This book was so beautifully written. The story follows Cara Connelly, a young woman, her brother LIam and his best friend, and hers, Malachy O'Malley during the Troubles in Northern Ireland starting in 1972. There are more characters in their orbit and every one of them is so well drawn that you will remember them for a long time.

I am not sure of the last time I have been so taken with a story. It truly came alive and I cried several times reading this book. I am sure this book will have a great effect on everyone, but not sure if it will be the same for everyone. I am 70 years old and I remember these times. I remember Bloody Sunday and I remember being shocked with all that was taking place in Northern Ireland. Who were the good guys and who were the bad guys? Well, as a Catholic, there really was only one side, the side that England had been dumping on and persecuting for centuries. Things are seldom so cut and dried though and this book shows that perfectly.

Life is difficult in the best of times. Who hasn't experienced betrayals and abandoment and great love and excitement and all that life and death presents to us? This book captures all of that. Do not miss reading this book. You will be better for it.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. It was a privilege.

The Bogside Saints brings the Troubles down to the scale of one young woman watching the people she loves choose very different ways to respond to violence. Cara grows up beside her brother Liam and his best friend Malachy, but by 1972 Liam believes in peaceful protest while Malachy is being pulled toward the IRA. Cara’s camera becomes her way of looking directly at a world that keeps asking everyone to take sides.

I read a lot of historical fiction, but I do not come across nearly as many novels set during the Troubles as I do WWII stories, so that alone made this feel fresh to me. I also liked Cara being a photographer because it gives her a reason to observe events closely while still being personally entangled in them.

The romance matters, but the larger tension comes from knowing that love does not protect anyone from politics, grief, or the consequences of the choices people make when they believe they are fighting for something bigger than themselves.

My sincere thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advance review copy.

The Bogside Saints was such an enjoyable read. It’s difficult to tackle a topic as complex as the Troubles, but this book took it head on. I felt fully immersed in the story and felt the struggles of the characters as they worked through how to navigate their circumstances. They are the kind of characters who stay with you long after you turn the final page. Anyone curious about Irish history and culture should absolutely check this one out!