it difficult to distinguish family members of the same sex as they had very similar personality traits. This was the only thing which i struggled with, the character grow was pursued along with the plot line of the novel and it has been open to more in this series. I think this was more of a me issue as I hadn't read the previous books.

Ginny Kingston is an archaeologisT and she needs to go back to her hometown after leaving there for a decade. But there’s a secret that she’s hiding….

This book is not a genre that I normally would read. However, it’s addictive since the beginning. The dramas between the two families. The strong and deep personal feeling of Ginny had been well-presented by the author. The dual time lines worked very well in the book. The book can be read as a standalone.

Many thanks to Netgalley, bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Oct 22, 2024

As part of her job as an archeologist, Ginny returns home to Roone Bay after ten years burdened by a secret that will affect two families: hers and the Savage family. She doesn’t count on the sudden and growing attraction she feels for the handsome Ruari Savage. In this complicated family drama, will all the secrets be revealed? Will there be reconciliation and understanding?

#3 in a stand-alone series set in Roone Bay

Complicated family drama is my favorite as long as it is believable and not too dysfunctional. Forgiveness and reconciliation are often rewarding themes. The drama in this story involves feuding families and two couples: Ginny and Ben ten years ago, and their ancestors Molly and Darvan in the 1920s. The pasts of both couples are revealed through periodic flashbacks (clearly indicated by chapter titles and dates). In the present, will Ginny and Ruari be able to heal decades of hurt and mistrust and bring the two families together?

Secrets propel this story forward and drive much of the action. Secrets from the past and present-day secrets must be bravely exposed for true healing and forgiveness. Sometimes the truth is less destructive than the much-feared secrets.

Because Ginny is an archeologist focusing on preserving Irish history and educating the public on Irish mystical legends and monuments, much time is spent in the beautiful and lush countryside. The author’s vivid descriptive details provide a strong sense of place as a backdrop for this dramatic story. If you love Ireland, you will enjoy this aspect of the story (and series).

***may contain spoilers***
Content Consideration: rape (in the past); unplanned pregnancy; circumstances for unwed pregnant girls; a prison beating; tragic deaths; unwanted affection; mental health

I have read and enjoyed the first two installments in this stand-alone Emerald Isles series set in fictional Roone Bay. This is the first one for which I have written a full review. Because these are stand-alones (connected by location), it is possible to read them in any order. The first one, The Irish Key, provides an introduction to Roone Bay. If you enjoy stories set in Ireland, women’s fiction with substantial themes, and sides of sweet (closed-door) romance, you might consider this well-written series!

Thanks #NetGalley @Bookouture for a complimentary e ARC of #TheIrishFamilySecret upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Ginny Kingston is going back to Roone Bay after being gone for ten years. After a traumatic event in her life, leaving was necessary. She took the time away to try to rebuild her life. She is now returning as an archeologist. While giving a lecture on Irish history, she sees Rauri Savage in the audience. The two families, the Kingston and the Savage, have owned neighboring farms for many, many years. As feuding families, Ginny wants to know the truth as to what the feuds have really been about. This time Rauri and Ginny find themselves on the same side. They both want to uncover the past and mend old wounds, but is the truth going to bring them together or keep them apart?

The Irish Family Secret, written by author Daisy O’Shea is a wonderful time slip story of family, friends and reconciliation. This heartbreaking tale is one that shook me to the core. I was completely engrossed from the very first page to the end. I really liked Ginny as she was a strong and determined person. She was determined to fix her life and then she became an archeologist. She continually makes sacrifices once again to mend family relationships and build new ones. She is kind and compassionate and is full of hope. I absolutely loved this amazing story and I highly recommend this unputdownable rapid read.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this awesome book

it grabs you from the first page and you are not released until the end.... oh my word what a world of emotions i went through with this book

i cant even describe how it touches on everything a woman has to go through during a lifetime and to know that this book spans several generations where the men never seem to learn anything beggars belief....

i am certainly going to be keeping an eye out for more of this authors books

This book was certainly full of surprises! It kinda feels like a long epic saga. At times I felt like it dragged a bit.
It did keep my interest and finished with a bang.
The archeological part of the story was interesting too.

Its lovely to be back in Roone Bay again.
This time the stories of two neighbouring families who for decades have been at war with each other.
Told over two timelines, history appears to repeat itself, but can this be the generation to bring a healing halt to the conflicts?
An enjoyable and easy read.

Interesting mystery story set in Ireland. Two stories connected with two warring families. Good characters but fairly predictable.

A dual time line novel of family secrets and lies that led to a feud. One that Ginny who has just come home for the first time in years is going to comfort head on with the smoldering Ruari, This moves between the 1920s and the sorta present to trace the origins of the animosity between their families. Can these two bury the hatchet? Well first Ginny's got to confess her secret (no spoilers). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good albeit a tad predictable read.

This was really good! I enjoyed the different characters and learning their secrets.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

(rounded up from 3.5 stars)

The Irish Family Secret, by its very title, telescopes what the gist of this story is going to be about. It’s a dual timeline narrative, with the modern story not clearly labeled in time (but I’m thinking maybe the 1970s or so) and the older timeline clearly labeled in the early 1920s. The action all takes place in rural Ireland, in the southwest area around Cork.

The historic portion of the story is basically a Romeo and Juliet tale, with two young lovers and two feuding families. Davan and Molly are the protagonists and their story is both tragic and mysterious. (You eventually find out what happened.) One family name is Savage, a bit too “on the nose.”

The modern story focuses on Ginny Kingston, a descendent of Davan’s family, and Ruari, a descendent of Molly’s family. Ginny is a young archaeologist, specializing in the prehistoric structures found all over Ireland. She has returned home to Roone Bay (a fictional town) after more than 10 years away, to map out the structures remaining in the area. Ruari is a mechanic. There are a lot of family members to keep track of.

The story is a bit predictable but still enjoyable to read. The descriptions of the countryside are wonderful and I learned quite a bit about prehistoric structures (“raths” and “souterrains”) over the course of the book. The author also highlights how badly most unwed mothers were treated in Ireland in the past, a real tragedy.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.