"A Magical Fantasy"

Kara O'Keefe is a promising violinist with dreams of studying at Julliard. Her Grandda had left her a remarkable violin that she named Quicksilver. But her father is dying of cancer, and her mother is unable to meet the medical bills, so Kara is helping to make ends meet as a violin teacher. Even this is not enough, and Kara decides to pawn Quicksilver. She is drawn to a strange little shop in Soho, YESTERDAY'S DREAMS, run by a mysterious, but oddly comforting woman named Maggie.

Maggie sees something very special in Kara, and she understands that Quicksilver is not only dear to Kara, but it is a remarkable instrument meant for Kara alone. Maggie is Sidhe, a living member of the old race of Ireland, and her friendship with and protection of Kara will be vital to Kara's future.

Kara's selfless sacrifice of Quicksilver for her family is the first step on the path of her destiny. While Kara is in YESTERDAY'S DREAMS, a malevolent force that uses humans for its own ends begins an attack on both Maggie and Kara. Maggie recognizes the evil, and it will take much of her power to fight it. She will need Kara's help to defeat the evil force, and Kara will have to use her talents, her heritage, and the love of her dead Grandda if she is to survive.

YESTERDAY'S DREAMS is the first novel of Danielle Ackley- McPhail. It is a compelling fantasy, evocative of the author's Irish heritage. The fight between good and evil is always powerful and it is well represented here in Ms. Ackley-McPhail's story. I especially enjoyed Maggie and her companion Beag Scath. Those readers who like fantasy with a mythic twist will want to read this beautifully written novel.

Reviewed by Cynthia Meidinger
Posted September 25, 2002

Summary

Kara O'Keefe had not realized, at the age of eight, how much her beloved Grandda had left her with his passing. All she knew was he would no longer tell her magical tales of ancient Ireland and the Sidhe. He would no longer share with her nature's secrets or push her to find that brilliant swirling point deep inside that made her music magical. All she knew was she had lost her greatest treasure. Once destined for Julliard, but now merely an overly gifted violin instructor, Kara discovers at the age of twenty-three that she was wrong as she is abruptly confronted with the wealth, and weight, of her fantastic inheritance...and the threat of losing her father next. It is at Yesterday's Dreams, a pawn shop tucked away on a quiet Soho street, where Kara discovers her true legacy, her own inner power, and destiny and danger both begin to stalk her. Forced to give up Quicksilver, her cherished violin and the only link with her long-gone Grandda, Kara's selfless sacrifice becomes the key to her fate.. Confused by the radical turn her life has taken and pursued by malevolent forces she does not understand, Kara O'Keefe must trust in a dead man she loved but never truly knew and the living myth charged with helping her to survive. Has she inherited the tenacious strength of her Celtic ancestors, or would she fall beneath the onslaught of uncompromising Fate?