I am such a fan of all the books by Michelle Vernal and this one didn't disappoint. I delved into and felt I was part of this story. A story set in Ireland, 1920's where we find Maudie O’Connor heart-broken, single and pregnant in a world where this was taboo. So when the baby arrives it is quickly taken from her arms. She must find her but she has now been adopted and sent to Savannah, Georgia, USA.

This is a heart-breaking story of the times, of loss, of grief and of Maudie's quest to travel to America to fins her baby. This is such a heart-wrenching and emotional story, a story that will get to you heart and one you won't want to put down as you follow Maudie on her quest to find her daughter. But it is not all sad and there are some wonderful and loving characters in this book including Maudie's sister Nora and her husband.

I love the writing and the way the story draws you in, I love the courage and strength of Maudie and how she never gives up and I just love the mixture of emotions this book evokes. A great story and one I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookoututre for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Michelle is such a good writer. Poor Maudie caught up in the terrible troubles in Ireland in the 1920s. Brutally betrayed she finds herself abandoned by her family and is sent to the horrific Mother and Baby Home. We know now what cruelty was administered in those places but times were very different then.
Eventually Maudie is able to escape and with the kindness of her sister Nora and her husband is able to pursue her quest to find Emer.
My heart broke for Maudie but despite everything she has a resilience which carries her onwards.

I too am pleased to see that Cecilia's story will be told and is coming out this year.
Those poor girls, my heart bled for them in that awful place run by so called religious women who were mostly cruel and heartless.

Thank you Michelle Vernal and Netgalley for the chance to read this heart stopping book.

Such a good read!! I had heard of the Irish Mother & Baby Homes, but I had no clue about any of the details. This book is a heart wrenching fictionalised story of what so many mothers went through, and the lengths that some of them had to go to in order to find and keep their babies.

4 stars out of 5 ⭐️

📆 dual timeline
👀 single/dual/multi POV. 1st/3rd person
🐢 -🐇 slow-/medium-/fast- paced
💬 "I pray over the babies' and their mothers' graves. I don't forget them. Nor does God."

Whilst this is a fictional story, it so easily could be true. Countless babies were stolen from their mothers under the guise of 'it's for the best'. Which of course is debatable. I could probably write an entire essay on that, but it wouldn't be a book review so I won't. I don't know how realistic it is that there would be a helpful nun in a mother and baby home, or if following their child to America was remotely possible, but it made a good story.

The storyline was heartbreaking but also full of love and forgiveness. I really liked Maudie, I thought she, and all the characters, were well rounded and felt real. So many of the characters were intensity likeable too, I think we all need an Auntie Annie!

Overall this was a superb read which was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. A stark reminder of the painful past.

This is a well written historical fiction novel told in dual timelines. The brutal history of the way unmarried pregnant women were treated is hard to read. However, this book documents that history well. As a Catholic myself it is so hard to reconcile the atrocities that were committed in the name of religion.

The book follows Maudie as she is discovered to be pregnant and banished from her family to a Mother & Child Home. The subject matter is very tough as it explores sexual assault, murder, and forced adoptions. The subject matter is handled well as we follow a much older Maudie and her return to Ireland as an older woman.

This is a heartwarming story, though parts are a bit unlikely. There were parts that I also found emotional. Overall, this is a lovely story about a very tough period in history. This is a series so the story of another one of the young girls in the home will be told in an upcoming book.

THE IRISH ADOPTION HOUSE BY MICHELLE VERNAL.
This was a good read. I loved the cover and blurb of this book. The lady in red really stood out. And the saying in the front. A baby is torn from her mother. Will they be reunited? I signed up for this alone. I got into this book straight away. It did take me a few days to read. It was a very heartwarming and emotional read. You definitely need tissues for this book. I definitely recommend this book.

The Irish Adoption house is an emotional and compelling story which served to remind me that in a world where there is cruelty, there is still so much goodness.

I admired Maudie’s character. Despite the punishment inflicted upon her by her parents and the suffering she endured at the hands of the nuns in the Mother and Baby home (an infamous Magdalene Laundry run by the Catholic Church to house ‘fallen women’), Maudie displayed such strength and resilience. She discovered there is nothing stronger or truer than a mother’s love and this fired her determination to find her daughter again.
Maudie is such an endearing character that I could so easily have read and enjoyed more of her life story; those intervening years between 1920 and her return to Ireland in 1985.

The Irish Adoption House is a story where goodness, love and kindness prevail.
Highly recommended and I look forward to book two in this series.

Thank you to Bookouture for a digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story focuses on Ireland, the Catholic church, and the Magdalene Laundries
Maude is head over heels in love with her republican boyfriend. When her boyfriend has to go into hiding, Maudie finds herself pregnant and alone. Considered a ‘fallen woman,’ she has to go to St. Patrick’s mother and baby home. When she discovers that her baby is adopted without her knowledge or permission, she makes plans to reunite with her baby.


This was a great story that focused on Ireland and the Catholic Church in the 20’s. The Magdalene Laundries and the church's role in dealing with pregnant Irish women is heartbreaking and just coming to light. This is a great historical fiction that deals with that era and the heartbreak of being sent off as a ‘fallen woman’ and losing their babies. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.


Thanks to @bookouture, @netgalley, and the author for this arc.

Maudie O’Conner is in love and thought she would soon be married. But when the man she love’s suddenly disappears, she is heartbroken. And then she finds out that she is expecting a baby. She decides to keep the baby but her family send her away and disowns her. She goes into labor, knowing that she will keep her baby and raise her alone. But the nuns take the baby from Maudie’s arms. Maudie treasures the few moments during the day to hold her daughter to feed her. But then the baby is gone, nowhere to be found.

Maudie is determined to find her daughter, and she sneaks out of her room at night and goes to the “records” room. She must find out everything she can about where her daughter is. She finds her file and inside it says the baby was given up for adoption and sent across the ocean to Savannah, Georgia in America. How will Maudie ever find her baby and if she does, will she even get her back?

“The Irish Adoption House,” a captivating tale written by Michelle Vernal, weaves a tapestry of love, hope, and unwavering determination. Maudie, a formidable and driven individual, embarks on a perilous journey to find her long-lost baby, driven by an insatiable desire.

This heart-wrenching and emotionally charged story unfolds at a brisk pace, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Amidst the darkness, a glimmer of hope emerges, inspiring and providing a delightful escape to the enchanting landscapes of Ireland. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone seeking a profound and uplifting reading experience.

What a heartbreaking story. The main character will do everything to find her stolen daughter, even go to the other side of the world. The end is luckily heartwarming.
I enjoyed the journey.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this story.

This was a very moving and emotional story of resilience which had me sobbing in parts. Thank you for the warning in the blurb that I would need tissues - I wish others would do this. Being set in the UK allowed me to connect with the characters that I would not normally do. Yes Ireland and Scotland are not the same however I felt a connection with the culture in a way. This was written in such a way that it has been left open for a sequel and can not wait to see where these characters go next.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Wow wow wow!!!! I read this book in less than twenty-four hours. So gripping, it had me hooked and unable to put it down until I finished the last shocking page!!!!
This is a book that will STAY with you. Maudie lives in Ireland and finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. Her parents ship her off to a convent to deliver her baby. What happens next is gut-wrenching.
I have read some articles about how they treated young, unwed girls in the convents in Ireland. What a horrible stain on the Catholic Church! At the core of this book, it is about a mother’s unwavering love and how a mother will do ANYTHING for her child. I can’t wait for the next book and hope we learn more about Cecilia. Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheIrishAdoptionHouse #MichelleVernal #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetInIreland #BooksSetInSavannah

I reaĺly likedan the idea of the story. And it was an ok read. It just felt to sweet and too easy. It could have been more emotions. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Claire wants to find out about her great-grandads family, especially after her great aunt left her a book depicting her famy tree.
A chance of a lifetime means that she can meet her family and try to find out the truth.

A baby torn from her mother...will they be reunited...?

Life in the 1920s was very different to life as we know it now in the 2020s. But life in 1920s Ireland was a whole different concept that few of us could ever bear imagining. It's not just a case of "how much people got away with" as to it being more how they themselves were raised - that being, it's all they had known. It's hard for us to wrap our heads around that concept today but life was different then - especially if you were a Catholic in Ireland. There is nothing like Catholic guilt to shame one into submission. Added to that was all the unrest that Ireland itself was awash with in their fight for independence from the United Kingdom.

From rural Ireland to Savannah, Georgia, crossing the Atlantic from the 1920s to 1985, we meet Maudie O'Connor in the midst of Ireland's unrest. Her sweetheart Ronan Quinn who along with his family are fighting hard for their country's independence from the British, and if the Black and Tans were anything to go by it's no wonder! Maudie has been in love with Ronan for as long as she could remember - ever since he rescued her from JP Hennessey's cruel teasing of her fiery red hair. But her family have forbidden her from seeing him, though that hasn't stopped her from sneaking out to see him.

When whispers reach her ears of a possible raid, Maudie knows she must warn Ronan at once. But to her own peril and dire consequences. Bruised, battered and muddied, Maudie stumbles into her mam's kitchen before collapsing to the floor. For three days she was awash with fever that kept her in bed. When she recovered, her older sister discovered she was pregnant. But Catholic guilt shamed her when she told her mam who organised for her to be sent to St Patrick's Mother and Baby Home in Dublin, her parents having washed their hands of her completely. She had brought shame to their name.

Life in the Mother and Baby Home was dire. It was cruel and harsh and the only thing that kept Maudie going was the belief that she and Ronan would be reunited to bring their child up together. The nuns in the Home were mostly harsh but one, Sister Louise who at least showed some compassion. But the moment Maudie gave birth, her baby was whisked from her arms. She was allowed to see her and feed her each morning but no more. All babies were bottle fed throughout the day and night.

Then one morning, Maudie arrived at the nursery to nurse baby Emer, as she had named her, to discover her daughter gone. No matter how much she pleaded or cried, the nuns would not disclose where her child had disappeared to. Emer was gone.

But Maudie vowed to do everything in her power to find her baby and be reunited with her, even if it meant scouring the country for her. She creeps downstairs in the middle of the night and locks herself in the Reverend Mother's office, searching her files for any mention of her and her baby. And she finds it. Emer was adopted by an American couple and was now in Savannah, Georgia.

Her own family having disowned her, Maudie decided then and there that she will find her child and she will be reunited with her. Scrambling out the window and without a penny to her name, Maudie makes her way back to the only person she knows and trusts will help her - her older sister Nora. And with Nora's help, she makes her way to America. Her sights set on Savannah and being reunited with her baby.

With all the odds against her, Maudie arrives in Savannah where her new life awaits her. But will she find her baby in this big bustling town? And if she does, will her little girl ever be given back to Maudie?

This was a heartwarming, though often heartbreaking, dual timeline tale spanning the years and continents. I must admit I found the beginning drag a little with so much focus on the RIC, the IRA and Ireland's fight for independence. It was a bloodthirsty time and one I don't particularly relish in reliving in print but it did give background to Maudie's story. The story got more interesting when she was shipped off to the Mother and Baby Home and then her journey to America. It was hard to sympathise with Maudie's family but then that is how it's been penned. Our sympathies lie with Maudie and her predicament for which we see no blame with her but that is not how life was seen in those days particularly those of Irish Catholics, whose roots were buried deep in misguided belief.

Without spoiling anything, this is a heartwarming story with a beautiful ending. I particularly liked the epilogue and the nod to the Carolina wren at the very end. Readers will understand its significance and I thought it was a lovely touch.

And while many may have wished for more about Cecilia, I am pleased to see that Cecilia's story will be told in the second book coming in November this year. I certainly look forward to it.

I would like to thank #MichelleVernal, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheIrishAdoptionHouse in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

A perfect grand easy read, full of heartbreak and joy.
Faithfully depicting the horrific Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, this book immediately takes you on a journey that will make your heart ache for the characters. Told over three timelines and two continents, it is at times predictable, but all the better for it. This is an educational and well-rounded read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and had the added bonus that some of it is set in Rush, Co. Dublin, a place of childhood summer holidays.
Maudie may have escaped the awful St Patrick's Mother and Baby Home, but she left behind friends whose stories I really hope the author might visit in the future.

The Irish Adoption House is a well researched historical fiction novel, written over dual timelines during the 1920's and 1985. Set in Southern Ireland and Savannah, Georgia, it is the tale of Maudie, a young Irish girl who is sent to St Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home when she discovers she is pregnant.
This is a touching story about love, loss, redemption and new beginnings that will hold your attention from the first page to the very last.
4 stars ****

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is pretty good but I feel parts of the storyline were lacking and other parts were too predictable. Overall, a nice story that maybe is a bit far-fetched and wraps things up a little too neatly.

Michelle Vernal’s The Irish Adoption House is the story of an unwed girl who is sent to a convent run by the Catholic Church to deliver her baby and her desperate attempt to locate the child after the Church gives the baby away without the mother knowing. It shines a light on the Catholic Church’s horrific treatment of unwed pregnant girls and women and their babies all in the name of Christianity. It is a great companion to Claire Keegan’s novella Small Things Like These.

What an incredible read! This new historical fiction novel by Michelle Vernal takes a raw and heartbreaking look into the history of Ireland, the Catholic Church, and the Magdalene Laundries. Set in Ireland in the 1920s, readers follow the story of Maudie, a young Irish Catholic woman who has fallen head over heels for her republican lover, Ronan. While violences ensues all around them and Ireland is deep in the throws for its fight for freerom, Maudie and Ronan sneak off to bask in their forbidden love. In a devastating turn of events, Maudie finds herself pregnant and alone, as Ronan is forced into hiding.

This story follows Maudie's experience as a "fallen woman", sent to St. Patrick's Mother and Baby Home where she is to give birth to her child and then relinquish all rights to the Catholic Church. When her child is stolen from right under her nose, Maudie springs into action, devising a plan to reunite with her - despite all of the odds against her. Leaving Ireland behind in the search for her child, Maudie arrives in Savannah, Georgia, where a new life awaits her - even if she doesn't know it yet.

The Irish Adoption House is a well-written, attention-grabbing, page-turner of a novel. It is an excellent choice for lovers of historical fiction, with its alternating timelines having kept me on my toes, yearning to learn about Maudie's fate. I was particularly drawn to Maude's character, as her resilience and strength kept me hooked as I read through this ARC. I was also particularly fond of Nora and - while I won't spoil anything! - I felt such heartwarming adoration for her bravery in risking so much to do what she believed to be right by her sister. My only regret is not learning more about Cecilia - perhaps Vernal will elaborate on her fate in a future novel?

If you're looking for your next historical fiction read, this might just be one to add to your list!

Please note that a review will be posted on Amazon on publication day. I will return to edit my feedback at that time with the link to my review.