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Irish Hearts is a series of short romance novels written by Nora Roberts. The books follow the exploits of a collection of Irish heroes and heroines of Irish ancestry who find love in America.
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Order of Irish Hearts Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irish Thoroughbred | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Sullivan's Woman | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Irish Rose | 1988 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Irish Rebel | 2000 | Description / Buy |
Adelia, the heroine of Irish Thoroughbred, the first novel in the series, was a hard worker. She spent her childhood toiling away on a small farm in Ireland. For a time, Adelia was content with just making ends meet.
She never dreamed of striving for more. But when her aunt died and she was granted an opportunity to join her uncle in America, she immediately jumped at the chance. Padrick, the uncle, worked on Travis’ farm, and he did not hesitate to put Adelia to work.
Before long, Adelia had distinguished herself as a capable worker deserving of Travis’ attention. And from the moment Travis laid eyes on her, his heart was stolen. He couldn’t deny the passion brewing between them.
All they did was fight. But even their most chaotic arguments could do little to quench their desires. Adelia would have loved nothing better than to lose herself in Travis’ arms. But he was so determined to tame her and Adelia simply refused to be controlled.
The Irish Hearts series tells Adelia and Travis’ story. Technically, they only dominate the first novel. The sequels shift the spotlight to a new set of couples. However, Adelia and Travis are never far.
And they eventually become the seeds from which all the other stories in this series emerge. It is for that reason that people are encouraged to read Irish Hearts in order. Even though the individual novels center on distinct couples, each one has a connection to Adelia and Travis that one can only appreciate in full by reading these books in order.
For instance, Irish Rose, the second novel, features Adelia’s cousin and Travis’ neighbor whereas the third book introduces Adelia and Travis’ daughter.
It is worth noting that Irish Thoroughbred was the first novel Nora Roberts ever published. It was from the knowledge of her Irish ancestry that Roberts created Adelia, her first ever heroine.
Roberts initially wrote six manuscripts that she submitted to Harlequin. At the time, Harlequin only published British romance authors. Roberts submitted her first six stories to them because they had begun to relax their rules.
However, they rejected every single Manuscript from Roberts. This can be attributed to the fact that they had just purchased several novels from Janet Dailey. So as far as Harlequin was concerned, one American author was more than enough.
Roberts’ talent might have gone unnoticed. However, Simon and Schuster, a major publishing firm, created Silhouette Books around that time. The author wrote and submitted her seventh manuscript and the editor at the time loved it.
It eventually became Irish Thoroughbred, the book that earned Roberts her first contract and introduced her work to the world.
Best Irish Hearts Books
These novels use a lot of the tropes that were commonplace in the early 1980s but Roberts goes the extra mile and makes the character dynamics and interactions exciting and fresh, with some of the best books in the series including:
Irish Rose: Erin McKinnon wanted to escape her small Irish town. And she was excited when Adelia, her cousin, came to visit along with her husband. But she couldn’t help but envy Adelia’s new life.
Things took an interesting turn when she met Burke Logan, Travis’ friend. Burke didn’t believe in love. But he was determined to claim Erin for himself. Erin knew that Burke would open the doors to the world for her. However, she wasn’t so certain that she could willingly give her heart over in exchange.
Irish Rebel: Brian Donnelly came from Ireland, and he couldn’t wait to start over at Royal Meadows in America. Nothing would keep him from fulfilling all his dreams, except for maybe his boss’s daughter, an innocent girl of irresistible beauty.
Other Book Series You May Like
The O’Hurley’s Series by Nora Roberts is another good read. These novels tell the stories of the O’Hurley triplets and the love affairs they must maneuver as they try to attain true and lasting happiness.
You may also like The Calhouns Series by Nora Roberts. The Calhoun sisters are so different. But they are determined to stay united in their efforts to turn a portion of their family mansion into a resort. But a mystery surrounding the legendary Calhoun emeralds keeps upending their lives.
What Is The Next Book in The Irish Hearts Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Irish Hearts Series. The newest book is Irish Rebel and was released on January, 4th 2000.