I’ve read author Jennifer Gracen before, but I’ve never read a book in this series and after reading this one, I immediately went and added the first three to my wish list. Love In Dublin reminded me what a well crafted romance looks like; the characters were complex, but we see them evolve during this story, the relationship starts as a friendship, but over time becomes more at a realistic pace especially for these characters, they have some fundamental differences, but they are adults about it and work through them over time, there was no rush to a happy ending, not everything was tied up in a nice, neat little bow, and I for one applaud this author for writing a book that was full and rich and everything I look for in a romance, but so seldom get anymore.

Colin McKinnon is finally free of the marriage that shackled him for years and he is trying to get a life as his children have told him to do, but he is finding that it isn’t so easy. Truth is Colin is in a rut and more than likely would have stayed in that rut if Maggie Spencer, an American travel journalist, hadn’t confronted him in his favorite pub and started pestering him with questions. There was so much to love about this couple including they are both closed off despite Maggie’s claim to be an open book. Both hiding behind their own pain, they for a friendship and throughout this book we see them grow and change and learn slowly how to live their lives to the fullest.

Honestly, I could go on and on and on about every wonderful moment in this book, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so I’m going to just say, go buy this book, savor it, and remember to live your own life to the fullest. I loved every messy, fun, sexy, complicated minute of Love in Dublin and I have a feeling you will too.

I would have never thought I'd find a 40 year old single dad relatable, but I actually related more to Collin than Maggie. I really liked him as a character and was completely envious of Maggie's job. This was a great slow burn romance and would be a perfect beach read.

Love in Dublin is a heartfelt, realistic tale of love and second chances.

Maggie is a traveler, a nomad, a wanderer. She doesn't really have a home, she doesn't have roots. She thinks it's because she's a free spirit, but it's really because she's running from the pain of her husband's tragic death, even years after. When she meets Colin in Dublin, where she's set to write another of her travel articles, the last thing she expects is to meet the man who will make her feel again. The last thing Colin expects is to meet a spunky American woman who will make HIM feel, too, after having finally shed the marriage he shackled himself to for so many years.

His teen children have urged him to start over, to make a new life for himself, but he just can't, or more accurately, hasn't. But, when he meets Maggie and forms first a friendship with her, then something more, he finally realizes that he is capable of moving on. But, how can it be that he finally meets a breath of fresh air, and it's a woman who will be gone shortly? A woman who rarely stays in the same place for long? A woman who's still running after all these years.

I love that Love in Dublin isn't a gorgeous fairytale. No, Colin and Maggie have a realistic relationship with realistic problems and realistic personalities who don't all the sudden tie up all their problems with a nice, shiny bow. No, they accept each other and their new relationship for what it is, for what they each are. Of course, there's an HEA, but it's a hard won HEA and even then it's not one of those sappy, unrealistic ones. No, it's as realistic as it is sweet and it's in the same tone as the rest of Colin and Maggie's relationship - realistic, heartfelt and really beautiful. If Love in Dublin is what this series is like then I am all set on reading the whole series now because it's made me a true fan of Colin and Maggie and Colin's whole clan.

Ireland is one of my favorite settings for books. I love to picture the beautiful county. Colin and Maggie are such good characters. I love the premise of the story and what Maggie has been through made her so determined. I enjoyed being with them on their journey to love.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

You definitely learn something new every day even from a romance novel. Ireland really doesn’t want their residents to divorce. Poor Colin and their kids for having to wait that long.

Then Maggie, being widowed so young. Wow! I love how she tried to continue their work.

Love can heal most wounds. Maggie thought all she was doing was showing Colin how to have a little fun and spontaneity in his life, but she never though he was teaching her how to love again.

This was such a wonderful book. I could hear Colin’s accent every time he “talked”. I would love all the McKinnon’s to finally reunite. Maybe all the women in their lives will make that happen one day.

Love in Dublin is the fourth book in the McKinnon Brothers series but the first of the series that I have read. It stood up well as a stand alone, so you can jump right in at this point and not feel like you are missing anything. This is Coli'n's story. He is finally out of a loveless marriage and at a crossroads. Maggie has wanderlust and her job allows her to travel, never putting down roots.

This was a sweet story about two lost souls who find love and home in each other. Maggie was perfect for Colin, encouraging him to finally start seeing the world. Collin gave Maggie a place to maybe, finally, set down some roots. Her story was tragic and had basically been running ever since. I was happy Colin called her on her BS toward the end. I enjoyed their love story and recommend giving it a try.

WOW, what an amazing book. This is the kind of book I really like when I want to feel all the emotions. Love in Dublin is basically a story about two total opposites, Colin and Maggie, who fall in love. Colin is recently divorced with three kids who he adores, and Maggie is a young american with no real roots, and uses traveling as way to cope with loss.

What I liked about this story was that there was not insta-love, they gradually fell in love. There was even some heartache thrown in as well. Both of these characters had lives before each other, both experience heartache, and both learn to move on and love again. I love love love that they started out as friends, and moved towards something more. The build up of their love story was probably one of the parts I enjoyed most.

Both of these characters faced realistic choices and troubles, which made them relateable to the reader. Love is not easy, and choices have to be made in order for it to grow and flourish and these two had some big decisions to make in order to make love last.

I have to say I want more of their story, I did not want it to end. This is definitely a book I will read again and again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have not read any of the other books in the series but this did not impact at all on my enjoyment. The characters and storyline are believeable and I recommend anyone who wants a feel good, easy to read book to curl up with to get this one.

Love in Dublin is one of those story that when you flip the final page you let out a very satisfied sigh for a story well told.

After almost two decades of marriage Colin finds himself divorced, children almost grown, and at odds with life. He’s the kind of man who stays, discovers his duty and does it, who left the wandering dreams of his youth far behind. Now a chance meeting with an American travel writer has his attention. He’d love to do what Maggie does, but it’s no longer in him. What he could see is settling down with Maggie. But Maggie is still running from grief, from a life that was torn from her at her husband’s death. Now her wings will not be stilled… unless perhaps by love.

Colin and Maggie both are grieving, wounded souls although for different reasons. Over the course of three months or so they will strike up a friendship, slowly develop feelings for the other and determinedly begin to help break down walls, or at least put a dent in them. At first neither sees that what they are trying to fix in the other also needs addressed for themselves.

I know it often doesn’t really sound like it, but to say that a story gave me a very satisfied feeling is truly a high compliment. It means all the right buttons were pushed, the mix of happy and sad worked for me, and that the ending was everything that I could have hoped for. Love In Dublin brings two different people together in grief, slowly heals them and then gives them the love of their life to go on into the future with… you cannot ask for much more than that.

I enjoyed myself very much in this story, and I believe any Romance reader would find it charming and touching as well.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Love in Dublin by Jennifer Gracen is book four in the McKinnon Brother Series. Ms. Gracen changes things up with the spectacular setting, giving it an almost Gothic romance atmosphere. It is a contemporary romance but just has that feel to it.

The isolation of the idealist male who has surrender his dreams to be the responsible adult is paired with the free-spirit female who is living hers is such a contrast in this story. The ideas of love, loss, finding your sense of adventure paired with finding a place to call home bring these two together. It is a wonderful read that will have you scouring travel sites planning a trip to Ireland.

An emotional journey that will keep you turning the pages. Colin, has just ended his loveless nineteen year marriage when he meets Maggie, a free spirited travel writer in a pub in Ireland. Maggie has gone through tragedy in her life and she doesn't do forever. Two lost souls that travel through the Irish countryside, helping each other heal.

This is a book that I could not put down, with the descriptive writing you will feel like you are there with Colin and Maggie. The family devotion that Colin has, is so important. Watching Maggie open her heart once again and not keep running.

Love the McKinnon Brothers. This book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. I highly recommend this book!!

I completely lost myself in this highly emotional beautiful story. The writing is excellent and very descriptive bringing the charm and beauty of Ireland to life and the characters simply touched my heart.

After nineteen years of marriage Colin McKinnon finds himself a single man once again. No easy feat in his home country of Ireland. He never realized how dreary his life had become until he meets Maggie Spencer. A woman who is full of life and joyful each and every day even though she's experienced great tragedy in her life.Theirs is a slow easy journey over a period of three months as the each help the other heal and rediscover love.

Definitely a book I recommend.

DNF

This is a romance set in Dublin and the last in the McKinnon brothers series.

I was bored and didn't really connect to the characters.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that I have a deep, deep love for all things Ireland. I dream of going there one day, I dream of falling for a charming Irishman, and I adore reading about romances – contemporaries, especially – set in Ireland. Of which there are not nearly enough, by the way, and the few out there are ones I’ve already read. So it’s no wonder why Love in Dublin grabbed my attention while randomly scrolling through NetGalley the other day. And it’s no surprise that I started it right away, rather than sticking to the (haphazard) ARC schedule I already had in place. This was an impromptu read that turned into a top favorite for me, and introduced me to a new author to follow.



He was a handsome, sexy, intelligent man with a dry sense of humor and a heart of gold.



Colin, our Irish beta hero, is a divorced father in his 40s – well, 40 going on 41. He and his ex-wife married at a young age after a surprise pregnancy. They were in love, or at least lust, back then, but got married mostly out of a sense of responsibility. Their marriage was never great, and after three children and nearly 15 years of both of them being unhappy, he finally asked for a divorce. (In Ireland, where it’s very hard to do and takes an additional 5 years of living together after the papers are filed before the process is complete.) Trish wasn’t a bad person, nor is she cast as the shitty ex, which I appreciate. These two were simply never meant to be together, and they couldn’t make each other happy. They had something when they were young, and they dearly love their children, not regretting them for a moment, but their marriage was horrible for both of them, and finally getting the divorce allowed them to move on and find their own happiness. Trish is seeing someone now, and, as their children tell Colin, she’s finally smiling and happy. Now they want that for Colin, too.



Enter Maggie, an American travel writer in her 30s, currently in Ireland to do a large project on places to visit and things to do. Maggie has spent most of her life traveling the world, staying in one spot only long enough to enjoy the sights, write about it for her job, and then moving on to the next place. She’s got a serious case of wanderlust, and doesn’t even have a home to return to, instead having some of her things in storage at her parents’ house. This lifestyle is what makes her happy, what has literally kept her going in the 5 years since she lost her husband in a car accident. They were 25 and had only been married a year, but they loved each other deeply. While she’s doing much better now, the pain and loss is still there, following her from country to country.



In her experience, it was always the quiet men who were the most surprising. Who had hidden passion waiting to be tapped… sensual, intense men like Colin were the most explosive in bed. She had to admit, she wondered what Colin would be like if he just let go. If he gave in to his desires for once in his damn life. The man had years of pent-up emotion buried. She was dying to light a match to his carefully guarded, long repressed powder keg. Something told her he’d be astonishing.



Maggie walks into a local pub one night, and sees Colin, quiet and reserved, sitting in a back booth, writing. She strikes up a conversation with him, and over the next few days of meeting him there, they start to form an easy friendship. She invites him on some of her local trips around the country, wanting to spend time with him, but also wanting to encourage him to step out of this rut he’s been stuck in for nearly 20 years. She wants him to take control of his own life, to do things just for himself, to find what makes him happy, and while Colin’s not sure if he can do that, so used to his life as it is, he can’t deny that he’s captivated by her spark and sense of adventure – and, okay, her, in every sense.



It's a slow, delicious burn between these two, and it’s very much Maggie who makes most of the first moves. The buildup is done so wonderfully that I didn’t even notice that their first kiss didn’t come until nearly 40% in. But oh, those first kisses were delightful and sexy and sweet. And when they decide to take the next step? Damn! These two have chemistry that both jumps off the page, burning in its intensity, while also being so intimate and sweet and sensual. It’s just the perfect combination of everything I want in a romance sex scene, and Gracen did a fantastic job with the scenes. Here’s a little tease:



But when she reached for him, he shifted her body around, pressing her back to his front. She turned her head to meet his eyes over her shoulder, confused until he made his intentions clear; he hooked her leg up, then angled her so he could slide into her from behind, still holding her as they lay on their sides.
The sound that came from her almost wasn’t human, and certainly wasn’t quiet.

“I can feel more of you this way, ya see.” His hot whisper in her ear made her shudder. Kissing her neck, his arms banded around her, one hand on her breast and the other feathering her clit, as he slowly thrust in and out of her. Her head swam. “Yessss, Maggie… I get to hold you, stroke you, and take you all at the same time.”
Between the low, red hot words and his labored, heavy breathing in her ear, his hands on her body, the feel of him stretching her as he moved inside her… all her senses reeled and spun out. She closed her eyes as the sensations battered every part of her, lighting up her nerves, sending her soaring.
“I love it,” she whispered. “Take me however you want.”
He bit her earlobe in response and she moaned with ecstasy.



They spend the next few months exploring Ireland, learning more about each other, and yes, continuing to burn up the sheets (and my ereader!). But Colin knows that this isn’t going to last much longer, because very soon Maggie’s job there will be done and she’ll be off to another location. He can’t clip her wings, but he can’t leave his roots, either. He knows it’s going to hurt when she goes, but that doesn’t stop him from giving her everything he has, from loving her as hard as he can before letting her go. And he does, which is for the best because Maggie needs to work through her own things. She feels guilt over loving another man, still grieves and misses her late husband, and worries that she might not be able to stay in one spot, to put down roots like Colin needs and deserves. But in the end, she can’t leave him behind, can’t deal with the hurt of losing two men, especially not when she has the chance of keeping Colin. She surprises him in Ireland, and they work things out so that they can each have what they want, and build a happy life together, without abandoning what they each love – his family, her travel bug, etc.



“I’ve never loved anyone like I love you,” he said fiercely. “And I’m not going to. So yes, I’d wait for you. Either way, I’m certainly not going to be looking to meet someone else. My heart belongs to you now.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Whether you want it or not, it’s yours. I’m yours. That’s just how it is.”



This was a beautiful, sweet, and sexy romance, with just a bit of angst mixed in as well. It made me smile and laugh, it made me sigh with pure romance reader pleasure, and yes, at times it made my heart ache for these two. In the end, I was happy with how everything turned out and thoroughly in love with this book.



That being said, I wanted a bit stronger of an ending. I wanted to know what happened to his writing, which was brought up early on, perhaps as a potential new passion or job for him to go after, as he was so unhappy in his job (finance department at a local university). Instead, it’s kind of dropped after their first meetings, and doesn’t factor in to their HEA in any way. I also wanted to know more about his strained relationship with his siblings, but since this is book 4, and they’ve each got their own story already, perhaps that part is covered more in the previous books? Though even if that’s the case, I would have liked to see more of it in *this* book, since his relationship with his family should be part of his own story arc and character development, too. Regardless, these were little things, and by no means did they ruin my Happy Reader experience.




If you’re looking for a lovely romance between a beta Irishman who needs to find himself and a fiery American widow who shows him how to live, Love in Dublin is the book you probably didn’t even know you needed in your life. But you do, trust me, you do. I’ll be going back to read about Colin’s siblings as soon as I can, and since I very much enjoyed Gracen’s writing style and voice, I’ll be keeping an eye out for her romances in general.



4 1/2 STARS!

This is a book that will make you cry and laugh, it’s tender and sweet and a story to get lost in. It’s one of my favourites this year.

Colin is recently divorced from a loveless marriage that resulted in three children he loves and live for. Maggie has suffered a tragic loss and now travels for a living, never stopping for long in one place. In Dublin she’s intrigued by Colin and they spend a lot of time together, things happen and suddenly the life they know is not the same anymore.

I love the way this book is written, so much feelings in every chapter, the characters is made real by stripping away their layers of protection they built. They are both souls that are scarred in some way, one by loss and one by sacrifice. These two souls finding their way together is perfectly described.

There is no unnecessary descriptions of surroundings and a good amount of dialogues in addition to the inner dialogues that makes this a genuine story.

The love scenes are some of the more emotional ones I’ve read but not over the top and not to many. Perfection!!!!!

If you like a story with the ability to make you forget the world and live in Dublin with Colin and Maggie and their beautiful love story you should buy this one.

Ms. Gracen picked one of the most eerily beautiful places in the world for the setting of a haunting tale of love, loss and new beginnings. No backdrop could have been more perfect. Standing amid the ghosts of heartbreaks past and hopes restored, Colin and Maggie set about rebuilding their lives. Maggie is a drifter. Haunted by loss, her way of coping is to roam. Her adventurous spirit, has never steered her wrong, until she discovers the beauty of Ireland and ends up losing more than she bargained for. Colin gave up on his dreams in order to face his future, will fate bring his world full circle and give him the adventure, he never thought he'd have? The characters are more mature, but the issues are no less realistic and the romance borders on ecstasy.

We’re off to Dublin for the fourth book in The McKinnon Brothers series and, being partial to a man in his forties, particularly one who’s Irish, Colin McKinnon was no struggle.

“I’m definitely lusty for hot, slightly older Irishmen. Especially the surly, quiet ones with magic fingers.”

Recently divorced and settling into life as a single dad to three teenagers on the verge of adulthood who no longer need him quite so much, Colin is coming to terms with how his life has changed but, rather than embracing it, he sees himself as boring and over the hill. Until he meets American travel writer, Maggie Spencer who reignites the spark in him he thought had fizzled out long ago.

“Something to be said for a slightly older man with experience.”

Jennifer Gracen has taken pretty much all I love to find in characters, woven them together and created two people who compliment each other in the best of ways. Despite harbouring her own pain, Maggie is bouncy and full of life, always planning her next adventure, whilst Colin is quieter, more contemplative and to a degree is settling: Dublin is his home, his kids are his heart, and whilst his earlier life decisions were understandable, he deserved more than a loveless marriage—he deserves love and laughter with a woman who appreciates him for the wonderful man he is.

“Whenever I’m with you, I don’t feel old. I don’t feel weary, or done. I feel alive.”

As the story unfolds Maggie and Colin unleash the passion in one another in every sense of the word and although I found them a little too agreeable and polite at times, they were strong couple who truly deserve a HEA. And I can’t not mention Colin’s daughter, Roisin—I loved her honest wise words and complete support for her dad. If you’re looking for heartfelt, engaging and sexy romance with just the right sprinkling of angst and which takes you on beautiful journey around the Emerald Isle into Europe and the US, then you won’t regret grabbing this.

“You brought me back to life again.”

Amazing heartwarming story

This is the first book I've read by Jennifer Gracen but it certainly won't be the last. The fourth book in The McKinnon Brothers series it read well as a stand alone. Though it made me curious to read the previous books.

Maggie and Colin have both had heartache in their pasts though very different experiences. I loved watching the transition of their relationship from friends to lovers. There were moments in the book that made me cry and others that made me smile. But during it all I couldn't put the book down reading it in one sitting. I highly recommend it.

I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This is such a sweet simple book about two people letting go of the past and finding love. It was a fast read and one that I am glad I impulsively requested from netgalley.

Love In Dublin is a story of second chances for widowed travel writer Maggie Stevens and newly divorced university administrator Colin McKinnon.
Maggie is larger than life always on the look-out for the next adventure. She lives like a nomad and rarely spends more than a few weeks in any one place. Colin is quiet, responsible, taciturn and gruff. He’s a man who had dreams but suppressed them in order to do the right thing, firstly for his wife and secondly for his family.
I love the way that these two complex characters unfurled through the book, each revealing their inner selves, hurts and passions and I loved the way that they healed each other.
This is not a long story, but t is one that swept me away. Heartfelt is, I think, overused to describe stories but that is what I think of when I think of Love In Dublin. There is a depth to these characters, and while obviously there’s a plot too and a good one, for me this story is all about the characters. I loved it.