*I was given an ARC of A Merry Irish Christmas in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Boldwood Books and Clodagh Murphy for my copy of the book*

Synopsis:

Mary hasn’t told her family that she’s coming home for Christmas. After breaking up with her boyfriend just before the holidays, she decides to surprise them and get a last-minute flight home. But when she arrives in Ireland after a long journey, she discovers her family have had the same idea, and gone to New York to surprise her.

To make matters infinitely worse, they’ve done a house swap with grumpy (but sexy) New Yorker Evan, who makes it clear he doesn’t want her, or her Christmas cheer, around.

Mary is determined to keep the festive spirit alive, so she proposes that she and Evan each get one day where the other has to do things their way. But can Evan put aside his grouchiness to embrace a proper, Irish Christmas? And how will Mary cope with a day of sulking and moody walks on the beach?

One thing’s as the temperature drops outside, things start to heat up inside the McBride house. Maybe it’ll be a merry Christmas after all…

Review:

A Merry Irish Christmas was a very lovely read. It was short, fast paced and very sweet – exactly what I needed. I basically devoured this book in just over 24 hours.

I adored the The Holiday vibes of this book. It’s one of my favourite Christmas films and A Merry Irish Christmas had the same cosy feeling. Well, other than not getting the perspective of Mary’s family in Evan’s home. Basically, it was as if The Holiday only showed Cameron Diaz’s side of the story.

Speaking of the different perspectives, it would have been great to have more chapters from Evan’s perspective to make his feelings towards Mary more believable. He was pretty hostile towards her to begin with so when he suggested they make out on the sofa, just a few days later, I felt like I had whiplash. Yes, he had warmed up to her and they were being friendly with each other, but out of nowhere suggesting they start getting it on was a little wild. I did really love their witty banter though, especially as you find out later that Evan would purposefully wind her up because he loved hearing what comeback she’d come up with next. 

I really liked him in the end and the fact that he plays Spider-Man on TV was hilarious to me. I’m a HUGE Spider-Man fan and had literally just watched the Tom Holland trilogy before starting A Merry Irish Christmas so that was a weird coincidence.

I also really liked Mary. I’m glad she got over her crappy ex so quickly. Usually I’d say she moved on too quickly but she clearly hadn’t truly loved Greg and he was the absolute worst. His ex-girlfriend came to his apartment and asked to get back with him, he said yes and they started making out. Mary hears all of this as Greg literally just got out of bed with her after asking her to move in. How horrific is that?

I wouldn’t say A Merry Irish Christmas was the most festive book I’ve ever read but I did really enjoy spending Christmas Eve and day with Mary and Evan. It was pretty much the perfect Christmas day, other than the crying. However, this scene did bring them closer.

The side characters were also great. Mary’s mom was brilliant and absolutely the driving force behind the whole story. I also loved the rest of her family and friends – I hope there will be a book about Abbie and Owen or even Aifric, she was great.

If you’re looking for a lovely, quick festive read I’d highly recommend A Merry Irish Christmas. There isn’t (technically) a third act break up and the characters have great chemistry.

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