Secrets of Willow House is the first book in a new series by Susanne O’Leary. Interior designer Maeve McKenna relocated to London from Dublin after a very bad breakup. She has worked her way to the top levels in Ava McDonald’s upscale design firm. But she has worked herself to the point of exhaustion. In fact, her doctor has told her she must take time off to regroup or pay the health consequences.

Although Ava does so grudgingly, she relents and gives Maeve two wee off. Maeve decides to spend the majority of the time with her Aunt Philomena in Sandy Cove, part of the Kerry Ring in Ireland.

Being back at Willow House where she and her sister, Roisin, had spent their summers while they were growing up, it quite bittersweet. Her Uncle Joe passed a little over a year ago and she finds her aunt in a dilapidated home sitting atop a lovely cliff. In helping her aunt find joy and purpose, the most amazing things happen for them both. Aunt Phil finds new purpose and Maeve finds a very different direction.

This was a lovely book, just the beginning of a very promising series by Susanne O’Leary. With rich characters, lovely scenery, and a wonderful place to discover, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I want to talk to you about Secrets of Willow House by Susanne O'Leary, which I am giving a deserved 4 out of 5 shamrocks. Thanks much to NetGalley and to Bookouture for sending me this lovely, lovely novel in exchange for my honest review. This is hailed as a "heartwarming and uplifting page turner set in Ireland," and disappoint it does not!

Maeve McKenna is on the verge of a nervous collapse. She's overworked and exhausted as an interior designer at Ava McDonald Interiors. At almost forty, her life isn't exactly how she pictured it. Her ex-boyfriend, Lorcan, cheated on her and started the family he said he didn't want. Instead of owning the design company she's dreamed of, she's working for a woman who can't say no to a job, no matter how many projects they're currently working.

Maeve finds herself longing for the simplicity and serenity of small-town life in the tiny town of Sandy Cove outside of Kerry, swimming in the Atlantic, sunbathing on the beach, spending her summers at Willow House, and basking in the warmth of her Aunt Phil's and Uncle Joe's love.

When her doctor prescribes two weeks off, Maeve seizes her chance to escape her busy London life and spend time with her widowed aunt.

Philomena Duffy lives year-round in the home her great-grandfather built in 1912. Willow House is the home she shared with her late husband, Joe, before he passed the year before. Just when the loneliness starts to become unbearable, Phil gets the outstanding news that she her beloved niece is coming for holiday. The timing couldn't be more perfect, because she's started to go through Joe's belongings, and there are some mysteries that she needs Maeve's help to solve.

Two weeks at Willow House are the balm that both aunt and niece have unknowingly needed, and together they explore their pasts, presents, and futures in a, yes, heartwarming and uplifting narrative of two women with the world before them.

Will Maeve head back to London feeling energized and ready to revel in her brilliant career and perhaps kindle a new relationship with the posh Stephen Taylor? Or do the secrets of Willow House reveal an entirely different plan, complete with the town's summer bookkeeper—the wildly soulful Paschal O'Sullivan—and the project of a lifetime?

When Phil learns of her beloved late husband's long-kept secret, she also finds herself at a crossroads. Will Joe Duffy's secrets break over Phil, carrying her away with them? Or is there more to his story?

What don't I love about this book? Pretty much nothing. Maeve seems much younger than she is, but what's wrong with that, right? She ages as gracefully as her aunt!

This is the perfect summer beach read. I wanted nothing more than to cozy up in the sand with my sun hat and dig into the Secrets of Willow House. (I wouldn't say no to some fresh Irish seafood, either.) Lively, entertaining, and lighthearted, this story had me laughing and smiling on the whole. It's not a complicated story, but it's brilliantly told. You can simply enjoy the read and where the story takes you, which is exactly what I'm looking for when I pick up a smart, witty read that I can breeze through.

And come on! Ireland? You all know how I feel about my ancestral home. At the last page, I shut off the Kindle, marched up to my husband, and announced that I was moving to Kerry and never coming home. Fortunately (and unfortunately), this is not the first time he's heard this, so it's a bit like calling wolf. BUT I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME. (Emphatically throws passport, bathing suits, flouncy hat, and books into suitcase.)

Secrets of Willow House is set to be published on March 25, 2019. Pick it up and add it immediately to your summer reading list. Enjoy this literary holiday on the shores of Kerry. (Or better yet, go there and bring this book with you! And take me along as well, if you don't mind!)

As requested by the publisher, the link to this review can also be found at ahjoyediting.com/bring-the-joy

This is a brilliant holiday read which takes you away to the beautiful Emerald Isle. The author transports you to Ireland with her descriptions of the land and the people.

The storyline itself goes along at a great pace, slow enough that you can enjoy the read yet not so much that you lose concentration. I found myself connecting with all of the characters, that is a sign that the author ‘gets’ her target audience extremely well.

I would highly recommend this to those looking for a great read, whether that be for a holiday or at another time of the year. Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

This is a great summer read book, especially if you are thinking about going to Ireland on holidays. This book will put you right in the mood for the Irish scenic countryside! The book was a little predictable but if you enjoy heartwarming romances like Cathy Bramley, you'll enjoy this book!

Maeve is working herself to death in London, as an interior decorator to the stars (and rich yet undecided) she’s working eighteen hour days on an endless day of putting out fires, organizing deliveries and gently coaxing clients toward the ‘best’ choices for their new décor. But she’s now experiencing panic attacks and sleepless nights, and a weight loss that has alarmed her doctor who prescribed she get away and relax for a few weeks. The past few years have been a never-ending round of work, work and more work. But her recent dreams have brought her to Sandy Cove and Willow House, a favorite childhood hideaway owned by her beloved aunt and uncle. She and her sister Roisin had spent many summers there enjoying the simpler things in life, and now with her uncle having died and she not able to go to the funeral, she’s decided to visit her aunt, Philomena, and regroup and recuperate in the old house. A quick visit with her sister to borrow her car and head west, and Maeve is soon in Willow House – the old place is in need of repair and work, and Aunt Phil has discovered a worrying ‘mystery’ amongst Joe’s things, things she couldn’t face sorting through in the years since his death.

Willow House has provided everything Maeve needs – scenery, beach, memories from her childhood and a quiet place to regroup as she thinks about the ‘new man’ she met before leaving London, and the Irishman that owns the ‘bookshop’ who stirs her interest and feels ‘familiar’, as well as intriguing. From digging through Joe’s laptop to discovering his real “secret’ that could be the saving of Willow House and all of the repairs it needs, she’s also been coming to grips with Phil’s alone-ness and her own desires to stay in Sandy Cove. Maeve is also finding herself fitting right back in to the way of life at Sandy Cove: swimming, quiet walks to town, reading with Phil to the old ladies in the “communal house’ they occupy, even nights in the pub or stargazing all bring her a sense of peace and home that was missing in London. But, not the most daring of creatures, Maeve is, despite her not wanting to, planning her return to London and the rat-race.

Oh this was a lovely story: with Maeve coming up on forty and finding that what she dreamed of as a young girl – designing and decorating - isn’t quite the ‘lark’ she thought it would be, and her boss, with her inability to say ‘no’ to a job, the boss’ increased deterioration of mood, vacillating and overly demanding clients and the expectations that none of her time is her own, have her dreaming of the day when things are different. And, with the push, the opportunity and a promise of something more with the boy who kissed her and disappeared when she was 15, never to be forgotten – she’s taking the chance to start anew in Sandy Cove. A lovely vacation read with plenty of heart and opportunity, choices and chances, and lots of laughter and healing make this a book that is hard to put down and harder to forget. Grab this for an escape into places that everyone wants: timeless, accepting and supportive, with heart, laughter and love sure to put a smile on your face.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-akZ/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Lovely!!! Suzanne O'Leary has given us a memorable and lovable cast of characters, a wonderful old house by the sea and Ireland - What's not to love?!

After a failed relationship and a job that has left her exhausted, Maeve decides a change of scenery is in order and heads to Sandy Cove and her aunt Philomena. Philomena is feeling a bit down herself, rattling around in her decaying home after he loss of her beloved husband. The two women take solace in each other, and Maeve beings to believe she can see a future in Sandy Cove and begins attempting to restore the old grande old home. I love this story for its setting and its characters, the women are the stars of this story and men play only a secondary role. No one is looking for a white knight to save them, and that’s my kind of fairy tale