"An original, intriguing tale about the ways that love can break us or bind us."
–Therese Fowler, author of Souvenir and Reunionread full description
–Therese Fowler, author of Souvenir and Reunion
reviews
Jun 10, 2011
Therese
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I loved writing this book, and I hope that you love reading it.
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Jan 24, 2012
Jackleen
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The Last Will of Moira Leahy is a captivating, haunting debut novel by Therese Walsh. This is a heart wrenching, soul searching story of grief and loss, as the surviving sister, Maeve, tries to reconcile herself to a life without her identical twin, Moira. Normally at this point I would say what genre this novel would fit into, however; The Last Will of Moira Leahy does not fit into any one specific category. Walsh wrote this novel much like knitting a multi-coloured sweater. It is not blue
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Mar 03, 2011
Lolly LKH
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I don't know about this one. I didn't hate it but I didn't LOVE it either. There were mythical elements to this tragic romance, but I wasn't able to really feel the magic of it. The story is about twins,Mauve being a musical prodigy and the other sister Moira, who comes to feel she is in her sister's shadow when a boy comes into the midst of their twin-ship. This novel goes back and forth between the past and present, and there is a strange connection between Mauve and a keris (Javanese dagger
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Feb 08, 2011
Vaughn
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This story opens with a bang, when Maeve Leahy feels strangely compelled to attend an auction, and then to bid on and purchase a Javanese blade called a keris. I was immediately hooked, drawn into Maeve’s suddenly turbulent world.
We quickly glean that something tragic has happened with Maeve’s twin, Moira, and that the keris Maeve has purchased seems—at least to her—to possess a mystical power. The blade and the special bond the twins share both become apt metaphors over the course More...
We quickly glean that something tragic has happened with Maeve’s twin, Moira, and that the keris Maeve has purchased seems—at least to her—to possess a mystical power. The blade and the special bond the twins share both become apt metaphors over the course More...
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Jan 17, 2011
Christi
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"November always lingered, though, crackling under the foot of my memory like dead leaves."
~(from chapter one, Prodigy)
From the very beginning of Therese Walsh's debut novel, readers fall easily into a story of loss, discovery, and healing.
The story takes place in Castine, Maine and in Italy. For reasons I won't mention (no spoilers here; you'll have to read the story), twin sisters - Moira and Maeve Leahy - are torn apart. The loss of that relationship haunts More...
~(from chapter one, Prodigy)
From the very beginning of Therese Walsh's debut novel, readers fall easily into a story of loss, discovery, and healing.
The story takes place in Castine, Maine and in Italy. For reasons I won't mention (no spoilers here; you'll have to read the story), twin sisters - Moira and Maeve Leahy - are torn apart. The loss of that relationship haunts More...
Nov 15, 2010
Megan
rated it: 
Nearly a decade since tragedy stole her twin sister from her, Maeve Leahy is living a cold if functional life. She has drained the color out of her life, and she has buried her emotions in her academic career. "Bring on winter," she states in the opening paragraph; she's not afraid of grief or of cold, but of having to feel. Her life takes a magical turn when she impulsively buys a keris, a Javanese sword, at an auction after fighting an attraction to it: it reminds her of a sword she
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Aug 29, 2010
Donna
rated it:
This is another instance I wish we could do half stars...this book was really more a 3.5 read than a 3. If you liked The Lace Reader or <The Thirteenth Tale</i> you'll like this book.
Maeve Leahy goes into a decade long deep-freeze at the loss of her identical twin sister, Moira. These two sisters had that mystical bond that is peculiar to twins, at least until their 16th year when everything goes horribly wrong.
For the past 10 years Maeve has buried berself in More...
Maeve Leahy goes into a decade long deep-freeze at the loss of her identical twin sister, Moira. These two sisters had that mystical bond that is peculiar to twins, at least until their 16th year when everything goes horribly wrong.
For the past 10 years Maeve has buried berself in More...
Aug 27, 2010
Amy
rated it:
I was wandering around the library the other day and for some reason this book jumped out at me. I'm not sure why. It sounded mysterious and interesting, but it also sounded like female fiction that I'm rarely interested in (ex: Nora Roberts, Nicolas Sparks, Mary Higgins Clark).
It ended up being a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Some of the main themes are about not letting your past hold you back, not letting your role in your family prevent you from pursuing your tal More...
It ended up being a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Some of the main themes are about not letting your past hold you back, not letting your role in your family prevent you from pursuing your tal More...
Feb 24, 2010
Carolyn
rated it:
This book has all the elements I like -- mystery, suspense, family drama, mysticism, and a little romance. It's a real page-turner with lovely writing, a welcome combination. I didn't give it five stars because of a few minor annoyances. I found the main character Maeve's voice to be overly frenetic and disjointed at times. I know this was undoubtedly intentional to convey her psychological distress, but I thought she was a bit overwrought and the narration jumpy. I would have liked more inte
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Oct 19, 2009
Cheryl
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Twin sisters, Moira and Maeve were inseparable. They shared a bond that only twins could share. Though Maeve has the ability to sense when bad things were going to happen to the people she loved. It was almost like she was cursed. I mean...would you want the ability to know that something was going to happen and you may not be able to prevent it.
As Moira and Maeve grew up; Maeve became the popular one that everyone wanted to hang out with. Moira was known as the boring one. Moira de More...
As Moira and Maeve grew up; Maeve became the popular one that everyone wanted to hang out with. Moira was known as the boring one. Moira de More...
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Jun 21, 2010
Sarah
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A story of a young woman navigating the loss of her twin sister years ago, dipped in mysticism and travel. I chose this off the shelf, which is a very rare way for me to choose what to read (good job, cover designer). This kind of feels like a three-star book to me, because I didn't like most of it but what I did like deserves another star. What I didn't like: I felt like I was never allowed to forget that I was reading literature (as opposed to plain old fiction), if that makes sense; the story
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May 02, 2010
Riley
rated it:
I originally bought this because the author is an online friend of mine, but the 5-star rating is 100% genuine from me as a reader. This book is going to stay with me for quite a while, I can tell.
I do think the book takes a little while (50-60 pages?) to settle into itself, but once it does, it really works. The dual narrative structure begins to flow, the twins distinguish themselves (both in the story and in the reader's mind), and the dual mysteries propel you through the story. More...
I do think the book takes a little while (50-60 pages?) to settle into itself, but once it does, it really works. The dual narrative structure begins to flow, the twins distinguish themselves (both in the story and in the reader's mind), and the dual mysteries propel you through the story. More...
May 14, 2010
Amy
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Moira Leahy always struggled growing up in the shadows of her wildly talented and fun-loving twin sister, Maeve. In the fall of their sixteenth year, Moira falls in love with a boy named Ian. What she quickly realizes though is that Ian’s love is meant for Maeve,and once again Moira feels as though she is in Maeve's shadow. Thanks to being identical, she can easily pass herself off as Maeve to receive Ian’s affection. They meet secretly at night and Ian falls deeper and deeper in love with Maev
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Jan 10, 2010
Holly
rated it:
First impressions are great with a cover as beautiful as this. The image is pulled straight from the pages of the book, a very memorable scene that the entire book builds up to.
I started reading The Last Will of Moira Leahy without knowing much about it. I was very quickly swept into the story and found it to be quite engaging.
The story centers around Maeve Leahy who lost her identical twin sister Moira one unfortunate November in their teens. The book splits time equal More...
I started reading The Last Will of Moira Leahy without knowing much about it. I was very quickly swept into the story and found it to be quite engaging.
The story centers around Maeve Leahy who lost her identical twin sister Moira one unfortunate November in their teens. The book splits time equal More...
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Nov 03, 2011
Heather
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What a lovely mix of magic, mysticism, paranormal activity, romance, mystery...There's a ton of "categories" this wonderful story could fall into and yet any description that chooses just one or even two of them would be incomplete. What makes this story work is that the magic/mysticism/paranormal is handed so lightly and elegantly.
Maeve loses her twin, Moira, at age sixteen. Afterwards, she changes - she restrains her love of music, keeps her passionate nature hidden. She More...
Maeve loses her twin, Moira, at age sixteen. Afterwards, she changes - she restrains her love of music, keeps her passionate nature hidden. She More...
Sep 08, 2010
Cydnie
rated it:
This is a book that was hard to classify. I don't often give a book 5 stars, and I usually base my rating on how I feel when I finish the book, and then a few days later. I still feel the same about this one.
When I first saw this book, I assumed the "Last Will.." to be "the last will and testament...", but as you read you discover that it is not a document. It didn't 'catch' me right off, it took a couple of chapters for me to figure our who everyone was and get sett More...
When I first saw this book, I assumed the "Last Will.." to be "the last will and testament...", but as you read you discover that it is not a document. It didn't 'catch' me right off, it took a couple of chapters for me to figure our who everyone was and get sett More...
Aug 30, 2010
Melissa
rated it:
Excellent read. Couldn’t put it down! I can’t remember the last time I left out an audible gasp when reading … but toward the end of this fast-rolling story, it happened multiple times. How? Walsh unveiled details at just the right times throughout the novel, willing me to turn the page until I knew more.
I was drawn in to the “mystery” surrounding two twins, their bond, their loss, and the allure of an item purchased at an auction house. This story plumbs the depths of family love and More...
I was drawn in to the “mystery” surrounding two twins, their bond, their loss, and the allure of an item purchased at an auction house. This story plumbs the depths of family love and More...
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Aug 24, 2010
K.
rated it:
Moira Leahy lived in the shadow of her musically talented and outgoing twin sister, Maeve.
When the older brother of a friend mistakes Moira for Maeve one day, Moira begins a series of deceptions that isolate her from her close bond with Maeve.
Years later, Maeve buys a Javanese knife in an auction on impulse, and digs up memories of her sister, and the tragedy that took her life.
Traveling to Rome to find out the mystery of the knife, Maeve ends up finding out a More...
When the older brother of a friend mistakes Moira for Maeve one day, Moira begins a series of deceptions that isolate her from her close bond with Maeve.
Years later, Maeve buys a Javanese knife in an auction on impulse, and digs up memories of her sister, and the tragedy that took her life.
Traveling to Rome to find out the mystery of the knife, Maeve ends up finding out a More...
Oct 26, 2009
Lydia
rated it:
I had a hard time coming up with a classification for this book. It's fiction, obviously.. but there was this.. I dunno, maybe sci-fi maybe fantasy quality to it. And I think the author was possibly trying for inspirational?
Regardless, there's no doubt it's a page turner. I wanted to know what the outcome would be. I did feel a bit preached at in parts of the book, though. And through the story I ended up with more of a connection to Moira then I did to her sister Maeve, which w More...
Regardless, there's no doubt it's a page turner. I wanted to know what the outcome would be. I did feel a bit preached at in parts of the book, though. And through the story I ended up with more of a connection to Moira then I did to her sister Maeve, which w More...
May 31, 2011
Jan
rated it:
A well written "debut" romantic novel. Twins Moira and Maeve Leahy are very close, lives intertwined, their own language as children, identical in everyway. But something happens (and that is the mystery)and one twin dies and the other twin goes on with her life, but not happily.
This is a story about the power of love, of forgetting what can't be forgotten, of forgiving what can't be forgiven, and of loving when loving does not seem likely.
Grown-up Maeve Leahy a More...
This is a story about the power of love, of forgetting what can't be forgotten, of forgiving what can't be forgiven, and of loving when loving does not seem likely.
Grown-up Maeve Leahy a More...
Jan 12, 2010
Colleen
rated it:
This moving story of twin sisters Moira and Maeve and the ties that bind them together is an excellent debut novel. The story blends seamlessly Maeve's present-day quest to learn more about an antique knife that drew her at a local auction with her memories of sharing a colorful Maine childhood with her twin sister Moira. As Maeve unravels the mystery of the keris so does the reader unravel the truth of what happened between Moira and Maeve, a mystery so devastating it led Maeve to try to suppre
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Feb 15, 2011
Chera
rated it:
I truly enjoyed this story … one of the bond of sisterhood, of twins, the mystic contained within this bond that last … “Even if I die, I’ll be with you for always” … through their efforts to block one another. But the power of the bond is too strong, and can’t keep them from feeling each other's pain. Moira and Maeve, although identical, were different in many ways. Therese Walsh does a terrific job of distinguishing these differences so that we readers can fully feel the emotion within thei
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Dec 20, 2010
Mayara
rated it:
Oh Moira, oh Maeve! So much love, so much hate, such a deep connection...
This review will be a bit off of my normal way, I'm sorry, but I really loved this book. And not just "wha an amazing book" but a strong feeling of caring and loving the characters and what they've achieved, how much they advanced, grown and changed.
I can't think of negative parts or possible issues, so forgive me! Forgive me if you read the book and find the issues that I, so in love, ignored, but my ey More...
This review will be a bit off of my normal way, I'm sorry, but I really loved this book. And not just "wha an amazing book" but a strong feeling of caring and loving the characters and what they've achieved, how much they advanced, grown and changed.
I can't think of negative parts or possible issues, so forgive me! Forgive me if you read the book and find the issues that I, so in love, ignored, but my ey More...
Aug 28, 2010
Brenda
rated it:
This was a very good book. It was a love story wrapped up with a mystery. Maeve was one twin who survived the other she buys this sword (keris)at an auction and this is where the adventure begins. The sword begins to speak to her. She begins to find notes left for her by an empo (one who knows about the keris) at her office at work. She becomes curious and this all leads to an adventurous trip to Rome where she has to deal with the life she once knew. In Rome she meets up with Noel one tha
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Jul 26, 2010
Agatha
rated it:
Decent. Interesting new writer. Good at character development, language. Not a predictable plot, which I appreciated. A bit of gothic fiction, mystery, love, travel, rolled into one. I went with the "magical/mystical" aspect b/c the other parts were compelling enough, but I normally don't love this type of thing. Brief synopsis: a tragedy happens to twins Maeve and Moira when they are growing up and 9 years later, Maeve, the surviving twin, is basically now just surviving, not re
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Sep 29, 2010
Jenny
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This was a very interesting story...Maeve Leahy is a 25 year old who had a twin named Moira. Something tragic happened to her when they were 16 and it has affected every aspect of Maeve's life. We flip from present day to the past in each chapter until the mystery is solved (which isn't until about page 200). It is well written and not confusing at all to follow. There are some great twists and turns throughout the story as well. As Maeve goes on a journey to find a way to accept what has hap
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Oct 26, 2009
Bridget
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Moira and Maeve are twin sisters. Moira's life is taken in a tragic accident and it seems that a piece of Maeve has died with her. Maeve purchases a dagger that reminds her of the time she spent playing with her beloved sister. Maeve decides that it's time to start anew and moves into a new apartment. The dagger holds more power than Maeve could have ever imagined. She soon learns that there are secrets revolving around her sisters death and it's up to her to find the truth.
This is a More...
This is a More...
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May 30, 2011
Bluelily3
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The whole story of the twins Maeve and Moira Leahy was an intriguing read that kept me fascinated. I loved the connection between the sisters, how they knew each other's minds so well. The story of the keris was amazing, how it was the same one from her childhood, and it had been given to her poppy. I love how her sister's spirit dwelt within the keris, and how she (Maeve) finally let it go in the end. Maeve and Noel's relationship was really fun to read about. I loved how they both had a dry se
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Nov 16, 2010
Edie
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Twenty-five-year-old Maeve Leahy is haunted by the tragic accident of her twin sister, Moira, nine years ago. Since then, Maeve, the vibrant twin and saxophone prodigy, has shut down her emotions and shut out the music, leading a lonely and sterile life as a professor of languages in upstate New York. But she can’t resist the call of a keris, a Javanese dagger, that she buys at auction. The keris leads her to Rome, and to danger and romance and a confrontation with the past and the present.
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Sep 11, 2010
Mary
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Maeve Leahy and her twin sister Moira are inseparable until one decides she wants to have what her sister has. This ultimately leads to tragedy but that's only part of the story. This book has an eerie feel at times and goes back and forth between the past and present, which I usually don't appreciate but did like in this book. We needed to see the progression of the twins' relationship and what was drawing Maeve to search for anything about the keris, the Javanese sword that plays a big part in
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