Brooke Gilbert's Blog: The Irish Fall: Cover Reveal Coming Soon!
June 18, 2025
From Page to Paradise: Your Ultimate Guide to the Romantic Hawaiian Locations from My Novels
How to Survive Summer with Lupus & Other Autoimmune Conditions: A Writer's Journey from Struggle to Aloha
May 30, 2025
Cover Reveal of The Heartbeats of Aloha
May 27, 2025
Mental Health Awareness Month: Romance Books That Heal
May 10, 2024
National World Lupus Day!! 10 Fiction books with Lupus representation :)
Happy World Lupus Day and Lupus awareness month! This month is very close to my heart. I've included a list of books with Lupus represention. Some of which I have read (I list my recommendation by them) and some I can't wait to read off my TBR! Several are #Ownvoices :) This list was actually pretty difficult to curate. So if you have recommendations, PLEASE leave them in the comments section!!! ❤️ And if you've read any of them, please let me know what you think!
Love and all the spoons,
Brooke ✍️
Title: Meet Fake
Author: Abi Sabina
Rep: Lupus, Food Intolerances
Genres: Sweet Romance
Recommend: Yes, such a wonderful sweet romance. The Lupus rep is ON POINT!!!!
Blurb:
How difficult could it be pretending to be in love with a virtual stranger?
I’ll do anything to get my trust fund on my twenty-fifth birthday, even if it means striking a deal with the new barista.
My parents think they can manipulate me into being the robot they deem acceptable to society by withholding my trust fund, but the joke’s on them if they think I’ll give in to their demands. I’m a Remington, which means stubborn is my middle name.
Sage is perfect for the role of fake girlfriend, but at some point, pretending to date her turns into real feelings that make me question every dream I’ve had.
Meet Fake is a fake relationship rom-com with sizzling closed-door chemistry full of laughs and heart. It's the second book in the Meet Cute Series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Title: Reel
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Rep: Lupus
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Rec: I just started this on audio, so I'll need to update this, but the narrator voice is AMAZING!
Blurb:
A Broadway actress has a chance at stardom when cast by a major Hollywood director, but the role of her dreams may cost her the love of a lifetime in this epic novel from "one of the finest romance writers of our age." (Entertainment Weekly)
For months I stood by, an understudy waiting in the wings, preparing for my time to shine. I never imagined he would watch in the audience that night.
Canon Holt. Famous film director. Fascinating. Talented. Fine.
Before I could catch my breath, everything changed. I went from backstage Broadway to center stage Hollywood. From being unknown, to my name, Neevah Saint, on everyone's lips when Canon casts me in a star-studded Harlem Renaissance biopic.
But stars shine brightest in the dead of night. Forbidden attraction, scandal and circumstances beyond my control jeopardize my dream. Could this one shot—the role of a lifetime, the love of a lifetime—cost me everything?
Title: The Aloha Butterfly Kiss
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Rep: Lupus, Migraines, Amputee, Kidney Transplant, Emotional Abuse
Genres: Own Voices/ Sweet Romance
Blurb:
It’s love at first sniff for their service dogs, but certainly not for them.
Locke
It’s not every day that a tourist gets washes up on shore at your feet, making such a grand entrance. And it’s just my luck, since I’ve sworn off women. But there’s something about this one that brings out the annoying, protective caveman in me. Suddenly, I’m carrying her back to my bungalow. It doesn’t help that her service dog seems to be falling in love with mine.
Guin
Just like that, I’m in the warm arms of the brooding surfer who picked me up from the sand after the powerful waves beached me. I probably should think this through better, but my Lupus is too angered to protest and the offer of his grandmother's services to treat my sun and sand burn is too good to resist. I’m quickly realizing that my approach to beach life is all wrong and Locke has no problems telling me exactly why. But what I wasn’t expecting was for my VRBO and his bungalow to be one and the same.
When two people are done with love, what does it take for them to open their hearts to fall for each other?
Title: The Paris Soulmate
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Rep: Crohn’s, Lupus, Mast Cells Activation Disorder, and Mental Health.
Genres: Own Voices/ Sweet Romance
Blurb:
A woman with a “no dating policy.” A mysterious, cocky British stranger. A dream trip to Paris . . . What could possibly go wrong?
Christine
Goodbye bucket list, I can't even get on the airplane. As I wait at the boarding gate, I’m already second guessing my dream trip–the one I never thought I’d be able to take. Leaning over my suitcases from a wave of severe dizziness, I can feel my dreams slipping away. Suddenly, I hear a sexy British voice offering help.
Colin
As soon as I saw Christine’s photo, my life changed. I knew I had to meet her . . . I even agreed to all of her best friend’s outlandish requests: watch out for Christine while on her dream trip to Paris, be a ‘health bodyguard,’ and do it all without her knowing.. But I never realized what an enormous risk I was taking with my heart.
Christine has wanted to open her heart for so long, but this all feels too good to be true–even in the city of love. Colin justified all the requests so he could meet the woman of his dreams, but he's terrified when he tells the truth he will lose her.
Which will this British stranger lose first, his secret or his heart ?
Title: A Little Magic
Author: Lindsey Lanza
Rep: Lupus, Anxiety
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Rec: Sweet Childhood romance story!
Blurb:
Nine years to fall in love. Eight nights to learn the truth. One chance to rewrite the past.
Ellie Klein fled Vermont after graduating high school, and she hasn’t been back since. Not to see her overbearing parents nor her distant brother, not even to visit her temperamental cat and beloved dog. And most importantly, she hasn’t been back to see Theo Fox. Her first love and brother’s best friend has been but a distant and painful memory for the last seven years.
When Ellie’s travel site lands her back where it all began, her goal is to get in and out without seeing anyone from before. But life has other plans when she’s caught in a blizzard that leaves her seeking refuge in a cabin owned by none other than the infamous Theo.
Theo Fox has been winning collegiate hockey and NHL championships since Ellie disappeared, but all he really wants is a second chance with the woman he can’t stop loving. When she shows up unannounced in Vermont, he’s determined to find out why she left and never returned. And if he has a little magic on his side, how to get her back.
Told over the course of nine Christmas Eves and eight nights of Hanukkah, A Little Magic is a cozy, nostalgic story of young love, finding your voice, and the complexities of what it means to be a family.
Title: Chasing Down Her Highness
Author: Fiona West
Rep: Lupus
Genres: Royal Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Princes aren’t used to being ghosted.
Edward has been patient. Five years. He waited for his best friend (and betrothed) to return home and fulfill the marriage contract they signed. But he can’t wait anymore. Embroiled in a war he fears he can’t win, he must ascend the throne ASAP with Abbie ruling beside him. If he can just reason with her face to face, he knows they can work it out… that is, assuming she’s more reasonable than she used to be.
All Abbie wants is a cup of coffee, her marriage contract voided, and a horse that doesn’t talk. Is that so much for a princess to ask? But when Edward tracks her down, her dreams of a simple, common life go poof. Now she must choose a life of freedom or one of duty. If only Edward wasn’t so dang alluring, the choice might be easier …
Can an insecure prince and a headstrong princess find enough common ground to fall in love?
Title: In Your Eyes
Author: Molly McCarthy
Rep: Lupus + Sjogren's
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
She needs health insurance. He needs a wedding date.
Two problems, one solution: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend in exchange for legally marrying her.
Rapidly approaching age twenty-six, chronically ill Hannah Reilly doesn’t have a lot of options. She’ll be forced off her parents’ insurance on her birthday, and having Lupus and Sjogren’s means she needs top tier healthcare. While her freelancing job offers flexibility and a creative outlet, it comes at a steep price: no benefits. She’s not sure she can afford an insurance plan that’s not tied to a job on top of the prices of medication, rent, and more.
All hope seems lost until Caleb O’Connor–her old high school friend and the boy next door–returns to town and comes up with a plan that’s so outrageous, it just might work. Having sworn off love and marriage, Caleb has no problem getting married in name only in order to add Hannah to his insurance plan, and he’s willing to do just about anything to get his family off his back about finding a partner–even pretending he has one.
Their convoluted deal ends up working out well…maybe a little too well. Lines are crossed. Edges are blurred. Being forced to act like a couple arouses actual feelings, but figuring out what’s real and what’s not is no simple task. Can Hannah and Caleb detangle the layers of lies and deception that threaten to hurt not only them, but their loved ones as well? Or will it turn out their love is as fake as the rest of their agreement?
This book contains strong language and sexual content. The following topics are mentioned in some capacity: chronic illnesses (specifically Sjogren’s and Lupus), cancer, SIDS, loss of a sibling, loss of a child, infidelity (in the past, not one of the main characters).
Title: The Marriage Solution
Author: Stepanie Rose
Rep: Lupus
Genres: Own Voices/ Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Julie
My hot, fiercely protective best friend Landon just dropped to one knee in the middle of the Bellagio with the perfect solution to all my problems.
After an unexpected diagnosis and a run of bad luck, I’m officially down and out. That is, until my best friend of two decades offers me his name… and his health insurance.
We’re in Vegas for someone else’s wedding. The last thing I ever expected was a proposal of my own—especially from Landon, my rock, my closest friend even when we’re miles apart. He’s always been gorgeous, but except for that drunken almost-kiss back in college, the only thing between us is friendship.
What’s a marriage of convenience between pals? Besides, Landon lives hundreds of miles away. Nothing has to change.
Right?
Landon
I popped the question, put a ring on it, and slapped Julie’s name on my health insurance policy. Problem solved.
It’s supposed to be a marriage of convenience. However, when my job relocates me to New York and I move in with my wife I find out there’s nothing convenient about our arrangement.
It all seemed so simple until the Elvis officiant said, “kiss the bride.” The second our lips touched, nothing was ever the same.
Title: Something I'm Good At
Author: Caroline Andrus
Rep: Lupus
Genres: YA Romance
Blurb:
Will the boy who never gives up be able to win—and keep—the heart of the girl who is afraid to let people in?
Whether it’s mastering a new trick on his skateboard or sweet talking his way out of trouble, Kane sees things through to the end. When a chance encounter brings him face to face with Summer, the girl of his dreams, he’s convinced it must be fate, and he makes his move.
But Summer was recently diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease, and is just trying to get through each day without drawing attention to herself. In an effort to keep her disease secret, she’s pushing people away, because nobody should have to deal with someone as broken as her.
Title: King of Sloth
Author: Ana Huang
Rep: Minor character w/ Lupus
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
He'd never wanted anyone enough to chase them...until he met her.
Charming, easygoing, and rich beyond belief, Xavier Castillo has the world at his fingertips.
He also has no interest in taking over his family's empire (much to his father's chagrin), but that hasn't stopped women from throwing themselves at him...unless the woman in question is his publicist.
Nothing brings him more joy than riling her up, but when a tragedy forces them closer than ever, he must grapple with the uncertainty of his future—and the realization that the only person immune to his charms is the only one he truly wants.
***
Cool, intelligent, and ambitious, Sloane Kensington is a high-powered publicist who's used to dealing with difficult clients.
However, none infuriate—or tempt—her more than a certain billionaire heir, with his stupid dimples and laid-back attitude.
She may be forced to work with him, but she'll never fall for him...no matter how fast he makes her heart beat or how thoughtful he is beneath his party persona.
He's her client, and that's all he'll ever be. Right?
King of Sloth is a steamy forced proximity romance. It's book four in the Kings of Sin series but can be read as a standalone.
#lupusawareness
#lupus
#butterfly
#representationmatters
#worldlupusday
#lupusmonth
#ownvoices
#representationmatters
#representation
#disabilityreads
#representationreads
#feelseen
April 30, 2024
10+ Fiction books with organ transplant representation for Donate Life Month
Closing out the month of April, Donate Life month, with a list of books featuring organ transplant representation. These are books on my TBR, unless there's a recommendation under the about section. This list was actually pretty difficult to curate. So if you have recommendations, PLEASE leave them in the comments section!!! ❤️
Love and all the spoons,
Brooke ✍️
Title: Yours Truly
Author: Abby Jimenez
Rep: Social anxiety, Kidney transplant
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Recommend: Yes, wonderful rep, especially mental health! I really enjoyed the MMC. No male toxicity, which is wonderful to see!
Blurb:
A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match from "a true talent" (Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.
And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.
Title: Unlikely Match
Author: Laura Bradbury
Rep: Kidney Transplant
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Could the man I hate be the perfect match I need?
I’m Jules Kelly, a certified bohemian boss babe, whose hip tech company just won subsidized office space in the coolest co-working space in town. From a distance I seem poised to take over the world (or at least the travel industry), and I would be if it weren’t for two big complications:
1. A rare and seriously inconvenient disease is tanking my health by the day, and my only hope for a cure—a transplant—is moving further from my grasp.
2. A soulless database company is sharing my new office space, and its coldly gorgeous, judgmental, CEO is on a path to world dominance (at least in his mind).
Tom Davenport represents the very worst of bro culture in the start-up world. Naturally, we despise each other.
The thing is, as much as Tom's antagonism annoys me, he has an uncanny ability to conjure up my fighting spirit and vitality at a time when my illness is robbing me of both. I'm drawn to him in ways I can't (or would really rather not) understand.
A mysterious angel investor forces our companies to compete for a life-changing amount of money just when my relationship with Tom becomes infinitely more complicated. To make matters worse, things get cutthroat just as my health and time start to run out.
In order to survive, I must decide if I can truly trust my most unlikely ally of all.
Unlikely Match is a high-stakes, occasionally steamy, workplace romance that will leave you feverishly turning pages.
Title: The Aloha Butterfly Kiss
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Rep: Lupus, Migraines, Amputee, Kidney Transplant, Emotional Abuse
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
It’s love at first sniff for their service dogs, but certainly not for them.
Locke
It’s not every day that a tourist gets washes up on shore at your feet, making such a grand entrance. And it’s just my luck, since I’ve sworn off women. But there’s something about this one that brings out the annoying, protective caveman in me. Suddenly, I’m carrying her back to my bungalow. It doesn’t help that her service dog seems to be falling in love with mine.
Guin
Just like that, I’m in the warm arms of the brooding surfer who picked me up from the sand after the powerful waves beached me. I probably should think this through better, but my Lupus is too angered to protest and the offer of his grandmother's services to treat my sun and sand burn is too good to resist. I’m quickly realizing that my approach to beach life is all wrong and Locke has no problems telling me exactly why. But what I wasn’t expecting was for my VRBO and his bungalow to be one and the same.
When two people are done with love, what does it take for them to open their hearts to fall for each other?
Title: The Curious Heart
Author: Ailsa Rae
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: Women's Fiction/Romance
Blurb:
For fans of Josie Silver's One Day in December, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a wholly original, charismatic, and uplifting novel that no reader will soon forget.
Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She’s only a few months past the heart transplant that—just in time—saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.
But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there's Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again?
Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?
Title: Three Amazing Things About You
Author: Jill Mansell
Rep: Organ Transplant
Genres: Women's Fiction
Blurb:
Hallie has a secret…doesn't everybody?
Hallie doesn't have long to live. And to make things even more complicated, she's in love with a guy who's seriously out of bounds. She's never going to let him know, of course; she's just going to enjoy every remaining moment of her crush. She's also determined to spend her last months helping those who write into her Dear Rose column with problems of their own. Her doctors can't fix her, but maybe she can fix a few other people's dilemmas before it's too late.
All our lives are full of choices, for better or worse. The amazing thing to see is how connected we all are—in ways we don't even know. On occasion, we have the chance to see the ways we change one another's lives for the better.
Title: A Distant Heart
Author: Sonali Dev
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: Women's Fiction
Blurb:
Her name means “miracle” in Sanskrit, and to her parents, that’s exactly what Kimaya is. The first baby to survive after several miscarriages, Kimi grows up in a mansion at the top of Mumbai’s Pali Hill, surrounded by love and privilege. But at eleven years old, she develops a rare illness that requires her to be confined to a germ-free ivory tower in her home, with only the Arabian Sea churning outside her window for company. . . . Until one person dares venture into her world.
Tasked at fourteen years old with supporting his family, Rahul Savant shows up to wash Kimi’s windows, and an unlikely friendship develops across the plastic curtain of her isolation room. As years pass, Rahul becomes Kimi’s eyes to the outside world—and she becomes his inspiration to better himself by enrolling in the police force. But when a life-saving heart transplant offers the chance of a real future, both must face all that ties them together and keeps them apart.
As Kimi anticipates a new life, Rahul struggles with loving someone he may yet lose. And when his investigation into a black market organ ring run by a sociopathic gang lord exposes dangerous secrets that cut too close to home, only Rahul's deep, abiding connection with Kimi can keep her safe—and reveal the true meaning of courage, loss, and second chances.
Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart.
Title: Cold Hands, Warm Heart
Author: Jill Wolfson
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: YA Romance
Blurb:
Dani was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body. In her fifteen years of life, she's had more doctor's appointments, X-rays, and tests, and eaten more green hospital Jell-O than she cares to think about. Fourteen-year-old Amanda is a competitive gymnast, her body a small package of sleek muscles, in perfect health. The two girls don't know each other, don't go to the same school, don't have any friends in common. But their lives are about to collide.
Acclaimed author Jill Wolfson tackles this fascinating story with her trademark honesty and wit.
Title: Things We Know
Author: Jessi Kirby
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: YA Romance
Blurb:
In this unforgettable novel, Quinn Sullivan falls for the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart. Printz Award winner John Corey Whaley calls it “not just a love story, but one with a ferocious pulse.”
After Quinn’s boyfriend, Trent, dies in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the fragments of her now-unrecognizable life. But whoever received Trent’s heart has chosen to remain silent. The essence of a person, Quinn has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then in a way, she will still have a piece of him.
Risking everything to get closure once and for all, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas, whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into something more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn’t want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they’re connected—but the time Quinn spends with Colton makes her feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, though, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost . . . and all that remains at stake.
Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, this unique and emotional story about an unexpected bond between two strangers will leave no heart untouched.
Title: A Millions Reasons Why
Author: Jessica Strawser
Rep: kidney failure
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Jessica Strawser's A Million Reasons Why is "a fascinating foray into the questions we are most afraid to ask" (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author)--the story of two women who discover a bond between them that will change both their lives forever.
When two strangers are linked by a mail-in DNA test, it’s an answered prayer—that is, for one half sister. For the other, it will dismantle everything she knows to be true.
But as they step into the unfamiliar realm of sisterhood, the roles will reverse in ways no one could have foreseen.
Caroline lives a full, happy life—thriving career, three feisty children, enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. She couldn’t have scripted it better. Except for one thing:
She’s about to discover her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong.
Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother, always her closest friend, unexpectedly passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn’t find a donor match in time.
She’s the only one who knows Caroline is her half sister and may also be her best hope for a future. But Sela’s world isn’t as clear-cut as it appears—and one misstep could destroy it all.
Title: Just Breath
Author: Cammie McGovern
Rep: cystic fibrosis and depression
Genres: YA Romance
Blurb:
From the critically acclaimed author of Say What You Will and A Step Toward Falling comes a deeply emotional new novel, perfect for fans of Five Feet Apart and The Fault in Our Stars.
David Scheinman is the popular president of his senior class, battling cystic fibrosis.
Jamie Turner is a quiet sophomore, struggling with depression.
The pair soon realizes that they’re able to be more themselves with each other than they can be with anyone else, and their unlikely friendship starts to turn into something so much more.
But neither Jamie nor David can bring themselves to reveal the secrets that weigh most heavily on their hearts—and their time for honesty may be running out.
Title: Just Breath
Author:
Rep: cystic fibrosis and lung transplant
Genres: YA Romance
Reccomend: One of my favorite films with disability. Very high on my TBR. Have you read this one? Comment below!
Blurb:
Can you love someone you can never touch?
Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.
The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.
Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella, she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.
What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?
#donatelifemonth
#transplant
#organtransplant
#representation
#disabilityreads
#representationreads
#feelseen
#organdonation
Fiction books with organ transplant representation for Donate Life Month
Closing out the month of April, Donate Life month, with a list of books featuring organ transplant representation. These are books on my TBR, unless there's a recommendation under the about section. This list was actually pretty difficult to curate. So if you have recommendations, PLEASE leave them in the comments section!!! ❤️
Love and all the spoons,
Brooke ✍️
Title: Yours Truly
Author: Abby Jimenez
Rep: Social anxiety, Kidney transplant
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Recommend: Yes, wonderful rep, especially mental health! I really enjoyed the MMC. No male toxicity, which is wonderful to see!
Blurb:
A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match from "a true talent" (Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.
And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.
Title: Unlikely Match
Author: Laura Bradbury
Rep: Kidney Transplant
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Could the man I hate be the perfect match I need?
I’m Jules Kelly, a certified bohemian boss babe, whose hip tech company just won subsidized office space in the coolest co-working space in town. From a distance I seem poised to take over the world (or at least the travel industry), and I would be if it weren’t for two big complications:
1. A rare and seriously inconvenient disease is tanking my health by the day, and my only hope for a cure—a transplant—is moving further from my grasp.
2. A soulless database company is sharing my new office space, and its coldly gorgeous, judgmental, CEO is on a path to world dominance (at least in his mind).
Tom Davenport represents the very worst of bro culture in the start-up world. Naturally, we despise each other.
The thing is, as much as Tom's antagonism annoys me, he has an uncanny ability to conjure up my fighting spirit and vitality at a time when my illness is robbing me of both. I'm drawn to him in ways I can't (or would really rather not) understand.
A mysterious angel investor forces our companies to compete for a life-changing amount of money just when my relationship with Tom becomes infinitely more complicated. To make matters worse, things get cutthroat just as my health and time start to run out.
In order to survive, I must decide if I can truly trust my most unlikely ally of all.
Unlikely Match is a high-stakes, occasionally steamy, workplace romance that will leave you feverishly turning pages.
Title: The Aloha Butterfly Kiss
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Rep: Lupus, Migraines, Amputee, Kidney Transplant, Emotional Abuse
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
It’s love at first sniff for their service dogs, but certainly not for them.
Locke
It’s not every day that a tourist gets washes up on shore at your feet, making such a grand entrance. And it’s just my luck, since I’ve sworn off women. But there’s something about this one that brings out the annoying, protective caveman in me. Suddenly, I’m carrying her back to my bungalow. It doesn’t help that her service dog seems to be falling in love with mine.
Guin
Just like that, I’m in the warm arms of the brooding surfer who picked me up from the sand after the powerful waves beached me. I probably should think this through better, but my Lupus is too angered to protest and the offer of his grandmother's services to treat my sun and sand burn is too good to resist. I’m quickly realizing that my approach to beach life is all wrong and Locke has no problems telling me exactly why. But what I wasn’t expecting was for my VRBO and his bungalow to be one and the same.
When two people are done with love, what does it take for them to open their hearts to fall for each other?
Title: The Curious Heart
Author: Ailsa Rae
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: Women's Fiction/Romance
Blurb:
For fans of Josie Silver's One Day in December, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a wholly original, charismatic, and uplifting novel that no reader will soon forget.
Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She’s only a few months past the heart transplant that—just in time—saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.
But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there's Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again?
Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?
Title: Three Amazing Things About You
Author: Jill Mansell
Rep: Organ Transplant
Genres: Women's Fiction
Blurb:
Hallie has a secret…doesn't everybody?
Hallie doesn't have long to live. And to make things even more complicated, she's in love with a guy who's seriously out of bounds. She's never going to let him know, of course; she's just going to enjoy every remaining moment of her crush. She's also determined to spend her last months helping those who write into her Dear Rose column with problems of their own. Her doctors can't fix her, but maybe she can fix a few other people's dilemmas before it's too late.
All our lives are full of choices, for better or worse. The amazing thing to see is how connected we all are—in ways we don't even know. On occasion, we have the chance to see the ways we change one another's lives for the better.
Title: A Distant Heart
Author: Sonali Dev
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: Women's Fiction
Blurb:
Her name means “miracle” in Sanskrit, and to her parents, that’s exactly what Kimaya is. The first baby to survive after several miscarriages, Kimi grows up in a mansion at the top of Mumbai’s Pali Hill, surrounded by love and privilege. But at eleven years old, she develops a rare illness that requires her to be confined to a germ-free ivory tower in her home, with only the Arabian Sea churning outside her window for company. . . . Until one person dares venture into her world.
Tasked at fourteen years old with supporting his family, Rahul Savant shows up to wash Kimi’s windows, and an unlikely friendship develops across the plastic curtain of her isolation room. As years pass, Rahul becomes Kimi’s eyes to the outside world—and she becomes his inspiration to better himself by enrolling in the police force. But when a life-saving heart transplant offers the chance of a real future, both must face all that ties them together and keeps them apart.
As Kimi anticipates a new life, Rahul struggles with loving someone he may yet lose. And when his investigation into a black market organ ring run by a sociopathic gang lord exposes dangerous secrets that cut too close to home, only Rahul's deep, abiding connection with Kimi can keep her safe—and reveal the true meaning of courage, loss, and second chances.
Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart.
Title: Cold Hands, Warm Heart
Author: Jill Wolfson
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: YA Romance
Blurb:
Dani was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body. In her fifteen years of life, she's had more doctor's appointments, X-rays, and tests, and eaten more green hospital Jell-O than she cares to think about. Fourteen-year-old Amanda is a competitive gymnast, her body a small package of sleek muscles, in perfect health. The two girls don't know each other, don't go to the same school, don't have any friends in common. But their lives are about to collide.
Acclaimed author Jill Wolfson tackles this fascinating story with her trademark honesty and wit.
Title: Things We Know
Author: Jessi Kirby
Rep: Heart Transplant
Genres: YA Romance
Blurb:
In this unforgettable novel, Quinn Sullivan falls for the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart. Printz Award winner John Corey Whaley calls it “not just a love story, but one with a ferocious pulse.”
After Quinn’s boyfriend, Trent, dies in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the fragments of her now-unrecognizable life. But whoever received Trent’s heart has chosen to remain silent. The essence of a person, Quinn has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then in a way, she will still have a piece of him.
Risking everything to get closure once and for all, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas, whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into something more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn’t want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they’re connected—but the time Quinn spends with Colton makes her feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, though, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost . . . and all that remains at stake.
Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, this unique and emotional story about an unexpected bond between two strangers will leave no heart untouched.
Title: A Millions Reasons Why
Author: Jessica Strawser
Rep: kidney failure
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Jessica Strawser's A Million Reasons Why is "a fascinating foray into the questions we are most afraid to ask" (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author)--the story of two women who discover a bond between them that will change both their lives forever.
When two strangers are linked by a mail-in DNA test, it’s an answered prayer—that is, for one half sister. For the other, it will dismantle everything she knows to be true.
But as they step into the unfamiliar realm of sisterhood, the roles will reverse in ways no one could have foreseen.
Caroline lives a full, happy life—thriving career, three feisty children, enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. She couldn’t have scripted it better. Except for one thing:
She’s about to discover her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong.
Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother, always her closest friend, unexpectedly passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn’t find a donor match in time.
She’s the only one who knows Caroline is her half sister and may also be her best hope for a future. But Sela’s world isn’t as clear-cut as it appears—and one misstep could destroy it all.
Title: Just Breath
Author: Cammie McGovern
Rep: cystic fibrosis and depression
Genres: YA Romance
Blurb:
From the critically acclaimed author of Say What You Will and A Step Toward Falling comes a deeply emotional new novel, perfect for fans of Five Feet Apart and The Fault in Our Stars.
David Scheinman is the popular president of his senior class, battling cystic fibrosis.
Jamie Turner is a quiet sophomore, struggling with depression.
The pair soon realizes that they’re able to be more themselves with each other than they can be with anyone else, and their unlikely friendship starts to turn into something so much more.
But neither Jamie nor David can bring themselves to reveal the secrets that weigh most heavily on their hearts—and their time for honesty may be running out.
Title: Just Breath
Author:
Rep: cystic fibrosis and lung transplant
Genres: YA Romance
Reccomend: One of my favorite films with disability. Very high on my TBR. Have you read this one? Comment below!
Blurb:
Can you love someone you can never touch?
Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.
The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.
Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella, she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.
What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?
#donatelifemonth
#transplant
#organtransplant
#representation
#disabilityreads
#representationreads
#feelseen
#organdonation
March 17, 2024
Books that give you an Irish fix and transport you to Ireland
Get in the St. Patrick's Day mood this month! Books set in Ireland, featuring an Irish main character, or celebrating St. Patrick's Day.
Title: A Match Made in Ireland
Author: E.D. Hackett
Setting: Galway, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
A semester abroad was exactly what she needed, but falling in love with her roommate was not part of the lesson plan.
Rory, an American college student seeking a much-needed break, lands in Ireland for a semester abroad. She never imagines finding her assigned roommate to be Jaime, the charming yet irksome redhead from her flight.
Relying on her lively roommate to act as her personal tour guide, Rory experiences the breathtaking landscapes and Irish traditions that only a local could provide. She falls for more than the enchanting Irish experience he offers and dreams about a life free from worry with someone like Jaime. From kisses in castles to pints in pubs, Rory escapes from the baggage she left behind and envies the carefree life Jaime leads.
Until Rory's ex-boyfriend unexpectedly arrives and feelings of betrayal and doubt erupt. Pulled by past mistakes and newly discovered feelings, she must decide where her future lies. Does her heart belong in Ireland, or was Jaime merely a dream meant to be left behind?
A Match Made in Ireland is a delightful romantic comedy that delves into the magic of Ireland, the beauty of unforeseen bonds, and the transformative power of self-discovery.
Buckle up for a journey filled with laughter, tears, and love that you won’t want to miss! Grab E.D. Hackett's A Match Made in Ireland today!
Title: The Light Within
Author: Ashley Weston
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
At the end of the sixteenth century in Ireland, a Scottish clan took over Dunluce Castle, claiming it for their own in hopes of unifying the Irish and the Scottish.
Secrets and lies are held within its walls, but love shook through the cracks, gasping to unleash. Catriona O’Brien is a daughter and a storyteller. Through the tales told by the light of the fire each night, Cat basks in the idea of unseen worlds. When Catriona and her friends share a mystical experience as children, Cat’s life is changed. As she grows older, she frequently ponders the mystery she still doesn’t understand, letting its influence guide her. When a mysterious stranger from the castle comes to hide in her shed, Catriona is forced on a journey that leads her to an understanding of what her heart desires. But her stranger’s secrets run deep. Will their love be enough to break through the deceit? Or will duty and responsibility destroy their love?
An enchanting tale of love through an unlikely turn of events that could alter the history of their clan...
Title: Chasing Her Heart
Author: Allison Gygi
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
A free-spirited artist. A guarded musician. One semester abroad that changes everything.
Art major Elise Abernathy didn't come to Ireland to fall in love. Her study abroad is only the first stop to a life of adventure. She'll let nothing stand in her way of getting her PhD and then traveling to far-off places to study the world's art—not even her growing attraction to the aspiring film composer who keeps invading her thoughts.
To Rory O'Clery, women are nothing but trouble. Still wounded from his ex's infidelity, he's vowed no woman will ever break his heart again. Under no circumstances will he give in to the immediate pull he feels toward the American who moves into his sister's flat.
As resisting a budding romance proves futile, the end of Elise's time in Ireland looms over them, making any chance of a long-term relationship impossible. But neither are looking for a serious commitment, anyway. What could possibly go wrong with having a little fun?
Apparently, everything.
When real feelings start to develop, will Elise realize that what she seeks is already standing in front of her, or will the shiny allure of her dreams pull them apart forever?
Title: Fortune for St. Patrick's Day
Author: Gina Ardito
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Money Can’t Buy Happiness… ...Or Can It?
Dog groomer Cara Laskin won the lottery, and her life will never be the same. Dealing with financial planners and tax attorneys leaves her dizzy. Her past, present, and future are all under scrutiny. Despite her best efforts to stay below the radar, she’s besieged by friends, family, and the media.
When she’s finally forced to hide away until the furor dies down, she finds herself turning to historical novelist, Ben Hartwell, to shelter her from all the grasping hands. During their time together, Ben will provide her with a peace she’s never known. In exchange, she opens his eyes to a world he never knew existed and an insight into his heart.
Title: March Shamrocks
Author: Eden Larsen
Setting: New York City
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Dreams are worth going after...
Cara Walsh is an graphic designer from Ireland. With the luck of her Irish heritage, she lands an interview at a firm in New York City. It has been Cara's dream to live in the Big Apple! Her cousin, Rachel Turner, lives in the city and is excited to have Cara come for a quick two-week trip. During her stay, Rachel and Chad take Cara to a bar where they serve real American cheeseburgers and beer.
Ryan Murphy meets Cara on her first night in the city. Intrigued by her lovely Irish accent, he offers to buy her a drink - one she's never tried before. Through their conversations they learn about each other's dreams and aspirations. Their shared love of art and music deepens their connection and soon they become inseparable.
Will Cara's anxiety for her future overshadow all the good luck she's had in New York or can she overcome the sinking fear of failure?
Title: Lucky Leap Year
Author: Ann Marie Walker
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Up-and-coming screenwriter Cara Kennedy has the biggest meeting of her career in two days—but for now, she's on vacation. Her short trip to Ireland is all planned out:
See the sites around Dublin
Don't think about her jerk of an ex she was supposed to spend this trip with
Relax with some Irish whiskey
Propose to a sexy Irish musician on Leap Day
Wake up married
Wait, those last two things weren't on her list…
A whirlwind trip to Ireland is supposed to end with a suitcase full of wool sweaters and souvenir pint glasses—not a husband you only just met!
After one-too-many whiskeys, fledgling screenwriter Cara Kennedy takes a page out of someone else's script when she gets caught up in the Irish tradition of women proposing on Leap Day. She wakes the next morning with a hot guy in her bed and a tin foil ring on her finger. Her flight is in four hours, and she has the most important meeting of her career in exactly two days—nothing she can do except take her new husband (and his adorable dog) back to LA with her and try to untangle the mess she's made of her life…
Title: That Thing You Brew
Author: Kerry Evelyn
Setting: Denver, CO
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
, …
Every Denver Edge fan thinks they know the secret behind my goal-scoring streak. The truth is, it’s not the pre-game toffee coffee from the Bevvie Bar that brings me luck—it’s Penny, the shy harp-playing barista who makes it for me.
But my winning streak is threatened when I learn that the coffee shop may be closing and I could lose her forever. On top of that, I’m hit with the news that if I don’t get married, I’ll lose my inheritance.
Can my favorite barista whip up an inheritance-saving recipe before time runs out?
Time isn’t on my side. With the deadline looming, I’ll have to skate fast to earn her affection, and if I mess up, I could lose everything—my inheritance, my career, and most of all, my heart.
Title: Love Comes to Clover Cove
Author: Maggie Finn
Setting: West Coast Village of Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Fall in love with Clover Cove, a gorgeous Irish coastal village full of love and warmth with feel-good romance around every corner.
Being posted from Manhattan to the gorgeous Emerald Isle should be a welcome time-out for heartbroken executive Kate O’Riordan. But Kate’s job is to persuade the West Coast village of Clover Cove to sell their picture-perfect harbour to her employer.
Her mission brings her into conflict with local innkeeper Connor James, a man who seems to make every woman’s heart do backflips, but who is hiding his own secret heartache. For a woman used to knowing exactly what she wants, Kate's loyalties and ambitions start to change the longer she stays in Clover Cove, and when Kate’s ex-boyfriend flies out to Ireland to ask for a second chance, she has to question her true feelings for Connor - and for the village which has stolen her heart.
In this warm-hearted, feel-good love story, Kate must choose between a life she's always dreamt of and a different sort of happy-ever-after in Clover Cove.
Love Comes To Clover Cove is the first book in an uplifting new series of romance, family and friendship set on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Jenny Colgan and the hit movie Leap Year.
Title: The Cosy Cottage in Ireland
Author: Julie Caplin
Setting: Dublin and Kerry, Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Snuggle up in your favourite armchair and take a trip across the Irish sea for comfort food, cosy cottage nights and a heartwarming romance…
Talented lawyer Hannah Campbell wants a change in her workaholic Manchester life – so she books herself a place at the world-renowned Killorgally Cookery School in County Kerry. But on her first night In Ireland, sampling the delights of Dublin, Hannah can’t resist falling for the charms of handsome stranger Conor. It’s only when Hannah arrives at her postcard-pretty home at Killorgally for the next six weeks that she discovers what happens in Dublin doesn’t quite stay in Dublin…
Nestled amongst rolling green hills and breathtaking countryside, the cookery school throws Hannah and Conor together again–for better or worse.
Title: Thank You for Listening
Author: Julia Whelan
Setting: Vegas to Venice
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
From the author of My Oxford Year, Julia Whelan’s uplifting novel tells the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator—who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident—and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel.
For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger.
On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her.
As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.
If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.
Title: Off the Map
Author: Trish Doller
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
On the road to love, you don't need a GPS...
Carla Black’s life motto is “here for a good time, not for a long time.” She’s been traveling the world on her own in her vintage Jeep Wrangler for nearly a decade, stopping only long enough to replenish her adventure fund. She doesn’t do love and she doesn’t ever go home.
Eamon Sullivan is a modern-day cartographer who creates digital maps. His work helps people find their way, but he’s the one who’s lost his sense of direction. He’s unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled out—literally.
Fate throws them together when Carla arrives in Dublin for her best friend’s wedding and Eamon is tasked with picking her up from the airport. But what should be a simple drive across Ireland quickly becomes complicated with chemistry-filled detours, unexpected feelings, and a chance at love - if only they choose it.
Title: Float Plan
Author: Trish Doller
Setting: Out at Sea
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Heartbroken by the loss of her fiancé, adventurous Anna finds a second chance at love with an Irish sailor in this riveting, emotional romance.
After a reminder goes off for the Caribbean sailing trip Anna was supposed to take with her fiancé, she impulsively goes to sea in the sailboat he left her, intending to complete the voyage alone.
But after a treacherous night’s sail, she realizes she can’t do it by herself and hires Keane, a professional sailor, to help. Much like Anna, Keane is struggling with a very different future than the one he had planned. As romance rises with the tide, they discover that it’s never too late to chart a new course.
In Trish Doller’s unforgettable Float Plan, starting over doesn't mean letting go of your past, it means making room for your future.
Title: Sweet Dreams
Author: Nanette Littlestone
Setting: Claremore, Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Get swept away to Claremore, Ireland, where the people are welcoming, the grass sparkles with morning dew, and an ancient legend leads to magical experiences.
Claire Francis has worked in the family bakery since she was a wee girl. Now at 27 she longs for her own shop, a place to make her culinary dreams come true. But her traditional mother has no plans to retire and forbids Claire to explore her creative talents.
With Brigid Cleary’s wedding just around the corner, Claire’s life takes a dramatic turn. Used to a quiet routine, she’s now embroiled in pre-wedding dilemmas. Plus Brigid’s handsome brother, Finn, pushes Claire to question her safe, uneventful life and take a chance on their attraction. But he’s only in town for a week, and worse, he spends his life on the water, the very thing Claire fears the most.
Impetuous and daring, Finn encourages Claire to shed her personal and professional inhibitions. But Claire has a past she can’t escape. As she grows closer to Finn, her secret looms ever bigger, and love and success feel as likely as that imaginary pot of gold. Until a magical gift unlocks a path to her dreams, one sweet taste at a time.
Fall in love with this feel-good, delicious, heartwarming romance. Perfect for fans of Emma Bennet, Holly Martin, Jenny Colgan, and Jenny Hale.
Title: Love at First Book
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Setting: Irish Village
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
When a librarian moves to a quaint Irish village where her favorite novelist lives, the last thing she expects is to fall for the author’s prickly son… until their story becomes one for the books, from the New York Times bestselling author of Summer Reading.
Emily Allen, a librarian on Martha’s Vineyard, has always dreamed of a life of travel and adventure. So when her favorite author, Siobhan Riordan, offers her a job in the Emerald Isle, Emily jumps at the opportunity. After all, Siobhan’s novels got Em through some of the darkest days of her existence.
Helping Siobhan write the final book in her acclaimed series—after a ten-year hiatus due to a scorching case of writer’s block—is a dream come true for Emily. If only she didn’t have to deal with Siobhan’s son, Kieran Murphy. He manages Siobhan’s bookstore, and the grouchy bookworm clearly doesn’t want Em around.
Emily persists, and spending her days bantering with the annoyingly handsome mercurial Irishman only makes her fall more deeply in love with the new life she’s built – and for the man who seems to soften toward her with every quip she throws at him. But when she discovers the reason for Kieran's initial resistance, Em finds herself torn between helping Siobhan find closure with her series and her now undeniable feelings for Kier. As Siobhan's novel progresses, Emily will have to decide if she’s truly ready to turn a new page and figure out what lies in the next chapter.
Title: Last Call at the Local
Author: Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Setting: Small Town Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Opposites attract when a free-spirited American singer-songwriter with ADHD teams up with a charming Irishman to revitalize his family's pub in the next heartfelt romance from the author of Luck and Last Resorts.
Raine Hart is used to the challenges of living with ADHD. It’s why she ditched her life in Boston to busk around Europe as a traveling musician. No boss. No schedule. No one to disappoint but herself. But when a careless mistake in Ireland leaves her unable to perform, she sees no other option but to give up her nomadic life.
Since inheriting the Local, Jack Dunne has wanted to make the pub his own. But the baggage of running a family business and the intrusive thoughts that stem from his OCD make changing things a challenge.
Over a pint with handsome, tattooed Jack, Raine accidentally insults him and the pub. Instead of taking offense, Jack, impressed by her vision of what the pub could be, offers her a job bringing it to life.
But when Raine and Jack develop feelings for one another their opposite lifestyles won’t accommodate, it becomes clear the pub isn’t the only thing that needs reinventing. As the end of their business collaboration draws near, they’ll have to find a way past the limits they’ve placed on themselves or let go of a love that could last a lifetime.
Title: Paris is Always a Good Idea
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Setting: Paris to Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
A thirty-year-old woman retraces her gap year through Ireland, France, and Italy to find love—and herself—in this hilarious and heartfelt novel.
It's been seven years since Chelsea Martin embarked on her yearlong postcollege European adventure. Since then, she's lost her mother to cancer and watched her sister marry twice, while Chelsea's thrown herself into work, becoming one of the most talented fundraisers for the American Cancer Coalition, and with the exception of one annoyingly competent coworker, Jason Knightley, her status as most successful moneymaker is unquestioned.
When her introverted mathematician father announces he's getting remarried, Chelsea is forced to acknowledge that her life stopped after her mother died and that the last time she can remember being happy, in love, or enjoying her life was on her year abroad. Inspired to retrace her steps—to find Colin in Ireland, Jean Claude in France, and Marcelino in Italy—Chelsea hopes that one of these three men who stole her heart so many years ago can help her find it again.
From the start of her journey nothing goes as planned, but as Chelsea reconnects with her old self, she also finds love in the very last place she expected.
Title: The Irish Goodbye
Author: Amy Ewing
Setting: Inishmore, Ireland
Genres: Steamy Romance
Blurb:
It’s hate-at-first-sight when a jilted Irish chef returns home to Inishmore and immediately clashes with a mouthy American tourist.
This steamy romance novel by New York Times bestselling author Amy Ewing is perfect for fans of Abby Jimenez and Tessa Bailey.
Cordelia James was once at the top of her game—a renowned street photographer with a massive social media following, gallery showings in Chelsea, and a lucrative book deal. But after the sudden death of her father, Cordelia can barely force herself to leave her apartment. That is, until she sees an ad for a summer gig at a cozy cottage on Ireland’s picturesque Inishmore island. Cordelia is on a plane before she can talk herself out of it.
The moment she steps off the boat, she crashes—literally—into Niall O’Connor, a grumpy local who’s just returned home to Inishmore from Dublin. Niall is nursing a broken heart and trying to patch up a broken life, and he has no time for posh American tourists. The more Cordelia’s and Niall’s paths cross, the more they make each other’s lives hell. But as with all rivalries, their hatred is about to reach a tipping point—and it’s going to heat up their cool coastal nights.
Featuring a lovable band of quirky supporting characters, The Irish Goodbye is a steamy, emotionally gripping tale of love, passion, art, food, and finding where you belong.
Title: Morbidly Yours
Author: Ivy Fairbanks
Setting: Galway, Ireland
Genres: Steamy Romance
Blurb:
Falling for the wrong person? Bury your feelings.
Callum Flannelly would rather dive into an open grave than take a stranger to dinner. But he can only inherit the family undertaking business under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. So it’s out of the mortuary and into the dating scene. Lark Thompson came to Galway, Ireland to embrace life, not be reminded of losing her husband by moving in next to a funeral home.
Then the vivacious Texan animator learns of painfully shy Callum’s dilemma and makes it her mission to help him find The One. Although sworn off love herself, she’s certain Callum will find his match. But as the dating project progresses and their friendship grows, their attraction is undeniable. Spending time with serious, sarcastic Callum starts to crack the ice around Lark’s heart, and the more color Lark brings to Callum’s monochrome existence, the less he can imagine life without her.
If they think they can ignore their connection, they’re dead wrong.
Title: The Irish Fall
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Setting: Doolin and Galway, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
A woman goes to find her heart in Ireland. What she doesn’t realize is she will leave it there.
Him
It was just another rainy day in Ireland. Another day giving a tour to a bunch of overzealous tourists at the Cliffs of Moher . . . until I saw her. The most beautiful woman with the saddest eyes, standing so close to the edge. Not even my jaded heart could ignore her. Without a second to lose, I went to her. And when I heard that first sarcastic remark, I think my fate was sealed.
Her
With nothing left to lose, I bought the first appealing plane ticket out of town. And there I stood, staring out at the beautifully ethereal, enigmatic cliffs of Ireland. After the events of the past twenty-four hours, I had completely closed my heart. Maybe that’s why I was so annoyed when this handsome Irishman insisted I join his tour. Not that Darby’s dry humor or opposing opinions helped, but there was just something about him. I had this deep feeling that he would understand me. Maybe that’s why I agreed to let him take me back to his hometown. But I never imagined his grandfather would offer me a place to stay with them. And I really never would have believed I'd say yes.
But Darby has his own demons, ones that make him guard his heart, too. They might open their hearts to each other, but will she choose to stay in Ireland?
Title: Dancing on a Heartstring
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Setting: Doolin, Lahinch, and Lisdoonvarna, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
This is one tango neither of them will forget . . .
Her
My best friend moved to Ireland when she met the love of her life and opened up a dance studio. Now, she's throwing a ballroom dance competition to coincide with the Lisdoonvarna matchmaking festival to help her business, and she's asked me to compete. How can I say no? Plus, it is Ireland, after all. But I didn't have the heart to tell her I don't have a partner to bring. Yet another one backed out on me. Apparently, a partner who dances with a cane is just a too much for them.
Him
How did I get roped into this? I drive the tour bus for the company beneath the dance shop. I keep to myself. Better yet, I don't even have to talk since my Scottish accent messes up the Irish aesthetics of the tour. And I like it that way. But the owner is so bloody sweet, and I have to admit when I came up those studio steps to back out, it only took one look at my 'partner' to change my mind. I have no dance experience, but I'm sure going to do everything in my power to stay in this competition. Who knew the Argentine Tango was going to be my undoing. I just hope she doesn't want to take part in the matchmaking festival.
But will she want to take part in the matchmaking festival herself, or will she be happy with her newfound partnership? She came for an Irish matchmaking festival after all, not a Scottish one.
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#Irish
#Ireland
#bookboyfriendsdoitbetter
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#travelromance
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Books that give you an Irish fix and transport you to Ireland.
Get in the St. Patrick's Day mood this month! Books set in Ireland, featuring an Irish main character, or celebrating St. Patrick's Day.
Title: A Match Made in Ireland
Author: E.D. Hackett
Setting: Galway, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
A semester abroad was exactly what she needed, but falling in love with her roommate was not part of the lesson plan.
Rory, an American college student seeking a much-needed break, lands in Ireland for a semester abroad. She never imagines finding her assigned roommate to be Jaime, the charming yet irksome redhead from her flight.
Relying on her lively roommate to act as her personal tour guide, Rory experiences the breathtaking landscapes and Irish traditions that only a local could provide. She falls for more than the enchanting Irish experience he offers and dreams about a life free from worry with someone like Jaime. From kisses in castles to pints in pubs, Rory escapes from the baggage she left behind and envies the carefree life Jaime leads.
Until Rory's ex-boyfriend unexpectedly arrives and feelings of betrayal and doubt erupt. Pulled by past mistakes and newly discovered feelings, she must decide where her future lies. Does her heart belong in Ireland, or was Jaime merely a dream meant to be left behind?
A Match Made in Ireland is a delightful romantic comedy that delves into the magic of Ireland, the beauty of unforeseen bonds, and the transformative power of self-discovery.
Buckle up for a journey filled with laughter, tears, and love that you won’t want to miss! Grab E.D. Hackett's A Match Made in Ireland today!
Title: Chasing Her Heart
Author: Allison Gygi
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
A free-spirited artist. A guarded musician. One semester abroad that changes everything.
Art major Elise Abernathy didn't come to Ireland to fall in love. Her study abroad is only the first stop to a life of adventure. She'll let nothing stand in her way of getting her PhD and then traveling to far-off places to study the world's art—not even her growing attraction to the aspiring film composer who keeps invading her thoughts.
To Rory O'Clery, women are nothing but trouble. Still wounded from his ex's infidelity, he's vowed no woman will ever break his heart again. Under no circumstances will he give in to the immediate pull he feels toward the American who moves into his sister's flat.
As resisting a budding romance proves futile, the end of Elise's time in Ireland looms over them, making any chance of a long-term relationship impossible. But neither are looking for a serious commitment, anyway. What could possibly go wrong with having a little fun?
Apparently, everything.
When real feelings start to develop, will Elise realize that what she seeks is already standing in front of her, or will the shiny allure of her dreams pull them apart forever?
Title: Fortune for St. Patrick's Day
Author: Gina Ardito
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Money Can’t Buy Happiness… ...Or Can It?
Dog groomer Cara Laskin won the lottery, and her life will never be the same. Dealing with financial planners and tax attorneys leaves her dizzy. Her past, present, and future are all under scrutiny. Despite her best efforts to stay below the radar, she’s besieged by friends, family, and the media.
When she’s finally forced to hide away until the furor dies down, she finds herself turning to historical novelist, Ben Hartwell, to shelter her from all the grasping hands. During their time together, Ben will provide her with a peace she’s never known. In exchange, she opens his eyes to a world he never knew existed and an insight into his heart.
Title: March Shamrocks
Author: Eden Larsen
Setting: New York City
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Dreams are worth going after...
Cara Walsh is an graphic designer from Ireland. With the luck of her Irish heritage, she lands an interview at a firm in New York City. It has been Cara's dream to live in the Big Apple! Her cousin, Rachel Turner, lives in the city and is excited to have Cara come for a quick two-week trip. During her stay, Rachel and Chad take Cara to a bar where they serve real American cheeseburgers and beer.
Ryan Murphy meets Cara on her first night in the city. Intrigued by her lovely Irish accent, he offers to buy her a drink - one she's never tried before. Through their conversations they learn about each other's dreams and aspirations. Their shared love of art and music deepens their connection and soon they become inseparable.
Will Cara's anxiety for her future overshadow all the good luck she's had in New York or can she overcome the sinking fear of failure?
Title: Lucky Leap Year
Author: Ann Marie Walker
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Up-and-coming screenwriter Cara Kennedy has the biggest meeting of her career in two days—but for now, she's on vacation. Her short trip to Ireland is all planned out:
See the sites around Dublin Don't think about her jerk of an ex she was supposed to spend this trip with Relax with some Irish whiskey Propose to a sexy Irish musician on Leap Day Wake up marriedWait, those last two things weren't on her list…
A whirlwind trip to Ireland is supposed to end with a suitcase full of wool sweaters and souvenir pint glasses—not a husband you only just met!
After one-too-many whiskeys, fledgling screenwriter Cara Kennedy takes a page out of someone else's script when she gets caught up in the Irish tradition of women proposing on Leap Day. She wakes the next morning with a hot guy in her bed and a tin foil ring on her finger. Her flight is in four hours, and she has the most important meeting of her career in exactly two days—nothing she can do except take her new husband (and his adorable dog) back to LA with her and try to untangle the mess she's made of her life…
Title: That Thing You Brew
Author: Kerry Evelyn
Setting: Denver, CO
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
, …
Every Denver Edge fan thinks they know the secret behind my goal-scoring streak. The truth is, it’s not the pre-game toffee coffee from the Bevvie Bar that brings me luck—it’s Penny, the shy harp-playing barista who makes it for me.
But my winning streak is threatened when I learn that the coffee shop may be closing and I could lose her forever. On top of that, I’m hit with the news that if I don’t get married, I’ll lose my inheritance.
Can my favorite barista whip up an inheritance-saving recipe before time runs out?
Time isn’t on my side. With the deadline looming, I’ll have to skate fast to earn her affection, and if I mess up, I could lose everything—my inheritance, my career, and most of all, my heart.
Title: Love Comes to Clover Cove
Author: Maggie Finn
Setting: West Coast Village of Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
Fall in love with Clover Cove, a gorgeous Irish coastal village full of love and warmth with feel-good romance around every corner.
Being posted from Manhattan to the gorgeous Emerald Isle should be a welcome time-out for heartbroken executive Kate O’Riordan. But Kate’s job is to persuade the West Coast village of Clover Cove to sell their picture-perfect harbour to her employer.
Her mission brings her into conflict with local innkeeper Connor James, a man who seems to make every woman’s heart do backflips, but who is hiding his own secret heartache. For a woman used to knowing exactly what she wants, Kate's loyalties and ambitions start to change the longer she stays in Clover Cove, and when Kate’s ex-boyfriend flies out to Ireland to ask for a second chance, she has to question her true feelings for Connor - and for the village which has stolen her heart.
In this warm-hearted, feel-good love story, Kate must choose between a life she's always dreamt of and a different sort of happy-ever-after in Clover Cove.
Love Comes To Clover Cove is the first book in an uplifting new series of romance, family and friendship set on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Jenny Colgan and the hit movie Leap Year.
Title: The Cosy Cottage in Ireland
Author: Julie Caplin
Setting: Dublin and Kerry, Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Snuggle up in your favourite armchair and take a trip across the Irish sea for comfort food, cosy cottage nights and a heartwarming romance…
Talented lawyer Hannah Campbell wants a change in her workaholic Manchester life – so she books herself a place at the world-renowned Killorgally Cookery School in County Kerry. But on her first night In Ireland, sampling the delights of Dublin, Hannah can’t resist falling for the charms of handsome stranger Conor. It’s only when Hannah arrives at her postcard-pretty home at Killorgally for the next six weeks that she discovers what happens in Dublin doesn’t quite stay in Dublin…
Nestled amongst rolling green hills and breathtaking countryside, the cookery school throws Hannah and Conor together again–for better or worse.
Title: Thank You for Listening
Author: Julia Whelan
Setting: Vegas to Venice
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
From the author of My Oxford Year, Julia Whelan’s uplifting novel tells the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator—who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident—and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel.
For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger.
On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her.
As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.
If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.
Title: Off the Map
Author: Trish Doller
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
On the road to love, you don't need a GPS...
Carla Black’s life motto is “here for a good time, not for a long time.” She’s been traveling the world on her own in her vintage Jeep Wrangler for nearly a decade, stopping only long enough to replenish her adventure fund. She doesn’t do love and she doesn’t ever go home.
Eamon Sullivan is a modern-day cartographer who creates digital maps. His work helps people find their way, but he’s the one who’s lost his sense of direction. He’s unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled out—literally.
Fate throws them together when Carla arrives in Dublin for her best friend’s wedding and Eamon is tasked with picking her up from the airport. But what should be a simple drive across Ireland quickly becomes complicated with chemistry-filled detours, unexpected feelings, and a chance at love - if only they choose it.
Title: Float Plan
Author: Trish Doller
Setting: Out at Sea
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Heartbroken by the loss of her fiancé, adventurous Anna finds a second chance at love with an Irish sailor in this riveting, emotional romance.
After a reminder goes off for the Caribbean sailing trip Anna was supposed to take with her fiancé, she impulsively goes to sea in the sailboat he left her, intending to complete the voyage alone.
But after a treacherous night’s sail, she realizes she can’t do it by herself and hires Keane, a professional sailor, to help. Much like Anna, Keane is struggling with a very different future than the one he had planned. As romance rises with the tide, they discover that it’s never too late to chart a new course.
In Trish Doller’s unforgettable Float Plan, starting over doesn't mean letting go of your past, it means making room for your future.
Title: Sweet Dreams
Author: Nanette Littlestone
Setting: Claremore, Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Get swept away to Claremore, Ireland, where the people are welcoming, the grass sparkles with morning dew, and an ancient legend leads to magical experiences.
Claire Francis has worked in the family bakery since she was a wee girl. Now at 27 she longs for her own shop, a place to make her culinary dreams come true. But her traditional mother has no plans to retire and forbids Claire to explore her creative talents.
With Brigid Cleary’s wedding just around the corner, Claire’s life takes a dramatic turn. Used to a quiet routine, she’s now embroiled in pre-wedding dilemmas. Plus Brigid’s handsome brother, Finn, pushes Claire to question her safe, uneventful life and take a chance on their attraction. But he’s only in town for a week, and worse, he spends his life on the water, the very thing Claire fears the most.
Impetuous and daring, Finn encourages Claire to shed her personal and professional inhibitions. But Claire has a past she can’t escape. As she grows closer to Finn, her secret looms ever bigger, and love and success feel as likely as that imaginary pot of gold. Until a magical gift unlocks a path to her dreams, one sweet taste at a time.
Fall in love with this feel-good, delicious, heartwarming romance. Perfect for fans of Emma Bennet, Holly Martin, Jenny Colgan, and Jenny Hale.
Title: Love at First Book
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Setting: Irish Village
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
When a librarian moves to a quaint Irish village where her favorite novelist lives, the last thing she expects is to fall for the author’s prickly son… until their story becomes one for the books, from the New York Times bestselling author of Summer Reading.
Emily Allen, a librarian on Martha’s Vineyard, has always dreamed of a life of travel and adventure. So when her favorite author, Siobhan Riordan, offers her a job in the Emerald Isle, Emily jumps at the opportunity. After all, Siobhan’s novels got Em through some of the darkest days of her existence.
Helping Siobhan write the final book in her acclaimed series—after a ten-year hiatus due to a scorching case of writer’s block—is a dream come true for Emily. If only she didn’t have to deal with Siobhan’s son, Kieran Murphy. He manages Siobhan’s bookstore, and the grouchy bookworm clearly doesn’t want Em around.
Emily persists, and spending her days bantering with the annoyingly handsome mercurial Irishman only makes her fall more deeply in love with the new life she’s built – and for the man who seems to soften toward her with every quip she throws at him. But when she discovers the reason for Kieran's initial resistance, Em finds herself torn between helping Siobhan find closure with her series and her now undeniable feelings for Kier. As Siobhan's novel progresses, Emily will have to decide if she’s truly ready to turn a new page and figure out what lies in the next chapter.
Title: Last Call at the Local
Author: Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Setting: Small Town Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Opposites attract when a free-spirited American singer-songwriter with ADHD teams up with a charming Irishman to revitalize his family's pub in the next heartfelt romance from the author of Luck and Last Resorts.
Raine Hart is used to the challenges of living with ADHD. It’s why she ditched her life in Boston to busk around Europe as a traveling musician. No boss. No schedule. No one to disappoint but herself. But when a careless mistake in Ireland leaves her unable to perform, she sees no other option but to give up her nomadic life.
Since inheriting the Local, Jack Dunne has wanted to make the pub his own. But the baggage of running a family business and the intrusive thoughts that stem from his OCD make changing things a challenge.
Over a pint with handsome, tattooed Jack, Raine accidentally insults him and the pub. Instead of taking offense, Jack, impressed by her vision of what the pub could be, offers her a job bringing it to life.
But when Raine and Jack develop feelings for one another their opposite lifestyles won’t accommodate, it becomes clear the pub isn’t the only thing that needs reinventing. As the end of their business collaboration draws near, they’ll have to find a way past the limits they’ve placed on themselves or let go of a love that could last a lifetime.
Title: Paris is Always a Good Idea
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Setting: Paris to Ireland
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
A thirty-year-old woman retraces her gap year through Ireland, France, and Italy to find love—and herself—in this hilarious and heartfelt novel.
It's been seven years since Chelsea Martin embarked on her yearlong postcollege European adventure. Since then, she's lost her mother to cancer and watched her sister marry twice, while Chelsea's thrown herself into work, becoming one of the most talented fundraisers for the American Cancer Coalition, and with the exception of one annoyingly competent coworker, Jason Knightley, her status as most successful moneymaker is unquestioned.
When her introverted mathematician father announces he's getting remarried, Chelsea is forced to acknowledge that her life stopped after her mother died and that the last time she can remember being happy, in love, or enjoying her life was on her year abroad. Inspired to retrace her steps—to find Colin in Ireland, Jean Claude in France, and Marcelino in Italy—Chelsea hopes that one of these three men who stole her heart so many years ago can help her find it again.
From the start of her journey nothing goes as planned, but as Chelsea reconnects with her old self, she also finds love in the very last place she expected.
Title: The Irish Goodbye
Author: Amy Ewing
Setting: Inishmore, Ireland
Genres: Steamy Romance
Blurb:
It’s hate-at-first-sight when a jilted Irish chef returns home to Inishmore and immediately clashes with a mouthy American tourist.
This steamy romance novel by New York Times bestselling author Amy Ewing is perfect for fans of Abby Jimenez and Tessa Bailey.
Cordelia James was once at the top of her game—a renowned street photographer with a massive social media following, gallery showings in Chelsea, and a lucrative book deal. But after the sudden death of her father, Cordelia can barely force herself to leave her apartment. That is, until she sees an ad for a summer gig at a cozy cottage on Ireland’s picturesque Inishmore island. Cordelia is on a plane before she can talk herself out of it.
The moment she steps off the boat, she crashes—literally—into Niall O’Connor, a grumpy local who’s just returned home to Inishmore from Dublin. Niall is nursing a broken heart and trying to patch up a broken life, and he has no time for posh American tourists. The more Cordelia’s and Niall’s paths cross, the more they make each other’s lives hell. But as with all rivalries, their hatred is about to reach a tipping point—and it’s going to heat up their cool coastal nights.
Featuring a lovable band of quirky supporting characters, The Irish Goodbye is a steamy, emotionally gripping tale of love, passion, art, food, and finding where you belong.
Title: Morbidlly Yours
Author: Ivy Fairbanks
Setting: Galway, Ireland
Genres: Steamy Romance
Blurb:
Falling for the wrong person? Bury your feelings.
Callum Flannelly would rather dive into an open grave than take a stranger to dinner. But he can only inherit the family undertaking business under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. So it’s out of the mortuary and into the dating scene. Lark Thompson came to Galway, Ireland to embrace life, not be reminded of losing her husband by moving in next to a funeral home.
Then the vivacious Texan animator learns of painfully shy Callum’s dilemma and makes it her mission to help him find The One. Although sworn off love herself, she’s certain Callum will find his match. But as the dating project progresses and their friendship grows, their attraction is undeniable. Spending time with serious, sarcastic Callum starts to crack the ice around Lark’s heart, and the more color Lark brings to Callum’s monochrome existence, the less he can imagine life without her.
If they think they can ignore their connection, they’re dead wrong.
Title: The Irish Fall
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Setting: Doolin and Galway, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
A woman goes to find her heart in Ireland. What she doesn’t realize is she will leave it there.
Him
It was just another rainy day in Ireland. Another day giving a tour to a bunch of overzealous tourists at the Cliffs of Moher . . . until I saw her. The most beautiful woman with the saddest eyes, standing so close to the edge. Not even my jaded heart could ignore her. Without a second to lose, I went to her. And when I heard that first sarcastic remark, I think my fate was sealed.
Her
With nothing left to lose, I bought the first appealing plane ticket out of town. And there I stood, staring out at the beautifully ethereal, enigmatic cliffs of Ireland. After the events of the past twenty-four hours, I had completely closed my heart. Maybe that’s why I was so annoyed when this handsome Irishman insisted I join his tour. Not that Darby’s dry humor or opposing opinions helped, but there was just something about him. I had this deep feeling that he would understand me. Maybe that’s why I agreed to let him take me back to his hometown. But I never imagined his grandfather would offer me a place to stay with them. And I really never would have believed I'd say yes.
But Darby has his own demons, ones that make him guard his heart, too. They might open their hearts to each other, but will she choose to stay in Ireland?
Title: Dancing on a Heartstring
Author: Brooke Gilbert
Setting: Doolin, Lahinch, and Lisdoonvarna, Ireland
Genres: Sweet Romance
Blurb:
This is one tango neither of them will forget . . .
Her
My best friend moved to Ireland when she met the love of her life and opened up a dance studio. Now, she's throwing a ballroom dance competition to coincide with the Lisdoonvarna matchmaking festival to help her business, and she's asked me to compete. How can I say no? Plus, it is Ireland, after all. But I didn't have the heart to tell her I don't have a partner to bring. Yet another one backed out on me. Apparently, a partner who dances with a cane is just a too much for them.
Him
How did I get roped into this? I drive the tour bus for the company beneath the dance shop. I keep to myself. Better yet, I don't even have to talk since my Scottish accent messes up the Irish aesthetics of the tour. And I like it that way. But the owner is so bloody sweet, and I have to admit when I came up those studio steps to back out, it only took one look at my 'partner' to change my mind. I have no dance experience, but I'm sure going to do everything in my power to stay in this competition. Who knew the Argentine Tango was going to be my undoing. I just hope she doesn't want to take part in the matchmaking festival.
But will she want to take part in the matchmaking festival herself, or will she be happy with her newfound partnership? She came for an Irish matchmaking festival after all, not a Scottish one.
Learn More
#Irish
#Ireland
#bookboyfriendsdoitbetter
#irishromance
#travelromance
#happystpaddysday
#stpaddysday
September 13, 2023
A Gentle Christian Romance (Fields of Glass by Alyssa Schwarz Review)
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