Return to Robinswood: An Irish family saga. (The Robinswood Story Book 2)

Jean Grainger kept me satisfied, again, with this wonderful extended story from Book 1. She has an ability to describe a character, male or female, young or old, in a quick manner with a scarcity of words that is hard to find in many books. While it seems this paucity of verbiage might hurt her characterizations, it, in fact, strengthens them. Having a strong sense of a persons’ personality, strengths and weaknesses allows the action to continue without feeling interrupted by too many descriptions. I read on and on without the sense of intrusion of too much explanation from the author. Any reader of any one of Graingers’ books enjoy the story, characters and lives of the characters. I am, in addition, impressed by the amount of research she must delve into as her stories seem to flow so smoothly in times of local, country and worldly affairs. In this book alone the Great Depression, WW I and II, the Irish conflict, segregation, travelers, out-of-wedlock children, PTSD, loyalties, orphanages, farming, the class system, plant lore, farming and great houses had to be researched. These topics are the ones I remember in this moment; there are more. It gives me a glow of satisfaction to read one of Jeans’ books and I am thrilled to be able to recommend this book without any reservations. Thank you, Jean, for another excellent book!

This is a lovely story about family after WWII. It has old ideas and customs plus new ones. It is about the changes in both Europe and America. It touches on new technologies, racial prejudice, social change, changes in travel and it's increased ease and speed. It shows you family and extended family. One's recovering from a war death, one's dealing with problems of returning soldiers, young couples, middle aged couples, an interracial couple, and more. There are babies, children, and new friends. It is a good read!

I truly enjoyed this charming book as well as the first one in the series. I am ready to purchase the third one. Jean Grainger is a talented writer and she has portrayed a warm and loving family through the ups and downs of life in Ireland and England during WW2 and the years after. They are a very close knit family of very distinct personalities and they work for and serve an upper class family . Their interactions and the history of WW2 make this a very interesting read. I was sorry to reach the end of each book.

I’ve enjoyed every Jean Grainger book I’ve read, and this one is no disappointment. The characters capture and keep your attention from the first page to the last. I can’t wait to read the 3rd book in this series!

I have one problem with this book, once I started reading it, I could not put it down. I kept telling myself that I would go to bed at the end of this chapter, then my eyes would drift to the next few words of the new chapter and I was a goner. My mother was English and lived through the Second World War where she met and marred my American GI father. Many of the experiences related in this book were very similar to my mother's, especially the rationing. Jean Grainger's characters are so alive and real, and this book is no exception. Eve's story truly touched me and I felt a real loss when Jack died. I would encourage anyone who loves a great story to read this (as well as all of Jean Grainger's other books).

This is a good series about an increasingly diverse family rebuilding their lives in Ireland after WWII. While the first book in the series might be described as a bit “grittier” with the history of Irish/English relations and the build-up of the war, this book tended toward strong sentimentality. As a consequence, I found this one a bit less enjoyable than the first. The patriarchs of the family Dermott and Isabella are almost unbelievable in their humanity and goodness and the issues of American race relations are used to maximum effect to create pathos. There is a new and very unlikely relationship in this book that stretched my credulity and concerns me that the author is veering too hard toward mawkishness. Despite the flaws, it’s still an enjoyable series so far. I just hope the author doesn’t keep ladling on so much of the Lifetime movie gooey sweetness.

This is an amazing story. The Catholics, English Lords, the Nazi all mixed together. This is a beautiful story set in Ireland.

When I read the outline of this book, I had to buy it. I am from England living in the US. I lost all my family shortly after arriving here in my early twenties and love stories about loving families. My heritage is Irish from my great-grandmother and great-grandfather back on my maternal side so this was especially intriguing, and I was born during WWII, so related to the hardships in England of those times. I was not disappointed! It has excitement that gets your heart racing and a story that warms ones heart too. I actually bought 2 of Jean Grainger's books at the same time. Can't wait to read "Under Heaven's Shining Stars. I'm sure it will be a page turner as "Return To Robinswood!

Great read! I recommend the series.

Once more a truly great story of family life with all the intrigue and passions to keep reading to find what comes next. Even when you finish the book you know there are several more stories waiting to be written as all those people have more adventures, ups and downs, life and death, Please let there be more to come!

I read Return to Robinswood immediately after Book 1 (What once was True) and absolutely loved it! It was great to continue reading about what happens to these wonderful characters. What a talented author Jean Grainger is! I have now read all her books and can't wait to read the sequels she has under way. You become so engrossed in the story and the diverse characters, they almost become real. I am always so disappointed when I get to the end of the book; I don't want it to end! Thank you Jean Grainger for the many hours of pure enjoyment. Please don't ever stop writing!

Loved this book as much as I did the first..looking forward to reading the third one too. How beautifully she brings together the lives and stories of people as diverse as a Nazi and a black American and several shades of people in between...

I bought the first book in series and enjoyed it so I bought the second one and have just finished it, there are a lot of characters but I could follow easily and really enjoyed the book. Am about to start boom three, if you like solid stories with interesting characters and a book that's not really obvious then I recommend this series