This is the third book I have read by Santa Montefiore and I can flat out state it won’t be the last. I very much enjoyed The Beekeeper’s Daughter as well as Secrets of the Lighthouse.
Now this book, The Girl in the Castle, captured me immediately. If you like stories set in Ireland, reading a bit of the historical fiction interspersed about the Irish War for Independence and a bit of ghost appearances to boot – you will love this book.
I’m not big on paranormal stories but the ghost part wasn’t a primary feature. They did figure in but as a supporting role, and a very light supporting role at that. Early on I was invested in the progressing life story lines of the Deverill family, Jack O’Leary and the Doyles.
The story starts with Kitty Deverill and Bridie Doyle as 9 year old girls. Kitty lives a privileged life in the castle and Bridie is the daughter of one of the cooks. This doesn’t stop them from forming a deep friendship and feeling like they are sisters. Two different worlds these girls inhabit but Kitty is as Irish as any Doyle or O’Leary. Kitty’s mother Maude is English and so the family is called Anglo Irish – this sets them apart during the Irish uprising. There is enough action, a bit of romance and lovely descriptions of West Cork, Ireland to get lost in.
Be warned, this is the exact same book as The Songs of Love in War so don’t purchase both! The Girl in the Castle is the title released in the USA and Songs of Love and War is the British title. It’s the same book.
The second book is called The Daughters of Castle Deverill. I am certainly getting that one on Kindle. There is a bit of food mentioned in the book and I admit to grabbing a recipe from the cookbook London to pair with this novel. The recipe may be found HERE. I spent some time reading and eating. That’s a nice thing to do.
Linking up with Joy’s British Isles Friday and Kristy at The Overflowing Library for the British Books Challenge. The link for November is HERE.
Novel Meals 
I like books based in Ireland, but I’m not a fan of historical fiction or paranormal. But, your statement about the ghost not being a primary feature makes me more inclined to read this book.
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I like historical fiction but not a big fan of paranormal. That being said, I did read the Sookie Stackhouse books with vampires featured. But this story has the ghosts as a side note. A woman named Maggie O’Leary placed a curse on the Deverill family in the 1600s saying the oldest male heir wouldn’t know peace until the land was given back to the O’Learys or a Deverill married an O’Leary. That’s why they come up in the story.
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