2.5⭐️
I read Morbidly Yours last year and loved it, and I hoped I would love this book since it has a similar premise: American FMC travels to Ireland (Galway specifically) for a job but it ends up falling in love with the Irish MMC. Sadly, the two books were not as much like as I had hoped.

I'll start with what I liked first, because there were some aspects of this book that I enjoyed. Obviously, the setting was great. I really felt like I was living in Ireland. I learned some cultural things that I didn't know before, like how to pour Guinness and what hurling is. I'm really interested in folklore, so I liked the inclusion of the fairy stories. I wish we heard more of them through Collin’s (MMC) dialouge instead of having them summarized by Chelsea (FMC), but I still enjoyed “listening” to them through Chelsea. I thought that ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) scene was sweet; my parents met at a ceilidh in the Catskills, so that reminded me of them.

I also liked the MMC and supporting cast of characters. I love that Chelsea had such a strong friendship with both Ada and Flo. More books, especially romance novels, should include female friendships and other platonic relationships as well. At first, I liked that Chelsea and Collins relationship subverted the typical grumpy/sunshine dynamic by making her grumpy and him sunshine. However, Chelsea’s grumpiness started to grate on me after a little while.

In fact, Chelsea was the main part of the book that I didn't like, which is hard, considering she is one of the main characters and the only POV throughout the novel. I've seen other reviewers say that they found her whiny and unlikable. Sometimes, I can sympathize with that, because I myself can be whiny and unlikable. However, with Chelsea, it was just a bit too much.

At the beginning of the book, Chelsea moves to Ireland from Boston because the B&B she currently works at is unexpectedly closing. She doesn’t have to move to another country. She could stay at her parents’ house and work in their podiatry office, but she really doesn't want to do that. She doesn’t want to move to Ireland either, because she is very Type A and doesn't like deviating from her life plan. However, she determines that Ireland is lesser of two evils, so she goes. Instead of looking at this like an opportunity, all she does for the first half of the book is complain about how awful Ireland is and how she misses Boston. Girl, no one made you move there. If you hate it that bad, go home. Colleen tries to take her out to immerse her in Irish culture, and for a while, she's just not having it. And even when she does start warming up to the country, she can't admit that she really does like it there. It’s so frustrating. I, as the reader, know that Chelsea is going to end up living in Ireland with Collin by the end of this book. I don't even consider that a spoiler, because it's pretty obvious from the beginning how this is going to end up. Yet I have to read through pages and pages of Chelsea trying to convince herself and everyone else that she wants to go back, when it's clear to literally everyone but her that she does not.

I think this book could have benefited from some type of subplot or a second POV, because the entire plot revolves around Chelsea hating Ireland and learning to like it, plus Chelsea and Collin’s developing relationship. I felt like I always knew where the plot was going, so I could've used something or exciting or unexpected to shake things up. Overall, it's not the worst book I've ever read, but it's certainly not the best.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager, Alexandra Paige, and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cute! I love when books are love letters to places I’m dying to visit, and this one was no exception. Catch me booking the next flight to Galway ✈️. I will say, though, both MCs were kind of insufferable at different points of the book. While I totally understand both sides, it got a little annoying. Chelsea’s inflexibility (but I get it, girly—I too don’t like big change LOL) and Collin’s persistence for her to stay (hello? Don’t tell me what to do??) kind of had my blood boiling, while also recognizing that they both had a point. What can I say, I’m literally just a girl 🤪.

Overall, it was a good read! Easy and fun! Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the Arc of An Irish Summer!

An Irish Summer follows Chelsea who's life is upended when the Boston bed and breakfast where she lives and works is sold. She reluctantly accepts a temporary job at the B&B's sister hostel in Galway after some encouragement from her best friend Ada. Chelsea plans to use this opportunity to update her resume and apply to jobs so she can return to her "real life" in Boston. Slowly Chelsea warms to the experience thanks to the connections she makes; especially Collin - a jack of all trades at the hostel. Come the end of the summer Chelsea has big decisions to make and has to consider letting go of the ideas about how she thinks life is supposed to go.

The title instantly caught my eye especially after going to Ireland a couple of summers ago and I look for any opportunity to go back! I could picture and remember places traveled to in the story. The story fell short with pacing and feeling repetitive with Chelsea working through thoughts of getting back to her plan and real life. Overall, An Irish Summer was a fun vibey summer read.

Rating: 2.5 Stars - rounded to 3 Stars

3.5 rounded up to a 4!

An Irish Summer is exactly what I hoped for—a lighthearted, fun, and easy summer read that swept me away. Chelsea is such a relatable character, feeling a little lost after her safe life in Boston is turned upside down, and her reluctant trip to Galway becomes a genuine adventure. The vivid Irish setting really shines, and watching her bond with Collin and slowly embrace the charm (and quirks) of hostel life is heartwarming and sweet. The romance develops naturally and feels as cozy as a rainy day spent in a Galway café. Overall, this is a heartfelt, feel-good romantic comedy with all the right summer vibes—a perfect pick for readers who enjoy stories about stepping outside their comfort zone and falling in love with a new place.

This follows Chelsea, a Bostonite that finds herself in Ireland after losing her job at a B&B. She hates everything about working at the hostel and can’t wait for the summer to end & can continue her life back in Boston. ENTER COLIN with his Irish accent and fairy stories. Turns out going back to Boston doesn’t sound so appealing.

The second half of this book is what kept my interest & the detailed description of Ireland. I was cheering for Chelsea and Colin right along with her coworkers. It’s a perfect quick read for summer & I really did enjoy these characters.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager & NetGalley for the opportunity to be an ARC reader for this book! I am leaving this review after reading this book completely and voluntarily. All opinions are mine and only mine.

I love a summer in Ireland! I couldn’t really relate to this main character for not wanting to go to Ireland, even temporarily. her reasons didn’t really make sense to me personally, and she was so aggressively against it for nothing. They characters also read a lot younger than they were which made me feel like I was reading a YA story, which is fine, just not what I expected!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An Irish Summer follows Chelsea who is happily living her favorite life in Boston - a great job, a cute apartment, loving parents, a best friend forever, and a plan for her future. However, it was all suddenly ripped away from her when her job, who was her free apartment, closed. But it gave her the opportunity to move to Ireland while she put her life back together. She was so prepared for her next ten years, and Ireland was NOT in the plan, but everyone in her life encouraged her to go, so off to Ireland she went. While there, and yearning to go back to her "real life" in Boston, her new colleague Colin was determined to make her fall in love with Ireland, what neither of them expected was to fall in love with each other.

I was so excited to read this. I loved the premise and I related to Chelsea way too much. I am so happy at home, and I think I would also be extremely reluctant to leave. I love my friends and family, and I have a plan of how I would like my life to look, but I think it's inspiring that if an opportunity comes to leave and go on an adventure - take it. Parts of it were so amazing and fantastic, but it felt like there were aspects that were promoting relationships that I did not vibe with. I think if some of the dialogue were slightly different between the FMC and MMC, I would have enjoyed this more.

If you love Ireland, travel, found family, and cute romances - you'll love this.

1 star, stopped reading at 34%

I couldn’t get past a third of this book because I found the protagonist really frustrating. Chelsea’s sarcastic comments felt more like rudeness than cleverness, and her choices left me exasperated. The story might have benefited from additional perspectives, perhaps Collin’s point of view, to provide more insight into her character and make her more relatable. The portrayal of Ireland lacked depth and felt surface-level, and the brief references to Chelsea’s Jewish heritage were left unexplored, missing an opportunity for richer cultural context. What confused me most was that Chelsea is from Boston, a city famously rich in Irish heritage and one of the largest ethnic groups in Boston, yet she seemed completely unaware of basic Irish customs, like how to properly pour a Guinness or the meaning behind a Claddagh ring. This lack of cultural knowledge felt unrealistic and made her character less believable. Overall, the combination of Chelsea’s attitude and the shallow setting made it hard for me to stay engaged.

Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for providing the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager Publishers for the opportunity to review in advance. This is the first novel I’ve read by Alexandra Paige. I enjoyed the plot, all of the characters minus the FMC. The majority of the main characters had depth but I felt that the FMC didn’t have much to her and her growth to where you’d expect it to be by the end of the story happened but didn’t feel like the FMC truly felt it. But as in real life, not everyone grows/develops the way you want. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Irish scenery. I’d read more stories by the author.

This book made me want to pack life up and move to Ireland for a sabbatical!! The descriptions were poetic and beautiful. I loved the friendships formed between the female characters really moved me and made me nostalgic for the moments I formed some of my best friendships.

2.5 stars but I will round it up to 3 stars for Ada and Flo.

Chelsea for me had ZERO personality honestly. I get that she has anxiety about losing her job, and I understand her frantic searching for a new job in Boston but you get nothing else about her. Does she read? Listen to music? Horse back ride? Swim? Hike? Is she athletic, does she enjoy dancing, is she a foodie, is she more introverted, outgoing? Her being Jewish is brought up twice out of the blue, seems forced? I want to know more about that aspect and why it's important to the story. Does it affect her liking and Irishman?

Colin was alright? He irritated me with the whole "oh you don't believe you will fall in love with Ireland, let me change your mind..." It was brought up constantly and I think that was where the whole "banter" came from. Her determined not to like Ireland and his determination to make her. The whole does she like me/do I like him trope did not work for me in this book.

Ada and Flo is where Chelsea's personality comes from. Where her decisions are formed and executed are via her close friends. That doesn't seem right, we get she isn't well traveled but she should have some base line of a personality. Flo was very sweet and Ada seemed to be the ride or die friend we all wish we had.

Overall a meh book for me. Had some cute moments but overall didn't meet the standard I have for contemporary romance.

An Irish Summer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What reading An Irish Summer feels like…

If you’ve ever visited Ireland and you’re a fan of romance, then this is the book for you. That’s what caught my attention and made me instantly request an ARC. I really liked this one and it’s been a while since I’ve read a good romance novel. Outside of the romance aspect, this was the type of book where you really like all of the characters. I adored the banter between Chelsea and Collin and felt their slow burn fit well under their circumstances. I couldn’t get enough of the Ireland culture represented throughout and it’s making me want to book a trip back as soon as possible!

However, this wasn’t just a book about Chelsea moving to Ireland for the summer. There were deeper messages woven throughout the narrative. As an adult, I think we can all relate to Chelsea in how we face pressures to find our purpose in life in the way of a career. How structure can create safety and security. This gives glimpses into what it could look like if you let go of the pressures we can put on ourselves.

Thank you to @netgalley and @alexandrapaigewrites for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Check this one out when it releases July 1, 2025!

The things I would do to move to Ireland to work in an inn/hostel/bed and breakfast/some other small establishment and fall in love with an Irish man (and also have seemingly no problems with things like visas, money, insurance, anything else of that nature)
In all seriousness I really enjoyed this book. At first I didn’t quite get Chelsea. She moved to Ireland d for the summer and absolutely hated it for no reason. I get that she was frustrated with her situation but it was a temporary arrangement and I wished she would’ve been more open to enjoying her time there from the start. She did come around, with the help of Collin and the other people at the hostel, and I liked seeing her plans get completely thrown off course.
Collin was such a sweetie and I felt like he was so good for Chelsea and balanced out her rigidness and fear of change. He was the perfect tour guide and they had such good chemistry (and the pining!!). He was so supportive and was willing to do whatever it took to make sure Chelsea was happy, even if that meant moving back to Boston.
While some parts of this book were a little underdeveloped, I thought it was a really cute story with a really great found family and a fun setting.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

I would have liked more character history/depth on Chelsea but besides that, I loved how i could picture Ireland by the details. I would love to visit one day. Overall, I enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end.

DNF @ 20%

I just found the main character insufferable and unrealistic. For a 28-year-old, she was so immature and whiny, and as someone from Massachusetts, it seemed impossible that anyone who lived in Boston for their entire life would be hesitant to spend a summer in Ireland. And although I understand moving to a different country can be stressful, she's basically just taking a long vacation so her reactions were a little dramatic.

2.5 stars but I'll round up because I love Ireland. As someone who spent a summer in Ireland for study abroad (go ahead, be annoyed at me for bringing it up), I was hoping this would take me back and give me all the feels...and to a very small amount it did, but probably not in the way the author was hoping...

Chelsea's in need of a new plan when the B&B she's worked for closes down, and her only real optino seems to be moving to Galway to work at the sister location, this time a hostel. When she gets there, she is determined to hate her time in Ireland (why go then girl?!) until tour guide Collin decides to make her his new project. What killed me is that most of the trips and activities he planned for her were not even near Galway, oh no this Irish man took her across the country to Dublin just to go to Temple Bar (something no Irish person would do!!!!!) for a night out.

This book reminded me of all of the joyful, wonderful moments I had across the country, from Dublin to Galway to Cork, and of the lovely Irish people I met there. I wish Chelsea could have had the same summer experience I did, because she would never have wanted to leave after a week there.

Thanks so much to Alexandra Paige and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

An Irish Summer was such a chill, feel-good read. The vibe was super cozy and the Irish setting totally pulled me in. Not a lot of big drama, but it had sweet moments and just the right amount of heart. A little slow at times, but an easy read. Perfect for a lazy afternoon.

3.5 stars!

A fun and easy read! Perfect for summer! I loved that the setting was in Ireland! Makes me eager to visit someday! I love that it’s a reverse grumpyxsunshine, but Chelsea was kind of rude at times when people were trying to be nice.

It’s a beautiful romantic story!

Overall this book was probably more like 3 stars for me but I did round it up because it was very fun to read/relive various locations in Ireland. A cute summer romance that was light and exactly what I needed in this moment but probably forgettable in the long run.

Thank you to NetGalley for the electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was given the opportunity to read this book before it was published so this is an early review. I thought the book was really cute. I'm not entirely sure at this point why I only gave it 3 stars but I would definitely recommend this book to someone who wanted a cute summer read that had Irish MMC. I read this book in one day. I think the reason that I couldn't given it higher than a 3 star rating was bc the FMC was a bit annoying. The MMC was fantastic though.