The Historian's Heart

Love in Dooncarra #0.5

by Maeve McBride

A determined historian and a gruff local learn that love—like history—is worth preserving.

When historian Clare Donnelly arrives in the idyllic Irish village of Dooncarra, she’s eager to prove herself by cataloging the town’s archives. But when she stumbles upon a set of forgotten 1940s love letters, her quest for answers puts her at odds with Eoin Murphy, the gruff and guarded local historian who believes some stories are best left untold.

As they work side by side in the archives, their clashing personalities give way to a slow-burn connection, and Clare begins to see that some histories aren’t just worth preserving—they’re worth fighting for.

The Historian's Heart is a heartwarming tale of romance, belonging, and the power of the past to shape our future, perfect for fans of clean, small-town love stories with a dash of Irish charm!

273 pages, Paperback

Published January 9, 2025

About the author

Maeve McBride writes heartfelt, clean small-town romances set against the lush landscapes of Ireland. Her stories weave together the warmth of close-knit communities, the charm of cobblestone streets and cozy pubs, and the tender journeys of love and self-discovery.

Download your FREE eBook at: www.MaeveMcBrideAuthor.com

Reviews

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small town clean read with a war time story as told through letters found.

[Marie Bourgery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clare takes on the task of organizing a small fishing village’s archives to obtain a grant that will save the town. She comes across a packet of letters between two forbidden lovers during WWII and determines that their story is interesting enough to impress the grant inspectors. But at what cost? The community has already been hurt by others that dug up buried secrets. She thrives on checklists and orders but what happens when the community and village archive keeper and local historian Eoin who warned her about the human cost shut her out when she determines that she only put together the documentation for the grant? This was interesting novella about small town life and how a community supported each other during struggling times with a splash of romance.

[Tami Willard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Prequel to an interconnected series that is best read in order. Can be a standalone.
Opposites attract
Forced proximity
Enemies to more.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok, but kind of boring and repetitive. Clare Donnelly arrives in Dooncarra, Ireland to work on archiving the village’s historical documents. She meets gruff, prickly Eoin Murphy, who also works in the archive. Clare finds bundles of heartfelt love letters that were written during the war by a soldier, Patrick, who was from Dooncarra, to Aoife, a local woman. Clare wants to use the letters to “tell their story”, but for reasons that were never really made clear - other than saying the letters should be kept private - Eoin is against sharing the letters with the village. His great grandfather had been a friend of Patrick’s during the war and apparently Patrick had asked him to take his last, unfinished letter to Aoife after the war. Eoin is dead set on keeping the letters in the archive to “ protect his family”, yet it is never clear what he wanted to protect his family FROM. I kept waiting for some kind of scandal regarding Eoin’s great grandfather to come up, but there was nothing. I don’t understand why Eoin’s family name would be dragged through the mud like Eoin made it to appear just because his great grandfather brought an unfinished letter to Aoife. The book never really explains why Eoin is so cold and gruff either. Except for a few references by other Dooncarra residents referring to “everything Eoin has been through”, whatever those things were are a mystery. Also, the author uses some of the same phrases over and over. If I counted how many times I read about Clare’s “chest tightening”, I’m sure it would be a high number. The repetitive description of the archives building was a bit much also. It seemed like every time Clare arrived at the archives, there was a long description of what it looked like. I wanted to like this book, but there just wasn’t much of a story.