Last Call for Love by Rebekah Crane was a cute rom-com, quick read and overall just fun. It takes Maeve Kaminski, born and raise in the USA by her mom and step father. She is down and out in debt from her last boyfriend and ends up inheriting a pub in Ireland from her estranged father whom she had never met and knew nothing about. The catch, she has to stay in Ireland and work at the pub until she manages to complete 3 very specific tasks noted by her father.

She also find outs that the Doherty's (her biological fathers side) and the Murphy's (the other pub in town), have a long standing feud that means bad boy Briggs Murphy is off limits. However, that is easier said then done when Maeve can't stop thinking about him. So ensues the love - hate relationship that leads to many a fight between the two.

This was a cute story, however I do not feel it should have been classed as a YA story but should be a rom-com as there is nothing teen about this story. The love aspects were not detailed, however the story line itself did not have any of the YA aspects one would expect.

I liked this book, giving it a 5-star rating. The story line was predictable, however that is true of every rom-com I have ever read. To me, the story line was different with the inheritance from dad and a few other twists that come along the way.

I want to think NetGalley and Skyscape for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a movie reel in my head! I loved this so much 4.5⭐️
We have a beautiful enemies to lovers romance set in the magical location of Ireland. Throw in some self discovery and practical jokes and you’re onto a winner.
The online reviews at the start of the chapters were so cute and I wish there were more.
Lastly thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I wish that this story had a little more development in regards to the Chicago storyline, but I did enjoy the Ireland side of things. I have enjoyed other books by Crane, but this one was just an ok read for me. The writing just didn't grab me in the same was as previous reads. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a great book. I connected with the characters. I felt engrossed with the plot. I would read another book by this author.

3.5⭐️ rounded up.
Thank you Net Gallery for this book, From the description this story sounded like a modern day Romeo & Juliet and it did not disappoint, I loved Briggs and Maeve’s characters and this island setting. It was a funny cute romance and just made me want to pack a bag and go to the island myself. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a good romance this summer.

3.25⭐️



Maeve es representante de ventas, se enamoró de un tipo que resultó ser un estafador, necesita dinero para pagar las deudas que le dejo la rata traidora. Entonces, cuando se entera que su donador de esperma murió y le dejó algo, con mucha resistencia acepto ir a cobrar la herencia a Irlanda.

Briggs es el dueño de un pub, es un mujeriego y se acuesta con sus clientas para evadir su dolor y evitar volver a caer en el alcohol porque cree que le pasará lo mismo que a su papá: que enfermerá y morirá. No quiere desarrollar sentimientos y que esa persona después sufra por su muerte.


Los Doherty y los Murphy era familias enemigas y se hizo famosa su rivalidad, lo cual atrae al turismo, sin embargo, en la actualidad ya no se odian, pero tienen que fingir y hacerse travesuras para que la gente siga yendo.


Lo único que no me gustó fue como se manejo el tema del donador de esperma. No entiendo como Maeve llegó a quererlo si nunca lo conoció y aunque él tipo se arrepintió de decir que no quería estar en su vida, nunca hizo algo por acercarse.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

RATING 1.5 ⭐️ (rounded up)

While I am not only an avid lover of romance as whole, but romance set in Ireland/the UK, this novel fell flat for me and for the time-being I have decided to DNF. I do intend to attempt to read it again closer to pub date, but am not sure how my views on the book/writing will encourage me to do so by then.

I actually love the idea behind the plot. It felt somewhat unique and despite how rare it is for someone to be left with years worth of debt from a thieving boyfriend, it was plausible. (Tinder Swindler, anyone?) I really wanted to see how Maeve and Briggs romance played out as there were so many different aspects of the story that could threaten to keep them apart, and am disappointed I didn't make it to their HEA.

What made it the most difficult to continue reading was the writing itself. It felt like a form of whiplash in that the style from one page to the next strongly differed. One moment there were beautiful descriptions and talking that really grabbed my attention, and the next it felt like a first draft of writing and any and all depth was lost.

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Thank you Net Galley and Rebekah Crane for the ARC. All opinions are my own and honest.

Thank you to net galley for this book! this is more a 3.5 but I rounded up rather then round down. I really enjoyed the central relationship and the aspects of this book that take place in Ireland. I loved those characters and would gladly read books about them as well. However I found the Chicago aspects of this book (her parents, her best friend, her best friends gf who bullied them in high school? Her scammer ex) super under developed. They caused conflict and we were supposed to care about them but we did not spend enough time or characterization on them for it to hit.

Overall a charming romance with a nice underlying storyline about grief.

SOFT DNF’d at 100 pages, nothing against the book - just decided to move on for now. (ps. it’s been about a week or two since this review, and I’m excited to pick it back up!)

It was cute, definitely was aiming to be a 3 ⭐️ read because the plot itself was cute and interesting but nothing extravagant.

Characters were likeable and bickering was valid and cute. Loved the side characters.

Thank you for the ARC!

I was really excited going into this book but it was just lacking for me. There was wayy too much miscommunication for me to actually enjoy what I was reading.

3 stars!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!

I’m going to be honest, I went into this book with some high expectations for a cutesy little irish romance book, which this definitely still is but there were definitely things that had me a bit… underwhelmed.

There was just so much miscommunication in the book that it became annoying. The book would have been a lot shorter if all the characters actually spoke and said what they had to.

The first half of the book and the second felt like two separate books to me in ways that i can’t really explain.

The main characters relationship didn’t feel genuine and i just found it really hard to root for them as a couple. I was more interested in the pubs, the characters friends and the plot about her dad. Like if they ended up being just friends I would not have been upset in the slightest.

[SPOILERS]
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Her ex showing up to apologise & explain why he did what he did in regard to the debt and offering to pay her back was just so unrealistic that it was laughable, it was just so oddly convenient for the plot in the sense of just wrapping up that story like last minute.

Rivals to lovers without any chemistry

Maeve never knew her biological father, but he left her a pub in Ireland with a cool centuries old family feud with a rival pub. Briggs is a playboy with a heart condition who happens to own the rival pub.

Adorable characters with a lackluster rivalry, a silly premise, and some pretty uninspired love scenes.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Note to marketing...YA? Without a single teenager in the book.

What a sweet read that had me turning pages and rooting for our main characters to give a chance. Maeve receives an unexpected inheritance that leads her across the pond to Ireland. She walks into feuding that sweeps her up and lands her squarely on the path of Briggs. The banter, the chemistry, the slow burn, will have readers turning pages until the very end. Love it! Great little summer read to escape life, smile, and fall in love.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I want to thank Skyscape and Netgalley for letting me read this ARC.

From their first interaction, I was obsessed with Maeve and Briggs. Their chemistry was immaculate, and the tension between them was everything. This book has a lot of common themes with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, so a reader can look forward to tropes like forbidden love, rivals to lovers, a little insta love but not too much.

Maeve Kaminski comes to the island of Inishglass looking to sell the inheritance she's receiving from her estranged father. Little does she know that this pub she's inherited comes with an age-old feud between warring Irish families and a few stipulations in the will that delay her ability to sell it. The journey that she takes while trying to complete the tasks set before her by her father had me laughing and also crying a lot. Like I cried several times in this book, but I would 100% read it again.

Briggs Murphy has closed himself off to love after the death of his father, and he's recently been diagnosed with the same heart condition that killed his father. There are lots of ups and downs throughout this story for Briggs' character, but I loved the overall message that the author conveyed. Sure, life is short, and you could die tomorrow, but having love in your life is still worth it. It's better to give love and to be loved and lose it than to close yourself off to everything and be alone.

This book was incredibly emotional but also hilarious. The side characters are so funny, and the antics that ensue between the warring pubs had me laughing out loud. I loved this book, and I will read it again when it comes out!

Last Call for Love" is a heartwarming and emotionally resonant novel that explores the complexities of love, loss, and second chances. Written by the talented Rebekah Crane, this captivating story takes readers on a journey of self-discovery and redemption as the protagonist navigates the ups and downs of life and love.

At the heart of the narrative is a cast of deeply flawed yet utterly relatable characters who grapple with their own insecurities and desires. The protagonist, whose name is [insert if known], finds herself at a crossroads in her life, reeling from a devastating breakup and uncertain about her future. As she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, she is forced to confront painful truths about herself and the choices she has made.

One of the novel's greatest strengths lies in its authenticity. Crane has a gift for capturing the messy, complicated nature of human relationships with honesty and compassion. Through moments of heartache, laughter, and poignant introspection, the characters come alive on the page, their struggles and triumphs mirroring those of the reader.

Moreover, "Last Call for Love" is distinguished by its richly textured prose and evocative sense of place. Set against the backdrop of [insert setting], the novel immerses readers in the sights, sounds, and smells of the protagonist's world, inviting them to experience her journey alongside her with vivid clarity.

As the story unfolds, Crane skillfully weaves together themes of love, forgiveness, and the power of self-acceptance. Through the protagonist's journey, readers are reminded that true happiness comes from within, and that sometimes, the greatest love of all is the one we have for ourselves.

In conclusion, "Last Call for Love" is a captivating and deeply moving novel that will stay with readers long after they've turned the final page. With its compelling characters, poignant storytelling, and universal themes, this book is a must-read for anyone who has ever experienced the highs and lows of love. Rebekah Crane has crafted a beautiful and unforgettable story that will touch the hearts of readers everywhere.

This was such an adorable read! The good: The story was cute and the main problems Maeve is struggling with that get her to Ireland feel very realistic to modern day. The characters in the book are so, so, so well-written, they felt like friends of my own! Truly, I felt like I was there on teh island with them. perfect mix of funny and heartfelt. The not-so-good: I think the author could have spent more time in important moments that the characters had, drawing out the build-up and the conclusion to each issue in more detail, keep us in those spots for a little longer. Also, the passage of time felt a little off. Anytime the story needed to skip ahead, there was very little explanation for what the characters did and felt during those times. I just like to have a little more background, even when for story purposes I know we need to skip ahead by weeks sometimes. Overall, I would absolutely read this again and recommend it to friends, the story made my heart swell!

Thank you to Skyscape and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

tropes:
-she is getting over heartbreak
-forbidden romance
-instalove
-enemies to lovers (kinda)

This book focuses on Maeve, a polish American living in Chicago who receives word of her absent father’s passing. She is informed that in order to receive her inheritance she must travel to a small town in Ireland. Whilst there she meets Briggs Murphy the owner of rival pub and enemy #1 to her family.

This book sounded like something I was going to enjoy from the very beginning, and the dedication is so sweet. “Always enter laughing” which became a prominent feature throughout the book.

We are introduced to Maeves character in a perfect way - an email conversation which in itself was hilarious and had me laughing out loud. I will say that as this was read as a digital book, I did struggle with the format of the book in a few places. The main issue was with the text message conversations, I believe that this really needed some form of animation to make it a clear text message instead of it just being a new paragraph. Similarly to this, the reviews. It would be so much more enjoyable and engaging with a multimedia aspect, which I’m hoping will be in the physical copy

I thought the side characters in this were sweet, they added a dimension to the book that really helped with pacing. I think because this book was around 250 pages long, we struggled to get invested in the romantic connection between Briggs and Maeve and in places it just seemed underdeveloped. I believe this would be greatly improved by bulking up the relationship by around 70/80 pages.

But overall a very sweet Romeo and Juliet inspired romantic comedy.

Maeve Kaminski is a very OCD 24-year-old young lady who just got her heart broken by a boyfriend who used her name to open up a credit card and rack her up in debt. Tragic. While this is happening, Maeve learns that her biological dad (whom she never met) has passed and has given her his pub in a small town in Ireland. Maeve travels to Ireland without letting her family know the situation (I could never). How her mom never asked where she was the whole first 3/4 of the book surprises me (well, she was on a cruise, but still). She discovers in this town, there are only two pubs, and they are rivals. Now, based on this, you can tell what the trope will be—enemies to lovers. You can’t go wrong with that. In my opinion, they aren’t necessarily “enemies,” but they are in a family/pub rivalry that turns into a love story. Briggs (who we find out has the same heart condition as his deceased father) is the owner (after his father passes) of the other pub in town. Long story short, they meet and instantly have crushes on each other. But God forbid you both ruin the rivalry and fall in love.

As the book goes on, Maeve stays longer than anticipated and is debating on selling the pub as she can’t run it because her whole life in Chicago is waiting for her. My job would have fired me if I had been gone that long. In order to sell the pub, her father has made it difficult by creating a checklist (before death) she must complete to get the blessing to sell. She is working with a very annoying man, Eoin O’Connor (a giant piece of work), who is in charge of the will/overseeing the pub falling to Maeve.

About 60% into the book, Maeve and Briggs finally communicate and tell each other how they feel…except Maeve hasn’t told him she plans on selling the pub and moving back home. At this point, you can guess what will most likely happen: he finds out, they stop talking, she goes home, one of them runs to the other and says they can’t live without them, yada yada yada. And if you guessed that, you’re right. There isn’t much of a plot twist in this ending as it would if you were reading another romance novel.

Maeve does learn that one of the items on the list was, in a way, a trick and discovers her dad left her his apartment as well. To me, the list was a distraction and a way for her to know the town more and the people to make her, in the end, want to stay. When she finally learns about the apartment from sweet Barb, she finds a letter he wrote. I will say I did tear up a bit reading the letter. In the beginning, you see the biological dad as a bad guy, but in the end, he’s not so bad and had reasons for never communicating.

Fast forward, we get to them being all lovey-dovey. First of all, this is labeled as a YA book; I wouldn’t categorize it as that at all. There are too many things that make it not YA. Second of all, if a man starts tickling me and blowing raspberries on my stomach, I’m getting up and walking out the door, never to return. Good lord, LOL. I usually cringe a lot during romance novels, but that made me physically ill, haha. He asks her to be his girlfriend, and they hide the relationship for apparent reasons. They go to Cork on a date where the whole town can’t see them and stir up drama. During this time, she meets her grandfather, who she recently learned was still alive. I teared up again. Briggs also tells her he loves her, and she hits him with a “thank you for telling me that” line like it’s The Bachelor. They get back, and everything is fine. At this point, the next chapter throws me off as she determines she’s staying in Ireland, but she is still trying to check off the last item on the list to sell the pub. In my mind, she’d want to keep the pub if she’s staying. After she gets back from this excursion, Briggs is waiting for her, freaking out cause he couldn’t get a hold of her in the storm. Because of this, he goes off on a rant about how he can’t do this anymore blah blah blah, and then proceeds to propose to her which she tells him to wait. By 80% of the book, she still hasn’t told her family about anything (ex-boyfriend/debt included) or told Briggs the whole truth (ex-boyfriend and selling the pub). She gives herself 48 hours to get all the secrets and situations cleared.

And then it all falls apart. Within a couple of pages, that little prick Eoin shows up and ruins a housewarming party and dumps all her secrets about the list and selling the pub to everyone in the room. Briggs is upset and storms out, feeling betrayed. Somehow, Maeve’s text messages haven’t been coming in, and she’s just now getting messages. Turns out her mom knows she’s in Ireland and is livid. Part of it is her best friend’s fault (who she argued with earlier in the book. Not too critical). She’s shocked and doesn’t know what to do. If I could punch Eoin through the book, I would.

The next day, Briggs gets to his senses and runs back to the bar/apartment, but she’s gone back to Chicago. Because of all the running and the stress, the chapter ends with him collapsing from too much push on his heart condition. Maeve has been in Chicago for a couple of weeks now, all depressed and mopey. She finally goes back to her apartment, and guess who shows up? No, not Briggs. The scammy ex-boyfriend to pay her back for the debt. Later, she gets an email from nasty little Eoin with her dad's letter for when she completed the list. It turns out I was wrong, and he did want her to sell it and not feel like she had any regrets. He wants her not to feel trapped like he did and to have her live her life.

Now it's Maeve's turn to come to her senses. She finally realizes she doesn’t want to sell the pub and needs to return to Ireland ASAP. At the airport, she gets a text about something wrong with Briggs. He had the surgery he was putting off and is doing better. He planned on going to Chicago to chase after her, but she beat him to it. They catch up, and she tells him she’s staying and running the pub. The book ends happily, with them together and obviously in love.

In the epilogue, Maeve writes her deceased dad a sweet letter catching him up on the last year. She talks about her and Briggs finally getting engaged, her not selling the pub, and many other things—a perfect way to end the book without it being 600 pages.

Overall, this was a cute book. I didn’t love it, but I liked it.

Their journey to mend a broken heart, but at the same time, heal ours in the process ✨

Maeve Kaminski came from a far away Chicago, never in the plan she meticulously wrote that she thought to go to a remote Irish Island and become the new owner of The Moorings. But she had to stay, no scratch that, she had to get away from debt & off-loading a famous pub for a pretty penny could be the gift she’d been waiting for.

Or so she thought before Briggs Murphy came into her pub wearing a smile and freedom she’s been missing. Her heart was betrayed by the fact that he was the owner of The Thatch aka her pub’s rival + he had a history of breaking every woman’s heart as he never wanted a commitment. But he’s hiding his suffering of a broken heart & a long grief of his passing dad.

A love story like Romeo and Juliet ❀ chemistry like no other + the familial legend of rivalry, an unexpected love that might save them both & rewrite the history of their homey island 🏝️

Surprisingly sweet & sentimental - when I pick this book I expect a small-town romance plus rivalry banter between our main couple, but no! It’s so much more than that. I learned about handling grief, embracing our scars & weaknesses. then committing to love, plus how to handle a feud turn to love.

How the writer portrays Innishglass, a remote island in Ireland, is the next thing I love about this book–each of her sentences brought me to imagine the vast green landscape to the steep rock by the ocean where Briggs jumps off occasionally. I also love Cairn island, which I believe came from ‘Cairns’ or a rock that was built in honor of the death & generally became their final resting place. I imagined life there and thought: ‘Man, what a remarkable place to heal your soul & enjoy each second of your life’

I’d say that despite the rough beginning + some weird transition between the Yelp reviews & the POVs that made the book hard to read, I still want to recommend this book for a short healing read for those who is still in the process of grieving & to you who love a sentimental love story.

I'd like to thank Netgalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read this in advance in exchange for my honest opinion.

-rival families
-Secret relationship/sneaking around
-pranks and banter
-found family
-small town romance

Romeo and juliet retake set in Ireland? Sign me up. Maeve finds herself in the middle of the Murphy versus Doherty family feud when she receives a letter about her father's will. In order to resolve the contents of the will, she must spend time on Inishglass island and complete a list of tasks. There's pranking, kickball games, cliff jumping, and love ❤️

I thought this book was so wholesome. The supporting characters were just as amazing as Briggs and Maeve and made the story that much more special. The pacing was a little slow at the beginning, but once the book got going, it was hard to put down.

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Releases 8/6/24