SWEARING ALLEGIANCE (The Carmody Saga Book 1) by Jana Petken
BLURB:
Swearing Allegiance: Part 1 of The Carmody Saga, about love, war, and betrayal, set during the First World War.
April 1916
An Irish Easter uprising
lays waste to Dublin and fractures a British Empire struggling to supply men and arms to defeat Germany.
In Dublin’s ruins, the affluent and celebrated Carmody family are not only forced to confront the rebellion’s devastating effects on their personal lives but also the terrible secrets and lies uncovered in the midst of grief.
Forced to abandon their home in the Irish capital for London, each family member must strive to survive poverty, the horrors of war, and personal bouts with excessive pride and passion – but loyalty to family proves to be the most difficult cross to bear.
Danny, the youngest, is a republican rebel who risks everything to fight for an independent Ireland.
Patrick, a surgeon, swears allegiance to Britain and joins His Majesty’s Royal Navy, which is engaged in tense battles to control the seas.
Jenny, self-entitled and strong willed, sees her wedding plans and grand ambitions disintegrate. With a fiancé incarcerated in a rebel prison camp and no prospects of her own, she faces the unimaginable challenge of working in one of London’s munitions factories.
MY REVIEW:
I picked up this book expecting a fantastic story, and I was not disappointed. The story is so rich in detail and imaginary, I felt as though I was experiencing everything the characters were. The most vivid part was in the trenches, amid the muck and blood, with rotten bodies sticking up through the mire. And when Kevin was reading his letters, I kept praying, please don’t let him get shot. Of course, I’m not going to tell you what happened.
There are a lot of historical events in this story, and they appear to be well researched. I never thought about the fact the women’s suffrage movement started due to WWI. But it makes sense. After earning money for themselves, and making their own decisions how could woman handle being relegated back into their homes, with no say so, and under their husband’s thumbs again? Once a mind-set as changed, it cannot be undone.
On those lines, that is why Jenny is my favorite character in this story, so far. Kevin and Danny come in tied for second. Jenny goes through the most adversity and learns to grow, instead of succumbing to them.
The beginning of the book wasn’t very fast-paced, but it built and built, until I kept checking to see how far I was into the book, as I didn’t want the story to end. But end it must, and now I have to buy the next book, when available. I hope Patrick has more interaction in the next installment, as I really want to see where his life will lead. And then there’s Danny and the Irish Republican Party. How far will he go to chase England out of Ireland?
I really wantedo give this book 5 feathers, but there are just too many proofreading errors, missing words, and duplicate sentences that distracted me from the story. Also, the writing could’ve been a bit tighter as it’s full of filler words like ‘that’ and ‘had’.
This is a book I highly recommend for readers who love WWI historical novels and love –struck romance. I give it 4 feathers.
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