ARC Book Review and $25 Giveaway: The Haunted Heart of Rory O’Dannon by Delia J. Colvin

 “I’m a sucker for Irish magic and the like, so I’m hooked!”

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~Book Review~

The Haunted Heart of Rory O’Dannon is the first book by Delia J. Colvin that I have read and I got attracted towards it after hearing many rave reviews from my book lover buddies.

Promising an emotion rich romance with a healthy dose of time travel and modern day struggle to finally get a happily-ever-after, this book also has some neat twists.

The title is intriguing and the cover while not that appealing is still captivating enough that it had me wanting to check the book out. The blurb is the best thing amongst the initial trio of title, cover and blurb. It is both attention catching as well as enticing enough to have a reader want to give this book a chance.

The plot is well conceived. Delia gives her story idea an admirable execution but I think given her caliber that I have heard about from so many people, the first few chapters of this story are too slow and often had me feeling irritated and tempted to stop reading. Anyhow, I am happy that I persevered because soon as the heroine travels back in time, the story starts getting rich: story telling wise, emotional play wise and character development wise. The romance that happens in the past between Rory and Megara had me sighing, laughing and then feeling like hitting atleast one of these hard headed characters to make them see how much they loved each other!

The story narration style is simple, fluid and although in the first person, Delia manages to capture the interest of the readers after the initial seven-eight chapters. The characters in the old Ireland part of the story are better developed and felt more real than the modern day characters of Ken and Bets, both of whom just could not justify their stance with me. Ken confused me as a husband and Bets just plain irritated me. She is the heroine’s best friend and yet every time she opened her mouth I felt like hitting her because she just doesn’t have any compassion or understanding that she should have with her best friend. Even Megara of the present seems dull and unreal as compared to the Megara of the past who is more headstrong, passionate and vocal, looking realistic and someone I could connect with. I also felt the absence of character clashes and relationship struggles between the modern day characters at certain points in this book which the story demanded.

The best character of all is Rory. He is strong, loyal and had me feeling empathetic and fan girl style loyal towards him; all the while rooting for his happiness.

The later part of the story is so beautiful that had I stopped after my initial lack of interest, I would have felt extremely sorry to have missed such a beautiful and heartfelt romantic story that had me feeling giddy with happiness and in tears at the same time.

The twists and turns provided by the author are also commendable and had me taken by surprise at times. 

All in all, The Haunted Heart of Rory O’Dannon is a romance that truly blooms in the later part of the book but the wait is well worth it. I enjoyed reading the book and recommend it to all lovers of romance. 3.5 out of 5 to it and I look forward to checking out the other books by the author soon. Had the first part of the story and certain characters been handled better, this would definitely have been a 5 star rated book from me. Anyhow, for now, it is still pretty unique and entertaining and definitely recommended.

I received an ARC from the author and the tour organizers for review and I am very thankful to them. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.

Delia J. Colvin is the International Bestselling author of The Sibylline Trilogy. She authors a popular blog and is listed as a contributor in two business books. She has worked in a variety of occupations from marketing to entrepreneur, Air Traffic Controller and Russian Interpreter. But her passion is in writing and helping people. Delia has donated both time and money to literacy programs around the country.


PERSONAL NOTE From the Author: As much as I enjoy writing, I love hearing from readers even more! It would mean the world to me if you would take a moment to send me an email and say hi. I personally answer all of my emails. Email me at DeliaJColvin@gmail.com

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