My Books

Life is hard in 1845 Ireland for potato farmers like the Boyd family and their daughter, Bridget, who longs for something more than hunger and poverty. Daniel O’Callaghan, a neighboring farmer, has loved Bridget Boyd for years but knows he will have to do something drastic to change his lot in life if she is ever going to see him as a serious suitor. Just as he begins to believe he has made some headway with her, his best-laid plans fall apart as the potato famine wreaks havoc on Ireland, changing all their fates in ways they could never have predicted. Distant Shores is the first installment of the Hearts of Eire series by author Rachel Nickle. It is the story of two families struggling for survival in what seems to be an unalterable destiny. What will it take to lift them from the throes of despair and restore hope to their poverty-stricken families?

Of Brighter Days (Hearts of Eire Book 2)

Norah McGowan has kept Finnegan Boyd at a distance since the moment they met, and, unfortunately for Norah, who is set on keeping her past behind her, she is an enigma the normally reserved Finn is determined to figure out. Although she is closed about her past, she is also kind and caring–to everyone except Finn. Both get more than they bargained for when Finn’s family and Norah must travel to America in the wake of the Great Famine and troubles with the law in their current home in Liverpool. Aboard a ship bound for new opportunities and a better life, Finn and Norah grow closer, no longer able to deny the draw they feel to one another. Amidst sorrow and loss, they finally open up to one another to reveal pasts that make any future together impossible. They must navigate beyond the chasm of misunderstanding and differences in religion if they ever want to win a chance at love and belonging.