Review: What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…

Blurb:

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

Purchase links:

➜ Kindle: https://amzn.to/2NyJsQq
➜ Hardcover: https://amzn.to/2QoYmYi
➜ Paperback: https://amzn.to/2CCbA0I
➜ Audio: https://amzn.to/2N2SfuG

About the author:

Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in eighteen different languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.

Amy Harmon has written thirteen novels - the USA Today Bestsellers The Smallest Part, The Bird and The Sword, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as the #1 Amazon bestselling historical From Sand and Ash, The Queen and The Cure, The Law of Moses, The Song of David, Infinity + One, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, and the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue. Her novels The Bird and the Sword and From Sand and Ash were Goodreads Best Books of 2016 and 2017 finalists.

Find Amy online:

Website: www.authoramyharmon.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoramyharmon
Facebook fan group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amyharmon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aharmon_author
Instagram: https://instagram.com/amy.harmon2/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Harmon/e/B007V3HXUY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829056.Amy_Harmon
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-harmon
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/P5AJP
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoramyharmon/

REVIEW

What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone
Release date: February 1, 2019
Cliffhanger: No
Genre: historical fiction, time travel, historical romance

Anne Gallagher has longed to visit Ireland with her grandfather, Eoin for her entire life, but for some inexplicable reason he always refused to take the trip with her. After the loss of her parents, he stepped in and raised her from an early age. The relationship that they shared was a close one, but upon his death she learned that there were chunks of his life that he never fully revealed to her. Wishing to give his ashes a final resting place, she decides to go to County Leitrim where he was born and raised. There she will find echoes of history that have been long forgotten. There, she will meet Dr. Thomas Smith and start re-writing her past. Where nothing seemed certain, and her path was mysteriously preordained.

“Tragedy makes for great stories, but I’d much rather your story—the one you live, not the ones you write—be filled with joy. Don’t revel in tragedy, Annie. Rejoice in love. And once you find it, don’t let it go. In the end, it is the one thing you won’t regret.”

This book was in one word, perfection. The exquisite romance inside these pages pulsed with its own heartbeat. Thomas and Anne had a destined soulmates connection between them that's undeniable almost from the start. The feelings they have for each other pierced right through me down to my core. Every breath, sigh, tear, and tender touch was shared and experienced in a way that I know I will want to revisit many times to come.

Amy Harmon has penned a love letter about her ancestors' homeland and the infinite bond of family through the ages. The outer layer is a powerful exploration into the conflict and unrest of early 20th century Ireland. The aftermath of the Easter Rising of 1916, the impact of Michael Collins' guerrilla warfare, and the civil unrest over the Anglo Irish treaty of 1921 are a few of the things explored in What the Wind Knows. Using a mix of fictional characters and real historical figures, the reader is given a gripping glimpse of what it would have been like living in such severe times. The history has been painstakingly researched and voiced in such detail, you're swept into the story effortlessly- returning back to reality is the hard part.

    What you try to take away from a man, he will want all the more. What you tell him he can’t have, he’ll set his heart on. The only rebellion we have is our identity.

The core of the story is Anne Gallagher. A woman who is unexpectedly given a chance to understand where she came from, and where she was meant to be. Anne has found professional success and acclaim as an author, but her career has dominated her life for far too long. She's never been the type to put human connections or romantic entanglements above the job she loves. But suddenly this strong and steady man in front of her is showing her the importance of family. Her eyes are opened to the impact of love, and how fragile the essential things in life really are.

Then we have beautiful, soulful Thomas. He was one of the most amazing characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. His deep and abiding love for Anne is so poignant in his journal entries, so utterly passionate. The love and care he gave his friends, his family, and his country was boundless. When he was hurting, it just about breaks your heart into a million little pieces right along with his. And you wish there was a way to shelter him and cushion his fall as he selflessly does for so many others.

    Love isn’t blind, it’s blinding. Glaring. I looked at you, and from the very first day, I knew you.

What the Wind Knows was a captivating, fast-paced book that ended entirely too soon for this greedy reader. If I could have, I would have picked it up immediately after finishing and turned back to page one. Even now, more than a week after finishing, I get a little teary eyed just thinking about this extraordinary, fantastical love story. I really think historical fiction is a genre that this author shines in, and I hope she writes a lot more of them in the future! Don't wait. Don't hesitate. You need to one-click this book and read it for yourself on release day. It's an experience that will stay with you a long time to come.

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