The Irish House is my first read by Ann O’Loughlin.
Book Description
The Irish House: A totally heartbreaking and powerful story about families, secrets and finding your way home
My dearest Marianne, have you ever completely loved one person? What I am about to tell you now, I have told no one…
Beautiful Kilteelagh House in Ireland, with its avenue of trees and its acres of wildflowers, was somewhere Marianne thought she’d never be again. At least, not without her beloved grandmother Collie. But when Collie passes away, she has just one request – for Marianne to leave behind her glamorous life in New York and to raise Collie’s orphaned granddaughters in the wild Irish countryside. Heartbroken and determined to fulfil her grandmother’s dying wish, Marianne has no choice but to say yes…
All Marianne and her cousins have left is each other, and letters from Collie that keep arriving from beyond the grave. They become a lifeline for Marianne, and she soon realises that her grandmother still has a lot to still teach her. And after a chance encounter with gorgeous local handyman Jack, Marianne wonders if Collie believed being back at Kilteelagh House would help her find love, too?
Soon, Marianne can’t help but begin to fall in love with this place that is so full of memories, of secrets, and perhaps even a little bit of Irish magic. But then out of the blue, a letter from Collie arrives that changes everything…
Will Marianne ever be able to decide where her heart truly belongs? Or will she have to run away from the only people who have ever truly understood her?
An absolutely heartbreaking and heart-warming read overflowing with Irish charm that will make you laugh, cry and hold your loved ones close. Perfect for fans of Susanne O’Leary, Cathy Kelly and Kathleen McGurl.
Buy link: https://geni.us/B0BS6ZR7LFsocial
My Review Of The Irish House
The Irish House is one of my favourite reads of the year, so far.
When Marrianne returns to the village of Balgaddy in Wicklow after the dear of her dear grandmother, Collie Keane, she is very regretful that she wasn’t there when her grandmother passed.
She discovers that her grandmother has left her Kilteelagh House and what’s more she is now given care of her two cousins, Rachel and Katie. The house, once a beautiful place full of memories of her times with her grandmother, is in a bad state of repair.
Marianne has to decide whether she can leave her job as a fashion designer in New York and take over the care of the two young girls and the house. Additionally she has to face a running battle with her Aunt Katherine who resents that her mother left the house and the care of the girls to Marianne.
But Collie knew that Marianne would need her advice and so she leaves behind a series of letters that get delivered regularly to her. Not only are these letters full of wisdom, they also reveal her life story piece by piece. Through these letters, Collie starts to reconnect with her grandmother and take charge of her life, the house and the girls.
She also meets Jack, a handyman who offers to renovate the house for her and slowly they form a friendship.
Can Marianne stay the course and live up to the trust her beloved grandmother reposed in her?
Great characters, deep emotion, humour and fantastic story telling make The Irish house a memorable story of love reaching beyond the grave, self discovery, redefining family, finding love and putting down roots.
I will certainly be looking to read more books from this author.
The Author
Ann is the Irish author of five novels and has been translated into eleven languages. Her first novel The Ballroom Cafe was also an ebook bestseller and in the top 20 bestselling books of 2015 on Amazon UK. Ann loves to write and often gets up at 5am to get the words down, before starting her other job of writing as a news reporter. A leading journalist in Ireland, Ann has covered all major news events in a long career with Independent Newspapers, Ireland. She is now a senior journalist with the Irish Examiner specialising in legal issues. Ann has also lived in India. Originally from the west of Ireland she now lives on the east coast with her husband and family.
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I received a copy of this from Bookouture via NetGalley for a review and participation in Books-On-Tour.