Raven of the Sea

The O'Brien Tales, Book 1

De: Stacey Reynolds

Narrado por: Justine Eyre

Against the backdrop of windswept, coastal Ireland, two people are brought together under unlikely circumstances, one scarred by tragedy, the other by betrayal.

Branna O’Mara never expected to be orphaned at the age of 23. When she lost her father, Major Brian O’Mara, USMC in the Second Battle of Fallujah, she thought she’d taken the worst life had to give. She never imagined she would lose her mother to cancer six years later.

The life of a military child prepared her for the challenges of relocating, but for the first time, she’d be doing it alone. Where do you go when you’re the last man standing? The solution came to her when she received an email with a real estate listing in County Clare, Ireland. Having inherited her parents’ rental properties, she knew the value of a diamond in the rough. A secluded cottage in the land of her ancestors was just the fresh start she needed. What she wasn’t prepared for was another buyer, after the deal had been struck. As she becomes intertwined with the people, the music, and the spirit of the small town, she understands that she’s finally found somewhere to belong. Michael O’Brien and the entire O’Brien clan are a force to be reckoned with, but she will not allow them to take her new home.

Michael O’Brien is a local hero and rescue swimmer for the Irish Coast Guard. He has lived in the small coastal village of Doolin, in County Clare, all of his life. Emerging from the ashes of a failed marriage, and living with his parents, is not where he expected to be at the age of 29. All he really wants is to buy the local Kelly cottage, fix it up, and live in peace. After two years on the market, he never imagined there would be a competing bidder. He certainly didn’t expect some little yank to swoop in to town and try to buy it right out from under him. He finds himself drawn into an unlikely battle with a fiery, young American woman, neither of them willing to bend. But as her secrets unravel and the woman is revealed, will he be able to push her out of the cottage, the town, and out of his life?

Recommended for mature listeners due to some explicit language and adult sexual content.

©2021 Stacey Reynolds (P)2021 Podium Audio

Great recommendation for the Soul!

This was recommended by my Audible rep. This book made me laugh, cry, and forgive my own personal faults. I love this book!

binged this book

I looooved this book, of course only the first book is free, thats where they get you sadly.

Sweet Listen

Loved it all as I was much in need of a gentle romantic story - steamy in parts! - and idyllic scene setting of Ireland and large family life.

Love scenes

Could have been a few less detailed after the first 2 but the story was great!

Magical Fun

It was magical fun to go into the Irish world. Even though I could not hear the singing, I felt like I was in the pub watching it .

Enthralling

I couldn't put it down, cried through the last several chapters. Look forward to the next books.

Loved it!

Especially loved the vivid description of the countryside. But maybe a little too much describing physical attributes of characters over and over.

Great book

Loved it. It was a wonderful story of family and love
Can’t wait to istem to book 2

A Great Listen

This is the first book I’ve listened to by Stacey Reynolds and it was a delightful experience. The story itself was easy to follow even through many twists and turns and a myriad of characters. Michael was a wonderful main male character who is portrayed as accomplished in his work life and his community life but suffering from the experience of a failed marriage. Branna is also an accomplished young woman but running away from life itself by relocating from the US to Ireland to search for peace of mind due to the deaths of her dad and mom over the past seven years. Losing her dad to war at 16 years of age was bad enough but then to lose her mom to breast cancer at 22 takes a emotional toll she cannot handle. She is running away. When Michael and Branna meet there are immediate fireworks but as they get to know one another, fireworks of a different type start. But through it all, both of them have the support of Michael’s extended family, 5 siblings plus his mom and dad. It becomes very interesting when there are so many personalities putting in their 2 cents.
The narrator, Justine Eyre, has never been one of my favorite performers. You have to get used to her voice and increase the speed of the reading to get through her performance. With this book, either by slurred or misreading of the script it sounded as though she frequently got her pronouns confused. Quite often it sounded like she referred to Michael and his male family with female pronouns and also she referred to Branna and the other women with male pronouns. It could get very confusing!

Fabulously written and Narrated

This book was so good I could not put it down! I am so happy to know there are many more in the series. I felt like was in Ireland and I have never been there! Superb writing.