"The Boatman's Wife" came out just last month and I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy through @netgalley and @bookouture.
This incredibly moving and atmospheric story is told by a dual narrative and is set in different decades and locations but eventually the stories come together. Both settings, the East Coast of the US and Western Ireland , really spoke to me. The author describes each place in such detail, adding so much feel and drama to the story. There are many layers to the story as well and it was both interesting and shocking to learn more about the history of the Troubles and the effect it had on the people living on the borders of Northern Ireland.
I sympathised with all characters, despite not understanding some of the choices they made. 
Think this book would be a great one to discuss in a book club and it's certainly a story that will stay with me for a long time. 

Synopsis:
Lily loves the coastal town of Rockland, Maine, where she grew up. She's even more passionate about her job as a lobster fisher working alongside her father on his boat.
Having earned the respect of all the fishermen Lily is regarded one of the guys. And although that's how she likes it, she's also secretly longing for true love.
When she meets the Irish Conner behind the bar of her local den it's love at first sight. Soon their romance begins, but after only one year of marriage, tragedy strikes, leaving Lily widowed at just 23.
Devastated an angry about the circumstances at which Connor lost his life she doesn't know what to with herself or who to turn to. When searching for the contact details of Conner's Irish grandmother and only known relative, Lily finds a very disturbing e-mail in his inbox. The sender warns Connor not to set foot in his hometown of Mullaghmore ever again or he will be killed.
Shocked an confused Lilly is determined to travel to Ireland in an attempt to find out more about het husband's past and the secrets he kept from her. Soon after she set foot on Irish soil Lily finds that the people of Mullaghmore shut down whenever she mentions her husband's name which only fuels her determination to get to the bottom of who her husband really was...

Highly recommend this book for everyone who longs to be swept away to the rugged and enchanted coasts of Maine and Ireland for an emotional journey of love, hardship and resilience.

Quick thoughts: hauntingly beautiful, mysterious, page turning. 

My first Noelle Harrison novel and I loved it so much. This book is set around a fishing community and tells the story of Lily who marries her soulmate Connor whose love story tragically falls apart and goes in search of answers . It's so true ,be careful what you wish for and along the way I wanted to paint Connor as the bad guy but wasn't I just wrong.I enjoyed this book so much and it touched on family,love,grief and compassion. I highly recommend this book to anyone as it reminds you of the beauty of friendship and if you need an awesome reason to read it,it's set in a fishing town. The plot was bonkers in a good way,characters too awesome and the cover gorgeous

I love Ireland and whenever I see a book based there, I have to read it. This one did not disappoint. This is the story of Lily and Conner, soulmates. Conner made his living ion the sea and one day a storm raged in the Atlantic and he didn’t make it home. Lily is heartbroken and three years later plans a memorial for him. She finds a message to Conner that shocks her and now p she wonders if her marriage to Conner was all a lie.  

I loved this story from the minute I began reading it. It is a story if love, loss and hope. It was fantastic and gripped me from the very first page! I highly recommend this book and suggest that you read it on a day when you have nothing else to do because you won’t be able to put it down until you finish it!

The story is told via a dual timeline told from the POV of newly widowed American Lily, who finds a threatening email on his computer and realises her husband may have a history she knows nothing about, and Irish Niamh, who comes of age during an active period of the Troubles and becomes involved in the cause. 

Niamh felt real and more fleshed out as a person, and the conflict over the border was very well told. The choices made and actions taken felt authentic and I could feel the ever-present undercurrent of danger that her situation put her in.  In contrast, where I should have been feeling Lily's anguish over becoming a very young widow and the tensions it caused within her family, I never quite warmed to her or felt any of that anguish. 

This was a good story and I did enjoy it, but I definitely found myself enjoying Niamh's parts more than Lily's. I liked the ending.

Oh my goodness what a brilliant book it had everything love, tragedy and even a bit of what happened in Ireland during the troubles.

We are in the present where Lily falls in love with Connor who is from Ireland.  We also deal with the problems in Ireland and go back to the 1990’s when it was bad.

Things happen and Lily goes to Ireland to seek out Connor’s Grandmother and Lily wants to find out more about Connor as he never really talked about his life in Ireland.

It was an happy and sad book in places.  We also deal with what happened a wee bit in Ireland about independence and how it effects Connor’s family.

I could not put this book down and would have read it continuously if life hadn’t got in the way.  I would recommend it.

This was a dual timeline story that had my emotions all over the place. The story of Lily and Connor is set in Maine in 2017. Lily works on her dad’s lobster boat and is beginning to want more. She meets Connor who is working at the local bar where the men and Lily go to have a beer before heading home. There is an immediate attraction between them and within a few months they get married. Three years later, Connor is dead, drowned in a storm that should have sent her father and his crew home, but he made the decision to stay out too long. Lily, dealing with her loss and her anger at her father, heads to Ireland to try and find Connor’s grandmother and why he didn’t want her to know anything about his past.

The second timeline is the story of Niamh. She has gotten herself involved in the IRA in the 1990s. She is recruited by her second cousin, Brendan, and when she tries to get out, finds out that it isn’t possible. As well there is a romance between Niamh and an American who is working as an apprentice boatbuilder in her town. Lily finds out a lot more than she had planned when she ends up in Connor’s home village in Ireland.

I visited Ireland a few years ago and signed my name on one of the “Peace” walls in Belfast. I also went on a walking tour and learned a bit about the Irish Conflict, but not a lot. This story gave me a look through the eyes of the people who lived through it and how it effected their lives. Then there were the beautiful settings that were described in Noelle Harrison’s wonderful prose. I could picture the beaches and feel the terror of the storms. The story of Lily’s journey to find out more about Connor and to meet his family was interesting and emotional. There were a lot of secrets and lies that she had to make her way through.

This is the first Noelle Harrison novel I’ve read, and it will not be the last. I enjoy dual timeline stories and this one had me trying to work out the connection between them. I thought I knew, but there was just enough doubt that I wasn’t positive until the end. There was some intrigue, what happened to Niamh that when this was revealed I was surprised. Overall, a very enjoyable story that I recommend to those who enjoy historical fiction with some romance and intrigue, as well as those who enjoy dual timeline stories

This captivating story takes us from one fishing community in Maine, USA to another on the west coast of Ireland, Mullaghomore. What binds these two places besides the sea?

Told in two different times, it is the present day story of Lily, a passionate, sea-faring woman who has been in the lobster fishing business with her father. It’s also the story of Niamh, a young girl living in Ireland in the 1990s.

Though it was Lily who was an intrepid sailor, but it was Connor, ever a reluctant sea-farer who died in a tragic accident. Lily struggles with the loss, her guilt that her husband went in her place and above all anger with her father on whose watch Connor died. She realizes that she knows hardly anything about her husband’s background and family. When she discovers a threatening email to Connor, she decides that she’s going to uncover more about him and his life in Ireland before he met her. More importantly, she wants to meet his grandmother who brought him up.

Niamh, who lives with her mother, is a reluctant participant in the covert operations that formed a part of the Irish civil war. With her mother copping out after the death of her father, the only attention she received was from her cousin Brendan, who drew her into these activities. How she meets and falls in love with a ‘boatman’ and what follows is another tragic and all too real tale of those times.

I loved the two strong female characters – Lily and Niamh (a name I learned is pronounced as nee + iv” or “neev”). What I loved about the book is that there were really no ‘villians’ in it – just people responding to difficult circumstances in different ways.

An absolutely beautiful story of loss, pain, passion, secrets and above all the redemptive power of love and family.

I will certainly be on the look out for more books from Noelle.

The Boatman’s wife is a dual timeline story, following Lily in present day USA, and Niamh in early 90s Ireland.

Lily is in her early 20s when the love of her life, Connor, is lost at sea during a storm. While she tries to come to terms with what happened, she discovers a dark secret about Connor that takes her to his home village in Ireland.

Niamh is also in her early 20s, and lives in a small village in Ireland, close to the border with Northern Ireland. She finds herself caught up in the wrong thing, and is left with some difficult decisions to make.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Ireland and the troubles that have occurred over there. It took me back to my holiday over there, and reminded me about how recently the conflicts occurred. I loved seeing the character development, especially that of Niamh. The book has a very ‘neat’ ending, but was such a great book to read.

The Boatman’s Wife is another fantastic novel from Noelle Harrison. Set in the present day in Maine, USA and the 1990’s in Ireland it tells the story of Lily and Connor who are trying to start a family. When tragedy strikes, Lily travels to Ireland to pass on the news to Connor’s grandmother Rosemary. 

The storyline regularly travels back in time to expand on Connor’s family and his mother’s links to the IRA. This book is brilliantly researched regarding the life of the lobster fishing community in the east coast of the USA and the troubles in Ireland. It’s both a heartbreaking and heartwarming read.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the chance to read an advanced copy of The Boatman's wife by Noelle Harrison. Once I started this book I couldnt put it down. It was a heartbreaking story set in dual timelines. 

When Lily married her soulmate Connor in Maine, she never imagined she’d be planning his memorial just three years later. Connor has been lost at sea in the bleak stormy Atlantic, leaving Lily heartbroken. But as she prepares to say goodbye to Connor for the last time, she is shocked to discover a message to him that he never told her about: Does your wife know who you really are, Connor Fitzgerald? Don’t ever think you can come home. Because if you do, I swear I’ll kill you.  When Lily flies to Ireland to Connor's home to visit his Grandmother and find out his secrets she is met with hostility. Will Lily leave the darkness of the past where it belongs? Or will she risk everything to find out the truth about the man she married.
The dual storyline is interesting. It seems to be two totally different stories, but you know at some point they are going to connect. It was not only a wonderful read, but a chance to revisit Ireland again!

You know when you read a book and it leaves you in an emotional state? The Boatman’s Wife did this to me. The author takes you on a heartbreaking story from Maine to the West coast of Ireland that you can’t put down. I was reading it on the Kindle app on my phone every spare second I got until I finished it! Just to let you know the story is told in a dual format from two badass women in different decades who have ties that you can’t imagine.

The story begins with Lily, in 2017 heartbroken that her beloved Connor is lost in a storm at sea. She blames her dad who was in charge on the fishing boat and finds it hard to forgive him for making her a widow at such a young age in her 20’s. Devastated by grief she begins to hunt for information on his Irish family to let them know what’s happened. Then she finds a strange and threatening email to him warning never to come home to Ireland. Of course strong willed Lily won’t let this lie and sets off to Ireland to find out the truth. She’s met with hostility and told to go home. Eventually she finds out the truth and is more brokenhearted than ever.

The other story line playing out alongside Lily’s is of Niamh’s in the early 1990’s. Niamh’s story is set in Ireland. She falls in love with American Jesse a gorgeous boat builder who is only here for the Summer. Her cousin Brendan isn’t happy about this due to the secrets they are hiding.

I’m in awe of this compelling powerful story. The lead characters tug your emotions all over the place, a beautiful setting told so vividly you will believe you are right there by the water or deep inside the Irish countryside. A magnificent 5 star read for me!

Thanks to Bookoutre and Netgalley for the advance copy.

EXCERPT: Rockland, Maine, 1st November 2017

Does your wife know who you really are, Connor Fitzgerald? I don't want you to even forget not one day goes by when I don't want to get you back for what you did. You're not welcome in Mullaghmore ever again. So, don't ever think you can come home with your new wife. Because if you do, I swear I'll kill you.

ABOUT 'THE BOATMAN'S WIFE': There was some dark secret in this western edge of Ireland that her husband never wanted her to find out. She might never be able to lay his body to rest, but she could gain some kind of closure by finding out who the man she married was.

When Lily married her soulmate Connor, buffeted by the sea spray and wild winds of her coastal homeland in Maine, she never imagined she’d be planning his memorial just three years later. Connor has been lost at sea in the bleak stormy Atlantic, leaving Lily heartbroken.

But as she prepares to say goodbye to Connor for the last time, she is shocked to discover a message to him that he never told her about:

Does your wife know who you really are, Connor Fitzgerald? Don’t ever think you can come home. Because if you do, I swear I’ll kill you.

Unable to bear living in the home she and Connor shared, Lily decides to find out her husband’s secret. She flies to Connor’s home town of Mullaghmore on the west coast of Ireland, a harbour town hugged by golden beaches and emerald-green fields. But when doors are slammed in her face, she begins to realise that she knows nothing about her husband’s past.

Connor’s grandmother, a hermit living on the cliffs of the wild Atlantic, must know the truth about her grandson. But when Lily tries to find her, threatening notes are pushed through her door warning her not to stay. Will Lily leave the darkness of the past where it belongs? Or will she risk everything to find out the truth about the man she married…

MY THOUGHTS: The Boatman's Wife by Noelle Harrison is an interesting story spread across two timelines, 1992 in Mullaghmore, Ireland, and 2017 in Rockland, Maine. It took me most of the book to figure out the connection and solve the mystery, although I did have glimmers of suspicion from time to time. I particularly liked the sections set in Ireland, somehow relating more to Niamh, whose character seemed far more realistic, than Lily, although once Lily gets to Ireland her story and character became more interesting to me.

The Boatman's Wife has an interesting and complicated plot involving family relationships, love, loss, grief, and the Irish 'troubles'.

This is a beautifully written and emotional story, was a full 4 star read for me until almost the very end, which disappointed me. Everything was wrapped up nicely and quickly in pretty paper with a large bow on top. It was just a little too perfect.

So, if you like a dish of warm fuzzies with a side of intrigue and mystery, The Boatman's Wife is ideal. And just for the record, the title has two completely different meanings, both relevant to the story.

⭐⭐⭐.6

#TheBoatmansWife #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: pseudonym: Evie Blake

Born in London, I moved to Ireland in 1991, shortly afterwards setting up the theatre company Aurora. I have written four stage plays, Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife and The Good Sister, and one short film, Blue Void. I have also written extensively on visual art in Ireland, contributing to various journals and artists’ catalogues over the years. I currently live in Bergen in Norway.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Boatman's Wife by Noelle Harrison for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

The Boatman's Wife is a compelling story from Noelle Harrison taking the reader from the fishing communities of Maine to Mullaghmore in the west coast of Ireland. As well as being set in two places, the story also unfolds over two different times, something I always enjoy in a book. In the present day story in Maine, Lily is devastated by the death of her Irish husband Connor in a tragic accident at sea. While trying to find out how to contact his family in Ireland, she discovers a threatening email to Connor warning him never to return to Ireland. She realises that he has been keeping secrets from her and to find out just what those secrets were, she decides to travel to Ireland. In 1990s Ireland, young Niamh has fallen for handsome American visitor Jesse who is working in the local boatyard for the summer. This does not go down well with her cousin Brendan, as both he and Niamh have secrets of their own.

I really enjoyed the dual timeline aspect of the story and seeing how both these strong female characters developed over the course of their individual stories. Niamh was particularly interesting with her involvement in the complicated political situation in the Ireland at the time, a situation she wanted to get out of, but it wasn't all that easy and put herself and her family in great danger. Noelle Harrison wrote so movingly of the grief experienced by Lily following the death of her young husband and of her conviction that he couldn't possibly be any different from the kind and gentle soul she knew him to be. The alternating perspectives made this a really compelling read and I finished each chapter wanting to know more but also keen to move on and find out what was happening to the other woman. I was intrigued to know not only what Connor's secret was but also in what way the two stories were connected. The way Noelle Harrison brought the two together was poignant and uplifting.

The Boatman's Wife is a captivating story of loss and secrets in two very different but beautiful settings. It is also a hopeful story of reconciliation and moving on.  The Boatman's Wife is another compelling and emotional read from Noelle Harrison.

Ok, first things first, make sure you have the tissues handy when reading this book as you will need them! What an emotional journey that Noelle Harrison takes the reader on. I was immediately hooked and so caught up and invested in the story, I could not put it down until I had read that final page.

Lily’s heart is broken after Connor, her husband of just 3 years is lost to her in a storm at sea. As she plans the memorial, she finds a sinister message that he had received but, never shared with her. After reading this, It becomes clear to to Lily that the mystery of exactly where Connor’s body was taken in the storm, is suddenly not the only mystery that she will have to contend with.

The characters have been created so well and I enjoyed getting to know each of them. Told from Lily’s and Niamh’s points of view, their stories filled my mind as they took me from the present in 2017 to early 90’s Ireland through alternating chapters.

It’s coastal setting, that had so me captivated, is also a character in itself and compliments the story so well. Noelle Harrison really does bring it to life, not only beautifully through her writing but, also so vividly. I felt like I was also there, experiencing it all with the characters.

The Boatman’s Wife is a heartbreaking tale of love, loss, family, secrets and revelations. It is so beautifully written and as my first book from Noelle Harrison, was such a great introduction to her work. It was my pleasure to be able to read and review The Boatman’s Wife which I recommend.

Thank you to Noelle Harrison, Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Boatman’s Wife, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

2017: Lily married her Irish love Connor Fitzgerald three years ago and she didn’t know a lot about his family or his past? They live in Maine, Lily comes from a seafaring family and her dad is a lobster fisherman, he owns a boat called the Lily May and she and her cousin Ryan are both members of his crew. Her beloved Connor is lost at sea during a violent storm, somewhere floating in the Atlantic Ocean is his unclaimed body and Lily's absolutely devastated. While planning his memorial she finds a message on his laptop that said “Does your wife know who you really are Connor Fitzgerald and don’t think you can come home. Because if you do, I swear I’ll kill you.”

Lily can’t stand being alone in her little house she shared with Connor, she’s angry at her father for not turning his boat around, not returning to shore when the weather was so bad and she was the one who should have been on the boat instead of her husband. She decides to fly to Ireland and makes her way to Mullaghmore, a beautiful place on the Irish coast and she’s determined to find Connor’s Grandmother Rosemary. Somewhere nearby she lives alone in her cottage and she doesn’t know her Grandson Connor has passed away.
 
None of the locals will talk about Connor; Lily senses they knew him and yet they won’t tell her anything about his family? The Boatman’s Wife has a complicated plot; it’s interesting and full of twists and turns. The dual timeline story is based around Connor’s mother Niamh’s involvement during the 1990’s conflict with Northern Ireland, Rosemary’s Fitzgerald’s terrible struggle with depression, Connor’s troubled teenage years, Connor being lost at sea and Lily becoming a young widow.

I received a copy of The Boatman’s Wife in exchange for an honest review and I gave the book three stars.

The Boatman’s Wife is a powerful, evocative and richly-imagined standalone domestic drama by Irish author Noëlle Harrison and tells the emotional tale of loss, one family’s long-held secrets, a widow desperate to solve the mystery and discover exactly who her late husband really was, and the enduring bonds of love. It begins in Rockland, Maine on 18th October 2017. Lily had always been a lucky child as evidenced by winning the Lobster Races three years in a row alongside her proud father. Coming from a seafaring family, fishing is all Lily has ever known and this allows her to feel an affinity with the ocean with her father even naming one of his boats after her - calling it Lily May - and unlike most girls her age she loved working as a lobster fisher. Four years ago, in 2013, Lily was just about to hit the milestone age of 21 and beginning to feel lonely and the odd one out in her circle as most of her friends had gotten married and started a family already. On her birthday morning she takes out a rowboat into the lake in the chilly winter air and makes a wish - the wish for a soulmate. The following day she meets Irishman and bartender Connor Fitzgerald and they appear to fall for each other hard - or you could say hook, line and sinker. Now four years later all that remains of him is the cold space in their bed in which he used to sleep. She dredges up memories of their first meeting at Moll’s bar down by the port. But one stormy night Connor goes fishing on the Lily May with Lily's father and never returns. He had fallen overboard in a tragic accident while pulling up lobster traps and suddenly Lily is aware that she won't even have his body in order to lay him to rest.

She's devastated that the long life she had planned for them had been taken from her so cruelly. Feeling as though she wants to maintain some sort of connection with Connor she decides to travel to Connor's hometown of Mullaghmore on the West coast of Ireland to meet the family he hid from her the whole time they were together. What could be so bad to warrant that amount of secrecy? When a terrible secret about him emerges, Lily is forced to question if she ever really knew the man she married. The Boatman’s Wife aims to take you on a journey between two women connected and yet unknown to each other. To Lily in Maine and her life upon the Atlantic Ocean. How it snatches away what she holds most dear. To Niamh, lost in the dark woods of Ireland as she clings on to what she’s always believed in. It is a captivating, deeply emotional and beautifully written tale that features such a substantial mystery that the tension was palpable throughout, and I felt more riveted than I often do when reading a full-on thriller as the urge to know what Connor was hiding was strong in me. There is so much intrigue, a tonne of heartbreak and a plethora of secrets and duplicitous behaviour and the sense of time and place evoked by the stunning descriptions was breathtaking. At the heart of The Boatman’s Wife is the search for what is true, no matter how hard the consequences. From the wild western ocean to the stark Irish boglands, the landscape mirrors our quest, drawing solace from nature. This is a study of sadness through deep loss and of small seeds of hope that pull us through. How this pain can expand our hearts to receive more joy ultimately. To understand love is not finite. Highly recommended.

Well, I'm a bit disappointed in myself for not liking it as much as I should have.

Lily recently lost her husband, Connor, of 3-years in a terrible sea expedition and was left heart-broken. She came home from his memorial to a threatening email sent by his folks from back home, a chapter of his life that she had thus far remained oblivious to. She decided to up and go to Ireland in the hunt for the truth herself and why someone was sending her husband, who she'd known to be a gem of a person, such menacing messages.

The narrative shifts in each chapter between Lily's present and Connor's past as the truth unfolds. Lily has some mourning and forgiving to do, while also trying to understand why Connor has been secretive of his past and Irish roots to her. The overall message from the author is that of forgiveness and letting go of the past so as to welcome a brighter and happier future. 

The plot as such was good with a very positive overall message. However, the writing was not engaging enough. The editing was pretty loose and the actual mystery of the email was not revealed until 70% in, which I felt was too dragged out as it left very little room to explore the aftermath i.e., the broader aforementioned lessons of forgiveness, and so on. It also made me uncomfortable that a 25-year-old Lily addressed her father as "Daddy" and to read winding phrases like, "her daddy, looking at her mother, said..." (why not just say, "Jack [Lily's dad] looked at his wife and said..." instead?) Because the writing was so digressive in places and more dialogue-driven than events/conscience-driven, I found myself feeling apathetic to most things leading up to the mystery reveal.

All in all, the plot is interesting but is let down by the prose. Thanks Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest reveiw.

I married my soulmate so empathizing with Lily when she lost Connor was so easy. How she lost Connor must have been devastating because he was there in her place. However, one can never predict when it’s time to leave this Earth and she had to learn to forgive herself.

I know people are going to love this book! I on the other hand found myself putting it down so many times because it became tedious and I skipped paragraphs. 
The ending was beautiful and so rewarding for Lily and her family.

Good luck and success on the Book.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

When the love of Lily’s life, Connor is lost at sea in a fierce Atlantic storm she’s left utterly devastated. The plans they had made for a life together vanished in an instant. Her grief turns to anguish when she discovers an alarming email he’d received before his death leaving her questioning if she truly knew him. Determined to discover the truth, she embarks on a journey from Maine, USA to Ireland, Connor’s birthplace where she soon discovers he had hidden much of his past from her.

We also follow the life of Niamh in 1990’s Ireland, living with her widowed mum who’s struggling with the grief of losing her husband at a young age. Niamh is a troubled young lady, unsure of her future and torn between loyalty to her family and the memories of her father's death at the hands of The Ulster Defence Association.

The story takes the reader on a beautiful, often heartbreaking, journey. The descriptions of the coastal landscapes of two very different countries on opposite sides of the same ocean are so intense that I could almost feel myself being there, with the Atlantic wind in my face.

This is the first Noelle Harrison novel I’ve read, and it most certainly will not be the last. Dual timeline stories are a favourite of mine, with this one leaving the reader trying to work out the connection between them for quite some time, which just added to the intrigue. I highly recommend this title, it was such a pleasure to read. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy.

An entertaining and well written suspense.  Great plot, believable characters and a great setting.  I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.