Based in New York Bea is living in Brooklyn with her vast Irish family - she craves to visit her Irish roots after hearing the stories of home. She lives with her Dad Ryan her mom died when Bea was a baby.
Sisters Lucy & Maeve leave Ireland for New York as young girls set to live the American dream. Lucy falls in love with Ryan who she bumps into when she is lost at the NYC library - I just loved this book although I found it was a slow starter but once the story got going I thoroughly enjoyed it!

What a wonderful story of friendship and family. It takes place in two locations, New York and Ireland and two timelines. Bea O’Connor is the main character in the present time in America while there are also flashes back to the 90s to Lucy in Kilmore Quay. The story is a very emotional read with a totally unexpected finale. This is my first book by author Carmel Harrington and I'm not sure how she has escaped my notice for so long. She hits all my check marks when I look for books. Friendship, family, duel timelines and lots of emotions. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

One of my favorite books ever is by Carmel Harrington, The Women at 72 Derry Lane. I have recommended it to many and honestly it is in my top ten books of all time.

Once one experiences a book that speaks to their soul like Derry Lane did it is not easy to love other books by the same author, that is not the case with The Moon Over Kilmore Quay.

I devoured this book in under two days. Harrington grabbed me and slowly built this story while pulling me into each character and unraveling their stories and then she crushed me.

An absolutely beautiful, heart wrenching story that I will recommend to many!

The majority of the book is written from the points of view of two characters: Bea and Lucy, and this works really well.

Bit by bit, you come to understand the place in the family that these two women occupy. One of them was born in Ireland and moves to New York. The other one is born in New York but has deep roots in Ireland going back generations. I am not of Irish stock, but reading this book, I wish I were! I am, however, first generation Australian, with parents both being migrants, and having gone with them to their country of origin when I was young, so I understand the push/pull of migrants or even first generation folk. The older I get, the more I recognise how important it is to acknowledge where you have come from and to embrace the rich culture that makes you who you are.

I loved the stories that the older ones told about their younger days and the love stories that are woven right through this book. I got completely emotionally involved. I was right there until the last little bit and then I went: "what the heck just happened?".

So, because of the ending, 4.5 stars from me. I think the book could have been extended a little just to round it off a bit better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Thank you, Carmel Harrington, Bookouture, and Netgalley, for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

I have to admit that it took me a while to get into this book. It is written in two timelines and the story jumps back and forth between those two timelines. About 2/3 of the book are used for character and world building. So, if that is something you like, this book is perfect for you. I'm usually not into books in which the character building is dragged out as much as Carmel Harrington did in the book, but I have to say that it is necessary for this story. Towards the end, all those little events and the way the characters acted made sense. The book builds up to the big twist and then it ends with a boom.

As someone who immigrated from Europe, it was fantastic to read from the perspective of the Lucy Murnaugh and her sisters who immigrated to New York from Italy.

When Bea receives a letter which her younger self wrote to her, weird things start happening. The second storyline follows her and her journey into the past and her current relationships with her dad and her boyfriend. For many chapters, I thought this book would turn into a magical realism book since all those crazy things start happening after Bea receives the letter, but as I said above the book builds up to a big plot twist. This particular one made me cry happy and sad tears at the same time.

The Moon over Kilmore Quay
By Carmel Harrington

This book takes you on a journey between New York and Wexford. It’s about family, legacies, secrets, and identity. It’s a very emotional read and a love letter to Ireland. The characters, and the exquisite descriptions of the place’s visited.
You won’t want to put this book down and when you do, it’s one you won’t forget. I love Ireland and enjoyed visiting it in this book.


I received this temp e-book from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

I loved the characters and the how this book made me feel. Don’t miss out on a great emotional read, that will stay with you!!

Wanted to like this one but struggled to get into the story, The back and forth in time, plus the different characters from here and there threw me a bit. I am guessing it is just me, as a lot of reviews give it high praise. Just wasn’t for me, sad to say.

This is the first book I have read by the author and it did not disappoint!
Bea has been a city girl her entire life, but feels like she is missing out on life. She finds a letter she wrote to herself over 20 years ago and decides to visit Kilmore Quay, Ireland.
This book has a lot of twists and turns. Bea and Dan’s story isn’t really told until the end.
This took me a bit to get into, but worth the time!

The Moon Over Kilmore Quay is the perfect book when you can't seem to find a book that will please. I did not want this story to end.

The Moon Over Kilmore Quay by Carmel Harrington was different from what I expected. I thought it would be a simple romance, but boy was I wrong. It is a story of friendship, love, betrayal, secrets and family. It is women's fiction, but also a love story. By the time I had finished this book, my emotions had been all over the place, with tissues needed at times. I was angry, happy, laughing and in tears throughout this one. The story is told in two different timelines following two different characters. Bea O’Connor is a twenty something New Yorker of Irish heritage. Her story plays out in 2019 and 2020. Lucy Mernagh is an Irish immigrant to New York in the early 1990s. The story is told from their points of view and we see how their lives intersect.

Bea's story starts with her spending a lonely New Year's Eve after recently breaking off a relationship, but then receiving a letter mailed to her from her grade four teacher. It was a letter she wrote when she was ten to her future adult self. This letter has Bea looking at her life and assessing things that happened along the way. She ends up going on a journey, mending fences and finally taking a trip to Ireland to meet her mother's family. Her mother died when she was only three years old, so she really knows very little about her, and her father will only talk about her once a year, on the anniversary of her death. In the early 90s Lucy, her sister Maeve and her best friend Michelle enter a lottery for US visas. The sisters are both lucky enough to win and leaving their parents and life behind in Ireland, they head over to New York to start their new life. Things occur that are not revealed until the final secrets are revealed and the twists happen in this story.

The Moon Over Kilmore Quay starts slow, but the writing drew me in to Lucy's and Bea's stories. Parts of this story were fun and lighthearted, like reading a letter from your ten year old self and singing karaoke with your two BFFs. Other parts were sweet, like Lucy's and Ryan's love story, some were upsetting like rescuing your BFF and building up each other and then parts had me sobbing like a baby. There were themes of family, heritage, self-esteem, love, friendship, honesty and more. I do not want to share anymore of the plot as this is a story you need to read for yourself, but I will tell you that there will be times that your jaw will drop and have you not being able to turn the pages fast enough. This is the first book I have read by Carmel Harrington, but I will be watching for more. I definitely recommend this one to those who enjoy a story about family, women, friendship and love an emotional read.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it was absolutely wonderful. Carmel Harrington is a new author for me, and I really enjoy her writing style. She draws you in to the story as soon as you open the cover and holds you until the end.

Bea O’Conner has lived in New York City her whole life but always felt like there was a hole in her heart….a void. It’s New Years Eve and she finds a letter she wrote to herself twenty years ago, full of wishes she wanted for her life. When she reads her time capsule letter, she realizes she has always wanted to visit Kilmore Quay in Ireland. Now the opportunity has come for Bea to make the trip across the pond to the land of her ancestors. When she arrives in Kilmore Quay, Ireland she feels as if those wishes may come true. But the emotional plot twist and turns will have you flying through the pages, unable to stop reading until you reach the end. I was touched by the loyalty of Bea’s two best friends, they have been by her side her entire life, and now they travel to Ireland with her. This story is sure to pull at your heartstrings, and is one that you will find yourself adding to your must read again pile.

The description of Kilmore Quay was so detailed, that you will feel as if you have actually been there. Thank you Carmel Harrington for this wonderful read, I was swept away. I loved this book so much and I highly recommend it.

Absolutely loved this one from Carmel Harrington. Shes played another blinder. A beautifully written story. Full Mark's from me 👌

This is the second book by Carmel Harrington that I've read and I really enjoyed them both. She masterfully creates emotional settings with lovable characters. Such a moving story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

Can you hear the voices calling you home?

MY REVIEW: What an absolutely beautiful novel this was! I was blown away by the talented and exquisite descriptions of all of the scenes and places, especially those in Ireland. I have a soft spot for Ireland (having Irish heritage myself and being brown haired, blue eyes, and pale freckles skin), and am always drawn towards the country, the land, the food, the heritage, the people, the personalities, the culture, and especially the accent! I was delighted to read the brogue and wish I had listened to the audiobook instead!

Hearing about the heritage and family relationships, especially between the kids and their grandparents was so comforting and emotional for me. My parents live next door to me and my family and I think that the bond between my kids and my parents is so strong, loving, and important. I hope memories and stories will be told and shared throughout the years as they were in this family.

I was reminded that I, too, had to write a letter that was put in a time capsule when I was younger, but I don’t know whatever happened. How exciting that must have been for Bea to read hers! I can see how her letter, those long ago written words, and the emotions they stirred would help ravel some of those loose threads back up while she made some important decisions. Home is where your heart is and hers was calling for her!

This was simply just a wonderfully written novel full of perfectly chosen words, descriptions, characters, and scenes. The unexpected twists were surprising and added such color to an already great read!

This is a new author for me and I am looking forward to reading other books written by her!

An absolutely gripping and powerful story that will break your heart into thousands of tiny pieces, perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Maeve Binchy and Jean Grainger.

Sometimes things come at great cost. But, often with great benefits. That proved to be the case with two sisters who were able to leave Ireland and start their lives over across the pond in America. As the story shifts between two timelines, a letter written years ago reveals secrets that, if unraveled, could completely destroy the fabric that held the family together, despite major trials, years and miles.

As the story begins to unfold, Bea O'Connor recalls writing a letter to her future self when she was ten years old. This simple class assignment proved to have devastating effects nearly twenty years later. Proud of her Irish heritage, often thinking of her parents and great grandparents, in 2020 New York, quite happy with her life, begins to ponder over that letter she once wrote to herself. Sadly, having lost her mother, and her father being a famous author is more than unhappy with her father's dating life, especially when he begins to date her teacher. Considering these things are just the tip of the iceberg of the letter Bea once wrote.

Back in 1992, American visas changed the lives of Lucy and Maeve. It is quite interesting to see to whom Bea is connected in present day, and how Bea's letter proved to be the catalyst that changes more than one life. This story is one of relationships, and is written in a manner that caused a maelstrom of emotions as these relationships are explored. It is often not a happy story, since the subjects are deep, but so very compelling as layer by layer the aforementioned secrets evolve into love, family and forgiveness.

It almost goes without saying that learning about Irish immigrants was a great bonus, as I love any education I can get while I am reading. With excellent pacing and a shocking twist, this fabulous story hit a hard punch with its conclusion and will keep me thinking of this book for quite some time.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

The Moon over Kilmore Quay is a book about friends and families. It's a dual time line book with time periods in the present day and the early 90s. The main characters in this book are well written and the plot is a very emotional ride. All of the characters have ties to beautiful Ireland - some by birth and some because they were raised by Irish immigrants. This was a first book for me by this author and it's time to look into her earlier releases

Present Day - Bea has never been to Ireland but because she was raised by grandparents who had immigrated from Ireland and is the daughter of an Irish immigrant, she considers herself Irish at heart.
As the book begins, she receives a copy of a letter that she'd written 18 years earlier to her future self. Her life is very unsettled because she just broke up with the love of her life and she feels that the letter may help her deal with her life today. It certainly opens up a lot of earlier issues for her and send her to Ireland to find out more about her deceased mother's family. She has two close long time friends who are by her side every step of the way while she searches for information about her mother.

1990s - This part of the story is told by Lucy who moved to New York City from Ireland with her sister Maeve. Maeve is adventurous and was looking for new adventures in her life. Lucy was quieter and missed her home in Ireland and her parents. As they learn more about life in NYC and fall in love, their lives take twists and turns that they didn't see coming.

This book is beautiful - it's women's fiction with lots of twists and turns until the final truths that will astound you. I enjoyed learning more about the immigrants as they acclimated to America coming from a small town in Ireland where everyone knew everyone to New York where they knew no one. I also enjoyed reading about Bea and her two friends as well as Lucy and her friends. Women know how important their female friendships are to their lives and the friendships in this book were a major part of the story. This is a wonderful multi-generational story full of family and friends, Irish songs and St. Patrick's Day parades. It made me laugh and it made me cry and I won't soon forget this novel.

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary digital copy of The Moon Over Kilmore Quay by Carmel Harrington. I voluntarily agreed to read and review prior to publication. My opinions are my own and nothing has influenced my rating.

It took me a great deal of time to get into The Moon Over Kilmore Quay, and I came close to not finishing it several times, but once I made it halfway through, the pacing picked up and drew me into the story and the characters. I ended up enjoying the second half a lot.

Bea O’Conner is the primary character in this tale. In the first part of the book, I didn’t care for her very much, but I continued reading, and I’m glad I did. By the end of the book, I was completely vested in her character.

While this isn’t a romantic novel, it does have a heartbreaking love story. When Bea and Dan’s story is revealed toward the end, a few tears did blur my eyes for what could have been if Bea had been willing to trust in Dan’s feelings.

If you enjoy women’s fiction with intriguing characters and a complex plot, then you will love The Moon Over Kilmore Quay. Once the story progressed this became an enjoyable reading experience. The ending is bittersweet but most satisfying. Happy reading!

The Moon Over Kilmore Quay by Carmel Harrington is a women’s fiction title that by the end will put a reader through the emotional wringer. The story is told in two different timelines following two characters. Bea O’Connor is the main character in the present time in America while there are also flashes back to the 90s to Lucy in Kilmore Quay.

Bea barely remembers the time that her teacher requested that her students write a letter to their future selves but when that time capsule is unlocked and the letter shows up Bea finds herself looking back at her life. As Bea is reading her childhood thoughts she picks up a pen and writes a note to her past self. Little did Bea know that somehow as she slept that night her message would bring about a change in her current life.

In the early 90s Lucy and her two best friends were just beginning their adult lives when they heard about an opportunity to move to America. Lucy isn’t sure she wants to leave Kilmore Quay behind her but her sister is adamant that they apply for the program. When the news comes in Lucy and her sister find that they are accepted and pack to head overseas.

The Moon Over Kilmore Quay was a novel that called forward about every emotion over the course of the book for me. The letter from the past gave the book a fun, light hearted feel but as it goes along it goes so much deeper into family and friendships as the secrets of the past were uncovered. I have to say there was only one small thing with the missing person case that held me back from awarding all the stars but that is minor to the central storyline so I’d definitely recommend this one to those that enjoy and emotional story.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

What a beautiful novel this is! Every family has secrets, some small, some earth-shattering. There are some of both here, but the story is so well crafted that you never see them coming, nor do you get the sense that the author rushed the plot along to reveal those secrets.

I don’t write spoilers, so you’ll get no hints from me. Please read Bea’s story, meet her family and best friends, probably she’d a few tears along the way. This is my first book by this author but it won’t be the last.

Thanks so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this book based on the synopsis-however I found it took so long to get interesting that I had long lost the desire to finish it.