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Finfarran Peninsula #2
Summer at the Garden Café
A heart-warming story about secrets between four generations of women and the healing power of books, love and friendship.
The Garden Café, in the town of Lissbeg on Ireland's Finfarran Peninsula, is a place where plans are formed and secrets shared ...
But Jazz - still reeling from her father's disclosures about the truth of his marriage to her mother, Hanna - has more on her mind than the comings and goings at the café. Now isolated from friends and family and fixating on her new job at a local guesthouse, she's started to develop feelings for a man who is strictly off limits . . .
Meanwhile Hanna, Lissbeg's librarian, is unaware of the turmoil in her daughter's life - until her ex-husband Malcolm makes an appearance and she begins to wonder if the secrets she's carried for him might have harmed Jazz more than she'd realised.
As things heat up in Lissbeg, can the old book Hanna finds buried in her own clifftop garden help Jazz?
The Garden Café, in the town of Lissbeg on Ireland's Finfarran Peninsula, is a place where plans are formed and secrets shared ...
But Jazz - still reeling from her father's disclosures about the truth of his marriage to her mother, Hanna - has more on her mind than the comings and goings at the café. Now isolated from friends and family and fixating on her new job at a local guesthouse, she's started to develop feelings for a man who is strictly off limits . . .
Meanwhile Hanna, Lissbeg's librarian, is unaware of the turmoil in her daughter's life - until her ex-husband Malcolm makes an appearance and she begins to wonder if the secrets she's carried for him might have harmed Jazz more than she'd realised.
As things heat up in Lissbeg, can the old book Hanna finds buried in her own clifftop garden help Jazz?
Paperback
First published May 18, 2017
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About the author
Felicity Hayes-McCoy
34 books546 followersUSA Today bestselling Irish writer Felicity Hayes-McCoy is the author of the 'Finfarran' novels, set in a fictional county on Ireland's West Coast. Marian Keyes calls her writing "a pitch-perfect delight", Cathy Kelly, bestselling author of "Between Sisters" and "Secrets of a Happy Marriage", has described the Finfarran books as "a delicious feast", and "sunshine on the page", while Jenny Colgan, bestselling author of "The Cafe by the Sea", calls them "charming and heartwarming".
Felicity's latest book, a standalone novel, The Keepsake Quilters (Hachette Irl), was published in October 2022 to critical acclaim. Best-selling Irish authors Roisin Meaney and Carmel Harringon called it "the perfect festive read" and "warm and wise ... an absolute joy"; Claudia Carroll and Patricia Scanlan wrote of it as "warm, funny and full of heart" and "a fascinating, beautifully-written generational saga"; and television presenters Barbara Scully and Mary Kennedy have described it as "a gorgeous novel" and "a beautifully-crafted story."
Finfarran #1, The Library at the Edge of The World, was published in June 2016: The Sunday Times called it "engaging, sparkling and joyous" and The Sunday Independent wrote "If you like reading a feelgood novel, take a journey to the edge of the world. An easy, pleasant summer read for fans of Maeve Binchy".
Summer at The Garden Café, the second in the Finfarran series, came out in the UK & Irl May 2017, The Mistletoe Matchmaker, a warm, empowering Christmas story, in October 2017, and The Month of Borrowed Dreams, in June 2018: The Irish Independent's review called it "a heartwarming novel which will leave you longing to read the earlier ones". The best-selling author Marian Keyes said she was "utterly charmed" by Finfarran #5, The Transatlantic Book Club, which was published in 2019.
A US & Canadian edition of The Library at the Edge of The World, published by Harper Perennial in Nov 2017, was chosen as a LibraryReads Pick. The US & Canadian edition of Summer at The Garden Café was published in 2018, The Mistletoe Matchmaker followed in 2019, The Transatlantic Book Club in 2020, The Month of Borrowed Dreams in 2021, and The Heart of Summer in 2022.
Finfarran #7, The Year of Lost and Found, was published by Hachette Irl in May 2021, and praised as "the perfect, page-turning escape" and "the best book of the year so far for me" by best-selling Irish authors Sinéad Moriarty and Claudia Carroll. It was preceded in 2020 by Finfarran #6, The Heart of Summer, of which Ireland's Sunday Business Post reviewer wrote "This works perfectly well as a standalone novel ... her writing sings", and bestselling author Patricia Scanlan commented "Fans of Maeve Binchy will adore it - she just gets better and better!"
The Finfarran novels have been translated into seven languages and can also be purchased in English as ebooks and audiobooks.
Described as 'wise, funny' and 'blazingly beautiful' by actress and writer Joanna Lumley, Felicity's first memoir, The House on an Irish Hillside was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2012. It takes the author to London, where she worked as an actress and met her English, opera-director husband, and back to Ireland, to a remarkable stone house on the Dingle peninsula.
Enough Is Plenty: The Year on the Dingle Peninsula, a sequel to The House on an Irish Hillside, was published by The Collins Press in 2015. Illustrated with photographs by Felicity and her husband, and with a foreword by the best-selling Irish writer Alice Taylor, it charts the cycle of the Celtic year in Felicity's own house and garden.
A second memoir, A Woven Silence: Memory, History & Remembrance, described by The Sunday Times as 'a powerful piece of personal and political history', was published in September 2015, also by The Collins Press. Inspired by the lost story of her grandmother's cousin Marion Stokes, one of three women who raised the tricolour over Enniscorthy town in Wexford dur
Felicity's latest book, a standalone novel, The Keepsake Quilters (Hachette Irl), was published in October 2022 to critical acclaim. Best-selling Irish authors Roisin Meaney and Carmel Harringon called it "the perfect festive read" and "warm and wise ... an absolute joy"; Claudia Carroll and Patricia Scanlan wrote of it as "warm, funny and full of heart" and "a fascinating, beautifully-written generational saga"; and television presenters Barbara Scully and Mary Kennedy have described it as "a gorgeous novel" and "a beautifully-crafted story."
Finfarran #1, The Library at the Edge of The World, was published in June 2016: The Sunday Times called it "engaging, sparkling and joyous" and The Sunday Independent wrote "If you like reading a feelgood novel, take a journey to the edge of the world. An easy, pleasant summer read for fans of Maeve Binchy".
Summer at The Garden Café, the second in the Finfarran series, came out in the UK & Irl May 2017, The Mistletoe Matchmaker, a warm, empowering Christmas story, in October 2017, and The Month of Borrowed Dreams, in June 2018: The Irish Independent's review called it "a heartwarming novel which will leave you longing to read the earlier ones". The best-selling author Marian Keyes said she was "utterly charmed" by Finfarran #5, The Transatlantic Book Club, which was published in 2019.
A US & Canadian edition of The Library at the Edge of The World, published by Harper Perennial in Nov 2017, was chosen as a LibraryReads Pick. The US & Canadian edition of Summer at The Garden Café was published in 2018, The Mistletoe Matchmaker followed in 2019, The Transatlantic Book Club in 2020, The Month of Borrowed Dreams in 2021, and The Heart of Summer in 2022.
Finfarran #7, The Year of Lost and Found, was published by Hachette Irl in May 2021, and praised as "the perfect, page-turning escape" and "the best book of the year so far for me" by best-selling Irish authors Sinéad Moriarty and Claudia Carroll. It was preceded in 2020 by Finfarran #6, The Heart of Summer, of which Ireland's Sunday Business Post reviewer wrote "This works perfectly well as a standalone novel ... her writing sings", and bestselling author Patricia Scanlan commented "Fans of Maeve Binchy will adore it - she just gets better and better!"
The Finfarran novels have been translated into seven languages and can also be purchased in English as ebooks and audiobooks.
Described as 'wise, funny' and 'blazingly beautiful' by actress and writer Joanna Lumley, Felicity's first memoir, The House on an Irish Hillside was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2012. It takes the author to London, where she worked as an actress and met her English, opera-director husband, and back to Ireland, to a remarkable stone house on the Dingle peninsula.
Enough Is Plenty: The Year on the Dingle Peninsula, a sequel to The House on an Irish Hillside, was published by The Collins Press in 2015. Illustrated with photographs by Felicity and her husband, and with a foreword by the best-selling Irish writer Alice Taylor, it charts the cycle of the Celtic year in Felicity's own house and garden.
A second memoir, A Woven Silence: Memory, History & Remembrance, described by The Sunday Times as 'a powerful piece of personal and political history', was published in September 2015, also by The Collins Press. Inspired by the lost story of her grandmother's cousin Marion Stokes, one of three women who raised the tricolour over Enniscorthy town in Wexford dur
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews
July 20, 2021
In this sequel to The Library at the Edge of the World, librarian Hanna Casey - who lives in the town of Lissberg on Ireland's Finfarran Peninsula - is happy with her refurbished cottage and the library's upgrades, but she still has personal concerns.
In this novel, we get a glimpse into Hanna's life now, and views into the lives of other residents of Lissberg. I'd recommend starting with the first book, to obtain a better understanding of the characters.
*****
Hanna Casey, head librarian of the Lissberg Library, is pleased with the institute's new display of the Carrick Psalter (Book of Psalms), a priceless, beautifully illustrated tome that was donated by a local resident. The Psalter, which is expected to draw tourists from far and wide, is showcased in a secure room that funnels visitors into a state-of-the-art gift shop, where patrons can purchase Psalter-related memorabilia.
Example of Psalter
To add to the pleasant ambiance, the library now boasts a Garden Café that abuts an aromatic herb garden.
It's been several years since Hanna divorced her cheating, ratfink husband Malcolm, and she's become friendly with a new man, architect Brian Morton.
Hanna is avoiding a serious relationship with Brian, however, because she's anxious about her 21-year-old daughter Jazz. Jazz is still jittery from a car accident six months ago, and is furious with her father - whose long-term cheating was just revealed to her.
While she finds her feet, Jazz - who used to be a flight attendant - is working at a Bed and Breakfast run by Susan and Gunther, a hard-working, ambitious young couple who also sell goat milk products online. Jazz is excellent with the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Holly, who likes Jazz's bedtime stories.
Jazz refuses to see her London-based father because of his past perfidy, but remains close to her mother and grandmothers.
As it happens, Jazz's paternal grandmother Louisa (a wealthy Englishwoman) is staying with her maternal grandmother Mary (an eccentric Irishwoman) and - unlikely as it seems - the gals are making it work.
All of Jazz's relatives have opinions about what she should do with her life, but Jazz doesn't want to hear any of it right now.
Another important character in the story is part-time library assistant Conor, who still works on his family farm.
Conor has been seeing Aideen, co-owner of the HaberDashery restaurant, and is completely smitten with her.
Aideen lacks confidence, though, and feels especially insecure when Conor hobnobs with his co-worker, a beautiful Pakistani student named Ameena. For her part, Ameena has little use for any Irish lads, most of whom are 'eejits' in her eyes. (I love that word. 😄)
In the course of the story we also meet Aideen's business partner/friend Brid - a fount of common sense; and Ameena's mother Saira, who dreads the day her beloved child will go off to university.
To round out the cast of major characters, Fury O'Shea -the opinionated builder/jack-of-all-trades who upgraded Hanna's cottage - makes an encore appearance. Fury is always accompanied by his dog 'the divil', and the two are quite the heroes this time around.
A high point of the novel for me is Hanna's discovery of the hidden diary of her great aunt Maggie, who writes about her brother Liam's participation in the 1920 war for Irish independence, and her own exile to England at the age of 17, for mysterious reasons. The diary entries forge a connection between past and present, and inspire Hanna to research her family history.
I also like to read about Hanna's new cottage, a cozy home where she can sleep and cook.....and relax on a bench overlooking the ocean, with a cuppa in the morning and a glass of wine in the evening.
As the story unfolds we observe the characters experience a gamut of feelings, including love; hate; friendship; diffidence; envy; snobbery; jealousy; longing; fulfillment; rejection; loss; and so on.....a microcosm of the real world.
I enjoyed the book, but found it to be slower and less compelling than the first book in the series, with too little action and insufficient drama. Still, I think readers who enjoy small town character studies will like the novel.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
April 23, 2018
It was lovely to catch up again here with characters from The Library at the Edge of the World, a book which I greatly enjoyed. It’s like settling back down with old friends to come back to Finfarran Peninsular and the little town of Lissberg. Hanna, the librarian has her part time assistant Conor helping her at the library, as well as he is trying to keep the family farm going since he dad can no longer work it. Sometimes Hanna feels she needs more help in dealing with her daughter Jazz, who still has issues from the car accident suffered some time back and revelations about her father. Jazz enjoys working at the guesthouse with Susan and Gunther and their little daughter Holly, but even that is not without some issues she didn’t foresee. As well as these characters there are others who come to life off the page. Fury and The Divil add an interesting touch and humour at times.
I temporarily abandoned the other book I was reading to dive into this one. It did not disappoint. It is a charming feel good read about interesting characters and how their perceptions of themselves are often different to that of how others see them. There are misunderstandings that cause problems for some and situations where compromise is reached or new ventures attempted.
It’s the type of book I would have liked to keep reading until I finished it in one go, But life doesn’t always allow that. I was always eager to get back to it whenever I could. A joyous read that left me feeling good at the end. Best to read The Library at the Edge of the World first though, so you get to know something about these characters and then settle back to enjoy spending time here with them in this book about family, community, romance, choices and second chances. I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of those books that leaves you feeling good at the end.
I temporarily abandoned the other book I was reading to dive into this one. It did not disappoint. It is a charming feel good read about interesting characters and how their perceptions of themselves are often different to that of how others see them. There are misunderstandings that cause problems for some and situations where compromise is reached or new ventures attempted.
It’s the type of book I would have liked to keep reading until I finished it in one go, But life doesn’t always allow that. I was always eager to get back to it whenever I could. A joyous read that left me feeling good at the end. Best to read The Library at the Edge of the World first though, so you get to know something about these characters and then settle back to enjoy spending time here with them in this book about family, community, romance, choices and second chances. I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of those books that leaves you feeling good at the end.
October 4, 2018
Did not enjoy this book as much as the first in the series. Jazz is annoying and whiny as usual, what a brat. Hanna acts like a 14 year old in the body of a 50 year old, what's with treating Brian like they are in grade school? Grow up Hanna.
Connor and Aideen did not get enough story time here, though I did feel once again that Aideen is acting like a small child instead of a young adult. Even the two Grandmothers here are acting very immaturely for their age. The only one in the whole book that seems to be acting their age is Fury O'Shea, once again my favorite character.
The backstory on Maggie was even more confusing as we never really find out about most of the hints she's left in her book. Sure it sounded like she was pregnant, but was she? Or did she just leave town because of other "scandalous" behavior?
I feel like with a bit more editing this could have been just as great as the first in the series.
Connor and Aideen did not get enough story time here, though I did feel once again that Aideen is acting like a small child instead of a young adult. Even the two Grandmothers here are acting very immaturely for their age. The only one in the whole book that seems to be acting their age is Fury O'Shea, once again my favorite character.
The backstory on Maggie was even more confusing as we never really find out about most of the hints she's left in her book. Sure it sounded like she was pregnant, but was she? Or did she just leave town because of other "scandalous" behavior?
I feel like with a bit more editing this could have been just as great as the first in the series.
January 19, 2020
Very good. Nicely woven together stories from the 4 generations of women in the family. Many interesting side characters and several new added this book. Next in series is Christmas themed.
September 9, 2018
When last we left Hanna Casey in Lissberg on the Finfarran Peninsula, she had moved into a coastal cottage inherited from her Aunt Maggie; nearly single-handedly saved the small library from being closed; and had begun to make amends with her daughter, Jazz, upset over the divorce of her parents. That was in "The Library at the Edge of the World", volume one of the Finfarran Peninsula series by Felicity Hayes-McCoy. Volume two, "Summer in the Garden Café" is even more complex. And, in my humble opinion, a much better read.
In the second Peninsula book, Hanna continues on as the village librarian, struggling not only with how to deal with her daughter’s feelings and animosity after her parent’s divorce, but attempts to deal with her own feelings as she is caught up in the rekindling of her relationship with Brian Morton. Centered in and around the Garden Café in what was once the convent courtyard garden and now part of the Lissberg Library complex, the plot weaves through the intertwining lives of the residents of Lissberg. It is a virtual montage of character portrayals and Irish cultural morés and traditions, with its foundation steeped in a dark history brought to light.
In addition to the main protagonist, there is Conor, the assistant librarian, straddling the fence whether to propose to Aideen who works in the deli; Fury and his devilish, but lovable dog, who pops in an out of the narrative in the most auspicious, yet surprising moments. Mary, Hanna’s bull-headed mother, who softens as her friendship with Louise, Hanna’s ex-mother-in-law deepens; Susan and Gunther who run The Forge were Jazz works… And then there is Aunt Maggie who comes to life once again as a young girl though her diary. She speaks from the past of a life ripped asunder by the consequences and aftermath of the Irish Civil War and offers solace for the futures of Hanna and Jazz. The parallels between two eras are uncannily astute, filled with intriguingly complex twists and turns that are the hallmark of a great read.
It took me a good fifty pages to become immersed in Hayes-McCoy’s second work of fiction, but it was well worth the effort. Once into it, I found myself lost on the craggy beaches and in the charming quaint village, steeped in yet another of her beautifully-crafted literary endeavors. Having previously penned four non-fiction books, including a memoir, about Ireland and also a contributor to theatre and television shows – most notably Ballykissangel – this author has a fluid, no-holds-barred style of writing that, once you get used to it, sparkles with ageless wisdom liberally sprinkled with local humor as she relates an emotionally moving tale about the captivating bonds of friendship and family.
Enjoy the read!
In the second Peninsula book, Hanna continues on as the village librarian, struggling not only with how to deal with her daughter’s feelings and animosity after her parent’s divorce, but attempts to deal with her own feelings as she is caught up in the rekindling of her relationship with Brian Morton. Centered in and around the Garden Café in what was once the convent courtyard garden and now part of the Lissberg Library complex, the plot weaves through the intertwining lives of the residents of Lissberg. It is a virtual montage of character portrayals and Irish cultural morés and traditions, with its foundation steeped in a dark history brought to light.
In addition to the main protagonist, there is Conor, the assistant librarian, straddling the fence whether to propose to Aideen who works in the deli; Fury and his devilish, but lovable dog, who pops in an out of the narrative in the most auspicious, yet surprising moments. Mary, Hanna’s bull-headed mother, who softens as her friendship with Louise, Hanna’s ex-mother-in-law deepens; Susan and Gunther who run The Forge were Jazz works… And then there is Aunt Maggie who comes to life once again as a young girl though her diary. She speaks from the past of a life ripped asunder by the consequences and aftermath of the Irish Civil War and offers solace for the futures of Hanna and Jazz. The parallels between two eras are uncannily astute, filled with intriguingly complex twists and turns that are the hallmark of a great read.
It took me a good fifty pages to become immersed in Hayes-McCoy’s second work of fiction, but it was well worth the effort. Once into it, I found myself lost on the craggy beaches and in the charming quaint village, steeped in yet another of her beautifully-crafted literary endeavors. Having previously penned four non-fiction books, including a memoir, about Ireland and also a contributor to theatre and television shows – most notably Ballykissangel – this author has a fluid, no-holds-barred style of writing that, once you get used to it, sparkles with ageless wisdom liberally sprinkled with local humor as she relates an emotionally moving tale about the captivating bonds of friendship and family.
Enjoy the read!
September 2, 2018
Perfect old fashioned feel good storytelling set in a small Irish town populated by realistic and highly likable characters. Although Hanna is at the forefront of sorts, her daughter Jazz who is coping with losing so much of her freedom after an accident, her mother Mary (a hoot), and her mother in law Louisa round out one family circle. There's also the delightful Conor, who is in love with Aideen, who needs an infusion of confidence, Saira who blossoms in the herb garden, and the Divil himself, who makes a critical a save in a pub. Nothing much happens and so much happens all at once. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. This is a delightful, relaxing read that made me smile more than once.
July 8, 2019
Like Oliver, the character in this tale who chose his books by their covers, I should have been warned by this one's cliched cozy tea-shop cover! I most certainly would have given it a miss if I hadn't read on the cover that it was the second in the Finfarran (aka Dingle) Peninsula series. I had already read and very much enjoyed the first book in the series, "The Library at the Edge of the World." So I thought I was in for another great treat. I couldn't have been more wrong! This entire book turned out to be Maeve Binchy on saccharine.
I soldiered on because I had the former "Library" book in mind and I just knew it was going to drop all the soap-opera stuff and settle down to some reasonable plot. But it never did. What a shame, because it is clear that the author is well acquainted with powerful books full of insight and depth, as well as being quite knowledgeable about Irish history. She merely tantalizes the reader with brief tidbits concerning both these subjects then quickly scuttles away to the silly fluff that makes up 90% of the story. She does this in the same teasing manner that her characters conduct their ridiculous romances!
I soldiered on because I had the former "Library" book in mind and I just knew it was going to drop all the soap-opera stuff and settle down to some reasonable plot. But it never did. What a shame, because it is clear that the author is well acquainted with powerful books full of insight and depth, as well as being quite knowledgeable about Irish history. She merely tantalizes the reader with brief tidbits concerning both these subjects then quickly scuttles away to the silly fluff that makes up 90% of the story. She does this in the same teasing manner that her characters conduct their ridiculous romances!
July 28, 2025
Une lecture douce et apaisante, qui invite à ralentir et savourer les petits bonheurs du quotidien. J’ai beaucoup apprécié l’atmosphère chaleureuse, les personnages attachants, et cette sensation de confort qu’on retrouve tout au long du roman.
C’est une belle histoire de reconstruction, d’amitié et de seconde chance.
C’est une belle histoire de reconstruction, d’amitié et de seconde chance.
September 23, 2018
Hanna has succeeded in saving the library in Lissbeg from being closed, and also was instrumental in having the medieval manuscript, The Carrick Psalter, displayed in a brand new exhibition. However, she's afraid to start a relationship with Brian Morton, even though they both have feelings for each other. Her daughter, Jazz, meanwhile, is finding it hard to get behind the wheel of a car after a serious car accident. In this second book of the Finfarran Peninsula series, the reader gets to catch up with a lot of the people Hanna and Jazz hold dear including Mary, Hanna's mother, Conor McCarthy (Hanna's co-worker at the library), Aideen (Conor's girlfriend, who's also a chef), and a lot of the people who frequent the cafe near the library. While I really enjoyed the first book in the series, this one was a miss for me. Not enough plot, and the characters seemed not to be able to make up their minds about anything.
November 11, 2017
Hanna is the librarian at the Lissbeg library in Ireland and she is concerned about her daughterJazz. Jazz is upset about the recent revelations regarding her parent's marriage breakup and finding out that things were definitely not what they seemed.!
It it's lovely to be back in Lissbeg with all of the characters from the edge of the world, especially Hannah with her clifftop cottage. I love the typical Irish story telling in it's gentle meandering manner and hope there will be more stories about this lovely village
It it's lovely to be back in Lissbeg with all of the characters from the edge of the world, especially Hannah with her clifftop cottage. I love the typical Irish story telling in it's gentle meandering manner and hope there will be more stories about this lovely village
May 9, 2020
This was pretty good, but not quite up to the first one. It furthered some of the relationships established there, it gave more insight into the relative who left Hanna her house, it moved some pieces around on the chessboard between London and Ireland... Pleasant, innocuous, connecting here and there with real emotions.
May 22, 2022
Book - 4.5 stars
Narration by Marcella Riordan - 4 stars
Note on the narration: Unfortunately Riordan doesn't have the flair for voices like the narrator of the first book did, but she was fine once I got used to the difference.
Narration by Marcella Riordan - 4 stars
Note on the narration: Unfortunately Riordan doesn't have the flair for voices like the narrator of the first book did, but she was fine once I got used to the difference.
September 11, 2018
I loved the first in this series, and getting to know the people on the peninsula and through the town of Lissbeg. Now, with the grand opening of the visitor center at the Lissbeg library, loaded with tech and a gift shop, all to house the Carrick Psalter, an illuminated manuscript recently donated to the library for display. This medieval manuscript with its vellum pages, calligraphy and vignettes that illustrate a single thought of each psalm is historically relevant and of the area – as scenes in the illustrations are often taken from the landscape of the area.
But the grand opening aside, Jazz has mostly recovered from her accident, but has been denied medical clearance to resume her work as a flight attendant, so she’s working for a local B & B with Gunther, Susan and their daughter Holly. Frustrated with her father and his affair, her mother and grandmother ‘covering it up’, and herself for believing in her father’s infallibility, she’s also struggling with the aftermath of her accident and her nerves about driving again. Add to that mix her paternal grandmother Louisa, coming for an extended stay from her large home in Kent, Jazz thinks that everyone is out to ‘reconcile’ her with her father and push her into a more ‘suitable’ career. But the B&B work suits her, and Susan {a local girl} and Gunther {her German tourist husband} are welcoming the help with the increase in business – while still having their goat’s milk products business that is a steady source of income, albeit much work.
We get to meet a newer family with Ameena and her parents, and the challenges of being the only Pakistani family in the area, and Ameena’s application to work in the gift shop at the library, and her worries for her mother’s isolation: not confident in her English skills, but knowing that her daughter will soon be off to university and greener pastures, there is change in the air. Of course, we have Conor and his girlfriend / crush Aideen, partners with Brid in HabberDashery – the café that provides food for the Convent Café, catering and treats for all. Aideen and Conor have plenty of challenges, most self-inflicted, that will have to be sorted.
Hanna is still butting heads with her mother, although her house is everything she wanted, and the bookmobile routes as well as her masterminding the Psalter’s donation to infuse capital into the Lissbeg end of Finfarran, and not just be spent on high-tourist areas already booming. Hanna’s tendency to hold on to grudges, overthink and play the push-pull game is better suited to a teen, but when she discovers an old, hand-bound diary left by Mary Casey, she’s finding answers and more questions to her father’s family history. Brian is still about, gently dithering, back and forth with welcome and keep away flipping back and forth like clouds scudding across the sky.
There aren’t huge “aha’ moments here, for this tale winds through multiple people, all coming back to find a welcome, advice, sympathy and even tough talk – with plenty of moments from past and present, shame and sorrows, worries and celebrations. Unfolding quietly along with the season, there is a quiet calmness in between moments of strife, where choices, awakenings and beginnings find a way to find their light and set the characters on a path with new hope, or even new insight.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
But the grand opening aside, Jazz has mostly recovered from her accident, but has been denied medical clearance to resume her work as a flight attendant, so she’s working for a local B & B with Gunther, Susan and their daughter Holly. Frustrated with her father and his affair, her mother and grandmother ‘covering it up’, and herself for believing in her father’s infallibility, she’s also struggling with the aftermath of her accident and her nerves about driving again. Add to that mix her paternal grandmother Louisa, coming for an extended stay from her large home in Kent, Jazz thinks that everyone is out to ‘reconcile’ her with her father and push her into a more ‘suitable’ career. But the B&B work suits her, and Susan {a local girl} and Gunther {her German tourist husband} are welcoming the help with the increase in business – while still having their goat’s milk products business that is a steady source of income, albeit much work.
We get to meet a newer family with Ameena and her parents, and the challenges of being the only Pakistani family in the area, and Ameena’s application to work in the gift shop at the library, and her worries for her mother’s isolation: not confident in her English skills, but knowing that her daughter will soon be off to university and greener pastures, there is change in the air. Of course, we have Conor and his girlfriend / crush Aideen, partners with Brid in HabberDashery – the café that provides food for the Convent Café, catering and treats for all. Aideen and Conor have plenty of challenges, most self-inflicted, that will have to be sorted.
Hanna is still butting heads with her mother, although her house is everything she wanted, and the bookmobile routes as well as her masterminding the Psalter’s donation to infuse capital into the Lissbeg end of Finfarran, and not just be spent on high-tourist areas already booming. Hanna’s tendency to hold on to grudges, overthink and play the push-pull game is better suited to a teen, but when she discovers an old, hand-bound diary left by Mary Casey, she’s finding answers and more questions to her father’s family history. Brian is still about, gently dithering, back and forth with welcome and keep away flipping back and forth like clouds scudding across the sky.
There aren’t huge “aha’ moments here, for this tale winds through multiple people, all coming back to find a welcome, advice, sympathy and even tough talk – with plenty of moments from past and present, shame and sorrows, worries and celebrations. Unfolding quietly along with the season, there is a quiet calmness in between moments of strife, where choices, awakenings and beginnings find a way to find their light and set the characters on a path with new hope, or even new insight.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
November 8, 2020
3 green stars. I'll continue the series because it's cozy, and about a librarian, and I like the characters and the community they inhabit. But this had a lot of very slow moving threads - people stuck in their lives for various reasons, trying to figure out how to move forward, and not getting much of anywhere. The secret diary and the family history mystery should have been more compelling, given my interest in such things, but that plot line got too buried in all the other threads. I did enjoy the scenes with Hanna's library book club. The Gone With the Wind discussion was priceless. I manage several library book clubs, so I thought it was true to life, and it gave me a chuckle. Fury O'Shea and his dog, "the divil," are among my favorite characters. A few new characters were introduced - Susan and Gunther and their 6-year-old daughter Holly who run a B&B and sell goat-milk products, and Ameena, a young Pakistani student, and her mother Saira. We continue to follow Hanna the librarian, Brian the architect and Hanna's love interest (not progressing), Conor, the library assistant, and his girlfriend Aideen, and Hanna's daughter, Jazz. Then there is Hanna's mother, Mary, and her ex-mother-in-law, Louisa.
Description: The Garden Café, next to Lissbeg library, is a place where plans are formed and secrets shared, and where, even in high tourist season, people are never too busy to stop for a sandwich and a cup of tea. But twenty-one-year-old Jazz—daughter of the town’s librarian Hanna Casey—has a secret she can’t share. Still recovering from a car accident, and reeling from her father’s disclosures about his long-time affair, she’s taken a job at The Old Forge guesthouse, and begun to develop feelings for a man who’s strictly off-limits. Meanwhile, involved in her own new affair with architect Brian Morton, Hanna is unaware of the turmoil in Jazz’s life—until her manipulative ex-husband, Malcom, reappears trying to mend his relationship with their daughter. Rebuffed at every turn, Malcolm must return to London, but his mother, Louisa, is on the case. Unbeknown to the rest of the family, she hatches a plan, finding an unlikely ally in Hanna’s mother, the opinionated Mary Casey. Watching Jazz unravel, Hanna begins to wonder if secrets which Malcolm has forced her to keep may have harmed their beloved daughter more than she’d realized. But then, the Casey women are no strangers to secrets, something Hanna realizes when she discovers a journal, long buried in land she inherited from her great-aunt Maggie. Ultimately, it’s the painful lessons of the past that offer a way to the future, but it will take the shared experiences of four generations of women to find a way forward for Hanna and her family.
Description: The Garden Café, next to Lissbeg library, is a place where plans are formed and secrets shared, and where, even in high tourist season, people are never too busy to stop for a sandwich and a cup of tea. But twenty-one-year-old Jazz—daughter of the town’s librarian Hanna Casey—has a secret she can’t share. Still recovering from a car accident, and reeling from her father’s disclosures about his long-time affair, she’s taken a job at The Old Forge guesthouse, and begun to develop feelings for a man who’s strictly off-limits. Meanwhile, involved in her own new affair with architect Brian Morton, Hanna is unaware of the turmoil in Jazz’s life—until her manipulative ex-husband, Malcom, reappears trying to mend his relationship with their daughter. Rebuffed at every turn, Malcolm must return to London, but his mother, Louisa, is on the case. Unbeknown to the rest of the family, she hatches a plan, finding an unlikely ally in Hanna’s mother, the opinionated Mary Casey. Watching Jazz unravel, Hanna begins to wonder if secrets which Malcolm has forced her to keep may have harmed their beloved daughter more than she’d realized. But then, the Casey women are no strangers to secrets, something Hanna realizes when she discovers a journal, long buried in land she inherited from her great-aunt Maggie. Ultimately, it’s the painful lessons of the past that offer a way to the future, but it will take the shared experiences of four generations of women to find a way forward for Hanna and her family.
November 18, 2022
It is summer on the Finfarran Peninsula on Ireland's West Coast, with bees buzzing and birds soaring over the herb and flower beds in Lissbeg's Old Convent Garden. The town is thriving after the successful campaign to save the library housed in the Old Convent told in the first book of the series. Excitement abounds as the grand opening for the medieval Carrick Psalter exhibition space draws nigh.
All the villagers we met appear and their stories continue. Librarian Hanna is still the primary narrator, as she slowly claims happiness and even opens to the possibility of loving again. Her daughter Jazz is struggling with her own life choices along with the emotional and physical aftermath of her car accident in the firstborn. We spend time with Hanna's bold irascible mother, Fury and The Divil, awkward young lovers Aideen and Conor, and Pakistani immigrants Ameena and her mother Saira. All charm and embrace you, welcoming you into this so Irish community.
But the heart of this story is Maggie, the great aunt from whom Hanna inherited her cottage. Finding her aunt's diary literally buried under a foundation stone to a collapsed shed, gradually we learn through Maggie's voice of the Irish War of Independence and the personal impact hidden behind silence. This theme of silence, of not talking about great and harsh and tragic events, covering them with silence, is one the author has explored in her non-fiction works. I know my uncles never talked about their experiences in WWII. I think this is true throughout history.
One of the things I loved about this book was just how smoothly and organically books are woven in. One example that amused me was Librairian Hanna's rueful description of her treatment of potential love interest Brian:
Ever since the night of Jazz’s accident she’d felt she’d been behaving like a character in a Georgette Heyer novel, leading him on and then smacking his wrist with her fan.
I found myself at one point adding all Conrad Richter's books to my TBR. I also added the next in this series.
All the villagers we met appear and their stories continue. Librarian Hanna is still the primary narrator, as she slowly claims happiness and even opens to the possibility of loving again. Her daughter Jazz is struggling with her own life choices along with the emotional and physical aftermath of her car accident in the firstborn. We spend time with Hanna's bold irascible mother, Fury and The Divil, awkward young lovers Aideen and Conor, and Pakistani immigrants Ameena and her mother Saira. All charm and embrace you, welcoming you into this so Irish community.
But the heart of this story is Maggie, the great aunt from whom Hanna inherited her cottage. Finding her aunt's diary literally buried under a foundation stone to a collapsed shed, gradually we learn through Maggie's voice of the Irish War of Independence and the personal impact hidden behind silence. This theme of silence, of not talking about great and harsh and tragic events, covering them with silence, is one the author has explored in her non-fiction works. I know my uncles never talked about their experiences in WWII. I think this is true throughout history.
One of the things I loved about this book was just how smoothly and organically books are woven in. One example that amused me was Librairian Hanna's rueful description of her treatment of potential love interest Brian:
Ever since the night of Jazz’s accident she’d felt she’d been behaving like a character in a Georgette Heyer novel, leading him on and then smacking his wrist with her fan.
I found myself at one point adding all Conrad Richter's books to my TBR. I also added the next in this series.
October 14, 2019
I'd say this second novel in the series is marginally better than the first, however some of my main grievances still exist with it. Namely, the writing is jumbled and there is no flow to the storyline. The author jumps all over the place and often includes little side stories that are not important to the plot. Hanna redeems herself somewhat as a character, but she's still not my favorite. I wanted more romance for her storyline, but I don't even feel like we got that. Jazz's storyline is certainly interesting in how she's dealing with the truth about her dad, but no real resolution comes from that either. Conor and Aideen were the best parts of the entire book for sure!
September 24, 2018
The rift left in my reading by Maeve Binchy's death has been filled by Felicity Hayes-McCoy. In her second book about the "edge of the word" Finfarran in Ireland, Hayes-McCoy relates several tied-together stories about likable Irish people struggling with the every day problems of life: divorce, trauma, aging, love, and the past. Hope is the underlying theme: hope in relationship, hope in restored community, hope in the future. Oh, I wish Ms. Hayes-McCoy a long and happy life with many, many more books to come!
January 6, 2019
I enjoyed this one, I had read The Library at the Edge of The World. Such delightful characters, so may to keep track of, but they fit together. Took a while to get the characters straight, but after awhile I knew who was who. A library is a place to reminisce and learn new things. Each person had their place in this town, and that’s what keeps it going, and that’s just how it goes!
March 15, 2021
The story from the previous books picks up about six months after "The Library at the Edge of the World." Love is not an easy road. Characters struggle to figure things out. Meanwhile, Hanna finds out more information on the Irish War for Independence. A violent time of young men taking to the hills, betrayals between neighbors, war crimes, and, for one, exile.
March 23, 2018
Great family story
Loved all the characters and the ongoing stories for each of them
A good page turner wanting to know what happened in each of their lives
Loved all the characters and the ongoing stories for each of them
A good page turner wanting to know what happened in each of their lives
September 9, 2018
Good about Hanna and her family xx
December 11, 2018
"The thing about dreams, Mum had said, was that sometimes they turned into prisons. You should never, ever deny yourself the freedom to move on and change."
January 6, 2019
Now I do not miss Maeve Binchy as much. A great sequel, and I hope that there are many more to come. Just wish that there was not such a long wait between when the book is released in Ireland and when it is available here.
January 19, 2020
3.5 stars. Another great story from Felicity Hayes-McCoy. Book 2 was just as good as Book 1.
Similar to the style of Rosamunde Pilcher.
Similar to the style of Rosamunde Pilcher.
February 16, 2020
Strangely, I thought at one point that I wasn't going to finish this. But I kept going and I'm glad I did. Anything that reminds me of my week in Ireland is a good thing...
July 2, 2022
Hanna’s story continues and it untangles many new things, from the fear of letting go, of stepping up for yourself, to the fear of loving and being loved, or to let your own child spread his/her wings and fly.
October 21, 2024
It was a good book, but there wasn’t really a strong main conflict. There were a few small conflicts, so it was a bit different than I’m used to. Beautiful names used for characters, but would love to have more background on some other main characters. Overall, not bad, but definitely more watered down than what I normally read. Great for a light read!
April 7, 2018
Really enjoyed this second book in the series. Charming story with likeable characters- I do think you need to read the first one to fully appreciate the 2nd.
April 4, 2019
Will look forward to book 3 coming in October.
June 10, 2020
A delightful follow up to the Library at the Edge of the World. Perfect summer reading in the terrace.
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