Aisling And The City

OMGWACA #4

by Emer McLysaght, Sarah Breen

Pre-order the brand new, utterly hilarious and totally addictive romantic comedy from the No. 1 bestselling AISLING series

Aisling is 31, and she's still a complete Aisling.

With her cafe BallyGoBrunch flying and the door firmly closed on her relationship with boyfriend John, Aisling accepts an unexpected job offer and boards a business-class flight to New York in her best wrap dress and heels.

As she finds her feet in the Big Apple, she throws herself into the dating game, grapples with 'always-on' work culture, forges and fights for new friendships and brings her good wedges to a party in the Hamptons, much to her friend, Sadhbh's, dismay.

But catching up with family and friends on WhatsApp and email is not the same as sitting in Maguire's putting the world to rights over mini bottles of Pinot Greej and a shared bag of Taytos.

And yet New York has so much to offer, not least in the fireman department . . .

Praise for the Aisling Series:

'There aren't enough words for how much I love it' Marian Keyes

'The Irish answer to Bridget Jones . . . it's stuffed with laughs' Daily Mail

'Hilarious and heart-warming' Heat

Genres: Fiction, Irish Literature, Contemporary, Ireland, Audiobook, Humor, Romance

408 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2021

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the penultimate entry, the title a play on the popular NYC Sex and the City series, in Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen's fun A Complete Aisling series, set in small town BallyGobbard in Ireland with all its offbeat and quirky residents. Aisling is now 31, her business with Carol Boland, BallyGoBrunch, is going well, she is a single woman, after the surprising shock of her ex-boyfriend, John, revealing he has a new girlfriend, teacher Megan, after which he moves with her to Dubai. Then, out of the blue, Aisling gets a call from Mandy Blumenthal offering her job as an executive in her event planning business in New York. Aisling spends time pondering the pros and cons of moving to the Big Apple, but it doesn't take long before the excitement of all the possibilities and experiences that will open up to her grab her, she would be mad to not go.

This has her boarding the plane, her visa organised for her, travelling business class for the first time in her wrap around dress. Once in NYC she is living in Queens temporarily with Gearoidin, a cousin from her late father's side, but it is some distance from Manhattan where she is to work. This has Aisling looking for affordable living possibilities closer to work, which she finds as she moves in with the elusive Fatima, a flatmate she never catches sight of for most of the novel. Work is a revelation, although Aisling is not as important as she had imagined she would be, there is no office for her and Mandy's assistant, Aubrey, is not so welcoming. As Aisling adjusts to the non-stop work culture and the pressures of her job, she makes new friends, and meets with old one's like Sadhbh, signs on with dating app Bumble, and finds a fireman who grabs her interest, but can she forget John?

Aisling's Irish personality serves her well in her new home, her mix of charm and naivety has her assuaging some of her homesickness and loneliness with the Irish 'mafia', although it is not all plain sailing. The BallyGobbard crowd and her family are not forgotten, Aisling keeps in touch with her Mammy, brother Paul, and others through WhatsApp and email, with best friend Majella coming to visit her in New York. However, I am not so sure the nod to the pandemic with the mysterious illness and stink at BallyGobbard works so well. This continues to be an entertaining, humorous and engaging series, and I enjoyed reading about Aisling's new job and life in New York, although I was not so keen on her continuing obsession with John as they re-open communications with each other, I just cannot see what she sees in him. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

[Mary Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

would have been better without the weird pandemic substitute, and also I hate john, stop dragging out the will-they-won't-they

[loucumailbeo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books have been a comfort read for me but this one didn’t hit the spot. Some bits were great - seeing Aisling being green in New York was so funny and the aspects around first generation Irish immigrants moving to right wing and not supporting other immigrants was really well done and not a topic that gets touched on much

Unfortunately the sub plot of BGB and the illness that is clearly meant to be Covid was really cringe to read. If you want to talk about Covid just talk about it, naming it something else and creating a pseudo illness just felt jarring and really crass. Finally the big cliff hanger was another disappointment, four books and we could be back where we started ?!

[Aoife Cassidy McM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4 in the Aisling series and this was probably my favourite in the series since book 1. Distinctly Irish, uniquely Aisling, I thought this one was full of laugh out loud moments. Bressie, what’s that? 😂

Aisling is in NYC after being offered the opportunity of a lifetime working with Mandy Blumenthal, event architect extraordinaire. Aisling arrives brimful of enthusiasm (and Lemsips) but will the job live to its billing, and will she find love in NYC? Or will John continue to tug at her heart from his base in Dubai with fiancée Megan?

There was a lot to love about this instalment in the series: the NY setting, the parallels with Sex and the City (I enjoyed the Mr Big/Aidan dynamic which although not referred to as such, I assume was intentional). I’d be giving John the old Spanish archer at this stage though myself.

I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. The Fall Ball was gas, fake Bono doing the entire show on his knees, but it’s the Irishisms that crop up throughout the book, and the minor Irish celebrities who get a mention, which drew the most laughs from me.

I know lots of people weren’t fans of the BGB pandemic storyline but I didn’t mind it. It was daft but BGB making CNN is not that far from reality - think Belmullet last Christmas.

I think this isn’t a series that will ever translate well to an international audience but it’s a great, lighthearted read for Irish people. Looking forward to how things work out for Aisling. I’m hoping she stays in NYC. 4/5 ⭐️

[Linda Barrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first 3 books and flew threw them. When I got to this one I actually couldn't finish it and only skimmed the last 100 pages . Very disappointing, the whole storyline of the smell and john was just off.

[Breige · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 4 and the penultimate in the popular Oh My God What a Complete Aisling series, sees Aisling leaving her precious Ballygobbard and taking a job in New York City! Aisling throws herself into her new life: working hard, making new friends, trying the New York Dating scene. However part of her is missing someone and she’s left grappling with her feelings throughout the book. Will a handsome New Yorker help get him off her mind?!

The OMGWACA series is a delight, a comfort read I’ve looked forward to reading every year one has been released. Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen are just so astute when it comes to Irish observational humour, I loved the Lemsip story that kept cropping up 😅 Aisling takes a big leap in the series and I loved seeing her be brave and also stand up for herself at work when she needs to do so. She’s still a bit green and naive at times but that’s part of her charm! She has a vulnerability we all sometimes have, like when she overhears a conversation about how annoying it is to show visitors & newbies around the city & she worries she’s been a burden.

There’s still plenty of news from Ballygobbard, from her chats with Majella & her Mammy. There’s a B plot centres around Ballygobbard which has a lot of similarities to the pandemic & I wasn’t a huge fan of the plot, I felt like it was too on the nose.

Overall I enjoyed the book, I read it all in one day! I needed the comfort as I’m sick and feeling sorry for myself. Looking forward to the final book in the series, especially as this one ends on a big cliffhanger!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I have been a big fan of the Aisling books since the beginning, I’ve re-read them every year around this time and just love how comforting they are. However, this one made me sad and I am disappointed in it - I don’t think it was a good idea at all to have a widespread and unknown health scare cause a lockdown in BGB: it feels insensitive, and I didn’t think it really was necessary in the story. I get that it allowed Aisling to feel homesick and question if she wants to stay in NYC or go back, but that could have been done in a different way.

I think I’ll stick to the three earlier books for now, and I am hoping that Aisling will move back home, I mean, she set up her own cafe and left it so so soon? I really hope it’s not the end of her time in BGB, but I HOPE that we’ve seen the end of John now, am I the only one who is hoping that she ends up with Piotr?!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of books continue to be like a big comforting mug of tea. I adore Aisling and her community, which is still very much captured even in a book where she moves to New York!

I will say, I find the John stuff a bit tiresome (I’m just not invested). And while I understand why it was there, there’s a plot line heavily mirroring the pandemic that just wasn’t pulled off well for me. While I really appreciate the fact that these books aren’t afraid to be political, that plot line referencing such an ongoing traumatic time was both too “close” for such an escapist book, and due to the escapism aspect, was resolved in a way that felt a bit cheap to me. I honestly do respect that the writers felt they needed to include it, but it just wasn’t for me.

[Aoife · Rating 4 out of 5]

John is like a bad rash that just won't go away.

[Sarah O'Riordan | travelseatsreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books that you pick up and you instantly feel like you've been wrapped up in a big fluffy blanket and are in a world of pure comfort. The Aisling books will always be those books for me. There is something so loveable and wholesome about them without them being overly twee that makes them a weighted blanket in book form. You know you're going to get plenty of giggles, time to cover your eyes and even more times where you will want to roll them affectionately at Aisling and her antics.

Aisling And The City is the perfect next step for these books. It was fantastic to see Aisling grow in confidence and flourish in the big apple despite the absolute bundle of knots she had in her stomach. As usual there's plenty of little bumps in the road, albeit sidewalk this time, and Aisling sidesteps and overcomes them all in her very own Aisling way. As always I didn't want it to end and really hope that there is far more of Aisling and her little quirks to come.

I started AATC the week my Dad was transferred into hospital/hospice and had it in my bag for all of that week. There was so much comfort in having it there even to just stare at the page blankly at 2 am while I sat with Dad. Dad passed on the 27th and I didn't think I would have the headspace for reading for a long time. I picked it up the morning we got back from Cork after the funeral and the enveloping comfort and little touch of normality was so nice to have. So thank you both to Emer and Sarah for that unexpected comfort. Books are so much more than just the paper they're written on.

[Shane Hickey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The weakest of the first four. Disappointing but hopeful for book 5.

[Reece Creed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this! So heartwarming and so relatable 🙌🏻

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love this series! These books literally make me laugh out loud. I woke the cat up laughing and he gave me a filthy look 😂

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+

Warning: this book ends on a cliffhanger.


It took me a while to get into this one, having had a break after my OMGWACA binge during our house move this summer, but after a while I felt compelled to continue and was enjoying all the antics.

The thing about Aisling is, as naive and, well, Aisling, as she is - there's something very recognisable about her thoughts and behaviours, which makes me laugh at myself as well as her - in a good natured sort of way. Though her naivete does beggar belief sometimes.

I actually didn't mind the "covid but not actually covid" storyline, and thought it was on the one hand kind of funny, and at the same time had a lot of recognisable bits. Perhaps particularly for someone who has been living in a different country from their family during the pandemic. I was quite touched by parts of it.

What I didn't enjoy, and what there's been a tendency to do in these books in the past as well, is the sort of glossing over of major plot points. It's like things come to a head, and then the next chapter picks up where the issue has already been resolved and is in the past. It feels anticlimactic and like the writers can't be bothered to write out how it actually went down. It's not that big a deal, I did still enjoy it, but with that and the totally unnecessary and disappointing cliffhanger, I'm leaving it at 3+.

I would have read the next book anyway, because it's a nice change of pace to have something light and fun like this, so I don't need the cliffhanger to keep me invested. Rather, it puts me off a little because it seemed so unnecessary and leaves the book without a satisfying ending.

Also, I simply don't get the whole John thing. They don't really ever seem to be that in love, or have much chemistry. They seemed to be two people who got together young and maybe were in love at some point, but then drifted apart - as young lovers often do. Why not just leave it at that?

[Aine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up to three stars. It’s admirable that the book tries to address Ireland’s relationship with Irish-America (either basking in its glory or shunning its brashness depending on the weather). But unlike abortion or rural isolation in previous books, this time we don’t get much more than a surface treatment.

For example, what would it have meant if the “real” Irish people hadn’t been so quick to accept their “privilege” or immediately ditch their Irish-American candidate? Or if the book was going to play so close to the Joe Crowley/AOC comparison, to actually deal with the fact that those candidates had different politics and that the challenger didn’t just run a social media savvy, diverse grassroots campaign but actually talked about socialism.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series but this was probably my least favourite so far mainly due to the continuing will they won’t they with Aisling and John, I don’t understand why the writers keep dragging their relationship on and on. I think it’s detrimental to Aisling’s development as a character if she’s constantly going back to John. There was still some funny moments in the book though and it did make me laugh.

[Josephine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can we move on from John and Aisling please?! The pig flatulence substitute for Covid was woeful and embarrassing!
I found it hard to believe that Aisling could move to New York and take on a high-flying job without a hint of a hiccup. She took to it like a duck to water - the stereotypical backwards, country girl...
All a bit forced and focused on weak plots of the non-covid outbreak and 'will they won't they?'

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok read. The authors should’ve just called Covid what it was and not make up some ridiculous disease, or felt immature and silly. The ending felt really abrupt and a mad rush to tie up loose ends. An easy, light read which is great for these heavy times but ultimately disappointing.

[Roisin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite one of the series so far!!

[James Durkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aisling And The City / Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

~ I took out the bit about being dying after the gig and put it back in four times because I didn’t want it to seem like I was bragging about being a Full Time Mad Bitch, which was Majella’s official occupation on Facebook for at least six years, but decided it sounded nice and breezy. Not that it matters how I sound… ~

Well, here we are. Aisling #4 done and now only the final installment left. This series is just pure serotonin.

The focus is very much back on Ais in this one, taking up a job in New York and the trials that come with that. She knows herself, she is brilliant. Sadhbh is a good friend, and Majella is too. The love life though??!! The dates were hilarious, and Jeff seems like a good guy, but that ENDING?! What’s going to happen?! Could see it maybe happening but when it did I was pretty much OMG!!

The only criticism is the Covid substitute big stink story. It was what it was and the time it was written I suppose makes sense, but yeah, nothing really to say on that.

Work, love, just what a complete and utter Aisling.

Looking forward to the end of this. Pure joy.

[Angela Kravcevich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awh come with that cliffhanger tho at the end. Was going to wait a bit until the next one but now I had to start it.

Some icks for me in this one was the whole scandal and COVID wannabe. I guess the authors didn't want to stop the story with a worldwide COVID so they made it targeted?

Didn't super care about the fireman, but kudos to Aisling for attracting all the beefcakes :P

[Mairéad · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 A light, easy read that picks up nicely where the previous book left off!

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of the batch!

[Sarah Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aisling is a rare fictional character who I actively miss waiting for these books to come out.

From the first page you are transported back to BGB and into Aisling’s world. With other book series it takes some warming up with with Aisling you are in from the start.

This is the perfect book for these and any times, especially for those missing home and wondering how they make it in a big city.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cards on the table: I am a big fan of Aisling (the character) as well as Aisling (the concept). I hope to God I am not an Aisling, although the trifecta seems to be Aisling-Majella-Sadhbh, and I don’t identify with any of them.

I do think this series suffers from not having a through-line, directly connected to not having a clear end-date. First it was a sequel, then a trilogy, and now a five-book series. As a consequence, Aisling, who in book one stuck with her long-term boyfriend John mainly out of habit and fear of not finding anyone else, ends up with a series of narratively-convenient hot dudes that put the lie to her fears of the open market dating scene. It’s now clear that John is end-game (and in fairness, I wasn’t sure for a while). I don’t take exception to this and the way it was executed in this book was satisfying. Less satisfying was Aisling’s ‘fish out of water’ storyline in the States. The humour and pathos of the original is that Aisling doesn’t fit in in Dublin but she doesn’t realise it; I would have loved to see more of the same in New York. Amping up the rivalry with Audrey and increasing her isolation from the Irish Mafia would be good starts.

I thought the integration of a mini-, BGB-specific pandemic was inspired, although it was difficult to marry the seriousness of the cases with the fact that they were caused by pig farts. All the same, some of the fear and horror of the early lockdown was captured in a gentle way.

The humour is still there, and shines best when it’s Aisling being, well, a complete Aisling.

“You can’t beat the look on someone’s face on Christmas morning when they open a Michael Kors wallet or a GAP hoodie and you tell them it came all the way from the Big Apple. You can nearly smell the glamour. You just don’t get that from online shopping.”

“Besides, if I’m going to spend money on cashmere, I’d be better be able to wear it to the second day of a wedding at least.”

“[…] he is what Majella would call a BFG, a Big Fucking G’wan.”

Here for Aisling 5 (My Big Fat Aisling Wedding?).

[Ann Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noooo I didn't want this to end

I Love Love Love the Aisling series and this one did not dissapoint, they are all wonderful but I'd go so far in saying this is the best one yet. Full of fantastic characters and fun real life plots, you find yourself laughing out loud throughout the book. About friendships, finding love and about family too, Aisling is a girl anyone would wish to have as a friend and I love reading about her antics with Majella and the rest of BGB, cant wait for the next instalment.

[Flighty_Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light fluffy cosy read, as expected from Aislings adventures. The usual oddball characters and Irish-isms are in full flow, and still every bit as amusing and familiar. Not sure if I loved the NYC setting, it had all the standard romcom tropes of office bitch + ruthless boss, completed by gay bff and dreamy american fireman boyfriend. Nothing wrong necessarily, just all felt a bit "done before", when for me - the charm is in the shticks of Ireland. Nonetheless, I will dutifully finish off the series when book 5 comes out.

[Eolann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would give this two and a half stars; parts are still fun to read, but it feels a bit like the series is running out of steam, and the new york setting and characters are very flimsy compared to the writers much stronger depiction of rural Ireland. In this book the way more serious real world issues are threaded into the lighter rom-com plot also feels a lot clumsier than how this was done earlier in the series.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this book, having read the other 3 books, I was looking forward to getting into this one. I have to say I didnt enjoy a lot of it, the Big Stink was just pure cringe and pointless, Covid was a huge part of everyones lives for 2 plus years, why not just bring in the pandemic or not, the Big Stink was just so unneccessary.
The John saga...FFS
The other 3 books were very good and I really enjoyed them.
This book didnt hit the same way.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did enjoy it, it had less humour and felt less unique, Aisling is starting to feel less like a specific type of Irish girl and more like a generic chick lit protagonist, only Irish. Who exposes political corruption and then solves a medical mystery, thus curing Pretend Covid, in the space of a few pages , of course

Less "Aisling" more "Máire-Sosaidh", I'm afraid.