Happy Sunday Everyone!

I hope you’re all having a great weekend. Mine has been exactly what I was hoping for; very chilled, very quiet and lots and lots of reading. So as I’m sure you can imagine, I am a very happy girly.

Book 📖

Thank you to @bookouture for this copy of New Beginnings in the Little Irish Village by @michellevernalnovelist and for having me on the blog tour to celebrate its release. New Beginnings in the Little Irish Village was published on 4th May 2023 and you can get a copy here. For those of you with KU….you can read for free!

Description 🔖

Welcome to the little Irish village of Emerald Bay where the sun is shining, the locals are gossiping, and romance is in the air. But will returning home be the fresh start Imogen Kelly needs?

Thirty-two-year-old Imogen Kelly is meant to be living her best life in Dublin but the bright lights of the city aren’t making her truly happy. So she leaps at the chance to take on an interior design job at the big country manor at the edge of Emerald Bay . It also gives Imogen an excuse to return to the place where she spent an unforgettable summer with her first love, Lachlan Leslie , the heir to Benmore House.

Imogen’s heart is full of hope at the thought of seeing her childhood sweetheart but on the way there she nearly has an accident on the winding, muddy country road. She arrives at Benmore House late and flustered, only to discover the builder working with her on the renovation project is none other than Ryan O’Malley – the class prankster who was forever pinging her bra strap at school.

Within seconds it’s clear he’s still a cheeky charmer, even if he’s transformed into a gorgeous guy who unexpectedly sets her pulse racing. Forced into close proximity with relentlessly cheerful Ryan, who’s forever (badly) singing rock ballads at the top of his voice, Imogen at first finds him an annoying distraction.

With St Patrick’s Day celebrations in full swing, Imogen has her work cut out to keep the job on track. Spending more time with Ryan, she discovers that, behind his warm smile and generous ways, he’s nursing heartache. But when she finally sees blue-eyed Lachlan again, Imogen has to face up to the truth about the secret summer romance they shared.

Will she leave Emerald Bay broken-hearted? Or will Imogen realise that home really is where the heart is?

General Thoughts 🤔

Everything about this book screamed cutesy and quaint and after reading it, I can confirm that to be true. The beautiful cover looks like somewhere I would love to live (in fact it looks quite similar to my village) and I knew that I would feel comforted by the setting of this story. It was one of the things that I really enjoyed about reading it. I loved Emerald Bay and all of it’s lovely residents and I don’t know why Imogen ever thought that the grass would have been greener in Dublin.

Characters 👫👭👬

Imogen was the main character in this story and I warmed to her from the beginning. Although she badged herself as a city girl, I think everyone but her knew that she really belonged at home in Emerald Bay. Not only in the village, but with her family as she seemed to really be at ease when around her parents, Nan and siblings.

Ryan was an absolute sweetheart and really played into my love of fictional labourers/handymen. The vision of Ryan on site, tool belt in place, belting out 90s power ballads was enough to make anyone weak at the knees. I think that Imogen knew deep down that there was a connection between herself and Ryan, but admitting that would have meant admitting that she was wrong about other things; not something I think Imogen could do easily.

Writing Style ✍️

This was such an easy breezy, warming and entertaining read. The author was able to make me feel comforted and cosy throughout and it was a pleasure to follow these lovely characters around such a beautiful setting. I liked that the writing was no frills, classic romance fiction with a linear timeline, no big surprises and a cookie cutter happy ending. Sometimes this is exactly what I’m looking for when I want some escapism and to be reminded that there can be loveliness and cuteness in the world.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I binged this book this weekend and it was such an easy story to dive into and get lost in. Emerald Bay was the cutest little village that made me want to instantly hop on a plane to Ireland. I loved all of the gossip and meddling the villagers engaged in and I think that main character Imogen secretly did too. If you’re looking to give your brain a break from doom and gloom and want to feel warm and cosy this bank holiday, definitely add this book to your shortlist.

😍😍😍😐😐