The Moonlight Runner, Karen Robards (Review by Abigail Blake)
Rating: 3.0/5 Stars
The Moonlight Runner illuminates the beginnings of the Irish war for independence from Great Britain following World War I. Told through the sympathetic gaze of trained nurse Rynn Carmichael, the story navigates conflicting loyalties between people and counties. Her multiple romantic pursuits increase the stakes of Rynn’s choices in who she helps with her renowned nursing skills. Rynn only wishes to see an end to the violence, but she will not abandon those wounded defending the country the call home
The novel opens with our heroine dashing away into the night to warn her gun running fiancé of an impending ambush. Her desperate attempt to save him and his friends (and herself from being guilty by association) results in their breakup and her marrying her wealthy English patient, a member of the nobility.
Their marriage begins with little expectations except mutual respect and honesty with one another, but blossoms into a sweet, hopeful love for what the two will become together. Yet brewing rebellion and the infamous Spanish Flu interfere and leave Rynn a widow. Grieving the husband she grew to love, Rynn throws herself back into nursing—only this time, she’s gained a reputation for healing her rebelling countrymen (all thanks to the whispers her first fiancé). Her bravery is admirable throughout and leads Rynn to her final lover: the enterprising Owen. A war hero venerated by the English and the Irish, Owen spends much of the novel trying to keep the peace between both nations, and flits in and out of Rynn’s life at crucial moments until they finally end up together following a devastating tragedy that cements both of them permanently on one side of the struggle.
While a solid fictionalization of the early days of the Irish Rebellion, the story’s oscillation between historical events and budding romances remains slightly jarring. Some historical settings read like a newspaper article before switching back to the chemistry brewing between Rynn and any one of her love interests. The drama between her and her love interests still draws the reader in; you cannot help but root for Rynn with her earnest nature and bravery. The novel explores the true heartbreak of war, even for good causes, and ends with a determination to take on the future.
