This was a perfect light summer read for those that don’t love the typical beach read. I prefer a European adventure and absolutely fell in love with Ireland when I visited a few summers ago. This story made me want to go back and stay even longer. It was nothing extraordinary but the perfect palette cleanser in between heavier books.

The star of this novel was Ireland itself - beautiful scenery and charming stories made me itch to visit. While there was plenty of banter, the MMC seemed just as likely to take home any other hostel guest as the FMC, whose life crisis about needing to find a new job with "security" was just as exciting as listening to someone talk about their 401k. While certainly not terrible, there's many other "relocate to Europe and find yourself" novels I'd recommend before this one.

Thank you to Alexandra Paige, NetGalley, and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC of An Irish Summer! 🇮🇪☘️

This was a cute and cozy summer read, perfect for daydreaming about rolling green hills and charming pubs. The side characters definitely stole the show and brought some much-needed fun to the pages. 🥰

That said, the FMC struggled with a major identity crisis that made her feel a bit insufferable at times. She was so wrapped up in who she thought she should be that she couldn’t see what (or who) was right in front of her. And while Collin was adorable and clearly had cinnamon roll potential, the romance leaned more on telling us they had chemistry than actually showing it.

Still, if you’re craving a summery escape with heart and humor, this one might just scratch the itch. 💚

Chelsea lost her job and reluctantly made the choice to move to Ireland for the summer for a similar job, and then spent 70% of the book being stubborn, refusing to learn about Ireland, and reminding everyone around her who'd listen that she was moving back to Boston at the end of the summer. We get it, you are from Boston and love Boston and are going back to Boston.

75% into the book she realized she probably should have been leaning into the experience and appreciating the Irish culture. And then she felt a little bad about it. Ya think??

Collin was a gem and she doesn't deserve his enthusiasm. Flo was speaking wisdom this entire time and Chelsea refused to listen. Even her friend Ada from back home that she called every other day was great and gracious and encouraging and Chelsea just fought back at every point she made.

At 95% she was like, wait... Do I love Ireland?? Let's go back!!

Anyways, this drove me nuts.

dnf I need to remember that I don't like Alexandra Paige books and stop requesting/accepting them. I don't remember the last time I read a book with such an unpleasant FMC. Who complains about going to Ireland?? Not only that, but what adult, who makes their own decision to go to Ireland complains about being in Ireland. If you didn't want to be there, why did you go and why do I have to read about you complaining about it the whole time. Also wasn't the inn she worked at in Boston Irish themed? Why was she soooooo clueless about Ireland and Irish culture. This book makes no sense and is just pissing me off, I'm done.

An Irish Summer by Alexandra Paige

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 1/5 🌶️

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

An Irish Summer is such a great read! Full of adventure, heart, character growth, and an incredible setting, it’s a perfect choice for a summer read!

Chelsea loves her life in Boston. Unexpectedly, she is informed that O’Shea’s Bed and Breakfast, where she’s worked since graduating college, is being sold and she has less than a month to find a new job and apartment. She decides to take a summer job at the B&B’s sister hostel in Galway, Ireland. Chelsea feels like she left her life back in Massachusetts though. Her new coworkers are determined to change her mind, especially Collin, the tour guide. Collin and Chelsea make a deal: he’ll show Chelsea Ireland and only then can she make her judgement. Chelsea soon finds herself enjoying the hostel and Irish lifestyle, along with falling for her new friend. At the end of the summer, she finds herself torn between going home or embracing the adventure of life abroad.

Overall, a sweet story with a great romance and fun adventure. Chelsea and Collin have fantastic chemistry, the descriptions of their surroundings are delightful, and the friendship seen throughout is wonderful!

I’m feeling a bit sentimental as I write this because I have always wanted to go to Ireland and my husband and I just bought flights to go this fall. This book had a little bit of a slow start for me and at times at a little bit repetitive. But I realized the repetition of her struggle/ desire to leave made the story very realistic as so often we let what we are struggling to do/ with consume our life instead of finding joy in the day. The romance between Collin and Chelsea was so sweet- I loved that he took her all around Ireland so that she really got to experience the country together. 🇮🇪

There is a bit of a self-discovery journey for her and that is what pushed me to a 5 star rating as she grew SO MUCH during the journey.

Of course you know a 5 star read has to have good supporting characters and I loved Flo, Ada, Lars & Lori. What they did for her to help her pursue her “dream” was amazing.

I loved the ending 😍😍

Such a fun read- I highly recommend!

3/5 stars
.5/5 spice

Quick summary: Chelsea goes to work in Ireland for the summer after she gets laid off from her full-time job. She meets an Irishman, Collin, who takes her around the country in hopes that she will fall in love with the country.

This was a good palate cleanser for in between books. It was easy to follow and easy to read. I enjoyed all the landmarks that come with Ireland, and I also enjoyed the side characters. They were fun to read and helped to storyline move along. I also enjoyed Collin and learning more about his background.

I struggled to connect with Chelsea. In the book, she even says it that she was pretty snooty for the whole book. I feel like there wasn't a lot of character development from her. I wanted more from her and more insight into how she changes her mind and falls in love with the country, but it seems like one moment she didn't like where she was, and the next chapter, she fell in love. For me, it felt too disconnected. It was very on par with the insta love between her and Collin.

Overall, this is a great summer read, and some parts were fun (when Chelsea wasn't complaining).
Some tropes- Insta love, found family, and coming of age

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Alexandra Paige for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading more books in the future.

Sweet, clean enjoyable summer romance with a couple dialog lines that had me chuckling out loud - has the makings of a summer hallmark movie for sure. MMC was delightful (too good to be true perhaps?) but the real one to fall in love with here is Ireland 💚🧡💚🧡

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy for review

Thank you to @Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was in the mood for a quick summer romance and this one fit the bill! Chelsea finds herself working at a Hostel in Ireland for the summer when the B&B she worked at in Boston gets sold. Galway is not what Chelsea expects, for many reasons, but through it all she ends up discovering what’s most important.

This made me super nostalgic for my time studying abroad (which wasn’t even in Ireland, it was England, but it still gave me the wanderlust vibes!). I could see this being an easy poolside or beach read. Quick, fun, and reflective. I can’t say it’s a story that’s going to stick with me, but for what it was, it was enjoyable!

This was the story of Chelsea who loses her job in Boston and ends up working at a hostel in Boston for the summer. I initially thought Chelsea to be rather unlikeable, but I thought she got better as the story progressed. The romance with one of the other workers was predictable, but cute. I loved the setting of Galway. The descriptions of the country made me want to visit Ireland. An enjoyable read.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This book was okay, but it was nothing really special.
Chelsea loses her job because the owners have decided to close the hotel. They recommend her to work for a hostel in Ireland. She really doesn’t want to go, but she gives it a try. When she gets to Ireland, she is really dreading it. The tour guide, Collin, offers to take her to explore the country on their off days to try to get her to appreciate the Irish culture and land.
I felt like parts of the book really dragged on, then other parts they were skipped over and wanted to read more about it.

“Lead the way.”

Although this is a love story, its so much more than two people falling in love. This is the story of Chelsea Gold and how she learned to fall in love with her life by falling in love with Ireland.

Chelsea leaves Boston after losing her job and place to live to work at a hostel in Galway, Ireland. When she gets there, she is hell bent on not growing attached to anything in Ireland. On her first day there, she meets Collin, who just as hellbent on having her fall in Ireland and all its wonders.

The tours and the interactions between Collin and Chelsea are so organic, there was no way these two were not going to fall in love and there was no way for Chelsea not to fall in love with Ireland itself. This girl is so focused on her future, she’s not looking around in her present .This book was about falling in love with present and not having to always plan for the future. I felt like the love story of Collin and Chelsea was the bonus of it all.

Chelsea and Collin’s banter was literally everything in this book. It was like when these two got going, everyone and everything melted away. And I loved how charismatic Collin was, he did not back down from Chelsea in the least bit, even though she tried so hard to push back. This man lived to get under her skin.

This book made me want to quit my job, sell my house and buy a one way ticket to Ireland.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alexandra Paige and Harper Collin’s Publishing for this opportunity!

Tropes:
🍀Workplace romance
🍀Tattooed Irishman MMC
🍀Friends to lovers
🍀Slow burn
🍀Irish country side setting
🍀A fish out of water American FMC

I will be posting this review to Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads as well.

ireland has been on my travel bucket list for so long and now will have to be bumped up. getting to experience fall in love with not only ireland but collin and herself, was just as magical as the cliffs of moher. going on the adventes with collin and chelsea and hearing collin's fairy stories, really transported me to the hostel with them. i had such a fun time reading this book.

I wanted to like this and thought the premise was promising it felt flat to me. The reader is immediately thrown into Chelsea losing her job without a lot about her and it feels abrupt. Then she complains a lot and decides to go to Ireland but isn't happy to be there. I just couldn't connect with her and her lack of a sense of adventure. If she really didn't want to go, she could have stayed in Boston and found a different job. I wanted to like it but it just didn't connect for me.

If ‘the opposite‑of‑wanderlust meets soul‑searching with a side of dry wit’ were a genre, this book would own the billboard.

Chelsea’s journey isn’t merely a trek across scenic landscapes —though I nearly booked the next flight to Ireland after reading it— it’s a heartfelt, deep dive into identity, purpose, and learning to stop doubting yourself.

Brace yourself: Chelsea’s gorgeous aloofness is undercut by a sweet hesitancy- she’s unsure of her own talents and constantly downplays what she’s capable of. You’ll want to nudge her and say, “Girl, you’re more than you think!” Her perfectionist streak and impostor-syndrome moments are real, relatable, and quietly impactful. But stick with her- just like a perfectly crafted romantic‑comedy arc, the tension builds, the payoff lands, and suddenly you find yourself on a soul‑stirring journey that rewards you with the sweetest of emotional payoffs.

I adored how purpose tiptoed in, never forced, always earned- sometimes later than you hope. The story made me reflect on my own desire to control every outcome and on Googling last‑minute flights to Ireland!

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for the advanced reader copy- this quirky, introspective ride was absolutely worth the read!

Thank you, @netgalley and @avon for the gifted ARC!

Rundown:
✨️Irish hostel
✨️summer job
✨️forced proximity
✨️opposites attract
✨️fish out of water

Synopsis ✒️
Chelsea reluctantly takes a job in Ireland for the summer after her job in Boston suddenly ends. It's not what she envisioned, and she counts the days until she can head back home. Her coworkers, including the charming Collin, are determined to make her change her mind and enjoy her time in Ireland.

Thoughts 💭
This is a sweet, cozy summer romance set in Ireland. Chelsea's best friend was a fun time, and Collin was charming. There was a fun collection of characters that lived and worked at the hostel with Chelsea. But, it was hard to love Chelsea. She complained about everything and didn't want to live in the moment. I've never seen someone so against having fun in my life. I'm really not sure what Collin saw in her, and it was a tough sell that they were a good match. In fact, it was hard to buy into their chemistry at all. I did love that it was set in Ireland and enjoyed reading about the places they visited. I just needed a little more out of the Chelsea to make her more relatable.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ireland is one of my favorite counties I visited, so I was excited to read "An Irish Summer." It is a cozy novel about taking risks to try new things such as a new job or traveling to a country you never had been before. Chelsea and Collin make an adorable pair of protagonists and we see their friendship grow throughout the story. We see Chelsea grow from wanting to go home from Ireland once she landed to falling in love with the country and developing a different perspective. It is a feel good story and the perfect escape.

3.25 stars rounded down. I really, REALLY wanted to love this book, but it ultimately was a let down for me and I really struggled to get through it. I was hoping this would have been an incredible ode to Ireland in the midst of a romance and finding oneself when thrown a curveball in life, and while I do think the author tried to convey this and the bones of this story are there, it was ultimately overshadowed by the FMC, Chelsea, being insufferable and the constant repetition of the author telling us via Chelsea every several pages that Chelsea is only in Ireland for the summer. I couldn’t connect with Chelsea (and I say that as someone who, like Chelsea, does not enjoy change and longs for structure and stability), because the premise of taking a job and moving to a country you are so absolutely sure you’re going to hate and are adamant about not even trying to connect with is incomprehensible to me. And it made the whole story feel forced and unbelievable for me. I also just found Chelsea to be petulant, immature, selfish, inconsiderate, and somewhat vapid. And yes, I understand that the idea is that she grows through her experiences, but I just did not feel like we got the character growth needed to redeem her.

I also felt like I didn’t get as much of Ireland as I wanted. Ireland has been one of my bucket list trips for as long as I can remember and while reading this did make me start planning for a future trip, I felt like most of the glimpses we received were just based off easy Internet searches inserted by the author rather than immersive details from someone who has either experienced Ireland first hand or has researched extensively to transport the reader there.

I had a hard time believing the romance in this book as the dynamic between the MMC, Collin, and Chelsea just felt forced. I loved Collin’s character and his charisma, however this is where I felt Chelsea was most immature and the chemistry on her end just did not translate for me.

Lastly, I wanted more of the side characters because we seemed to get so little from them. I mean, we see Lori, the freaking OWNER/MANAGER of the hostel, only like 3 times the entire summer Chelsea is working there, and one of those is times is via email.

Ultimately, I think this could have gone through several more re-writes and rounds of editing to be the amazing book it has the potential to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

🍀An Irish Summer by @alexandrapaigewrites

This book was everything I had hoped it to be! I needed something light hearted, funny and sweet and I got exactly that! Books like this are a great palette cleanser after a string of super serious or heart wrenching books. The characters were adorable and the MMC was dreamy! A quick and enjoyable read!