Katie Hanrahan

Their doomed love affair became fodder for poets and no less an author than Washington Irving, who put a popular romantic spin on the relationship between Sarah Curran and Robert Emmet.

Bold Robert Emmet, the hero of Ireland, features more prominently in history because he is a man and it's usually the men we read about. The really interesting story is that of Sarah Curran, and Katie Hanrahan has applied a masterful touch to this telling.

Sarah is shown as the offspring of a tyrant whose show more public persona is revered to this day. Using historical documents, the author paints an engrossing picture of a Regency-era woman trying to make the best match possible when her social circle consists of radically liberal thinkers. Her attraction to Robert Emmet grows as much from sentiment as from rebellion as she refuses to abandon the young man when political expediency drives her father to forbid contact with the Emmet family.

Those who know Irish history will find an intriguing view of Emmet's failed rebellion and subsequent refusal to leave Ireland without his beloved Sarah. With the novel told through her eyes, the reader is immersed in her desperate effort to send Emmet on his way before he can be captured and executed. Even more intriguing is the historically accurate depiction of her life after her father essentially throws her under the bus, as they say, when the authorities get too close to his own involvement in the rebellion.

With the romance stripped away, the story follows Sarah's steps to a normal, and socially acceptable, life as a wife and mother. It is a delight to read about a real person, rather than the wilting flower that has come down the ages. With no resources Sarah becomes highly resourceful, putting her life back together before fate once again strikes with cold cruelty.

MERCY FIRST AND LAST is a page-turner that is impossible to put down, a must for fans of historical fiction that provides a new perspective on a well-known event. show less

Sarah Mahon is wrapped up in the sentiments of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but she soon discovers that the American revolution is not going to emancipate the women. Not one to be defeated, the plucky heroine goes about a personal rebellion that puts into motion a host of unintended consequences.

Her determination to marry Jack Ashford, a British officer, is sabotaged by her partisan-leaning family. While Jack wavers between hope for a different outcome and despair that it is show more too late, Sarah struggles to carve out a little independence in a face-saving marriage. The author does a brilliant job of showing how small amounts of liberty can be abused, as the less-than-perfect Sarah falls from grace.

The novel spans the close of the Eighteenth Century, and over the course of the narrative Sarah matures into a woman who has gained a level of freedom that she does not care to relinquish after she is widowed and thus free to marry Jack.

A thoroughly enjoyable work of historical fiction with strong romantic elements, I highly recommend this book. show less

Somehow, I managed to pick up this book and finish reading it but then put it right back on my "to read" bookshelf so I completely forgot how long ago I read it! So the accuracy of the dates of when I read this is quite wrong! I'll just say August 2017 since that's when I re-read and found it again!

For some reason, this book did not stick with me. It was very hard to finish despite being beautifully written. I really, really wanted to like it but I wasn't hooked and I had to put it down show more many times.

This book is a great historical romance/drama for those who are interested in those types of books. I found Katie to be a beautiful descriptive writer despite me not getting hooked into the book. I would definitely suggest this to other readers - it just wasn't a good book for me, personally.

That being said, I did find that this book had pacing issues. Sometimes, this book was absolutely fantastic and moved at a fast pace that made this book super awesome! And then it would slow down to a snail's pace and make it difficult for me to continue on. While the plot itself was fantastic and the characters are extremely well developed, I think with some pace fixing this book could have hit a home run.

Maddie is a strong female lead who could rival some of the big named "blockbuster" leads - like Katniss, Hermione, etc. She is perhaps the best part of this novel, in my opinion.

Overall, this book is a strong contender in the top historical romances I've seen recently. It's a must read for those craving a good, strong female lead with a dash of historical romance in it.

Three out of five stars.


I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. show less

The saga of Sarah Mahon Beauchamp Ashford continues through the life of her daughter, a headstrong girl who finds her way in a foreign land among strangers.

Paralleling the shifting of world powers after the American Revolution, the narrative follows Madeleine Beauchamp's struggle to maintain a little independence in the form of keeping her American-ness while under pressure to conform to British ideals. She takes her battle to her stepfather's door, only to find that the rebellion she starts show more has spun well out of her control.

The relationship that develops between Madeleine and Jack Ashford forms the heart of a touching story, but there are enough historical details in the novel to draw the reader into the past, when America was a gaggle of somewhat united states and England was ruling the waves. Along with the world economy.

Fans of THE LIBERTY FLOWER will not be disappointed in this sequel to the earlier novel. show less