The Orphan's Daughter

By: Sandy Taylor

Narrated by: Aoife McMahon

A heart-wrenching story of love, loss and the power of friendship during unimaginable hardship.

Ireland, 1924. For 13-year-old Nora Doyle every day is a fight for survival in Ballybun, the rural Irish village she calls home. Each night, as she feels the cold wind blowing through the cracks of her family’s cramped cottage, Nora longs to escape the poverty surrounding her and find her place in the world.

When she meets Edward, from the grand house that looms over her tiny village, she feels an unlikely kinship that is impossible to explain, and as she grows from an impulsive child into a beautiful woman, Nora spends every moment she can with him. But Edward holds the key to a devastating truth about Nora’s own family that will change her life forever, leading Nora away from the village, to the bright, dazzling lights of Dublin and the charming baker Joe Lynch.

But sorrow is never far away for an Irish village girl, and when tragedy strikes, Nora must return to Ballybun and face up to the truth that drove her away. There, she faces an impossible choice. Can she deny her roots, or will she always be the girl from Paradise Alley?

©2020 Sandy Taylor (P)2020 Bolinda Publishing

The beauty of the characters. They seemed so real as if they were speaking to me personally.

I loved the story line. It kept my interest throughout the book, and I found that was always thinking of the outcome of the characters

A healing book

Though this isn’t considered a sequel to THE LITTLE ORPHAN GIRL, it is written as one. Nora had two siblings who had interesting birth stories, but no one talked of her birth. When she was 13, her mother took her to England and explained her story which changed the trajectory of her life. Though she had made good friends of a boy in the big house, she left for England to work. Through tragedy, Nora sorts out what is important and fights for her best life. This is partially a healing book dealing with death. Lovely characters-both family and friends. Perfect

Love and heartaches the human way.

Love and heartaches are part of our lives and Sandy Taylor pulls love into you with truth of heart and soul. Thank you.

outstanding

loved this book, follow your heart..loved the wisdom of the grandfather..highly recommend this audio book....

Delightful!

My teenage daughters and I loved this story! The Reader was just excellent! I am giving the story 4 stars because even thought it is a beautiful one certain characters constantly exclaim "Jesus!" I prefer not to here my Lord's name use like that repeatedly all throughout. Overall we enjoyed it very much.

Lively and realistic characters.

Knowing nothing much about Ireland and Irish customs, especially during the books time period, I found the story fascinating and through the writer's words I was transported to a time and place that seemed so very real.

THE PERFECT SEQUEL — BRINGS THE FIRST BOOK FULL CIRCLE…

The description of this book was such gloom and doom, but I didn’t find it to be that way at all. I found this to be a wonderful book full of family, love and friendship.

Was there sadness and tragedy? Yes of course, but the overriding message was family and love.

Aoife McMahon, narrated the first book. She was every bit as fantastic in this book as she was in the first! She has such a pleasing voice and a lovely, soft Irish accent. She brings every single character to life, and her description of the Irish country makes the reader feel as if they are there.

I loved following Nora, Sissy’s infant daughter from the first book, as she grew up. Nora becomes friends with Edward from Breton Hall. They make a “secret garden” on the property of Breton Hall their special meeting place, where they not only grow beautiful flowers, but they grow a beautiful friendship.

Nora feels she must hide her friendship with Edward from her mother, because her mother has forbidden her to have anything to do with ANYONE connected to Breton Hall. When they met, Edward told Nora that his father works as a groom at Breton Hall. Later, Edward confesses he has been lying to her; he is really part of the Breton family. His Aunt Caroline is the same Caroline that used to hate Sissy so much when they were younger.

As the story goes on, much more about the family comes to light. Unhappy and confused, Nora moves to Dublin and begins her adult life working her dream job as a shop girl in a large bookstore. Nora makes good friends there, and she meets a special young man.

After a while, tragedy strikes at home, and Nora returns to Ballybun to help her family. Nora is so confused about where her future is supposed to be. Should she remain in Ballybun with her family or return to Dublin and take a chance with the young man she has feelings for?

This book is written with such feeling. It is very easy to relate to Nora and her confusion — haven’t we all wondered about our place in life and what our future holds as we transition from childhood and the safety of our family as we move into adulthood? Haven’t we all at times felt divided by our obligations and to whom our loyalties should belong?

I enjoyed this book so very much. I highly recommend it. I loved seeing the characters come full circle from the beginning of the first book.

Thank you Ms. Taylor for many happy hours lost in Ireland with these wonderful characters. I can’t wait to discover more of your books!

Love

Read or listen to “The LittleOrphan Girl” first.
Both of these books are amazing. I, unfortunately, finished them way too fast. They are that good.

Superb!

I truly enjoyed this wonderfully narrated book. The story held me captive right from the beginning. I loved the characters and the whole subject matter of this book. It was emotionally satisfying with well-developed characters and even some humor.

Heartwarming!

I loved, loved this book & the other 2 books I’ve read by Sandy Taylor! I also loved the narration by Aiofe McMahon. Her narration is perfect. I will be listening to all of Sandy Taylor’s books & hopefully they will be narrated by Aiofe McMahon. Thank you for the joy these books have brought me.