Reviews

What Once Was True by Jean Grainger

chars_cats's review against another edition

3.0

This is an endearing story that I enjoyed throughout despite its flaws.

We have two families, the Keneficks and the Murphy's. The Keneficks were once rich in means but are now just rich by title and arrogance. The Murphy's have worked for the rich family long enough that their children have grown up together, although at a distance.

I liked the message that just because you are rich does not mean you will be happy, in life or with yourself. Lady Kenefick, although she looks down on Dermot, Isabella, and their three daughters, she cannot help but notice the respect and closeness the couple has and how well they reared the girls. She looks at her own family and sees the flaws, her daughter has no respect for her and she even once referred to her deceased husband as a companion, like a dog.

This would have a higher rating, however there are serious editing issues. Many sentences and parts of paragraphs were simply doubled and certain things did not make sense. I still enjoyed the story and characters enough to continue reading even though the writing/editing got in its own way.

lizbeth5's review against another edition

4.0

Formulaic but Diverting

I am not a huge romance fan, but I do love history and stories that involve Ireland. Having it set in World War II sealed the deal for me.
I am reading more racist fare during the pandemic and this book suited that need dxactly.

nikkissaw's review against another edition

3.0

I found the first half of this book slow. It’s an nice story if you want an easy and underwhelming read. The second half was better but I didn’t like how the writer left things open ended throughout the book. You are reading through a particularly dramatic event or scene then all of a sudden the next chapter starts with you having to envision how the previous may have ended. Overall not horrible but not a favorite storyteller of mine either.

asherwood11's review against another edition

4.0

I feel like this book either needed to be shorter or longer. It could have been a shorter straight romance novel, but I think more time could have been taken to really delve into the background of Dermot, etc. Violet also made my head spin, where that arc could have been more fully fleshed out over time. Maybe those things are coming in the second one, I definitely liked this one enough to move onto the sequel.

hudsonpeeps's review against another edition

3.0

I liked it. Fast read. I love books with an Irish setting.

cherylbookcollins's review against another edition

3.0

I wanted to love this book which is the first in a series of two families set in WWII Ireland. It was ok, but I did not fall in love with the characters, not interested in reading on about their story.

purelight11's review against another edition

5.0

Okay, I’d love to see this made into a movie. It has such a cute plot line, and of course the fact that it takes place in Ireland is a big selling factor for me. I read the book in conjunction with the audio version, and I loved listening to it because the reader did such a great job with the different accents. The book was also pretty clean, which I always appreciate. The characters were likable and charming, and I especially liked the character development of Violet toward the end.

mary_r_m's review against another edition

3.0

Audio.
It was a good story, I did finish it.

I just wasn't really absorbed into it. I must not be in the right mindset to really invest in the characters. I would try again in another year or so.

victoria_elena89's review against another edition

3.0

An ok story, but it featured some editing errors and inconsistent plot points, in my opinion. Multiple times in this book there were issues with repeated sentences or paragraphs, with the same lines immediately following one another. I couldn't tell if the author meant it that way, or if they just never caught it during the cut/paste stage of editing, but I've never read a book with such proofreading issues.

The Murphy family was fantastic, Dermot and Isabella and their 3 daughters Eve, Aisling and Kate were well written characters, interesting, dynamic and had depth to them. Lady Kenefick was a laughable, clueless snobby woman, and her change in character at the end of the book was somewhat difficult to believe. The romance between a couple of daughters and their suitors/soon to be husbands were enjoyable stories, but a couple of the plot twists in the book felt like they didn't really have a point, or they didn't further the story. I only started feeling this book when I read about the unexpected death of a main character, but I don't know that it was necessary for the story.

gr8reader's review against another edition

4.0

While there was a bit of predictability here and there, there was a surprise or two.... enjoyed it and actually read the "teaser" chapters of the next installment provided at the end of this one......putting it on my list because, yes, I want to find out how the story continues.
Something of a "lite" story. While it takes place in Ireland (and England) during WWII - a branch of history of that time period that I did not know much about, it somewhat skims the surface.