Yikes, I loved the premise of this book but it was so badly written I couldn't get through it! It's a very "done" concept, and because of that it needs to be good. Not only was the writing poor and uninspiring, the plot just really needed some help.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I enjoyed this nice lovely read which had a great storyline, great characters and was set in Ireland.

Thank you NetGalley, Susanne O’Leary and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.
The Lost Girls of Ireland is a lovely book. A hope filled read about the power of reinvention and second chances. Lydia Harrington’s world is turned upside down with the sudden death of her husband. As if this shock wasn’t enough, she learns that he had been involved in money laundering, amassing a huge debt and leaving her virtually penniless. In her despair, she leaves Dublin with her daughter Sunny and heads for a tiny Irish village and the run down cottage inherited from her great Aunt Nellie. The seaside village of Kerry is welcoming with a host of eccentric residents as well as a mysterious neighbor, the appealing American artist Jason O’Callaghan. As Lydia settles in, the secret she has been hiding from Sunny may be revealed and she realizes that she has to deal with the past to move forward.
Susanne O’Leary transported me to this lovely place where the villagers are accepting for who you are not for what you have.
This is a story of heart and soul and is highly recommended.

Susanne O'Leary’s The Lost Girls of Ireland is a story about Lydia Butler and her daughter, Sunny, who suddenly find themselves in need of a new home and life. Lydia’s husband, Barry, has died from a heart attack, and in dealing with not only his death, they also have to deal with financial and personal secrets that Barry had been keeping. Luckily from them, they can start over in a cottage in Kerry, Ireland, that Lydia’s great aunt had left her. Once there, a host of new characters accept Lydia and Sunny into their lives and unexpectedly help give both a newfound appreciation for what life has to offer them.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is such a lovely read.

Lydia has left her life in Dublin behind after her worlds turned upside down and now with her daughter Sunny, she’s come to a cottage which she’s inherited.

It’s a bit of a quirky Irish town, but the people soon welcome Lydia and Sunny.

But it’s her neighbour who has the biggest impact on her and they might just what she needs to get over what’s happened.

Recommend it.

Sorry to have given up on this one. The story was sweet, easy to read and cute but felt a bit unsubstantial,flimsy and flat. She seemed to feel no emotion whatsoever that her husband of 20 years had died and was doing a runner and a 14 year old who reacts calmly and happily to a move from luxury to a cottage isn't very likely. There was a good story in here waiting to get out but it didn't grab me at all. I wanted to feel connected to the girls but felt nothing so had to give up. Needs more emotion and more Ireland!

Thank you to Bookouture Publishers for this eARC copy of this book to read and review though NetGalley.

This story starts in Dublin where Lydia finds out the her late husband Barry has left her in dire straits. He was involved in fraud and money laundering and had a heart attack on the way to the airport. Luckily Lydia’s solicitor reminds her of her great aunt’s cottage by the coast that has been let since her death and suggests that Lydia and her teenage daughter Sunny go stay there once they have packed up the family home.

Some parts of this story are a stretch of the imagination - she doesn’t remember the house herself? Very little emotion around the loss of a spouse and father? And then conveniently there is a handsome tall and dark neighbour Jason next door who just happens to chat through the fence to Lydia and falls in love with her on this basis.

After being voted the best-dressed in Ireland the year before, Lydia now works two hours a day as a cleaner and finds a job washing hair in a salon.

This feels a little like a few books I have read previously but it’s the slightly more washed out, insipid version.

The history part where Lydia and Sunny find out about the Great Aunt are cool and the other characters in town are nice too, if not too fleshed out. It was an easy read for a long weekend chilling.

Reading this series is wonderful. Every book brings you back to the lovely Sandy Cove and you are reconnected with the villagers. Each time the author introduces a newcomer who fits in seamlessly and plays the major part in the story.
Sometimes something devastating happens and forces you to leave everything behind. The life you have lived and enjoyed for several years ceases to exist in the blink of an eye.
The life you saw through rose-tinted glasses only seems to have black clouds left and the future does not look good. In order to survive you have to leave the past behind you and try to make the best of it. Of course you can count on your many friends to help you, right? Well, no, because they too seem to have disappeared once the going got tough.
The author paints a perfect picture between living in a city and in a village. I know it’s not always just black and white, but I think we can say that in the city you are loved for what you have or know, while in a village they help you because of who you are. Is this charity? No! I understand it might feel like that, but villagers act like this because they are that genuine and really want to help, not expecting anything in return.
Love and friendship are always on the forefront, because those are two things you need when trying to climb out of a black hole and leaving the sadness and pain on the bottom of it.
I just loved it. 5 stars.

Thank you, Susanne O'Leary and Bookouture

****The Lost Girls of Ireland is a story about starting over, finding one’s place and rising above adversity. Lydia’s life was destroyed by the death of her husband and his betrayal. Moving with her teenage daughter to the cottage her great aunt left her was her only option, but turned out to be a huge blessing. I loved the mystery of the aunt, the growth of Lydia and, of course, the ambiance of a novel set in Ireland. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and I could see myself in the cottage and village. The descriptions were great. I hope there's more in the series.

I received this book for an honest review from Netgalley #netgalley

this was the perfect summer read and I really enjoyed how the story progressed the setting was beautiful I would love to go and visit sometime. The story was very complex and interesting.

Thank you for the lovely book set in Dublin. I come from Belfast and often travelled to see family in Dunlin so was really nice to reminisce

Suzanne O’Leary’s “The Lost Girls of Ireland” is a heartwarming tale of a woman who had to lose everything and come to a cold little cottage in a small village on the west coast of Ireland to find out what mattered most in life.

Lydia Harrington, voted Ireland’s best dressed woman, was sipping cream tea in Dublin’s classiest hotel, The Shelbourne, with her 14-year-old daughter, Sunniva, when it happened. The dreaded phone call about the death of her husband wasn’t the only shocker – Brad had emptied their bank accounts, racked up debt and left her penniless.

When her lawyer reminded Lydia about the cottage her great-aunt Nellie had left her 10 years ago, Lydia suddenly had an idea. Sneaking out the backdoor before sunrise, they headed to the Starlight Cottages in Kerry. The cottages were a row of four houses on top of a headland; three were occupied by artists and hers, the last one, had been vacated by the renters. This is their story about starting over in a place where nobody would find them and nobody knew who they were.

A beautiful clean romance and wonderfully uplifting tale of second chances and starting over. I giggled about the directions she was given by the vet. Born in Ireland, I know only too well the type of directions given by locals! I loved the firewood delivery and wished I’d read about more things that would have made the story uniquely Irish; soda farls, wheaten bread, Irish beer and fiddle players in the pub, narrow lanes, gorse, tea by the fire, or even Irish expressions. Other than the title and the fact that the character mentions going to Kerry, this could have been set anywhere. I was also craving more on the back story regarding the German pilot or the artistic endeavors of her grandmother. Regardless, I think you’ll come to the same conclusion: we need more places like Sandy Cove where people are not judged by what they have, but rather by who they are and how they treat others.

Publishes May 5, 2021

Thank you to #susanneoleary #bookouture and #netgalley for the gifted advance copy. I was under no obligation to leave a review.