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burcha74's review
5.0
This was a very charming tale. Em leaves home to try to gain control of her life and escape an overbearing mother. Along the way she meets her idol and her person. The author does a good job keeping the reader entertained along the journey.
nclcaitlin's review
2.75
A balance of romance, laughter, and heartbreak that ultimately fell flat.
If Emily were real, I know we would be bookish besties. She literally travelled to Ireland to help her favourite author write the final book in her favourite childhood series.
Thing is, her prickly son who owns the bookstore seems to want Emily gone. But Kieran and Em are too kind at heart to have any lingering grudges and obviously they are drawn together.
With two bookworms as romantic interests, there are lots of bookish quotes and references as each try to outdo each other over random bookish questions.
<b>"I'm always quiet," I protested
He looked at me in suprise. "You're never quiet, Red."
"Only with you," I countered.
"So, what you're saying is, I bring out the best in you," he teased. "Or the worst, could go either way."
</b>
Sadly, this just fell flat for me. I didn’t feel gripped by the characters or the romance, didn’t feel a spark, and the plot felt too slow. It was predictable and pretty hallmark cheesy.
Emily’s single perspective also got stale and I would have loved to see things from Kieran’s view, especially considering the reveals later with his mother.
I HATED Emily’s mum. She was toxic, self-centred, and definitely the need for much therapy. However, she seems like a main plot point but then just fizzles out after 40% and is never really brought up again which I felt should have been explored way more.
Emily’s best friend from home was great and was very involved at the start via texts and calls, but, again, disappears after the halfway mark.
The end tugged on my heartstrings, and I liked the last paragraph - cathartic and full circle!
High two stars! Potential!
If Emily were real, I know we would be bookish besties. She literally travelled to Ireland to help her favourite author write the final book in her favourite childhood series.
Thing is, her prickly son who owns the bookstore seems to want Emily gone. But Kieran and Em are too kind at heart to have any lingering grudges and obviously they are drawn together.
With two bookworms as romantic interests, there are lots of bookish quotes and references as each try to outdo each other over random bookish questions.
<b>"I'm always quiet," I protested
He looked at me in suprise. "You're never quiet, Red."
"Only with you," I countered.
"So, what you're saying is, I bring out the best in you," he teased. "Or the worst, could go either way."
</b>
Sadly, this just fell flat for me. I didn’t feel gripped by the characters or the romance, didn’t feel a spark, and the plot felt too slow. It was predictable and pretty hallmark cheesy.
Emily’s single perspective also got stale and I would have loved to see things from Kieran’s view, especially considering the reveals later with his mother.
I HATED Emily’s mum. She was toxic, self-centred, and definitely the need for much therapy. However, she seems like a main plot point but then just fizzles out after 40% and is never really brought up again which I felt should have been explored way more.
Emily’s best friend from home was great and was very involved at the start via texts and calls, but, again, disappears after the halfway mark.
The end tugged on my heartstrings, and I liked the last paragraph - cathartic and full circle!
High two stars! Potential!
ckehres's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
romcommer's review against another edition
3.0
I hate unnecessary deaths in books, the fmc seems a bit of a pick me or maybe the narrator voice made her sound this way
bren_09's review
5.0
Unlike McKinlay's cozy mysteries, this is one of her romance novels. In this one we follow Emily's story after Summer Reading. Emily does go to Ireland both to work in a bookstore and to serve as assistant to Siobhan Riordan, the writer of a childhood series that Emily loved. Her experiences there included falling in love with Kieran Murphy (Siobhan's son) and helping Siobhan finish the final book in the series. Since there had been a gap of 10 years since the previous one, that was no small task.
The ending is say but well done.
The ending is say but well done.
liz25's review
5.0
This book really surprised me. I thought it was going to be light and fluffy and surface level, but it was quite literally the opposite. It was cozy and had depth, both in the plot and the characters. It was truly the perfect book. For so long I’ve been reading for the sake of breezing through and adding to my read list. This was the first time in a very long while where I caught myself wanting there to be more pages and wishing the book wouldn’t end. It was intelligent and had lovely references. The main character Em was so relatable and kind and well rounded. And Kieran was such a great love interest, thoughtful and sweet. Ugh!! I just loved this book. I’m sad it’s over!
morgen_reads_things's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book gave me all of the feels!!! It was so touching and cozy and sad and everything. It’s up there in my top 20!
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
bfrance626's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5