I wasn’t able to read this one as I have not been able to download a copy. As I was bot able to read the book, I will still give it a five star review because it was not the author’s fault.

I had mixed feelings about this book, when I requested it, I did not realise it was short stories. The range of stories contained varied so much in the quality that this is a very hard book to review and rate. There were a couple of stories that captivated me and i loved, however some just fell short and I found myself struggling to pick the book up and read,

Thankyou to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and the author, Denis Byrne, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Once Upon A Time In The Emerald Isle in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I was drawn to this book initially by the cover which I thought was beautiful and intriguing. I found the short stories to be well written and emotive with engaging characters. 3.5 stars.
.Well worth a read

This was good. It is sad that this is how people were actually treated. The stories were well written and they were easy and quick to read.

Sadly I did not care for Once Upon A Time in the Emerald Isles. It just was not a read for me. Two stars.

This was a very good collections of stories that give character to Ireland. It tells tales of Irish people so that a reader gets a good reflection on the culture.

Denis Byrne’s Once Upon A Time In The Emerald Isle offers a topical debate on the social role and moral responsibilities of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Comprising four short stories with interconnecting themes of morality, faith, loss and deception threatening social cohesion, Byrne’s stories have a dark, twisted edge which warns not to be taken for granted.

I accepted a copy of this book from Netgalley because I am interested in Ireland, things Irish and Scottish, and historical references. It was not what I had expected, but the writing is well done. Perhaps I would have placed the stories in a different order.
The shortest tale was about how two people met, one being a domestic worker , the other a laborer. Sweet love story with descriptive passages.

Another story, not sweet or romantic, is also about how two people meet. It is a forbidden love, followed by the woman looking for absolution from her priest. Not only does the priest fail her, but he makes the situation worse. Adult content and dark references.

Speaking of dark and religion, the first story is about the treatment of unwed mothers and their offspring. It has so is a very solemn and dismal tale.

The fourth story, presented second in this collection, was the one most enjoyed. It was about a community coming to the aid of a man under attack, even though his religion was different from theirs. Filled with descriptive humor, this was an enjoyable representation of the times in which it was set.

The writing is well done but I felt it was representative of something done for a literature class.

Once Up A Time in the Emerald Isles' by Danis Byrne was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is a collection of short stories which takes place in the past in Ireland. The sentence structure was unusual so I often had to go back to read a page or two to understand the point. Three out of five of the short stories presented a critical view of the abuse of clergy of the times. I found the authors exposure of this abuse both interesting and disturbing. The last two stories described the strong faith that society of that time. Denis Byrne's views on society in Ireland's past are thoughtful and fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. This book was just not for me. I thought I'd try something new but unfortunately it just didn't work.

This book got my attention because the cover is so intriguing and also because it is a book of Irish short stories. I love a good Irish story and these did not fail. The writing is well done and I liked the endings but you could imagine what happened next if the story continued. While the subject matter of the first one is intense and tragic it is also a harsh and devastating reality of Irish history, the second story is light-hearted and fun, the third a beautiful love story and the fourth a story of a nice family who discover one of their own is struggling and one of them comes to the rescue. I don't want to say too much and spoil it.

What endeared me to these stories was the author's ability to convey so well what it was like to be Irish during that time. I loved the way the women described their husband and the way the husbands described their wives. The stories were riddled with guilt, fear of embarrassing the family, innocence, love, survival and tragedy. This short story collection made me cry, laugh and feel so much. I would definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Denis Byrne, and BooksGoSocial Kindle Edition for a free electronic ARC of this book.

When I saw this book, I found the cover exciting, and I also found the fact that it was a series of short stories, so I was on board immediately! I love short stories, and I find them comforting. A collection of short stories, all set in an Ireland of the past.

TItle of the book: Once Upon A Time in the Emerald Isles
Author: Denis Byrne, Hennessy Literary, and PJ O'Connor
Publisher: BooksGoSocial
Date of Publishing: July 16, 2018
ISBN: 9781912732098

I read this book in about 3 hours on July 24, 2018.

In this review and rate I'm going to go over:
- The cover of the book
- How well the opening sentence went in the way it was used as a hook
- The overall pacing of the book
- How the characters were developed in the narrative.
- And then my overall rating and if I would re-read it.

Book Cover:

When I saw this book, I found the cover exciting, and I also found the fact that it was a series of short stories, so I was on board immediately! I love short stories, and I find them comforting and exciting. Short stories for me are the tiny bits of magic, woven so that the reader has just a bite and wants more.

The cover is of a dark background showing an old church. It has a lovely blue color to it, and the tones are gorgeous. The font is done to appear like a storybook, and it got my attention immediately.
Opening Sentence and hook:

This is a collection of short stories, but for brevity's sake, let's start with the first story and thus the first sentence.

The opening sentence says the name of the protagonist, or who I assume is the protagonist and describes something that later is not actually what occurred.

This particular hook is disjointed, and I had to read it three times to make sure that was what I learned. I'm not sure why the author changed the story without updating or fixing the hook, but it caused a lot of confusion for me as I read it.

In all honesty, if I had not committed to reading the entire book all the way through, I probably would have stopped about six pages in, because the hook was confusing to me.

Book pacing:
This book has a breakneck pace and gets quickly though plots and subplots, development and points quickly. I was able to get through it in about three hours, and that's with also getting up to get water on occasion.

Character Development:
The characters I felt were underdeveloped. The protagonist in story one, for example, he was mentioned in the hook but was forgotten for a very long time in the narrative. He at least was discussed yet unlike other characters in the story, and that is why I'm pretty sure he's the intended protagonist.
There are pieces of the story that shift, and you have to keep up. At one point, to be sure that I understood what I was reading, I got out a pen and paper and started to make a flow chart. Now, I like flowcharts, so don't let that frustrate you if you do not. But for me, it was jarring how one character would have what looked like the hint of becoming developed or even a pair of characters, and then within a page or two, that character was never mentioned again.

Overall Rating:

Again, I am a fan of short stories. I love to read things that are bite-sized because sometimes that's what time I have. With the pacing, the lack or strangely jointed character development, the very odd point of view changes, and overall, I'm going to rate this series with three stars out of 5. Neither bad nor good. I found it to like in the 'Okay' pile.

For those of you who like to read very fast paced stories, with swift conclusions to things, this might be just right for you. There is a lot of religious bias in it, so if you aren't into reading that, this is not the book for you. There also are mentions of some very dark themes, like pedophilia, suicide, murder, but the author never puts any detail into anything regarding these themes. They just are mentioned in oddly casual ways.

Who would like this book?
People who love gossip columns, or blurbs of news. The pacing of this, rapid POV changes and the way that characters disappear, is just about perfect for those who love getting news in small bits of information.

Would I reread this?

Probably not. My main reason for not, the dark themes mixed with the fact that I had to read and re-read pages to make sure I understood it, were just annoying enough that I don't want to do that again.

The cover of this book is what originally caught my attention and made me want to read it. And I enjoy reading short stories.

There were 4 stories in the book, each different. The title "Once Upon a Time in the Emerald Isles" sounds like the start of a fairy tale.

But sadly, two of these stories are dark, horrible tales of things that are still unfortunately happening in the Catholic Church. As a Catholic, it truly sickens me and I personally decided years ago that I will never go to confession ever again. The author did a superb job describing the sad situations and trauma people went through.

Another is a short love story between a workman and a domestic worker.

The other story was the one that had humor in it. Since it's short, I don't want to spoil it for anyone. But I had to smile at the land of condensed milk and honey!

This as a new to me author and I will see what other books he has. Lots of food for thought in the stories. Those who think the Catholic church can do no wrong would probably be offended by the book but I quite enjoyed it!

* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.