3.5 stars

The Irish Goodbye was a lovely, heartfelt read. I’m always here for books set in Ireland, and I loved the setting and the eclectic cast of characters. I appreciated the themes of grief, healing, found family, rediscovering your passions, and more. Cordelia and Niall both did a lot of healing on Inishmore, making their relationship feel like a true journey - one that went from animosity to tentative friendship to love.

What stopped me from loving this book was the conflict. *Spoilers ahead.* I always dread the third-act breakup; sometimes it’s not so bad and you can understand why it happens, but in this case, I was hoping things would go in a different direction and maybe the characters could have a mature conversation instead of things ending in heartache. I just couldn’t get past the fact that Cordelia loved Niall enough to accept his very unexpected, spontaneous proposal…AND she was fine with the thought of him completely uprooting his entire life and leaving his family to move to NYC with her…but she wouldn’t even consider for one second going to London with him. It was a hard no. Even if she didn’t want to go with him, they could have, at the very least, stayed in touch, and there was no real reason for them not to attempt a long distance relationship. It was just nope, nice knowing you, bye. I was also disappointed that neither of them even considered staying or returning to Inishmore. Not only was it the main setting of the book, but both characters loved the island, the people, Niall’s family’s pub, and that’s where they met, fell in love, healed, and rekindled their individual passions. Niall even said how much he missed his family’s pub and the familiarity of it when he was in London. But again, it wasn’t even a consideration for either of them. I could have accepted all of this since they both did grow and learn during their time apart, but then ending felt rushed. The epilogue would have been better as a final chapter since it immediately followed what had happened previously and epilogues usually serve to give us a glimpse into the couple’s future and what they’re up to. I would have loved to see them six months or a year down the line to see them happy and thriving or maybe even returning to Inishmore, even for a visit.

Despite those issues keeping me from truly loving this book, I did enjoy it and would recommend it to romance lovers, especially those who like to armchair travel to beautiful settings.

To start I love Irish themed books, (as a girlie with grandparents from Ireland). I have not read anything from Amy Ewing, but I will be reading more of her books and buying this book when it comes out!

4/5 Stars! It was a good book, I really really liked it but didn't love the ending. That's why it got 4 stars from me.

"The Irish Goodbye" follows Cordelia James, street photographer dealing with the grief of losing her father, trying to navigate the loss, she ends up in Inishmore Island, where we meet the MMC, Niall O'Connor. Both carrying heavy baggage with them.

The author did an amazing job describing the Irish coast and allowing readers to really grasp where this book takes place. Which is personally my favorite, I love when readers can create the world in their mind!

I applaud Amy for embracing the harshness of life, as a girl who loves a fluffy romance, I do also enjoy one that touches base on the reality of things, whether its grieving a parent or handling a broken heart. I quite enjoyed the realism of this book!

In life I feel like we all get a summer, a summer to do whatever we want, to heal and find ourselves, which was what happened for our two main characters, with some great side characters sprinkled in! Great job Amy, this was a good one!

Book releases on June 4, 2024! Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC!

I was very excited to read this story because I love Ireland and I think it beautifully showed the feeling of a small Irish town and the close community of people. The story had great potential but it was a bit of a let down.

The writing felt very juvenile, bits that were overwritten and then missing bits I would’ve liked to see. (We do not need to know she puts her hair in a “messy/loose bun” four times) I don’t generally mind a quick romance where the characters fall fast but this was to the extreeemmmeee. They went from 0 to 1000 in literally a couple hours, and then to 2000 after a couple weeks.

I did enjoy the cast of characters, even her mom did eventually redeem herself but it was tricky to want to appreciate that. I think Roisin was the saving grace of this whole novel, she was hilarious and I want her to be my Irish grandma. I think the plot had great potential in her dealing with her grief, but that wasn’t explored much.

I will definitely be interested in seeing more from this author, I think all the elements are there; interesting plot, endearing characters with long term goals, and outside forces/drama. I look forward to future books and new adventures! Maybe another Inishmore romance with Collin??

"The Irish Goodbye" serves as a compelling escapist novel, ideal for leisurely moments on a plane or by the beach. Although it leans on genre conventions, its unique setting and characters offer a fresh perspective. However, the heavy-handed Irish dialogue occasionally disrupts immersion in the story. Overall, while enjoyable, "The Irish Goodbye" falls short of being truly exceptional.

The plot of this book was absolutely adorable and I found myself genuinely understanding Cordelia’s grief. The descriptions of the places around Inishmore were stunning. Here’s where my problem lies.. for 2 characters that hated each other so much in the beginning, they got over it insanely quickly. There was no slow burn, just immediately into a relationship and immediately “in love” and that just doesn’t feel real to me. It was hard for me to connect after that. Even if I really did love the 2 characters separately. I did still enjoy the plot and the story but it just felt so rushed the last 1/4 of the book.

Cordelia, a New York street photographer who is working through the grief of losing her father, takes an opportunity to live in a small cottage on an Irish island over the summer looking after one of the resident’s grandmothers. Niall, a local born and raised, is returning home to Inishmore for the summer to work at his family’s pub after a broken engagement and losing his beloved pub in Dublin. Can these two help each other overcome their hurt and find themselves again on Inishmore?

If I could spend my summer on a small Irish island with the best, funniest, most friendly people.. Consider me gone!

This was a quick, fun read that entertained me from start to finish. I was really invested in Cordelia and Niall’s self discovery, him healing a broken heart and loving his hometown (or island, I guess!) and her finding her inspiration in Inishmore and loving photography again. Cordelia finding her passions when she was learning to live with her grief was a major plot point of the story I thought was done really well.

Roisin and all of the locals in Inishmore were wonderfully written. I want to have Sunday dinner or share a pint with all of them. I love a secondary cast that brings out the best in the lead characters and they sure did. Roisin was so funny and wonderful!!

I’ll say I didn’t love the last little bit of the book, only because I feel like the epilogue should’ve been a few months later, not the next day. It just seemed a little odd and rushed…. I wanted to see where they ended up living and how they managed a compromise, considering that was the main conflict at the end. It just didn’t end the story well for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it’s a great summer read! Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Amy Ewing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Read if you love..
Grumpy Irishmen and sunshiny Americans
Finding yourself while living with grief
Found families
Stories set in far away, beautiful places
Doggos named Pocket that herd folks to her house for dinner
Sassy, eclectic Irish grandmas

(review will be posted to socials closer to pub date)

This was a really fun, dual POV, enemies to lovers, small Irish island vacation romance between a New York City photographer still grieving her dead father and needing some inspiration and a chef recently cheated on and kicked out of his Dublin restaurant before it could even open.

Together with a cast of great secondary characters, Cordelia and Niall form a reluctant friendship that leads to a hot summer affair neither wants to see end. I enjoyed this one sooo much and highly recommend it for fans of books like Off the map, Last call at the local or the movie Leap year!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy of this latest from a new to me author. I'm excited to read more by Amy Ewing and as someone with Irish heritage, reading this book made me want to go back to Ireland as soon as possible!

Steam level: open door, some spicy scenes!

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Ewing, and Alcove Press for providing me with an ARC of The Irish Goodbye in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I was not expecting to like The Irish Goodbye as much as I did. I was expecting it to be a fairly basic romance novel, and while it wasn't anything outlandish, it still felt different from a lot of others that I have read and I think it will stick in my mind. I also read Ewing's The Lone City series, which I had mixed feelings about, so I have to say I did enter into this with some preconceived notions.

The Irish Goodbye follows a grieving, American photographer, Cordelia, as she books a summer-long trip to the Irish island of Inishmore. She literally bumps into a recently heartbroken Niall, who is returning home from Dublin to help at his family's pub. Suffice to say, their relationship starts off on the wrong foot. I think the animosity between the two of them felt genuine and realistic, as did the way their relationship developed over time. I will say that the time frame of three months that was given did mean that their relationship felt very rushed - however, this was acknowledged by Cordelia and Niall, at least.

I do feel that the story did suffer in the last part of the book, the conflict was introduced way too late for my liking, so the ensuing rectification of that relied on time gaps and a quick resolution in order to keep the novel a good length. We also, sadly, did not get to see much of the happy ending that the entire novel had been building towards, it was very much over once the conflict was resolved. Personally, I like to enjoy a bit of the payoff.

I was apprehensive about the Irish setting, as I believe Ewing is from The United States, but thankfully nothing seemed out of place (as far as I can tell being from the United Kingdom) and it appears as though Ewing did a lot of extensive research achieve realism in her chosen setting.

Overall, I would definitely recommend The Irish Goodbye if you are usually a fan of small-town romances, but perhaps want something that is a little different from your typical American-centric ones.

I really liked this book, it made me want to visit Ireland and I really REALLY loved Roisin. The only thing I actually didn't like it was the proposal thing! I was, just like some character said, the only option? I don't think it was a way to make the climax. And the end was kinda rushed, but I liked the last chapter.

I would like to read more about their future. Niall opened another pub? They stood still at NYC? The book was a success? What about the island? Cord instagram and book helped with tourism? So many questions...

I really wish the epilogue answered any of these questions.

I wanted to love this book so much but it was just bleh 😕 There’s nothing I love more than a good romance that takes place in Ireland so I had such high hopes.

Main character, Cordelia was traveling to Ireland for the summer. She needed a break and to focus on her photography so what better place to do that than picturesque Inishmore. She found a place to stay through a fellow townswoman, Allison — the only catch was that she needed to keep an eye on her Gran.

Fast forward a bit and I felt like Cordelia and Niall met, it was awkward and then they fell in love so quickly. Niall accidentally broke Cordelia’s beloved camera from her late father and she was rightfully pissed. Niall didn’t handle it well and put his own feelings before hers and passed her off like breaking her camera was nothing.

They both were going through very different albeit traumatic situations. They helped each other out of those moments and had a love unlike any other but they never once addressed what would happen come the end of the summer. Would the fling end, would they continue their relationship long term, Niall move to New York or Cordie stay??

I think their relationship was rushed and we got no details — the timeline passed quickly and the next thing we knew Cordelia had to leave and go back to New York. Niall was offered the job of a lifetime as a head-chef in London so they both had a lot to think about and a surprise proposal was something Cordie didn’t think she’d be contemplating.

This book had major potential but it just ended up falling short in my opinion. Setting was great but there was too much emphasis on family which might be right up your alley and if it is, you will love this!

A fun and funny story about a whirlwind romance between a photographer and restauranteur in Ireland. The dual plot lines and fully fleshed out secondary characters make this so fun to read. I want to visit Inishmore asap.

I have to say that I am biased when it comes to Ireland, and especially Inishmore. The country will always have a special place in my heart and that island in particular even more so. Naturally when I saw the setting it was a no brainer for me and I had to request early access to it!

Let me tell you this did not disappoint. I could feel myself landing in Kilronan with Cordelia and falling in love with the island all over again. The story was very cute and well executed. The characters were excellent and very well developed. Rosin totally stole the show from me and I want a whole story about her and her folklore. Highly recommend to any romance reader!

This was a very cute story. I loved the setting and the description of all the places. I did feel like the story dragged at times and then all of a sudden the main characters were in love with each other. Overall very cute feel good love story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this earc.

Okay. Let’s just start that the first 85% of this book was awesome. There was a story and found family and real family and Romance. And Ireland. Honestly I couldn’t ask for more.

But those last 15% just felt rushed.

Let’s back up a bit. I liked Cordelia and Niall. I liked their relationship. But the proposal? Felt way too much. And I was kind of happy Cordelia had a reason to say no. And then after the heartbreak and the time apart instead of just holding each other they just right back to sex? Just didn’t feel right. They haven’t seen each other in months. I wished they just held each other through the night and talked about the time apart. the sex scene just made it feel less.
And the epilogue. There is a reason they are set months/years later because you can look and see how the future turned out. We kind of missed out on that in this one.

Overall, it’s cute, it will make you book your Ireland trip and it will make your heart bit faster. It just didn’t make me cry

Oh my goodness! I loved this book, the relationship between Cordelia and Niall made my heart melt. I adore the way the author wrote this novel. She had me envisioning the beauty of Ireland, and the story had a way of making you fall in love with all of the characters, definitely one of the best romances of the year!

This was cute. I liked the premise, if at times it veered into distractingly unbelievable. The characters were fun. I would definitely seek out other books by this author.

After losing her father, Cordelia takes an opportunity to stay in a home in a cute little town in Ireland for the summer. As soon as she lands she has a run in with recently dumped Niall. But as Niall and Cordelia start spending more time together via accidental run ins, the more they find they are having a hard time resisting each other.

I really enjoyed this book! The way Ireland was described made me feel like I was actually there! It reminded me of one of my favourite movies, Leap Year with the slightly grumpy Irishmen and American girl, Cordelia.

Niall was an absolute sweetheart. The anger I felt for that poor man learning about how he was betrayed by his closest friend and fiancee. I truly wanted nothing but the best for him.

Hearing about Cordelia's loss and honouring his name by stepping out of her comfort zone, travelling to Ireland alone for the summer was inspiring. Watching her grow and flourish was so amazing.

The tension between the characters was absolutely DELICIOUS! Between the tension and the absolute vibes from the micro tropes, I was in heaven. I really enjoyed reading about all the side characters like Roisin and her sharp tongue. This book really just felt like I was along for the journey, meeting really nice people and visiting Ireland. I highly recommend and will definitely be recommending it to friends!

The Irish Goodbye is the novel by Amy Ewing. Thanks to Net Galley and Alcove Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Cordelia and Niall are both reeling from loss; her the death of his father, and him the loss of his fiance and restaurant in the same day. They meet in a small village off the coast of Ireland, populated by vibrant townsfolk. I loved the descriptions of this village and the people in it. I am not sure if it's based in reality, but the setting seemed gorgeous. I'm a sucker for a good small-town romance, especially with such a grwat cast of characters. I like how Irish folklore was woven throughout the book through the character of Roisin. However, the conceit of Cordelia going to be her caretaker makes no sense because this woman is a force of nature, even at 80. You have to look past this device.
I changed my mind a bunch about Cordelia, I'm not sure about her maturity. The character was a bit uneven for me, though I was still rooting for her. Niall was a better drawn character. I appreciated the tensions in his life, they seemed more realistic. I definitely pulled for a HEA with them. I've been reading a lot.of Irish and Scottish themes books lately. This rates in the middle of the pack, an enjoyable read. 3.75 stars

This book follows a woman, Cordelia, looking for a reset in a small Irish village for a few months. She meets a man, Niall, who has moved back home from his city life after a bad breakup. The two don't start on the right foot when the hero cracks her camera lens and brushes her off about it. But of course, they grow closer together throughout the book.

The Irish Goodbye is definitely for fans of Jenny Colgan! If you are looking for a romance, this is not necessarily the book for you. While it does have a romantic side plot, the main aspect of the book is the vibes and the heroine finding herself in this Irish village.

While I enjoyed aspects of this book, such as the setting and ex[exploration of grief, I ultimately found that the pacing was slower than I expected, especially for this genre. If you don't mind a slower pace, cozy setting, and light romance, pick this one up!

(Please look at trigger warnings as the heroine is dealing with some grief.)

Lovely, charming, and beautiful love story. The setting, the characters, the plot, and everything is wonderful. Niall and Cordelia are sweethearts, and Roisin is the best. Perfect for a cozy evening. Thanks a lot to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and the author for the eARC. Highly recommended.