This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce
Sisters Ella and Roberta O’Callaghan have lived at Roscarbury Hall all of their lives but they are in danger of losing their home. With mounting debts and no means of raising the money needed, Ella feels she has no choice but to open up the ballroom of their home and turn it into a café to earn some much-needed cash. Roberta doesn’t agree with the decision but as she and Ella haven’t spoken for decades, despite residing under the same roof, she can only communicate her disgust through angry notes. And when an American women starts to work at the café, Roberta’s note become more bitter and heated.
American Debbie has come to Ireland to search for her birth mother and finds herself being welcomed into Ella’s café and home. She doesn’t have much time to find her roots, but Debbie is determined to discover the truth about her birth mother and how she came to be adopted and raised in America. Unwittingly, her questions open up a whole investigation into the local convent and the community finds itself in the middle of an adoption scandal.
The Ballroom Café sounded like such an intriguing read and I was interested to find out why Ella and Roberta no longer talk but communicate only through notes. It’s such a bizarre way to live so I knew there must be some dark secrets from the past and I couldn’t wait to discover what these were. There are many layers to the secrets at Roscarbury Hall and the town of Rathsorney, which made for a poignant and sometimes bittersweet read. I did find that the pace was a little slow for my liking but the intrigue was always there.
I didn’t find myself really connecting with any of the characters, even though I felt I should under the circumstances, but I did find myself disliking Roberta more and more as the book progressed as she was such a selfish woman and always seemed to think of herself, despite the tragic events that unfolded around her.7/10