Good luck putting this second Irish book of the day down! Think of it like a cozy romance- once you start reading, you just keep turning the pages until suddenly you realize you're on the last chapter! It's a classic tourist puts aside her normal life to come to Ireland for a short term gig, out of her norm, to see what she wants in life, and meets a charming local. Only in this case, the charming local, is her charge, and the uncouth local who has returned home with his life in tatters, is really the one who gets her heart racing. You'll spend the novel hoping these two get together, and then hoping they don't at the same time! But as we know Irish goodbyes last forever, and maybe Cordelia and Niall and have theirs too.

I went on thinking it must be like one of my favorite movies, "Leap Year," but sadly it wasn't anything like it.

Sorry to say but this wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Cordelia Is a gifted photographer who got stuck in her own grief and decides to spend the summer across the sea in Inishmore. Niall returns to Inishmore like a dog with tail tucked between his legs after his dreams fall apart in Dublin. The two of them quite literally collide and their animosity blooms. However, they are forced to interact quite frequently on the small island and slowly learn how to value the other. While there wasn’t explosive chemistry, Cordelia and Niall had a quiet friendship build that fell into a romance. They both had massive growth throughout the book and their journeys were incredibly sweet. The supporting cast really added to the storyline and contributed some humor as well. I think the book was a touch too long, but did really showcase Ireland well. Overall, this book is so well done and I would highly recommend reading it! 4.25⭐️, 2🌶

This was my first Amy Ewing book and I really enjoyed it. She builds really fun characters and a very strong story. I look forward to reading more for her in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

good mystery and i loved the friends too. I really enjoyed the romance and how it solved . I also loved reading this author. Really enjoyed her friends. Great book.

not only was this a fun romance book with good spice and tension, but it was also a powerful message about grief and self love. enemies to lovers is my all time favorite trope and this book captured it perfectly. opposites truly attracted and the side characters made it that much better!

☘️enemies to lovers
☘️Irish chef/American tourist
☘️opposites attract
☘️dual pov

The Irish Goodbye was a decent read. Ewing did a fabulous job describing Inishmore. I felt like I was there with Cordelia. I adored Roisin’s character. She really made the book for me! As for the other side characters, they were a hit or miss. I thought there could have been more development with a few of them. I did find Cordelia’s relationship with her mother confusing. I found it odd that Cordelia kept switching between “mother” and “Louise” in her thoughts. I thought Cordelia and Niall’s relationship was cute. I liked that there was a tiny slow burn. Once they got together (halfway through the book), I was worried the story would go downhill. Ewing added enough plot points to make the second-half of the story interesting. I did feel that the third act breakup could have been avoided with communication. I also thought the ending could have used an additional chapter. I wish the epilogue was further in the future instead of the next day after the final chapter. Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC.

I would like to thank netgalley and Alcove Press for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Entertaining, with a lovely setting.

The Irish Goodbye is a feel-good romance that deals with grief and loss.

Cordelia is mourning the loss of her father and finding herself without her usual knack for creativity in her career. To reset herself, she travels to Inishmore Island to stay in a cottage for 3 months and keep an eye on a local’s grandmother while she stays.

Amy Ewing did a lovely job on the descriptions of Inishmore and the residents, I really felt the warmth and joy emanating from them. The imagery of the scenery was so evocative, this could be the world’s best travel advertisement! Not to mention Róisín was an absolute delight, she was that sassy, gritty grandma we all need in our lives.

Where this lost me was the lack of emotional connection between Cordelia and Niall. Although they spoke of their connection and the characters themselves were well developed, I think the novel lacked some scenes to build that bond between them. They seemed to go from 0 to 100 and it felt so rushed that the third act breakup basically gave me whiplash.

I was not a big fan of this enemies to lovers romance. It is my favorite troupe and with the setting being in Ireland I thought it would be perfect. I will say I did love the crazy old neighbor. She was super feisty and full of life. I didn't enjoy the story of Niall being the let down son to his parents. As someone who has lost their dad at a young age, I can relate to Cordelia's grief and how she experienced it. The romance between Cordelia and Niall happened very quickly and seemed odd. Didn't enjoy the third act break-up either. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my ALC of this story which will release on 6/4/24.

“The Irish Goodbye” by Amy Ewing was a cute and quick read, perfect for summer. I studied abroad in Ireland almost 15 years ago and reading this just made me want to go back.

I really enjoyed this book overall. The first half of the book was fun and funny. I laughed out loud and grinned like crazy throughout the book. I loved the side characters and I thought it followed some deeper themes as well with grief and parent-child relationships in a realistic way. The second half of the book I didn’t love as much. I don’t think we got to really experience Cordelia and Niall in their relationship. It was all sexual chemistry. Also they so easily communicated in the first half of the book, but then the 3rd act came and they didn’t.

I would definitely recommend this book to friends or book clubs for a fun summer read. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC! 3.5 stars!

4 stars!

"The Irish Goodbye" by Amy Ewing is a wonderful, cute, emotional book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. While it can be frilly and fun at times, it also has a lot of mature, serious undertones to it. It has a lot to say about grief and moving on, about loss and second chances (in love AND in life). I enjoyed the main female character, Cordelia, who lives in New York City and jumps at the chance to flee to Inishmore, Ireland for a summer gig so she can reconnect to her life and soul after the loss of her father. I also loved Niall, a grumpy chef who has had his life and everything in it snatched from under him after multiple simultaneous heartbreaks at the hands of the same person. At first, you really don't like Niall at all. He is brusk, curt, and a bit of a jerk, but second chances are such that his grumpiness is explained away, so you see his point of view and come to understand what made him standoffish and made him have his walls up so high. You feel for both of them. Niall's world has crashed down around him, and he must heal from his losses. Cordelia, who has a lot of internet success with her photography, feels disconnected and untethered after her dad's death. As they embark on their own healing journeys, they find solace in each other where they once saw only the worst in one another. Cordelia and Niall also rediscover their passion and love for photography and cooking, respectively, as they fall in love with each other. There's quite a lot of complexity in this book! The romance aspect takes its time to get going, but I enjoyed Cordelia and Niall's journey from enemies to lovers. It's sweet, and often bittersweet, but frequently swoon-worthy. The travel and wanderlust aspects here are excellent as well. You really get the sense of the community of Inishmore and the country of Ireland, from the people to the weather to the customs and connections. All of the secondary characters are well-written and don't feel like random characters who come and go as they please. They are integral to the plot and to Niall and Cordelia's stories. A wonderful little book that I encourage you to read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Ewing, and Alcove Press for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This book is one of the best contemporary romances I've read in a long time! Perfect setting, perfect characters, a bit of angst but not too much.... the ending felt a little like slow torture but it gave me what I wanted eventually! You will not be disappointed if you want some swoon and read this book!!

The Irish Goodbye comes out next week on June 4, 2024, and you can purchase HERE! I love this book!

He laughed and she raised the camera again. He tried to ignore it—he wanted to be a good sport. And okay, maybe it was nice knowing that she was looking at him, piecing him into the minor adjustments she made as she crouched or turned or stepped to one side. The clouds roiled overhead and thin drops of rain began to spit down on them. Cordelia pulled up the hood of her raincoat.

"D'you want to go back?" Niall asked.

"What for?" she said. "It's just a bit of rain." She took one more picture, then tucked her camera away inside her jacket.

A swooping sensation looped around his ribs. He rubbed his chest and remembered the iron spring that used to live there, winding tighter and tighter until he could hardly breathe.

When had it disappeared? He couldn't quite recall.

But as he climbed over the rocks, bantering with Cordelia and tossing stones out into the ocean, he found he wasn't missing it one bit. He kept himself together now.

Healing, Cordelia had called this place.

Well, he thought as he watched her pick up a stone and throw it out into the sea, maybe she was onto something there.

Meh this was average. Nothing special. It had some solid points but nothing to run home to mama about.

Second chances. Cordelia and Niall are both in Inishmore because they're struggling with grief and pain. And they're opposites. Can an American find happiness with an Irishman who doesn't like her one bit are first? Fans of the genre will enjoy the banter and the slow move to romance. It's also got a great setting! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A pleasant read for a lazy day.

Cordelia is looking for a change.  She hasn't been the same since her father passed away. She decides to rent a cottage on a small Irish island, hoping for some inspiration with her photography.  Her initial weeks there don't go well.  A stranger bumps into her and breaks her father's camera, she gets home sick, it's always raining, and her elderly neighbor continues to avoid her.  But the island, its people, and a grumpy stranger welcome her and help her come back to life.

Thoughts 💭
This story has a lot of charm. I love stories that involve cute destinations, and Inishmore fits the bill!  Even though it was rainy most of the time, this is some place I'd love to visit.  The setting on this small island, in a cottage, made it feel so cozy! The found family trope with a sassy older neighbor made this even more delightful to read.

Cordelia and Niall are so cute!  They start off disliking each other, and after a few encounters, it's clear there is chemistry there. They were both a little broken but found what they needed in each other.  They were absolutely adorable. They only thing I questioned was why it was ok for one person in the relationship to uproot their lives and move but not the other.  It just seemed a little silly to me. I still highly recommend adding this to your summer reading list.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A cute, cozy romance with all the lovely Ireland vibes you could expect! I liked the enemies to lovers trope, one of my favorites. I always struggle with the unrealistic aspect of contemporary romances set in the real world so that’s just a personal issue of mine. I would definitely recommend it as a cozy spring/summer romance to get excited about a vacation to the lovely Emerald Isle!

My thoughts



Narrative and Plot


We follow Cordelia who lives in New York but goes on a break to Innishmore in Ireland to take a break from life in general after grief struck her big time. Then we have Niall, who is returning to Innishmore from Dublin after his life turned upside down.






Grief and pain are a big part of the book, especially during the first half. It is all about how two broken hearts mend each other and find love. The narrative is a bit muddled as it shifts from Cordelia to Niall in the same chapters. Other than that, the pacing was good, and it didn't overstay its welcome.



















Characters and Conflicts




This is one of those stories where hate to love is executed in the right manner. Cordelia and Niall are in a bad place at the beginning of the book and hate each other because of their own narrow view of the world. As they begin to heal, they see the world and each other in a new light.

This gives them an opportunity to try a second chance at happiness. The story has a rich ensemble cast that keeps things entertaining, to say the least.

The final conflict is realistic, but it came with a lot of flair and drama. But sometimes, things are dramatic in life too, especially where relationships are considered.





Conclusion





Overall, I enjoyed this romance. It was a quick and easy read. If you are looking for a novel that talks about healing and moving on with a bit of an Irish charm and romance, this is your pick.

Oh, this was such a cute, beautiful story 🥹 it reminded me of the series ‘Virgin River’. I really liked the storyline and the characters, Roisin was so funny! I hope that there will be a next book because I want to see how things continue for Cordelia and Niall and I don't want to say goodbye to these characters yet. Highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a small town romance based in Ireland! 🇮🇪
Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for this arc.

Another promising romance that unfortunately went downhill for me. But I think if you're looking for a story to settle a sense of wanderlust, this is a good option. Delivering a fill of Irish folklore, history, and local dialect, the setting of Inishmore was super lovely.

With a grumpy attitude resulting in a broken camera, I really liked the initial hostility between Cordelia and Niall, too. But it was short lived. The hate towards one another was resolved rather quickly, resulting in an overly fast timeline with a questionable romantic development.

In a nutshell, it crammed in a lot of emotions and conflicts for two characters that hardly knew each other. I needed more time spent with Cordelia and Niall as a couple. The intensity of their feelings, especially after a mere one month together, was a little ridiculous and unbelievable for me.