An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller.In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything… memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.
The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.
As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?
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Raised by a loving grandfather, Anne Gallagher is heartbroken at his death. She follows his last wishes and takes his ashes home to Ireland to spread them on the lough near the home where he’d grown up.
The moment she lands, Anne is overcome by a sense of history and tries to find out more about her grandfather’s life as a child. She has a few photos of her mother, father, and their best friend, Dr. Thomas Smith.
After visiting the graves of past members of her family, Anne rents a boat and heads out on the lough, only to get lost in a sudden fog. Frightened, she calls for help and gets shot by a stranger in a trawler.
When Anne awakens, it is to find herself in the care of a man who looks exactly like the Thomas Smith from her photos and it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it should be.
They can’t forget, they never will, the wind and waves remember Him still.
“Thomas?”
I’d called to him before. I’d screamed his name across the water until I was hoarse and hopeless. But I called to him again. “Thomas?” His name hung precariously in the air, weighty and wishful, before it teetered and fell, sinking like a stone beneath the surface. The lough whispered back with liquid lips, slow and sighing. Tho-mas, Tho-mas, Tho-mas.
HARMON, AMY. WHAT THE WIND KNOWS
This story shines a light on the Easter Rising, a massacre that took place in 1916 and changed Ireland forever.
“I’ve been reading about Ireland—biographies and documentaries and collections and diaries. I’ve been doing research for six months. I have so much information in my head, and I don’t know what to do with it. The history after the 1916 Easter Rising is just a garbled mess of opinions and blame. There’s no consensus.” Eoin laughed, but the sound was brittle and mirthless. “That, my love, is Ireland.”
HARMON, AMY. WHAT THE WIND KNOWS
While the rebellion is a key part of the book, so to is the growing romance between Thomas and Anne- a forbidden love.
Anne is from the future. How can she stay in her mother’s time period, even though it gives her the opportunity to live with her grandfather when he was a child, and Thomas?
When she makes the decision to risk all, outside forces step in to separate her from the life she truly wants.
I can’t imagine all men love their women the way I love Anne. If they did, the streets would be empty, and the fields would grow fallow. Industry would rumble to a halt and markets would tumble as men bowed at the feet of their wives, unable to need or notice anything but her.
HARMON, AMY. WHAT THE WIND KNOWS
I didn’t know much about Ireland’s turbulent history. What I learned is that Irish people are proud of their culture and their land. They are passionate of what they believe in and won’t give up- no matter the odds.
What the Wind Knows is a sweeping saga of love and history that proves where there is hope, there is a chance.
This was a surprisingly touching and rather beautiful time-travel romance set in the early twentieth century during the Irish struggle for independence. Full of history, Irish storytelling, and love across centuries, this is the exact right book to read curled up on a cloudy morning.
I read this book in one night. Beautiful, beautiful story with beautiful words.
Thomas and Anne are amazing characters, and I loved the relationship between the two of them and also the love they have for young Eoin.
Cannot recommend it enough.
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. This book is going to be hard to top for me this year. Beautifully told, strong characters and plot – there was not one thing I would change with it. I was so swept up in the story I found myself losing hours like Anne lost months. Absolutely incredible.
I’ve been a fan of Amy Harmon’s ever since I read The Law of Moses, but haven’t gotten around to reading her more recent historical fiction novels. I just finished two back to back, What the Wind Knows and When the Lost Wander. Both were excellent (no surprise), but I especially loved this book. I love learning something when I read, and Ireland’s troubled history (along with the very touching love story) captivated me. I had a hard time putting this one down.
BEAUTIFUL * ROMANTIC * BREATHTAKING * HEARTWARMING* OUT OF THIS WORLD * FANTASTICAL * EPIC * ‘What the Wind Knows,’ is worth all the superlatives and more!
The story is so clever, so thought provoking, and so intelligently layered with a richly textured narrative that whisked me away to another world in a bygone age. I’m not supposed to like time travel but I absolutely LOVED THIS STORY SO MUCH. Amy Harmon is super talented and breathes life into a theme that authors have to perfect for me to believe in. I am in awe of her craft and found myself totally immersed in her fantastical world that seamlessly transitions to the historical setting of 1921.
This gentle yet extremely profound tale is set in an Irish town with an American heroine at the heart, and a blend of history and fiction that is perfectly enhanced by the blend of realism and ‘make-believe’…. I was completely invested in the main protagonists’ issues and relationships, that of a man and a woman in love, a grandfather and granddaughter, and a father and son, all so beautiful and meaningful in the tapestry of the prose. My mind was blown by the story and I found myself unpicking the hows and whys, the connections, and contemplating the depth of the narrative and thinking about how the story would play out.
‘What the Wind Knows,’ and the characters within the pages provoked feelings and emotion that blossomed in my heart as the story developed. It totally crept up on my senses and made me love everything about it. #5stars+++
Advance copy provided / reviewed voluntarily
At first I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but it drew me in and wouldn’t let go. The writing was beautiful and the story had just the right amount of mystery and magical to be totally engrossing. Some time travel stories leave me confused, but this one was easy to believe. I was worried about how it would end, but it gave me all the feels and I’m so happy that it was such a good experience. I listened to the audio version and it was great! I love listening to Irish accents and the narration was amazing by both Will Damron and Saskia Maarleveld. One of the best books I’ve read this year. I highly recommend! (listen to the audio version for a real treat!)
I’d forgotten how much I love Amy Harmon’s writing style. She has created a mesmerizing, lyrical tale of love and intrigue in the magical setting of Ireland. Starting in modern times, throw in some time travel and suddenly we are in the very politically complex time of 1921 Ireland. I found the plot was very original the way Ms. Harmon looped Anne with her grandfather and Thomas Smith. This is a well written story that I couldn’t stop thinking of for days after and will most certainly be one my 2020 favorites.
I wasn’t sure what I was getting into but as the book progressed, I loved it more and more. Anyone who can pull off a great time-travel story gets my approval!
Harmon’s historical novel blends Irish history (fact) with a beautiful time travel love story (fiction). Unforgettable! Brava, Amy Harmon.
I’d give this book a five star plus if I could. It’s so well done on so many levels. The writing is excellent. And Harmon structured it very well, tying up all the threads into a seamless whole. It’s a beautiful love story—not only the romance between the two main characters at the heart of the story, but also the deep love of friends, of children and parents and grandparents, and through it all an abiding love of Ireland and its people. It has fantastical elements, but it’s also full of factual information about Ireland’s struggle to win its freedom from England in the early 1900’s. It’s a period that I knew only a little about, and I found it fascinating. I highly recommend What the Wind Knows.
WOW, she does it again and again …
After “From Sand and Ash” it took me days to get out of my emotional melancholy and start another book.
“What the Wind Knows” is an overwhelming love story with an epic HEA.
This story is about Ireland, a country that until now I only knew from history lessons and TV, but would love to explore now.
A journey into the history of Ireland and a love story, that has no limits to time differences, not even in a journey through time.
Amy writes about old and “new” times, as if they flow over each other.
When it comes to love in Amys books, there are no limits, no beginning and no end.
The emotions and feelings are so strong, that you have no other choice, than to be sucked into her world.
The book is a roller coaster of action and feelings. You keep drifting between fear and desire. Between grief and joy. Between rage and helplessness.
This book is so interesting that even without being a historian or even being interested in history at all, you just have to love the old Ireland and its history.
Anne Gallagher is an Irishwomen born and raised in America. She only knows Ireland from stories, which her grandfather told her.
When her grandfather died, she decides to take a trip to Ireland, which allows her to have a further look into the history of her family than she could have ever imagine.
She is a successful writer and even with her beautiful mind of fantasy, she would not come up with a story that she is about to experience.
I love the deep thoughtfulness in Amys books, which give You the special feeling of being one with the character for a long time, after finishing reading.
As usual, I will not disclose what is going on in this book!
You have to discover for yourself, so read this book and enjoy.
I definitely enjoyed it very much.
A sweeping, romantic tale, Amy Harmon takes readers on the adventure of a lifetime with What the Wind Knows. Anne Gallagher cannot imagine a life without her grandfather; he’s been her best friend, the man who raised her, the one who encouraged her writing. Eoin has never taken her to Ireland, to the place he once called home, but his dying wish is that she go, that she discovers the truth of their family’s past and that she spread his ashes there. In his last moments he gives her photos and journals, revealing to Anne that she looks so much like her namesake, her great-grandmother Anne. Once in Ireland she finds herself in awe of the country, of those living in the town who still remember, and closer to Eoin. The journals do more than make her feel closer to him, they take her back to the 1920’s, to a time of political revolution and into the arms of the man who Eoin considered his father. At first alarmed, Anne soon adapts to this new life and finds herself falling for the warm, caring Thomas.
“The church just wants my money, but I hope God will take my soul. What’s left of me belongs in Ireland.”
Present and past Ireland mold into one as Amy Harmon takes readers through the foggy lough and into the beautiful estate of Eoin’s youth. A magical story of time travel, family, and love, What the Wind Knows is one of the most incredible historical romances I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I was immediately caught up in this tale, my own feet placed into the shoes of Anne’s as she awoke to a world she didn’t recognize. I too felt her resistance to accept her fate, her discomfort at the clothing of the past, her frustration as other’s expressed anger and disbelief at her arrival. I also felt her joy as she grasped the opportunity to know a young Eoin, the butterflies as Thomas captured her heart, and her shock when she realized how vital her trip to the past is to the future of Ireland.
“Don’t go near the water, love, the lough will take you far from me.”
What the Wind Knows isn’t your typical historical romance, nor is it your typical fantasy time travel. Anne’s trip to the 1920s takes her back into a time of upheaval, distrust, and suffering. Anne must quickly act the part of the previous Anne Gallagher, despite not knowing what happened to her. With the journals missing, Anne learns quickly to dress and act the part and discovers that she must ensure certain events happen properly. Her romance with Thomas isn’t the sole focus of the novel, though their coming together is certainly the cherry on top. He is a doctor who is at the center of a group hoping for political change, he isn’t young and classically handsome, but he is honest and caring. Anne soon believes in a free Ireland as well, becoming the constant companion to Thomas as they travel to Dublin. I loved how facts mixed with fiction in this novel, Amy really makes the setting, the suspense, the romance come to life.
“I told you. You told me. Only the wind knows which truly comes first.”
What the Wind Knows is easily one of my Top 10 for 2019, I so loved the adventure Amy Harmon took us on. The story is romantic and unexpected, a truly beautiful story that I read, with tears dripping down my cheeks, in just one sitting. I highly recommend this fascinating story to historical romance fans and those who love a well-done time travel novel.
I have to one-click every thing Amy Harmon writes and she never ever disappoints. Beautiful and outstanding!
A breathtaking, magical, historical journey that should be read and enjoyed by all readers!
History has never been my favorite but when written by Author Amy Harmon I can not get enough. This author has a magical talent for taking me back in time to places I’ve never been and making me feel the experience deeply and completely, as if I lived them right along with her beautiful characters. I now yearn to visit Ireland and if that visit ever happens I know I’ll be picturing Anne, Thomas, and Eoin right there with me!
Thanks for another beautiful mesmerizing story that took me on an incredible journey while still in my comfy reading chair!!
Amy remains one of my all time favorite authors. This story is still haunting me a week later. She’s left a “thumbprint” on my soul. Read it…you’ll understand.
4* Timeless Stars
This was my first time travel read and it took some time for me to focus but once I got familiar with it I was so caught up in this magical story. It begins in the present, 2001 in Manhattan and then travels into the past of the 1920’s era in warring Ireland.
This is a historical romance, which is part fiction and part fact. The author’s writing was beautiful and the story flowed well. The love story of Anne and Thomas was tender and emotional. The relationship between Anne and Eoin was so heartfelt and realistic.
This story was full of love and hope and you will fall in love with the interesting characters on their journey.
I loved the way the book ended, this was a lovely surprise.
Book read in common reading with instagram subscribers.
The story takes place in 2001 in New-York where Anne Gallagher goes from Brooklin to Dromahair in the north of Ireland to respect the last wishes of her beloved grandfather to scatter the ashes of her grandfather on his birthplace.
In the middle of the lake she finds herself in the middle of a fog where she bids farewell to her grandfather and there the shock….Anne is going to find herself in 1921 on the domain of her ancestors, they all think that she is the great grandmother who disappeared during the Insurrection of 1915. She will thus find herself in the middle of the Irish civil war. She will have to adapt to this time. She will be confronted between wanting to find her life of before and this famous freedom which she has at this moment. Will she find her place?
I was immediately hooked on the story, so gripping, moving at times, captivating, addictive, full of intrigue, suspense and twists and turns with very endearing characters. I can’t wait to discover other books by this author, I love her so addictive writing.
If you like time travel books this one is for you. The author does a very good job with combiining two different times. She goes into interesting details about the clothing of a century past while showing how the heroine manages to deal with the differences in both clothing and manners. Dialogue is well developed and entertaining. Details about the history of Ireland is well researched. The ending is very surprising and you may want to reread chapter one before you read the last two chapters.
What a beautiful story with characters so engrossing I will remember and think about them often. The Audible narration is exceptionally done. Highly recommended.