A Piece of My Heart (Irish Pride) [ペーパーバック]

"The heart only breaks when love is denied." Mick and Kate haven't seen each other in years but are now thrown together in a manner neither are prepared to handle in a poised style. While Mick's been burying himself in work and in Dublin, Kate has remained in the Irish countryside where she's been working as a nurse and helping to care for Mick's dying parents. When both parents eventually pass away, Mike and Kate are called to Attorney Tighe's office to hear the reading of the will, a revelation absolutely shocking to both. It seems that Mick and Kate have been thrown together whether they like it or not. The question is how do they decide how much they can endure of this new unique situation when being in each other's presence produces instantaneous hormonal fireworks very hard to hide. Their new status tempts them to the limits of their willpower, upsetting the status quo scenarios each has created while also grieving past deep wounds.

Mick pulls back to figure it all out and inadvertently runs into a fellow, Flann Flannery, who seems an answer to Mick's problems. Mick wants to stay in Dublin but needs a manager for the farm he's inherited but can't sell without dire consequences. Flann seems just the right guy for the job and is hired. Only it turns out that Flann is an unsavory character who puts both the farm and Kate's well-being into serious jeopardy and Mick is almost too slow to come to the rescue!

Another twist enters the picture that is about to change Mick and Kate's lives forever. Mick's most recent romance before Kate arrives with a very upsetting announcement which eventually Mick handles with delightful panache that will make the reader roar with laughter. Ah, the tangled webs we weave! But will this web be the end of what seems to be the beginning of a renewed, passionate relationship between Mick and Kate?

Kemberlee Shortland is a pro at depicting numerous romantic moments in a stimulating, unique way that never gets boring or repetitive and evolves to a crescendo experience. The good guy/bad guy scenario unfolds in a credible manner that in turn creates a full-force reaction where one finds Flann or Damean (real name) a totally despicable character and roots for his demise, while eagerly anticipating how Mick and Kate will recover their obviously lost but not forgotten love! Ms. Shortland's style has definitely matured over the last few years, and A Piece of My Heart is terrific romantic/suspense fiction to savor and share with family and friends.

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on November 15, 2009

Set in Ireland, present date. Michael "Mick" Spillane's life is in Dublin. He has no interest in the family farm. But after his father dies, Mick must return to Connemara for the funeral and reading of the will. Mick hopes to simply sell the farm and return to Dublin as quickly as possible. The last thing Mick expects is to learn that his father had added an addendum to his will. Should Mick try to sell the family farm, everything will go to Kate Conneely.

Mick and Kate had been very close as they grew up together. Their friendship had been changing into something much deeper until Kate, at the tender age of fifteen, suddenly found Mick avoiding her. She never understood what had happened to cause the chasm between them. When Mick's mother became ill, Kate gave up her medical career to help the Spillane family. Soon after Mrs. Spillane's death, Mr. Spillane's health went bad. It was Kate who helped keep the farm going. Yet still Kate is caught totally off guard when the addendum is read.

A compromise is reached and Mick hires a manager to live on-site, in a small apartment on the farm, and run the place. Kate agrees to drop by once or twice each week to keep an eye on things. The new manager is not to Kate liking. Can Kate prove to Mick the shady character of his new manager? Can she help Mick realize and come to have pride in his family's land and its history? And most importantly, can she keep her heart from shattering all over again?

***** FIVE STARS! Since this story is set in Ireland, be prepared for a bit of their slang words. There are not many, but if you do not live in the U.K., they may jump out and surprise you. The story caught my interest quickly. At first, I found myself disappointed in Mick's selfish life style and his blindness to the health of his parents. But then I realized that many people move away from their parents' area and begin their own lives. The author's descriptions of Mick knowing of his parents' bad health, but not really believing it, is totally accurate. Kemberlee Shortland has written a heartwarming story that will long remain in my mind. Recommended! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Kate and Mick have loved each other their entire life even during the last 10 years that they have been apart. Their thoughts have often wandered to one another and always with affection and some regret over the love they shared and mysteriously lost. When they are reunited after Mick's father's death the passion and desire that existed in the blush of youth comes roaring back and they are barely able to contain the emotions churning inside. Yet Kate is strong in her conviction that she wants nothing less than love and is rooted in her home town making it clear that she does not see life through the eyes of a love struck child any longer.

But the reunion takes a jolt to both Kate and Mick when during the reading of the will Mick discovers that he must keep the family farm or lose it to Kate. All Mick wants is to go back to Dublin and live out his life and not stay on the farm in this blip of a town in Ireland and with his back against the wall what will he do, stay on the farm or go back to the city. Then a backup plan presents itself in the hiring of a manager to run the farm for him so he can return to his life in the big city and coincidence brings such a man into his life. But the man Mick hires only seems stable to him while everyone else fears this man is up to no good and there is something not right about the whole situation.

After Mick leaves Kate feels the deep loss of him being gone and tries to move on with her life but still her thoughts always veer back to Mick and the life they could have. Kate also hates the man who is managing the land who she believe is not fulfilling his part of the assigned duties and he is mistreating her beloved dog Molly. She pleads repeatedly with Mick to return home but he baulks until a horrific tragedy happens that shocks Mick and then knows it is time to pack up and head home immediately.

Again when Mick and Kate are reunited the sparks start to fly and this time there is nothing that will make them part, or is there? It turns out to be a someone not a something that is trying to stop this bliss they are experiencing and this person has a shocking surprise for both Mick and Kate. Will the torment and torture of this relationship come to a smooth conclusion or is it really over this time and will Kate throw in the towel and say enough already. You need to read the book to find out that answer.

Wonderful story with just enough drama to stir the pot, a touch of tortured past to keep you guessing and more than enough relationship drama with Mick and Kate to make the reader keep hoping. They are wonderful characters whose relationship is explained over time which heightens your interest in knowing more about them and why things are they way they are between them and seriously can they overcome these problems. Quite fetching but there is a bit of sadness that will touch your heart so be prepared for that!

Mary Gramlich is The Reading Reviewer located at [...]