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Ashes of Dreams
Widowed and caring for her three young boys, her ailing father-in-law, and a horse farm, Amanda Jeffrey opens her home and her heart to an Irish immigrant and his son who are looking for food and shelter in exchange for honest labor. Original.
296 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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39 people want to read
About the author
R.C. Ryan
30 books245 followersNew York Times bestselling author R.C. Ryan has written more than ninety fiction novels, both contemporary and historical. Quite an accomplishment for someone who, after her fifth child started school, gave herself the gift of an hour a day to follow her dream to become a writer.
The Lost, an anthology of stories by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Patricia Gaffney, and R.C. Ryan writing as Ruth Ryan Langan was published in Fall 2009. Ms. Ryan’s story, “The Legacy,” is an exciting tale of intrigue and other-worldly adventure.
In a career spanning more than twenty years, Ms. Ryan has given dozens of radio, television, and print interviews across the country and Canada, and has been quoted in such diverse publications as the Wall Street Journal and Cosmopolitan. She has also appeared on CNN News, as well as Good Morning America.
Also publishes under Ruth Ryan Langan
The Lost, an anthology of stories by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Patricia Gaffney, and R.C. Ryan writing as Ruth Ryan Langan was published in Fall 2009. Ms. Ryan’s story, “The Legacy,” is an exciting tale of intrigue and other-worldly adventure.
In a career spanning more than twenty years, Ms. Ryan has given dozens of radio, television, and print interviews across the country and Canada, and has been quoted in such diverse publications as the Wall Street Journal and Cosmopolitan. She has also appeared on CNN News, as well as Good Morning America.
Also publishes under Ruth Ryan Langan
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 14, 2019
This book really starts on a low note; Amanda Jeffrey is a widow with 3 small boys to rear on a struggling horse farm in Kentucky. While repairing the barn, Amanda’s father-in-law is injured; this leaves Amanda and 3 youngsters to tend to everything.
Riding through the area is Colin Donnelly and his son; Colin is an Irish drifter, looking for work in exchange for meals and a roof over their head at night. The Donnelly family was certainly interesting and had lots of secrets. Mr. Jeffrey is suspicious but Amanda realizes she must have help or the farm will fall down around them.
I thought Amanda was overly-compassionate; her father-in-law was wallowing in self-pity over the loss of his son and his physical injury. Langan portrayed him correctly (although I wanted to box the ears of Mr. Jeffrey); after a son died, fathers often controlled his son’s house/farm, even though the son’s wife was capable of managing things herself.
Mr. Jeffrey owed loyalty to his daughter-in-law for her sacrifices, but he sided with an odious neighbor against Amanda. I agree with other readers, it was obvious who was creating havoc.
I also had a problem with the race leaders; when the incident between the neighbor and the child on the horse happened, the leaders should have taken him aside immediately after the race and put him in jail. They had seen the atrocity and allowed the neighbor his freedom – while deciding not to let him race the next year. This seemed like an awfully light punishment for such a serious incident.
Riding through the area is Colin Donnelly and his son; Colin is an Irish drifter, looking for work in exchange for meals and a roof over their head at night. The Donnelly family was certainly interesting and had lots of secrets. Mr. Jeffrey is suspicious but Amanda realizes she must have help or the farm will fall down around them.
I thought Amanda was overly-compassionate; her father-in-law was wallowing in self-pity over the loss of his son and his physical injury. Langan portrayed him correctly (although I wanted to box the ears of Mr. Jeffrey); after a son died, fathers often controlled his son’s house/farm, even though the son’s wife was capable of managing things herself.
Mr. Jeffrey owed loyalty to his daughter-in-law for her sacrifices, but he sided with an odious neighbor against Amanda. I agree with other readers, it was obvious who was creating havoc.
I also had a problem with the race leaders; when the incident between the neighbor and the child on the horse happened, the leaders should have taken him aside immediately after the race and put him in jail. They had seen the atrocity and allowed the neighbor his freedom – while deciding not to let him race the next year. This seemed like an awfully light punishment for such a serious incident.
November 26, 2010
I read and enjoyed Langan's Duchess of Fifth Avenue (Berkley Sensation), so when I saw this book on the discount table at my local department store, I snapped it up.
Langan has taken tried and true plot devices and still made a fresh story out of them. The story of a widow struggling to hold on to her failing ranch, and a man with a spotty past and wounded soul finding love never felt stale. I also really liked that the children were realistically portrayed. They weren't spoiled brats, nor were they perfect angels who never misbehaved. They felt like real characters. I also really enjoyed that the heroine had truly loved her late husband. So many romance writers either make the first husband a horrible person, or when the heroine falls in love again, she discovers that he was more like a good friend, and wasn't a very good lover, blah, blah, blah. Not the case here. This was a refreshing change from the norm.
So why only three stars? The heroine's father-in-law really set my teeth on edge. By the time I was less than 100 pages in, I wanted to leap into the book and throttle him! He was such a sour, bitter jerk! First off, he acted like the heroine would be committing an unforgiveable sin if she were to find love and marry again. Sorry, buddy, but that's not your decision, and nowhere is it written that a woman who's loved once must mourn forever. Then, he overrules her in front of her children, and she decides to back down, because it would really hurt him if she overruled him. Uhh...it was HER house! Not the father-in-law's. And it was an issue concerning HER child! I know this is a historical novel, but it still drove me nuts. If it were my house, I'd tell him that he has to treat me with basic respect, or he'll find himself without a home to live in, injured or not.
I could understand that the father-in-law felt guilty and useless, knowing that his injury had only added to the heroine's burden, but it just went too far. He was constantly putting everyone down, and never got called up on it. Being elderly or a family member does not give a person the right to be rude and childish.
Okay, rant over! This aspect of the book probably won't bother everyone as much as it bothered me, but it was enough that I couldn't fully enjoy the book. Everytime the father-in-law appeared, he ticked me off. While it added a lot of conflict to the novel, it prevented it from being enjoyable escapist entertainment. And that's really what a romance novel is for. However, I will probably try more books by this author, as she obviously has talent.
Langan has taken tried and true plot devices and still made a fresh story out of them. The story of a widow struggling to hold on to her failing ranch, and a man with a spotty past and wounded soul finding love never felt stale. I also really liked that the children were realistically portrayed. They weren't spoiled brats, nor were they perfect angels who never misbehaved. They felt like real characters. I also really enjoyed that the heroine had truly loved her late husband. So many romance writers either make the first husband a horrible person, or when the heroine falls in love again, she discovers that he was more like a good friend, and wasn't a very good lover, blah, blah, blah. Not the case here. This was a refreshing change from the norm.
So why only three stars? The heroine's father-in-law really set my teeth on edge. By the time I was less than 100 pages in, I wanted to leap into the book and throttle him! He was such a sour, bitter jerk! First off, he acted like the heroine would be committing an unforgiveable sin if she were to find love and marry again. Sorry, buddy, but that's not your decision, and nowhere is it written that a woman who's loved once must mourn forever. Then, he overrules her in front of her children, and she decides to back down, because it would really hurt him if she overruled him. Uhh...it was HER house! Not the father-in-law's. And it was an issue concerning HER child! I know this is a historical novel, but it still drove me nuts. If it were my house, I'd tell him that he has to treat me with basic respect, or he'll find himself without a home to live in, injured or not.
I could understand that the father-in-law felt guilty and useless, knowing that his injury had only added to the heroine's burden, but it just went too far. He was constantly putting everyone down, and never got called up on it. Being elderly or a family member does not give a person the right to be rude and childish.
Okay, rant over! This aspect of the book probably won't bother everyone as much as it bothered me, but it was enough that I couldn't fully enjoy the book. Everytime the father-in-law appeared, he ticked me off. While it added a lot of conflict to the novel, it prevented it from being enjoyable escapist entertainment. And that's really what a romance novel is for. However, I will probably try more books by this author, as she obviously has talent.
August 4, 2009
First off, I love the cover. It's very pretty. The book gets 5 stars from me. Since the death of her husband, Amanda thinks her only duty is to be a mother to her boys and help out with the farm. But she discovers otherwise when a man comes looking for work. In this book we discover many things. We find out what really happened to her late husband and if the man has a son or a daughter.
The characters are great. Since it is set, back in the day, what everyone thinks matters and the word of people you know count more than people you don't know. Those play a big part in the book. Because who they trust might just be someone the shouldn't and vice versa. It's a great book and I recommend it to you all.
The characters are great. Since it is set, back in the day, what everyone thinks matters and the word of people you know count more than people you don't know. Those play a big part in the book. Because who they trust might just be someone the shouldn't and vice versa. It's a great book and I recommend it to you all.
July 30, 2021
Although I'm not changing the rating, upon my second reading I'd give it a 3 because several things our wonderful hero, Cole, does seems totally out of character. His total lack of physical affection towards the daughter he truly loves is beyond compehension. His actions at the very end of the book also makes no sense. In addition, the fact that the actions of our villian is not even suspected throughout the book makes our resilient heroine and her father-in-law look very gullible.
That said, this was a lovely romance with adorable children that made the book
That said, this was a lovely romance with adorable children that made the book
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews