Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Boatman's Wife” as Want to Read:
The Boatman's Wife
by
There was some dark secret in this western edge of Ireland that her husband never wanted her to find out. She might never be able to lay his body to rest, but she could gain some kind of closure by finding out who the man she married was.
When Lily married her soulmate Connor, buffeted by the sea spray and wild winds of her coastal homeland in Maine, she never imagined she’ ...more
When Lily married her soulmate Connor, buffeted by the sea spray and wild winds of her coastal homeland in Maine, she never imagined she’ ...more
Get A Copy
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Boatman's Wife,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The Boatman's Wife
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of The Boatman's Wife
Jan 15, 2021
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice*
rated it
really liked it
EXCERPT: Rockland, Maine, 1st November 2017
Does your wife know who you really are, Connor Fitzgerald? I don't want you to even forget not one day goes by when I don't want to get you back for what you did. You're not welcome in Mullaghmore ever again. So, don't ever think you can come home with your new wife. Because if you do, I swear I'll kill you.
ABOUT 'THE BOATMAN'S WIFE': There was some dark secret in this western edge of Ireland that her husband never wanted her to find out. She might nev ...more
Does your wife know who you really are, Connor Fitzgerald? I don't want you to even forget not one day goes by when I don't want to get you back for what you did. You're not welcome in Mullaghmore ever again. So, don't ever think you can come home with your new wife. Because if you do, I swear I'll kill you.
ABOUT 'THE BOATMAN'S WIFE': There was some dark secret in this western edge of Ireland that her husband never wanted her to find out. She might nev ...more
The Boatman’s Wife is a powerful, evocative and richly-imagined standalone domestic drama by Irish author Noëlle Harrison and tells the emotional tale of loss, one family’s long-held secrets, a widow desperate to solve the mystery and discover exactly who her late husband really was, and the enduring bonds of love. It begins in Rockland, Maine on 18th October 2017. Lily had always been a lucky child as evidenced by winning the Lobster Races three years in a row alongside her proud father. Coming
...more
2017: Lily married her Irish love Connor Fitzgerald three years ago and she didn’t know a lot about his family or his past? They live in Maine, Lily comes from a seafaring family and her dad is a lobster fisherman, he owns a boat called the Lily May and she and her cousin Ryan are both members of his crew. Her beloved Connor is lost at sea during a violent storm, somewhere floating in the Atlantic Ocean is his unclaimed body and Lily's absolutely devastated. While planning his memorial she finds
...more
Publication date : January 14, 2021
Lily was 25 but she often sounded immature and childish. I dislike when author tell about the events, instead of showing us. We are constantly told how good and lucky Lily is but somehow she left me cold. I didn't enjoy dual timelines and narrators. Just when you get into one character's story, you get interrupted. After a while, story started to drag for me and not much seemed to happen. It was okay but I expected much more. ...more
Lily was 25 but she often sounded immature and childish. I dislike when author tell about the events, instead of showing us. We are constantly told how good and lucky Lily is but somehow she left me cold. I didn't enjoy dual timelines and narrators. Just when you get into one character's story, you get interrupted. After a while, story started to drag for me and not much seemed to happen. It was okay but I expected much more. ...more
Ok, first things first, make sure you have the tissues handy when reading this book as you will need them! What an emotional journey that Noelle Harrison takes the reader on. I was immediately hooked and so caught up and invested in the story, I could not put it down until I had read that final page.
Lily’s heart is broken after Connor, her husband of just 3 years is lost to her in a storm at sea. As she plans the memorial, she finds a sinister message that he had received but, never shared with ...more
Lily’s heart is broken after Connor, her husband of just 3 years is lost to her in a storm at sea. As she plans the memorial, she finds a sinister message that he had received but, never shared with ...more
My first Noelle Harrison novel and I loved it so much. This book is set around a fishing community and tells the story of Lily who marries her soulmate Connor whose love story tragically falls apart and goes in search of answers . It's so true ,be careful what you wish for and along the way I wanted to paint Connor as the bad guy but wasn't I just wrong.I enjoyed this book so much and it touched on family,love,grief and compassion. I highly recommend this book to anyone as it reminds you of the
...more
Nov 28, 2020
theliterateleprechaun
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
netgalley
What if the person we love the most in the world is not who we thought they were? Are some secrets unforgivable? Noelle Harrison explores these questions in her dual timeline, ‘The Boatman’s Wife,’ to be published January 14, 2021.
This is an atmospheric novel set in Mullaghmore, on the West Coast of Ireland in 1992 and in Rockland, Maine in 2017. Harrison’s alternating chapters culminate in the most surprising manner and leave you pondering the power of love. You will be captivated by this hist ...more
This is an atmospheric novel set in Mullaghmore, on the West Coast of Ireland in 1992 and in Rockland, Maine in 2017. Harrison’s alternating chapters culminate in the most surprising manner and leave you pondering the power of love. You will be captivated by this hist ...more
Jan 12, 2021
Sharadha Jayaraman
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
netgalley,
arc-reviews
Well, I'm a bit disappointed in myself for not liking it as much as I should have.
Lily recently lost her husband of 3-years, Connor, in a terrible sea expedition and was left heart-broken. She came home from his memorial to a threatening email sent to him by his folks from back home, a chapter of his life that she had thus far remained oblivious to. She decided to up and go to Ireland in the hunt for the truth herself and why someone was sending her husband, who she'd known to be a gem of a p...more
When the love of Lily’s life, Connor is lost at sea in a fierce Atlantic storm she’s left utterly devastated. The plans they had made for a life together vanished in an instant. Her grief turns to anguish when she discovers an alarming email he’d received before his death leaving her questioning if she truly knew him. Determined to discover the truth, she embarks on a journey from Maine, USA to Ireland, Connor’s birthplace where she soon discovers he had hidden much of his past from her.
We also ...more
We also ...more
4.5 stars rounded up
This was a dual time-line story that grabbed me from the beginning. It was a story that evoked many emotions. You immediately assume you know how the two timelines will eventually come together, yet there are still surprises in store.
It seemed so unlikely that Connor, who seemed such a sympathetic character, could have a secret so serious that he would receive death threats. Mullaghmore, Connor's tiny home town in Ireland seemed so beautiful, so benign, that it seemed implaus ...more
This was a dual time-line story that grabbed me from the beginning. It was a story that evoked many emotions. You immediately assume you know how the two timelines will eventually come together, yet there are still surprises in store.
It seemed so unlikely that Connor, who seemed such a sympathetic character, could have a secret so serious that he would receive death threats. Mullaghmore, Connor's tiny home town in Ireland seemed so beautiful, so benign, that it seemed implaus ...more
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the chance to read an advanced copy of The Boatman's wife by Noelle Harrison. Once I started this book I couldnt put it down. It was a heartbreaking story set in dual timelines.
When Lily married her soulmate Connor in Maine, she never imagined she’d be planning his memorial just three years later. Connor has been lost at sea in the bleak stormy Atlantic, leaving Lily heartbroken. But as she prepares to say goodbye to Connor for the last time, she is shocke ...more
When Lily married her soulmate Connor in Maine, she never imagined she’d be planning his memorial just three years later. Connor has been lost at sea in the bleak stormy Atlantic, leaving Lily heartbroken. But as she prepares to say goodbye to Connor for the last time, she is shocke ...more
I read this wonderful book in a single sitting, only reluctantly putting it down when absolutely necessary.
The book is set on dual timelines and Noelle weaves this tale together in a wonderful way.
Don’t be mistaken in thinking that this is a sloppy romantic story. It isn’t. There is romantic love in it, there’s parental love, platonic love. It’s about people, and power , strength and loyalty. All the things that make us human. The things that help us get through the lives we live. Most of all, i ...more
The book is set on dual timelines and Noelle weaves this tale together in a wonderful way.
Don’t be mistaken in thinking that this is a sloppy romantic story. It isn’t. There is romantic love in it, there’s parental love, platonic love. It’s about people, and power , strength and loyalty. All the things that make us human. The things that help us get through the lives we live. Most of all, i ...more
This was a dual timeline story that had my emotions all over the place. The story of Lily and Connor is set in Maine in 2017. Lily works on her dad's lobster boat and is beginning to want more. She meets Connor who is working at the local bar where the men and Lily go to have a beer before heading home. There is an immediate attraction between them and within a few months they get married. Three years later, Connor is dead, drowned in a storm that should have sent her father and his crew home, b
...more
The Boatman's Wife is a compelling story from Noelle Harrison taking the reader from the fishing communities of Maine to Mullaghmore in the west coast of Ireland. As well as being set in two places, the story also unfolds over two different times, something I always enjoy in a book. In the present day story in Maine, Lily is devastated by the death of her Irish husband Connor in a tragic accident at sea. While trying to find out how to contact his family in Ireland, she discovers a threatening e
...more
‘When Lily married her soulmate Connor, buffeted by the sea spray and wild winds of her coastal homeland in Maine, she never imagined she’d be planning his memorial just three years later. Connor has been lost at sea, leaving Lily heartbroken.’
This is a an emotional, and at times heartbreaking, story of two very different women from opposite sides of the ocean. From the very first page, I was enthralled by the dual narrative, which swept me away from beautiful Maine and over the sea to the West ...more
You know when you read a book and it leaves you in an emotional state? The Boatman’s Wife did this to me. The author takes you on a heartbreaking story from Maine to the West coast of Ireland that you can’t put down. I was reading it on the Kindle app on my phone every spare second I got until I finished it! Just to let you know the story is told in a dual format from two badass women in different decades who have ties that you can’t imagine.
The story begins with Lily, in 2017 heartbroken that h ...more
The story begins with Lily, in 2017 heartbroken that h ...more
https://book-bucket.com/2021/01/28/th...
The story is told via a dual timeline told from the POV of newly widowed American Lily, who finds a threatening email on his computer and realises her husband may have a history she knows nothing about, and Irish Niamh, who comes of age during an active period of the Troubles and becomes involved in the cause.
Niamh felt real and more fleshed out as a person, and the conflict over the border was very well told. The choices made and actions taken felt authe ...more
The story is told via a dual timeline told from the POV of newly widowed American Lily, who finds a threatening email on his computer and realises her husband may have a history she knows nothing about, and Irish Niamh, who comes of age during an active period of the Troubles and becomes involved in the cause.
Niamh felt real and more fleshed out as a person, and the conflict over the border was very well told. The choices made and actions taken felt authe ...more
This captivating story takes us from one fishing community in Maine, USA to another on the west coast of Ireland, Mullaghomore. What binds these two places besides the sea?
Told in two different times, it is the present day story of Lily, a passionate, sea-faring woman who has been in the lobster fishing business with her father. It’s also the story of Niamh, a young girl living in Ireland in the 1990s.
Though it was Lily who was an intrepid sailor, but it was Connor, ever a reluctant sea-farer wh ...more
Told in two different times, it is the present day story of Lily, a passionate, sea-faring woman who has been in the lobster fishing business with her father. It’s also the story of Niamh, a young girl living in Ireland in the 1990s.
Though it was Lily who was an intrepid sailor, but it was Connor, ever a reluctant sea-farer wh ...more
I married my soulmate so empathizing with Lily when she lost Connor was so easy. How she lost Connor must have been devastating because he was there in her place. However, one can never predict when it’s time to leave this Earth and she had to learn to forgive herself.
I know people are going to love this book! I on the other hand found myself putting it down so many times because it became tedious and I skipped paragraphs.
The ending was beautiful and so rewarding for Lily and her family.
Good lu ...more
I know people are going to love this book! I on the other hand found myself putting it down so many times because it became tedious and I skipped paragraphs.
The ending was beautiful and so rewarding for Lily and her family.
Good lu ...more
Lily is devastated and frankly angry when her husband Conor is lost at sea while pulling lobster pots on her father's boat. It's not long after when she finds a mysterious email to him which reminds her that she knew very little about Conor so she heads to Mullaghmore. No one is receptive to her inquiries, including Conor's hermetic grandmother Rosemary. This isn't just Lily's story- it's also the story of Niamh in 1992, when the troubles were raging. Harrison uses the dual time line well, alter
...more
My first Noelle Harrison story and I really enjoyed it. The dual timeline aspect kept the story moving along at a good pace and Niamh and Lily were engaging main characters. The story focuses a lot on grief and loss but it is also full of hope. The writing is beautifully descriptive as we get to feel and understand the full force of the Atlantic Ocean at Maine and the sinister peat bogs and marshes in and near the Irish border.
The Boatman’s wife is a dual timeline story, following Lily in present day USA, and Niamh in early 90s Ireland.
Lily is in her early 20s when the love of her life, Connor, is lost at sea during a storm. While she tries to come to terms with what happened, she discovers a dark secret about Connor that takes her to his home village in Ireland.
Niamh is also in her early 20s, and lives in a small village in Ireland, close to the border with Northern Ireland. She finds herself caught up in the wrong t ...more
Lily is in her early 20s when the love of her life, Connor, is lost at sea during a storm. While she tries to come to terms with what happened, she discovers a dark secret about Connor that takes her to his home village in Ireland.
Niamh is also in her early 20s, and lives in a small village in Ireland, close to the border with Northern Ireland. She finds herself caught up in the wrong t ...more
4 Stars
From Maine to Western Ireland, the book deals with love, loss, and hope in the lives of two women whose lives are connected in the most unexpected way. The story runs in two timelines, every alternate chapter dedicated to either of the women.
Lily from Maine travels all the way to Ireland after the death of her husband, Connor. There are secrets in his past, and she is determined to know them. Two decades ago, Niamh led a turbulent life in a small Oceanside town.
How do their lives inter ...more
From Maine to Western Ireland, the book deals with love, loss, and hope in the lives of two women whose lives are connected in the most unexpected way. The story runs in two timelines, every alternate chapter dedicated to either of the women.
Lily from Maine travels all the way to Ireland after the death of her husband, Connor. There are secrets in his past, and she is determined to know them. Two decades ago, Niamh led a turbulent life in a small Oceanside town.
How do their lives inter ...more
5/5 stars!
What if the person you love and trust most in the world dies? What if everything you thought you knew about that person ends up being a lie? And after their death, more and more secrets are revealed, indicating you don't really know them that well at all. How would that make you feel? Can some secrets ever be forgiven?
The Boatman's Wife is that story. Lily married her soulmate, Connor, who is tragically lost in the Atlantic Ocean during a terrible storm. While Lily grapples with her lo ...more
What if the person you love and trust most in the world dies? What if everything you thought you knew about that person ends up being a lie? And after their death, more and more secrets are revealed, indicating you don't really know them that well at all. How would that make you feel? Can some secrets ever be forgiven?
The Boatman's Wife is that story. Lily married her soulmate, Connor, who is tragically lost in the Atlantic Ocean during a terrible storm. While Lily grapples with her lo ...more
I read this wonderful book in a single sitting, only reluctantly putting it down when absolutely necessary.
The book is set on dual timelines and Noelle weaves this tale together in a wonderful way.
Don’t be mistaken in thinking that this is a sloppy romantic story. It isn’t. There is romantic love in it, there’s parental love, platonic love. It’s about people, and power , strength and loyalty. All the things that make us human. The things that help us get through the lives we live. Most of all, i ...more
The book is set on dual timelines and Noelle weaves this tale together in a wonderful way.
Don’t be mistaken in thinking that this is a sloppy romantic story. It isn’t. There is romantic love in it, there’s parental love, platonic love. It’s about people, and power , strength and loyalty. All the things that make us human. The things that help us get through the lives we live. Most of all, i ...more
I love this type of “saga”. I hated to see it end .I looked forward to reading it each day. I’m on to her next one island girls.
The Boatman’s Wife follows the story of Lily who has worked on her dad’s boat alongside her cousin Ryan since the age of fourteen. All she ever wanted to be is a fisher and loved going out on the Lily May lobstering. She’s never been interested in boys and babies like her friends at school, yet when she’s twenty one she meets gorgeous Irish chef, Connor. They marry within a year and she’s the happiest she’s ever been. Until one fateful morning when Connor replaces her in the boat and tragedy ens
...more
Such an intricate plot
I loved this book. Noelle conjures such strong images of the locations that I felt like I was there with the characters. The weaving of characters stories was really clever, leading to a satisfying ending. I'm looking forward to the next novel which will be set in Norway x ...more
I loved this book. Noelle conjures such strong images of the locations that I felt like I was there with the characters. The weaving of characters stories was really clever, leading to a satisfying ending. I'm looking forward to the next novel which will be set in Norway x ...more
The Boatman's Wife is about two women who are connected with each other but don't know it yet! It's a story of love and loss, family battles, and coming together. The journey each woman takes is remarkable and heart-breaking. I cried in several places! The characters were so well written and described, you feel like you know them. I aim to read more of Noelle Harrison's work
...more
...more
A sweet a read as ISLAND GIrls
After reading ISLAND GIRLS I went in search of another by Noelle Harrison. Was not disappointed!!! I love the author's vivid description of Ireland. You feel as though you are there. You are led into another side of the turmoil with IRA and exposed to more history in moving dramatic way. ...more
After reading ISLAND GIRLS I went in search of another by Noelle Harrison. Was not disappointed!!! I love the author's vivid description of Ireland. You feel as though you are there. You are led into another side of the turmoil with IRA and exposed to more history in moving dramatic way. ...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
pseudonym: Evie Blake
Born in London, I moved to Ireland in 1991, shortly afterwards setting up the theatre company Aurora. I have written four stage plays, Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife and The Good Sister, and one short film, Blue Void. I have also written extensively on visual art in Ireland, contributing to various journals and artists’ catalogues over the years.
In August 2004 ...more
Born in London, I moved to Ireland in 1991, shortly afterwards setting up the theatre company Aurora. I have written four stage plays, Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife and The Good Sister, and one short film, Blue Void. I have also written extensively on visual art in Ireland, contributing to various journals and artists’ catalogues over the years.
In August 2004 ...more
Related Articles
In most romances, a romp in the hay comes after many chapters of meeting cute, silent pining, and steamy banter. Not so for books that...
33 likes · 6 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
