Overall rating and opinion of "House of Eire" by June Gillam

[[Danielle]]

Ii enjoyed reading this book. I loved the intermingling of Irish history and folklore with a good mystery! I loved the relationships in this book, especially Hillary's with her daughter Claire. They were so sweet and honest with each other. The beginning of this book was a little slow. Too much time getting ready to go instead of going and doing. I rated House of Eire 3 it of 4 stars because of the slow take off. I liked to get pulled into a story right away!

I am not normally into murder mysteries but I do enjoy Irish folklore and books that focus on character relationships, so maybe I'll have to give this one a try!

[[Danielle]]

I gave this book 4 our of 4 stars. It wasn’t a perfect read but everything worked out well. It has only one grammar mistake - that I could find. I liked the themes of motherhood, family and heritage mixed with Irish folklore. It fitted well with murder mystery. It took me longer to connect with it which maybe is do to the fact that this is third book in the series. Recommend it to the fans of murder mystery with some myths tales incorporated in it and cast of interesting female characters.

I'm not normally into murder mysteries but I do enjoy Irish folklore and books that focus on character relationships (especially with lots of interesting female characters), so maybe I'll have to give this one a try!

[[Danielle]]

It is a great story, and it includes some interesting history lessons about the country of Ireland. I liked the historical facts included in the story. My favorite line in the book was when Bridget said, “A famine is when there isn’t enough food. ‘A Great Hunger’ is what it really was. Thousands were forced to starve.” Bridget felt like the people of Ireland deserved to know the truth behind the suffering and anguish the country had been through.

I am not normally into murder mysteries but I do enjoy books with historical roots, so maybe I'll have to give this one a try!

[[Danielle]]

I absolutely love Ireland, and the author using this majestic place as a setting for her story is what drew me in.

I recently visited Ireland and adored it! I'm not normally a murder mystery fan, but I'm wondering if this might be a good one to try because of the Irish imagery that I loved so much in real life.

[Abacus]

House of Eire, A Hillary Broome Novel, by June Gillam - June Gillam is a terrific storyteller. I liked the book very much 4 out of 4 stars. The research and descriptive passages about Ireland were fascinating. There was some description of violence about the potato famine which may be too strong for some readers.

[Kelsey Hatch]

I really love the Irish facts and history intertwined with the plot of the story. I also have Irish roots and am dying to visit someday, so the scene descriptions are particularly pleasing. The family dynamics are also interesting, supplemented by strong character development. I actually found the beginning of the book quite intriguing, but I still haven't gotten to the exciting parts. Based on others' comments, I'm not sure if I'll continue reading; however, I do enjoy a "cozy" mystery novel sometimes, especially in stand-alone books that are part of a series.

[ms_vinkel]

I still haven't read this highly rated book. It seems like it has all the elements of good mystery and thriller, a genre I enjoy. I'm still a bit worried of starting in the middle of a series though the official review says it can be a standalone:

Although the book is the third in the series, it does stand on its own.

And, it seems that it's also a good book about Ireland, which made me think of the coming holiday St Patrick's Day; it's a timely pick.

[Susmita Biswas]

Earlier, I thought that this is a ghost story. The cover looked like that. I loved all the suspence. A 4 out of 4 stats for this book.

[raylenejanice]

I just finished reading this book. I really can’t say I’m a big fan. It starts out so slow. I couldn’t really find the mystery in this mystery novel. I knew who was going to be killed way before it happened and knew who the killer was. The only mystery was the discovery of the family secret that was behind the why.

The character of Hillary I found to be self-centered. She repeatedly puts her own wants before everyone else’s. Her allowing her daughter to be alone in the company of people she had recently met after 2 murders is disturbing. I also couldn’t really connect Hillary’s issue about her own mother to this story. It seems that part of the story line is just setting the stage for the next book.

I will give it a 3 out of 4 stars because it is well-edited and I enjoyed the setting of the book. I wouldn’t recommend it to any serious mystery readers. I feel they would be disappointed.

I didn't want to be a party-pooper, particularly when many readers were still reading the book, but I gave it 2 out of 4 stars pretty much for the reasons you mentioned. I have to say that it's not a book I usually read, so I ended up reading it only because some time ago it was free for BOTD and now it's the BOTM. I wouldn't pick it to review it, probably it's not my kind of stuff, so I felt those flaws much more than its merits.

I haven't finished the book yet but count me among the not-a-fan crowd. I really wanted to like this book, but I just can't. The writing is not that great. It's not terrible, but it's not great. I will forever forward refer to airplanes as "winged metal cylinders." That's a pretty sad attempt at avoiding writing "plane" again. Especially when there are so many other words that would have worked better: fuselage, 747, body of the airplane, jet, aircraft, etc.

I like the characters conceptually, but they're so extreme. The main characters especially had me rolling my eyes. I would not want any of them as friends. Bridget is bipolar, and Hillary has generalized anxiety disorder. They're exhausting personalities. The storyline is the best thing about it so far. I'm looking forward to the adventure and resolution.

I think with some tweaks, the book could be pretty good. But so far I can only give it a 2 out of 4 stars.

[raylenejanice]

I enjoyed reading this book. My favorite part was Claire. I loved getting her childish point of view. I found it refreshing. I also liked how she referred to her doll as "Punzey" and called her mother "Maaa." Those were cute details to include about her. My least favorite part of the book was actually Hillary. I found her extremely annoying. Even though I disliked her though, there were enough other characters I liked and the plot moved along quickly. So, I would rate the book 4 out of 4 stars.

Kaylee, I'm glad I'm not the only one who found Hillary to be odd. I liked the less developed characters the most, like Ed and Sarah. From the beginning, Hillary comes across as a basket case. Her daughter is short, so Hillary chooses to "foster pride" in her daughter by making Claire's hair such a big deal. That is just plain weird.

[Jocelyn Eastman]

I enjoyed this book. I liked the build up to the crimes the best! The ending was what I was not a fan of. I gave it 3 out of 4 stars.

[Ruba Abu Ali]

I gave this a 3 out of 4. I really enjoyed how this author had the main character having dreams of her mother, and she uses this as a bit of a string to keep us moving along with that character's development. I also thought the way that the scenes of Ireland were described was great. If the author has never been there, it sure seemed like she has. There were a couple of things that I found slightly off-putting, like leaving Claire alone in a bed sleeping while Hilary knows there is a murderer running loose. Overall, though, by the end, I wanted to read the next one as Hilary's hunt for family history continues. I don't know many people who like cozy mysteries, so I don't know who I would tell to read it, but I will send it out on my social media for others to look into.

I also enjoyed the scenery discription in Ireland, and thought it had a realistic appeal. However, I felt the action came in a bit late, and it took me some time before I got into the story.

[kperm]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting and hooked me from the beginning. I would recommend this book to many readers.

[kperm]

I really love the Irish facts and history intertwined with the plot of the story. I also have Irish roots and am dying to visit someday, so the scene descriptions are particularly pleasing. The family dynamics are also interesting, supplemented by strong character development. I actually found the beginning of the book quite intriguing, but I still haven't gotten to the exciting parts. Based on others' comments, I'm not sure if I'll continue reading; however, I do enjoy a "cozy" mystery novel sometimes, especially in stand-alone books that are part of a series.

I totally agree with you. It was amazing how the author included Irish facts and history in the book.

[kperm]

Ii enjoyed reading this book. I loved the intermingling of Irish history and folklore with a good mystery! I loved the relationships in this book, especially Hillary's with her daughter Claire. They were so sweet and honest with each other. The beginning of this book was a little slow. Too much time getting ready to go instead of going and doing. I rated House of Eire 3 it of 4 stars because of the slow take off. I liked to get pulled into a story right away!

I enjoyed reading about Hillary's relationship with Claire too. I think that the author did a wonderful job developing the relationships in the book.