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Nil Na La is a traditional Irish song. Nil 'Na Lá means "Daybreak Has Not Yet Come." The arrangement here is done by Solas during their reunion concert. Brendan Nolan has translated the Gaelic here:
Tá na caoirigh ag ithe an gheamhair
Tá na gamhna ag ól an bhainne
Prátaí síos gan díolachán
's duine gan mheabhair na raghfá abhaile
(The sheep are eating the corn
The calves are drinking the milk
The potatoes they are unsold
You madman, will you not go home!)
Is deas an bhean i Siobhán óg
Gúna nua uirthí aníos ón siopa
Is breathnaím ar mo ghiní óir
'S i a' rince ar an mbord leis an phoc ar buile
(Siobhan is a nice young girl
In her new dress down from the shop
I gaze at my golden guinea
And it spinning on the table
While I get angry)
Curfa (Chorus)
Nil 'na lá, tá 'na lá
Nil 'na lá, tá ar maidin
NIl 'na lá, tá 'na lá
Bean a rá, is i ar fhaga
Don't send me out into the dark
The night is cold and I'll be perished
But come to bed with me awhile
And we'll be warm beneath the blankets
Buailim suas, buailim síos
Buailim cleamhan ar bhean a leanna
Cuirim giní óir ar an mbord
Is bím ag ál anseo go maidin
Chorus
I go up and I go down
I've a rendevous with the tavern lady
I put a guinea on the table
And I drink me fill until the morning
Tá mo bhróga I dtigh an óil
Tá mo stocaí I dtigh á leanna
Tá na coiligh go léir ag glaoch
Is b'éigean domsa dhul abhaile
Chorus
I left my shoes in the pub
I left my stockings there as well
The cocks have all begun to crow
And it's time for me to head on homewards
Jena Grayson is an 'eventer' in the world of horse training, someone who rides to take jumps. The
author's note mentions a little more about Three-Day eventing, but as someone who is not a horse person, I had to make a guess as to what this sport is about; that took away some from the story. The death of her father in a fall from a jump gone wrong sends her world into a tailspin. Her mother just leaves (this was explained near the end of the book, but it never made much sense to me), so Jena goes to live with her uncle and aunt on their horse farm after a year has passed. Luke lives and works at the farm where the aunt and uncle have taken in him because of the tragedy in his own life. A fairly predictable whirlwind romance occurs between Luke and Jena as they share their tragedies. I wanted to like this book more than I did. The bits about the horses were interesting though it was more about trail-riding and grooming. There seemed to be some time jumps that I didn't understand. Why Jena still rode after her father's death, then stopped and wouldn't ride again didn't make sense to me. Why it took a year for the uncle to come get her and why her mother left also didn't make sense. There was a lot of drama that seemed to be fairly easily resolved; conflict in a story is good, but it has to be believable (Tyler and Luke). There is also a lot of 'tellling' in this book. Some of it is beautifully written, but too much slowed the story down. I'd love to read a book about eventing, one that focused on what happens at an event and what the sport really entails. This book was just okay for me.
Skylark was my favorite Indie book read of last year. The sweeping journey of Evan and Billie
Skylark from Paris to Scotland to tiny St. Cloud in the Pacific is lovely, poetic, and gut-wrenching. Therefore, I was extremely excited to see that the sequel, Borrowed Wings, was released this month.
Borrowed Wings continues where Skylark left off. Billie is back in Scotland with her twin toddlers, Sunny and Evie, grieving for all that went wrong in St. Cloud. She misses the friends she made there, especially Jack, her neighbor who was always a solid presence in her life when Evan couldn't support her and the children.
The people in St. Cloud also has their stories. Jack is dealing with his family: his mother has senility issues, there is an ongoing dispute with his father, his oldest brother Saul is trying to deal with their parents and his wife's pregnancy, and his other brother, Raife, is an ongoing grief and sorrow in Jack's life.
Jed and Sadie have secrets, Zoe and Felix are expecting, and Dan is struggling with his place at the core of the islander's lives.
The story is told in multiple POVs: Billie is first person and the rest of the people in St. Cloud in third person. It jumps around but always in a linear fashion that moves the story forward. It is a beautifully written story, one to be savored and slowly digested. I'm a fast reader, but I took my time with this book, dreading the coming ending just as Billie does in the story with The Grapes of Wrath. There is a lot to ponder here.
Ms. Morgan covers diverse topics such as motherhood, grief, aging parents, friendships, and sibling feuds and weaves the strands into the story effortlessly. The ultimate question of the book is one Billie asks herself throughout the book: "Do I deserve two great loves in one short lifetime? Is there room in my packed heart for the love Jack deserves when Evan will always rest there? " Billie yearns for Jack but doesn't want to make the same mistakes that she made with Evan. Jack himself must resolve his family issues before he can move on with Billie.
Borrowed Wings is one of those stories that stay with you for a while, coming back at odd moments as something in your life reminds you of a paragraph in the book. Because isn't life all about love after all? Link to Amazon About the Author
Ruthie Morgan lives and writes near the beach in New Zealand’s South Island with her husband and four children. Her debut novel Skylark was shortlisted for the UK Impress Prize 2015, placed as finalist in the Readers Favorite Awards 2015, won the Drunken Druid Book of the Year Award 2014 and was nominated for the B.R.A.G. Medallion.
Also, go read Skylark! Find it here! blurb:“When he asked me to forgive him for everything I thought I could. I said yes and I meant it. But I didn't realise that night, everything was what he’d take away.” When Billie May Worthington falls for Evan Skylark she believes she’d do anything, be anything and give everything for him. But can she forgive him when he asks for her world? Everything twenty one year old Billie knows about life, love, beauty and art are challenged after graduation when she meets Evan, an enigmatic Irish artist with a dark side. Suddenly immersed in Evan’s intense world of artistic brilliance, flying sculptures and sexual obsession, Billie’s carefully planned future is quickly unrecognisable. Spanning London, Paris, Scotland and finally St. Cloud, the South Pacific island they make their home, the young couple chase Evans dreams and run from their past. But what happens to young obsessive love when unplanned pregnancy reshapes the future? As Billie struggles to cope with the demands of motherhood Evan is forced to deal with the repercussions of a previous mistake that rock their world altering the future forever. Emotionally gripping and darkly humorous Skylark is an unconventional love story. A novel about what we do for love, of beauty in imperfection, betrayal and the weight of obsession.
Blurb:Orphaned at an early age, now twenty-four-year-old Camryn Lucks is ready to commit to find
that special someone, and so accepts a date from a charming, gallant, handsome stranger. The last
thing she imagines after accepting that first date with Carson would actually be the beginning of her worst nightmare.
Red roses, a reminder of her parents' killer, soon become an emblem of horror for Cami as one by one, those closest to her fall victim to a serial killer. Cami becomes an obsession for Carson, the man she had finally allowed herself to love. Not only is he vying for her heart, but also her life.
Finding herself in a whirlwind of torments shadowed by the blood-colored bloom, Cami finds solace in Isaac, a neighboring police officer. She’s desperate to escape the haunting memories, but she must revisit them in order to catch her would-be killer. Living life in constant fear has driven Cami to second-guess every choice she makes. Will the police catch the illusive murderer, or will Cami be forced to face him once again?
Author Bio: Dana Provo has always loved books and reads everything from young adult fantasy to Adult Historical Romances. She is the author of the Romantic Suspense novel Bleeding Hearts. When she's not reading or writing her next novel, Dana can be found riding her horses and getting ready for competition. Dana lives with her husband and two house plants in Richmond, Virginia.
Excerpt:
My arm trembles as I grip the cool handle of my pistol, keeping a firm grasp to ensure it doesn’t slip out of my sweaty hand. It usually stands sentry in my left nightstand to scare the nightmares away. But this isn’t a dream. The room is dark and hides the face of the man whose intent is to kill me. But I know who he is. A metallic taste fills my mouth; I want to gag. My blood drips off the blade in his hand in slow, steady beats on the carpet. My arms shake as I lift the barrel and point it in his direction. He doesn't move. His heavy breaths alert me to the meager distance between us.
We’re at a stalemate.
A soft glow from the lamppost just outside my window casts a sliver of light on his face. His dark, beady eyes that I have grown to know rake over my body like I'm another one of his many victims. He lifts the edges of his mouth into a smile. My heart plunges into my stomach. I know what that sinister expression means, and I think back to all the times he had looked at me like that before. I had been so blind.
Before I react he lunges at me, grabbing onto my waist and twisting me to the ground. I shriek as my head slams against the bed frame. Black spots flood my vision. I squeeze my hand only to find it empty. My gun is gone. The sound of the knife clattering on the floor gives me slight hope. Not much though. He climbs up my body trying to pin my arms to the floor. I thrash my fists around, desperate to knock him off.
“Get off!” I scream, pulling on his shirt and kicking him off balance. Wrapping his hands around my arms, my attacker cuts off the circulation of blood. Rug burns flare across my skin as he drags me across the carpet. He closes his hands around my neck, shutting off my air supply. I pull at his hands but it's no use; he has always been stronger than me. My pulse drums a frantic beat in my ears. The air slowly leaks out from my lungs, killing any hope I may have left. I search for the gun around the room; it may be my only savior now.
"Why are you doing this?" I struggle to get the words out. He squints his dark eyes. I'm wondering if there might be a chance that he will stop this madness. I am wrong.
"It'll be over soon, sweetheart." His hands again tighten around my neck, blocking the air from entering my lungs.
“Use those feelings Claire, channel that fear and anger into something positive.” He swept his gaze over my face and looked me straight in the eye. “You’re not a victim, not any more. It’s time to take control and fight back. Not just physically,” he tapped at my temple. “Up here.” His hand glided down my neck and settled over my pounding heart. “And here. Anything is possible.”
Pain. Broken. Fear. They took it all... my body, my soul, my strength... My Matty. I was floating through this life, my face an endless smile for my loved ones so they wouldn’t know the emptiness inside, the coldness that stayed with me. Then the numb faded, I broke from the devil whispering in my ear. I was awake, alert, ready to find my strength. But I wasn’t expecting him... Heat. Desire. Need. My name is Claire - and this is my Spiral. Warning: This book contains explicit sex scenes, graphic language and is intended for mature audiences.
Karen has been a self confessed book addict for as long as she can remember. She has always been a fan of multi genres, but her love of romance has taken centre stage in the last couple of years. Karen’s idols are too many to count these days with all the fantastic authors on the scene.
When she’s not writing, she’s trying to keep up with her three wild children and trading smack talk with her awesome husband (she always wins though!).
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