The Crumbly Old Castle

Finished July 3

The Crumbly Old Castle by B.E. Baker

This women's fiction novel follows three women as they travel and consider their lives. The women met as children at riding school and horses are still in all their lives. Since they became adults they've taken a vacation together every year, often within the United States, but this year they have a Irish vacation planned. While they all grew up in Colorado, only one of them still lives there. Vanessa married her high school sweetheart, got an accounting degree and supported her husband Jason as he agreed to buy his brother out of the construction equipment business they would inherit from their father. When Jason died a few years ago and then Covid hit, she struggled to keep afloat, accepting help from his brother Jeremy who still works for the business. She has three children. 

Samantha married, but didn't have children. She lives in Florida where she trains horses, restores and resells properties with her husband, and is generally happy with her life. 

Natalie lives in Texas with her husband and five children. She is very involved in her children's lives, is highly organized, and works part-time managing social media for several small businesses. So it is a surprise to her when she arrives at the airport to find that she is a day early for her flight. She is embarrassed at this lapse from her usually planning, but decides to return home. She finds her husband in bed with another woman, although her presence wasn't noticed by them, and she leaves immediately. In shock, she stays at a hotel near the airport and goes on a rage-induced clothing shopping spree. 

Samantha's husband makes an unreasonable ultimatum just before she leaves and she finds herself questioning her life as it is. 

For Vanessa, the last few years have been rough, with her husband's unexpected death, keeping the company afloat, and her oldest son's injury derailing his sports goals and sending him to drug abuse. He's been in rehab three times, and she gets a call just as she's leaving that he's been caught again at school. Her husband's brother Jeremy was going to be watching the kids and the business while she's gone, and although she's worried, he assures her that he will deal with her son's drug abuse situation as well. 

Once in Ireland, it doesn't take long before they confess their situations to each other, and determine to make the most of their trip. From visiting historic sites, to engaging in new experiences from hawking to attending hurling games, and of course horseback riding, they find the support they need from each other and from new friends they make along the way. 

When Natalie and Vanessa find even more betrayal in their lives, the consider their futures and what they really want for themselves and their children. 

I really enjoyed the Irish experiences they had, and the friends they made as they travelled. I also found these characters interesting. My only criticism is that they end of the book seemed rushed, with lots of details either skimmed over or not even mentioned. I couldn't help but wonder if the book was originally intended to stop earlier in the story and the author was convinced to take the story forward within this first book in the series. I do plan to read the second book to see what happens next. 

There are hints at future romances for these women, but with their lives undergoing other unexpected disruptions, that's not a priority.