A Dance in Donegal: Review

All of her life, Irish-American Moira Doherty has relished her mother's descriptions of Ireland. When her mother dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1920, Moira decides to fulfill her mother's wish that she become the teacher in Ballymann, her home village in Donegal, Ireland.

After an arduous voyage, Moira arrives to a new home and a new job in an ancient country. Though a few locals offer a warm welcome, others are distanced by superstition and suspicion. Rumors about Moira's mother are unspoken in her presence but threaten to derail everything she's journeyed to Ballymann to do. Moira must rely on the kindness of a handful of friends--and the strength of Sean, an unsettlingly handsome thatcher who keeps popping up unannounced--as she seeks to navigate a life she'd never dreamed of . . . but perhaps was meant to live.

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I decided to read A Dance in Donegal because I was intrigued by the Irish setting and the time period of the 1920 civil war—a perfect situation for a gripping historical romance.

Although a little more on the slow side than I expected, Moira and Sean’s romance is sweet, while the story remains authentic to the culture of the Emerald Isle in its rhythm and language. The interspersion of Gaelic and the inclusion of a glossary was a bonus.
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​I would recommend this for fans of Liz Curtis Higgs or Wendy Wilson Spooner.