"Amid the Oncoming Storm" by Juliane Weber
"A heartbreakingly emotional read. The pages practically turn themselves." - Yarde Book Reviews & Book Promotion
It’s the spring of 1847 and there’s much for Quin and Alannah to look forward to. And yet, the previous years’ hardships have left their mark. The famine that’s had Ireland in its grasp for the past two seasons continues to rage unabated, with hunger and disease sweeping across the land. As thousands lie dying, dissension spreads among the Irish people, the British government’s carelessness and their landlords’ ruthlessness breeding hatred in the poor and the oppressed.
With suffering all around them Quin and Alannah hold onto what happiness they’re able to. But can they trust the people living on their estate?
Set amongst the anguish of Ireland’s most devastating time in history, Amid the Oncoming Storm is a story of hope and resilience in a land struggling to rise from the depths of despair.
XANADU EDITORIAL REVIEW
In Amid the Oncoming Storm, Juliane Weber conjures the bleak, windswept fields of 1847 Ireland, weaving through the starkness of famine and the complexity of love and survival. Here, in the third installment of her Irish Fortune series, Weber calls forth a time layered with suffering and endurance, breathing life into the era’s most intimate and private moments. Her protagonists, Quin and Alannah, anchor us to the land and the troubled hearts it bears, creating a story that sways like the tide, surging with quiet ferocity.
Even those who have not read the preceding books will find themselves wrapped in the intricate strands of history and family that Weber so adeptly binds together. Through Quin and Alannah’s journey—one shared and yet deeply personal—readers come to understand the fabric of a society frayed by both external hardships and inner turmoil. Alannah’s first-person reflections, drawn from the depths of her experience, convey the piercing uncertainty and hope that accompany pregnancy in this time of want. Her voice lends warmth and vulnerability to a landscape marked by unyielding realities, while Quin’s trials—captured from a third-person lens—reveal a man of staunch resolve who battles his own ghosts as he strives to protect his loved ones.
The novel’s rich tapestry of secondary characters, of household staff and nobles, friends and foes, each lend their distinct brushstroke to a world colored by the mingling dialects of English and Irish Gaelic. Even the bog bodies, those relics of the past unearthed from peat, speak to a history that is both preserved and altered by time’s passage. And so, too, does Weber’s Glaslearg, a brooding estate both sheltering and stark, breathing through every corner of this sweeping saga.
With painstaking research woven seamlessly into her prose, Weber opens the door to a deeply layered Ireland—a place of lush beauty and stark realities. Amid the Oncoming Storm is a testament to her ability to capture history not as mere backdrop but as a force propelling her characters forward, urging them, and us, to grapple with the tide of change. A haunting and tender exploration of love, resilience, and the aching echoes of a time past.
4.5 stars
AUTHOR BIO
Juliane Weber is a scientist turned historical fiction writer, and author of the Irish Fortune Series. Her stories take readers on action-packed romantic adventures amid the captivating scenery and folklore of 19th century Ireland. Book One in the series, Under the Emerald Sky, was awarded bronze medals in The Historical Fiction Company 2021 Book of the Year Contest and The Coffee Pot Book Club 2022 Book of the Year Contest.
Book Two in the series, Beneath the Darkening Clouds, was selected as an Editors' Choice title by the Historical Novel Society and was awarded a bronze medal in The Historical Fiction Company 2022 Book of the Year Contest.
Juliane lives with her husband and two sons in Hamelin, Germany, the town made famous by the story of the Pied Piper.
For more information, visit Juliane's website:
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