WHAT MATTERS MOST

Sister Bernadette Ignatius and Tom Kelly have travelled to Ireland to find the son they had together and gave to the nuns to find a good home for. Sister Bernadette felt her calling and as a nun she couldn’t raise her own baby. Now many years later she and Tom feel the need to find him. Little did they know that the promises they were given to find their child a loving Catholic home never came to pass.

Seamus Sullivan is also dreaming of finding a loved one. The girl he grew up with in the orphanage. When Kathleen’s parents came to claim her and took her across the sea to America, Seamus felt as if his heart went with her.

Will these three people find WHAT MATTERS MOST?

This reviewer thoroughly enjoyed WHAT MATTERS MOST. This is a true Luanne Rice novel. The characters are brilliantly scripted and will touch the reader’s heart. Sister Bernadette made the most heart-wrenching and difficult decision, that of giving up her own newborn child.

One of the two things that this reader had a hard time with is the Character of Tom. Tom is a lovely man who has a heart of gold. He gave up his family fortune to follow Sister Bernadette to America because of his undying love for her. The problem is this reader would have liked to see him have more of a backbone when it came to Sister Bernadette. This reviewer felt she led him around by his nose and let her make many very important decisions without him. The other problem this reviewer had with the book is a point at the end, a very sad moment. The loss of a beloved character. And that is all this reviewer will stay to avoid giving away a spoiler.

These things not withstanding, WHAT MATTERS MOST is a very worthwhile and recommended read. The storyline is totally believable, there is nary a dull moment as the prose flows smoothly. Ms Rice came back from the previous book that left this reader disappointed, with the grand flair that is normally attributed to this author, kudos to Ms Rice on a wonderful book.

October 2007