Out September 6th, 2025
A Merry Irish Christmas is pure holiday magic wrapped in emerald green and tied with a bow of romantic mischief. Clodagh Murphy delivers a story brimming with warmth, wit, and the kind of cozy chaos only an Irish Christmas can bring. Think crackling fires, family feuds, and a second-chance romance that glows brighter than fairy lights on Grafton Street. It’s the kind of book that makes you laugh out loud one moment and clutch your heart the next.

Why should this be your seasonal read? Because Murphy knows how to blend humor and heart like mulled wine and cinnamon. Her characters are delightfully flawed, her dialogue sparkles, and the setting is so vivid you’ll swear you hear the clink of glasses and the rustle of wrapping paper. Whether you’re curled up solo or dodging relatives at a holiday gathering, A Merry Irish Christmas is the perfect escape into festive joy and romantic possibility.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and BoldWood Books for this festive ARC!

A Merry Irish Christmas- Clodagh Murphy

Yes! I just typed the word CHRISTMAS in August and I am not one little bit sorry.

I got sent this wonderful ARC by @theboldbookclub @boldwoodeverafter and I absolutely loved it. It was a cosy, Christmassy hug that I didn't know I needed this week.
I had just finished a murdery thriller that I didn't love and I needed a palate cleanser and just a lovely, easy romance read and this delivered that and more.
Enemies to lovers, forced proximity and a bit of "The Holiday" type nostalgia sprinkled on top.
I read this book easily in one sitting. Grab a cosy blanket, light and candle or 2, snuggle up and enjoy.

Mary has a wonderful life in New York City, a good job, a great boyfriend and a tiny but wonderful little apartment. In the run up to Christmas she is preparing to meet her boyfriends parents and spend the festive season with them. She is missing home fiercely and is sad to be missing out on her Christmas traditions with her family. But it's worth it right? This trip will reaffirm how right she and Greg are for each other and is a real step in the right direction.
When things don't go to plan, Mary books a last minute ticket home for Christmas only to find a handsome albeit grumpy stranger there instead of her family. How has this happened? Where are her family? Will Mary have a Merry Christmas??

This book filled me joy. It was a beautifully written piece of utter escapism. I loved the characters, Mary's mom in particular. It was funny and cute and Hallmark style romance at it's best. It also quite accurately reflects how a lot of us Irish spend Christmas and some of our lovely Christmas traditions that make Christmas in Ireland unlike anywhere else in the world. I was sad when the book ended but keen to seek out more gorgeous books from this author in the future.
Thank you as always to @netgalley for keeping me supplied with wonderful ARCs to read and review and to @theboldbookclub for approving me for this one. You know me too well at this stage and always send me fantastic reads. @clodaghmurphybooks thank u for the much needed heart and soul food this weekend ❤️

Fans of "The Holiday" will love this cute rom-com set in Ireland! The book opens in New York with Mary stunned as her boyfriend gets back together with his ex killing not only their relationship, but also Christmas plans with his family. She decides to surprise her family by returning to Ireland for Christmas. Not long after she arrives to an unexpected empty house, she learns her family has done a house swap and is in New York to surprise Mary. Given it's the holiday season and no great options to find another place to stay, Mary and a grumpy (HOT!!) actor decide share her family home. Thankfully it doesn't take too long for Evan's grumpy façade to fade and the snappy clapbacks between them morph to a sweet friendship that straddles something more. This book has it all: holiday traditions, forced proximity, friends to lovers, grumpy-sunshine, a little spice, humor and with etc. You get the idea! I also LOVED Sheena McBride's role in the story (Mary's mom). It's on the shorter side for a novel, which meant it could be enjoyed in a couple sittings.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review .

Mary vive en Nueva York y está a punto de pasar la Navidad con la familia de su novio Greg en Maine, aunque eso signifique perderse las fiestas en su querida Dingle, Irlanda. Pero todo se viene abajo cuando, justo antes del viaje, aparece la ex de Greg declarándole su amor… y él la elige a ella. Desolada, Mary decide regresar a Irlanda para pasar las fiestas con su familia, solo para descubrir que ellos han viajado a Nueva York para sorprenderla. Para colmo, un atractivo y arisco actor de Hollywood, Evan Prentice, está alojado en su casa como parte de un intercambio… ¡y no parece muy feliz de compartir el espacio! Así, dos completos desconocidos se ven forzados a convivir en plena Navidad.

____

Mary es una protagonista fácil de empatizar: decidida, dolida y con un gran corazón. Evan, por su parte, es el típico gruñón con un pasado que lo persigue y que poco a poco se va ablandando. Su convivencia forzada está llena de diálogos agudos, momentos divertidos y una tensión creciente que desemboca en un romance tierno y reparador.

Lo único que no me gusto es que lo exes se fueran como si nada. Ojala hubieran recibido su merecido.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

An ace feel good read. Loved it so much. The Christmas swim brought back so many memories. It is a lovely love story with some laugh out bits. The Irish mother was ace . Read in one sitting . Moved between New York and Ireland . Can’t recommend it enough. Read and escape. Perfect ending.