“A sweeping historical love story that hits all the marks.” –Publisher’s Weekly starred reviewYour feet will bring you to where your heart is.Ireland 1846. With Ireland ravaged by famine and England unsympathetic to its plight, Kathleen Deacey faces a devastating choice – leave her country to find work or risk dying there. Despising the English for refusing to help Ireland, she crosses the ocean … help Ireland, she crosses the ocean to support her family and search for her missing fiancé.
But when her voyage goes awry, she must accept help from an English whaling captain, Jack Montgomery, who represents everything she despises – and with whom she is reluctantly falling in love. As Kathleen fights to save her family back in Ireland, she finds herself facing yet another devastating choice – remain loyal to her country or follow her heart.
Award-winning author Pamela Ford captures the anguish of a devastating period in Irish history and delivers a historical saga of hope, loyalty, the strength of the human spirit, and the power of love. With more than a half million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is known for creating stories that are emotional and moving.
Gold Medal Winner, IPPY Awards • Finalist, National Readers’ Choice Awards • Finalist, Maggie Awards for Excellence • Finalist, Kindle Book Awards
Praise for To Ride a White Horse:
5 stars. “Expertly drawn characters that stole my heart. The writing is superb…a larger than life novel…captivating, breathtaking.” –A Night’s Dream of Books
5 stars. “Endearing…pulls you in from the first page and never loses momentum.” –Mom in Love with Fiction
5 stars. “I absolutely loved it…it was hard to put down.” –Ms Nose in a Book
5 stars. “So long as there are books this good, I shall continue to shun TV…a hearty recommendation to get this book.” –Gspotsylvania
5 stars. “The story line was riveting, and the characters were fresh, well-developed, and enticing.” –Books and Bindings
5 stars. “I loved To Ride a White Horse…it was written beautifully…I fell in love with Kathleen and Jack.” –Books like Breathing
5 stars. “A page turner…a wonderful story of personal choices, tragedy, kindness, forgiveness, and the power of faith and love!” –Rockin’ Book Reviews
5 stars. “I read the first chapter and was hooked. I didn’t want to stop.” –Every Free Chance blog
”Utterly compelling…I found myself caring about the characters in big ways…unable to put it down.” –Novel Escapes
“Wonderful…Ford writes with a lyrical quality that sweeps you into the story…a lovely story.” –All the Reads
“A superbly crafted romance/adventure novel…highly recommended.” –Midwest Book Review
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To Ride a White Horse begins the Out of Ireland series by Pamela Ford. I had already read the second book, A Rush of White Wings, previously. So, I had the pleasure of learning about some of the characters that were part of this story. I enjoyed that one and I was not at all disappointed with this one. Readers are introduced to Kathleen Deacey in 1846. She and her family are living in devastated Ireland. She is seeking for a new life and find a way to support her family. She, also, wants to get far away from the English as much as possible. They have caused her so much heartache and pain. However, when she is on a ship to cross the ocean to North America, she meets an English captain, Jack Montgomery. The two have undeniable chemistry. I loved Kathleen’s courage to do what is right for herself and was hoping for the best for her. It is a beautiful story that I could not put down.
To Ride a White Horse is getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy historical fiction. I am hoping that there will be a third book from the Out of Ireland series releasing in the near future. I am not ready to say good bye to wonderful these characters.
I received To Ride a White Horse from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
Overwhelming! 6 stars
What a stunning story! Pamela Ford’s book To Ride a White Horse made me go through a series of intense emotions, I cried, hoped, laughed! It’s a breathtaking story of love, hope and courage! I have just discovered a little gem! Since, this story was inspired by actual events, I didn’t know what to expect, what a beautiful surprise!
This novel tells the story of two strong characters, who will play a part, during the Great Famine in Ireland 1846. When Kathleen Deacey’s fiancé doesn’t return from working in the Newfoundland fisheries, she decides to leaving Ireland to find him; she needs to cross the Atlantic, to find work to be able to send money to her family who are living in misery. During her sailing to America, an English whaling captain, Jack Montgomery, will come to her rescue. For Kathleen, an Irish woman cannot fall for an Englishman, she would betray her own country. But things aren’t always as simple as that; a series of events will for ever change Kathleen and Jack’s lives. Beautiful chemistry between the two, their friendship will bloom to love. I found so much tenderness between them.
I spent many hours, turning pages, to know what would happen next. Truly, a beautiful saga of hope, loyalty and love. Pamela Ford is an excellent writer and I’m looking forward to reading her next novel. I highly recommend To Ride a White Horse, a story that will take you on a journey of emotions! The author is very descriptive, so some scenes may be dark, to follow because of the context. I won this book via a GoodReads giveaway and I’m so glad I did! Thank you Pamela Ford for this beautiful historical romance!
I have to say this is one of the finest books I have ever read. Kathleen and her struggles will pull at your heart and stay with you long after the story is over. I do so hope that Ms. Ford writes a sequel to this book. Outstanding!
A must read for anyone of Irish decent, or just wanting to know a little more of history. Also, this was a wonderful, sweet, clean romance. I loved seeing the growth in both Jack and Kathleen, as well as Jack’s grandfather. Ms. Ford did an amazing job of bringing her characters to life. You couldn’t help but love them. I also really appreciate that she did her research, so that her story truly teaches as well as entertains! Be sure to have plenty of Kleenex handy!
I was given this book to judge in a contest, and loved it so much that I had to share a review!
This book was very well written and characters came to life. You felt their lives and the different class distinctions. It also taught abt Irish history and how they were treated in America as immigrants.
This story had such a wonderful ending. It was a fun and easy story to read, I adored both of the main characters, and the small amount of drama that occurred felt very appropriate to the plot. The subject and time period was well-researched and overall it was just a fantastic historical novel. Highly recommend!
Though the love story pulses sweetly throughout To Ride a White Horse, and the author uses time, place and setting to build her story, it is the chapters from 30 to it’s ending that will leave you breathless and remain with you. Ford takes some of the grandest themes in life and literature – love, sacrifice, suffering, survival – and interweaves them so beautifully you will find yourself holding back sobs, or if you’re like me, giving in to them.
I enjoyed this book. It’s a good story without getting bogged down in a lot of detail.
Absolutely the best historical fiction I’ve ever read. Deserves more than 5 stars.
This book is exceptionally written! The story draws you in from the first page and I didn’t want to put it down! You will love this story.
WARNING!!! GRAB TISSUE!!!
Talk about a down and dirty, getting to the nitty gritty and greed of human nature and the will to survive in all its glory. Pam really holds nothing back in this trying time of peril and famine. The rollercoaster of emotions as you follow along with the characters as they struggle. So much heartache and grief to overcome. I don’t know where or how Pam had the courage to even think, much less be able to write, this soul searing read. Man, a few times I was overcome and had to take some deep breaths. Wow! The characters fortitude to persevere was astounding. I’m not sure if there are any words I could use to get the full impact of this one to explain in a few short sentences. Phenomenal job Pam and thank you for sharing.
One of the best I’ve read.
This was a wonderful book. Kept me reading until finished. Could not put it down. I would enjoy more related to this kind of story.
Favorite Quotes:
“The rain had stopped before she boarded the ship and now the clouds were breaking apart, separated by great swaths of blue like God had spilled a bucket of paint and it was pouring down to Earth.”
“She stumbled down to the cabin and threw herself onto the sofa sobbing. She wept for the death of a whale that wouldn’t abandon its calf. She wept for her family, for Danny, for Ireland, for the injustice foisted upon the weak. And she wept for herself, knowing that even as she despised the captain, she must still strike a bargain with him, must use him for her own ends just as he used the calf to catch its mother.”
“Sean knew the moment her spirit left her body, could feel it brush past him on its way beyond. It was not cold as he had always heart, but enveloping, as though Moira had wrapped her arms around him one last time.”
“When you’ve never had much, you come to know what a difference just a little can make. That what is most important is not things – but live itself.”
“’For bedding – not wedding,’ his grandfather said once she was gone. ‘Make sure you know the difference.’”
My Review:
To Ride a White Horse is a considerable departure from my typical genre as I rarely read historical fiction, although I no longer remember exactly why I stopped doing so, as I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book. The premise of the story is a heavy one due to the dire living conditions forcing our protagonist (Kathleen) and many of her Irish countrymen to leave their homes in search of a better life a world away. Despite the heavy subject matter, the story line was riveting, and the characters were fresh, well developed, and enticing, while the narrative was well paced, absorbing, and emotive. Ms. Ford writes with magic ink that the faeries must have infused with their special dust. Her words often squeezed my heart and occasionally brought a sting to my eyes. I knew little about Irish history before picking up this missive, but now have a better understanding of their struggles without feeling as if I were studying or being lectured on the topic. I like learning something while I am being entertained, and imagine, I still recall my mother’s admonitions during my formative years that reading fiction was a waste of time. I was quite taken with the creative introduction of Kathleen’s rescue by the whaling ship – while coming to on the deck and in her delirium of believing herself dead, she fears she is entering hell when with her blurred vision, she witnesses the sweating and shirtless men working on a whale carcass and laboring over the fires for boiling the oil. What genius! I also enjoyed Kathleen’s steadfast beliefs and thoughts of the “Good People.” I had forgotten about the Irish culture being more than a bit mystical with storytelling of faeries, banshees, and other such spirits. This was my first time reading Ms. Ford’s work, but it won’t be the last, my one-click finger is feeling itchy.