This was such a cute and fun summer read! I really enjoyed it. I feel like I would have enjoyed this even more on audio with all the different accents. I tried doing them in my head but it's not the same - lol! I thought the romance in this was very sweet. I think this would make a great movie! Reminded me of Leap Day which is a movie I absolutely love!

A cute and heartfelt story about finding yourself and pushing out of comfort zones. I loved the Galway setting - that's really where this book shines!

I devoured this book, and much to my spouse’s delight, it makes me want to travel back to Ireland for the summer!

Chelsea, our FMC, moves to Ireland to work at a hostel for the summer when the Boston based Bed and Breakfast she worked at closes. The story is filled with self-discovery, vivid descriptions of Galway and surrounding areas, and a swoon-worthy Irishman. While Chelsea’s decisions on getting back to Boston suck, I really enjoyed the storyline and the secondary characters so much that I’m willing to overlook her shortcomings. The rest of the hostel workers and Chelsea’s friend Ada really give the book some great depth, and flesh out her experience.

Collin might be one of the most patient and sunny MMCs I’ve ever read, and his storytelling remains one of the highlights of this book. Without him and the rest of the hostel staff, I might not have rated this book so high, but their portion of the story makes this read quite enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC of this book! I’ll be picking up a copy when it publishes!!

I enjoyed the Irish setting of this, but the main characters didn't quite work for me. Chelsea is whiny and Colin feels overbearing. Chelsea is in her 20s but acts like her life plans are cast in stone, so she can't see when she has something great right in front of her and thus complains about being in Ireland for far too long. Colin's interest in Chelsea feels a bit too instalove and also unwarranted. She's not attractive for at least the first 40% of the book because of her attitude about a choice that SHE made. I get that there's an element of self-discovery involved but I didn't love the journey to get there.

This was just okay to me. It was a bit boring for most of the book, and I didn’t love the main characters attitude for the majority of the story.

Probably a 3.5⭐️ I can't lie: ... this felt really bland to me. I had such high hopes. I think this had the potential to be really good, and I felt like it was okay. I wasn't in love with Collin. I didn't find Chelsea super likable either, honestly. She's so indecisive. I think it's because I don't relate to her much. She's got this plan for her life and feels strongly about sticking to it, and I feel like l'm much more go with the flow when it comes to big picture of my life. Whatever happens, happens. Qué sera, sera. Ya know? I did really like the female friendships in this novel. I loved Flo, I loved Ada! I love a female friendship! They were both so funny too. I wish they had a scene together. That would've been perfection. The romance was ehh for me. Collin seemed like a big flirt and I don't think I had closure or got over that. I did really like the fairy stories! Ugh I thought that was the sexiest thing about him! We love a poet, we love a storyteller, we love a creative. That was good. He also did plan some super cute trips, which was a bonus in his favor. I also liked the hospitality side of the story. Chelsea cared about her work and about the visitors/guests and I thought that was so beautiful. She went above and beyond. She did the extra things to make guests feel welcomed and accommodated. Seeing a female character love her job and excel in her job will always be a slay. I need to point out another thing that really hurt me: an Irish summer... it could've been more Irish. Like there were points that I forget that the people at the Wanderer were Irish. Now don't me wrong, it's pretty Irish, but there were times I didn't *feel* it, and when the whole 'gimmick' is Irish, I need to feel Irish. If I'm being honest, I was expecting Niall Horan Irish and I feel like it gave Tyrone, PA Irish Fest. It needed to be more Irish and … I don’t know it didn’t do it for me. It felt sort of weak-ish, Chelsea was all over the place, Collin was sweet but I wasn’t sold on him completely. This book was okay. It was an easy read, pretty light, can’t complain. This would be a good spring/into summer book. The Irish landscape gave very spring vibes for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager, for this charming country journey and light-hearted romance ARC!

An Irish Summer by Alexandra Paige wants to be a sweet summer novel about an American in Galway but it fell short for me. The main character Chelsea loses her job in a B&B when it closes and the owners offer her a summer position at a hostel in Galway which she takes, although she whines about it. When she gets there she is abrasive to everyone she meets, making it clear that she will return to Boston at summers end, or sooner if she has her way. She is generally unpleasant,yet the people she meets are kind to her and a coworker, Collin finds her attractive and wants to change her mind about Ireland. I found her to be ungrateful and unkind to others and it put me off the book. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

ehhh. I was looking for a cute little summer romance and this only partially delivered. I would have loved more of the summer fling vibes and less of the "woe is me I have to spend the summer in Ireland" vibes from the FMC. The FMC's attitude from the beginning made it difficult to like her and it literally took her until 70% to have the "aha" moment we're all waiting for.

The romance itself was fine. Collin was very sweet and flirty but their connection was nonexistent so I never felt invested in their relationship. The side characters were really fun and obviously the Ireland setting was lovely.

Overall, a quick summer read, perfect to pass the time poolside.

An Irish Summer follows Chelsea, an American woman working in the Boston hospitality industry, after she's let go from her job and takes an opportunity to work at a hostel in Galway, Ireland, for the summer. There, she meets an eccentric group of other hostel workers, including local tour guide Collin.

It's a simple yet fun premise! Overall, I liked the book; however, the romantic interest, Collin, bothered me as a character. He was really pushy throughout the book, insisting that he knew what made Chelsea happier than she did. I found this off-putting, and it made me struggle to want him and Chelsea to end up together. I also wish there had been more about their relationship developing; it was insta-love, which is not my favorite trope.

Overall, it's a quick, enjoyable read, but with some lacking character development!

cute romance with a great sense of setting and identity. would definitely recommend. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

What a fun and great book to start off the summer! Something that I really loved about this book, is that it transported you to Ireland and immersed you into the Irish culture. I absolutely love it when you are able to experience a different culture and place through a book.

I thought Collin was the perfect MMC for Chelsea! He was patient and kind and went slow with their relationship and that’s exactly what Chelsea needed. I absolutely loved the banter between these two and the find family feel with all the workers at The Wonderer.

One thing that I struggled with was how opposed to change Chelsea was. I understand where she’s coming from as I am a person who hates change as well, but I felt like her stubbornness was a little too repetitive and made it hard to read at times.

I will say on the other end of this, I felt like Chelsea did have some good character growth towards the end of the book. I’m happy with how this book ended and overall thought this was a great book!

You’ll enjoy this book if you like:
•Cinnamon Roll MMC
•Grumpy FMC
•Found Family
•Irish MMC

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Why am I such a sucker for anything set in Ireland? This was a lovely read, perfect for a swoony session, especially now that it is summer!

This book had me in the first half. I'm not going to lie! I was so excited about a book set in Ireland and couldn’t wait to dive in. I loved the set up even though it was a little hard for me to read for personal reasons (my position just got eliminated). My problem was just that this book fell flat. I was wanting more tension and build up in the romantic relationship. This book does a lot of telling versus showing, which I just cannot stand. AND!!!! I wanted more personal development for Chelsea. For so much of the book, she is struggling to figure out what her future looks like and what she wants from it. This needed to be resolved through her reflection and introspection and there was just not a lot of time devoted for that.

Overall this was a super light read perfect for your summer reading list!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and the author for an ARC for my honest review :) This book is expected to be released on July 1, 2025

this was a very fun and light summer romance! I enjoyed the story and I loved the characters! they really did well together and seeing found family and showing what you can do outside of your comfort zone! I wish the book was more indepth and went in more detail of the characters background but overall a very light fun summer rom com!

An Irish Summer follows Chelsea, a hospitality worker in her late 20s who has just been fired from her B&B job in Boston. To avoid a gap in her resume, she takes on a summer gig at a Galway hostel.

2.5 stars. This unfortunately didn’t work for me. While I wanted to love An Irish Summer, I struggled with most aspects of story. This book has lots of telling rather than showing, which made me feel disconnected from the characters and the world itself. Had this not been an ARC, I may have DNFed for that reason alone. I also didn’t appreciate Collin’s constant need to convince her to stay. It felt more overbearing than romantic to me.

Despite these issues, I enjoyed the Irish setting. My best friend who has spent a lot of time in Galway and her Irish husband verified the cultural accuracy. I’d love to visit one day!

For the closed door girlies, Chapter 17 contains an open door scene. I’ve seen some reviews call this closed door, which I don’t find accurate. I understand that this comes with ARC reviewing territory, so my rating is purely based on other aspects aside from the surprise spice.

Thank you to Avon Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just finished this darling novel and it had me smiling throughout (as well as yearning for a trip to Galway 😍)

Pacing was a bit odd (some events were quickly mentioned while other scenes were written out in great detail) But overall a super cute read!

Ever have life planned out, but then life throws a curveball? Chelsea has everything planned out, but when the B&B she works at in Boston decides to sell and she is left without a job, nothing goes as planned. She is offered a similar position at a hostel in Ireland, but that is not part of her plan. When nothing works out in Boston, Chelsea accepts the position in Ireland for the summer. Her plan is to work at the hostel and continue to look for a position in Boston for her return at the end of summer. Collin works at the hostel as the tour guide and bartender. He can sense that Chelsea isn't really in Ireland and vows to show her the real Ireland. Will it be enough to pull Chelsea away from her plan.

The writing was very well done and the pacing was smooth and flowed effortlessly. The description of the Ireland locations was beautifully done and the visualization was so easy. You were part of the scene whether it was the cliffs or a monastery or just the hostel bar. Chelsea character development was done well. Collin as the MMC was perfect!!! The side characters were fun and added more dimension to the story.

This was such a cute romance. A good story about letting go and learning to embrace where you are. It is the perfect summertime read. You will find yourself cheering right along with Collin that Chelsea will fall in love with Ireland.

A young adult read that would be good for someone hitting senior year. A story about a lost twenty-something trying to figure out what to do with her life. When the bed & breakfast she works for in Boston suddenly closes and the opportunity to move to Ireland for the summer at a hostel in Galway drops in her lap basically everyone in her life told her she’d be ridiculous to decline. Chelsea accepts the hostel job with the idea of only getting back to Boston and her comfort zone getting her career back on track. She is iron focused. Enter Collin who is the tour guide for the hostel who see's Chelsea as a challenge but also someone who touchs his heart at first sight. Chelsea discovers the beauty of Ireland as well as the meeting new people/friends that become family. This was a beautiful story of a woman not knowing she was looking for a change but discovering a part of herself that was always there but was just waiting for Ireland to bring out her true feelings. It is a wonderfully written story about remembering to live in the moment not for a future state. Thank you NetGalley, the author and Avon and Harper Voyager

They say never judge a book by a cover, but this one was so pretty it made me keep coming back to it. I was immediately in love with the setting of Ireland and thought the premise of "why" the FMC was there was fun and different. I also enjoyed Collin and his positive attitude even when faced with a bit of a brick wall. He also really seemed like he wanted Chelsea to stay, and like, how romantic right?!

All that said, I did struggle to finish this one a bit. I didn't really care for Chelsea to be honest. I know she was in a tough situation, but no one FORCED her to pick Ireland as the place she decided to work it all out. Loads of complete strangers were being kind and welcoming even to a newcomer so It made me feel icky when Chels was not the kindest. I will concede maybe I feel this way due to generational "norms" like respect your elder/strangers, but it still rubbed me wrong.

All in all, this is a cozy read. Once you get past the "woe is me" attitude of the FMC, it's a lighthearted read that shows growth in the FMC and eventually her own version of a HEA.

Massive thank you to the author, Alexandra Paige, and the team at Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

this book was a fun summer read because of the scenery and characters!

I enjoyed the mix of romance, the self discovery journey, the setting of Ireland, and the fairy stories sprinkled into the book. It felt like real people in a real life situation you could relate to.