The cover of this book is what originally caught my attention and made me want to read it. And I enjoy reading short stories.

There were 4 stories in the book, each different. The title "Once Upon a Time in the Emerald Isles" sounds like the start of a fairy tale.

But sadly, two of these stories are dark, horrible tales of things that are still unfortunately happening in the Catholic Church. As a Catholic, it truly sickens me and I personally decided years ago that I will never go to confession ever again. The author did a superb job describing the sad situations and trauma people went through.

Another is a short love story between a workman and a domestic worker.

The other story was the one that had humor in it. Since it's short, I don't want to spoil it for anyone. But I had to smile at the land of condensed milk and honey!

This as a new to me author and I will see what other books he has. Lots of food for thought in the stories. Those who think the Catholic church can do no wrong would probably be offended by the book but I quite enjoyed it!

* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.

When I saw this book, I found the cover exciting, and I also found the fact that it was a series of short stories, so I was on board immediately! I love short stories, and I find them comforting. A collection of short stories, all set in an Ireland of the past.

This book got my attention because the cover is so intriguing and also because it is a book of Irish short stories. I love a good Irish story and these did not fail. The writing is well done and I liked the endings but you could imagine what happened next if the story continued. While the subject matter of the first one is intense and tragic it is also a harsh and devastating reality of Irish history, the second story is light-hearted and fun, the third a beautiful love story and the fourth a story of a nice family who discover one of their own is struggling and one of them comes to the rescue. I don't want to say too much and spoil it.

What endeared me to these stories was the author's ability to convey so well what it was like to be Irish during that time. I loved the way the women described their husband and the way the husbands described their wives. The stories were riddled with guilt, fear of embarrassing the family, innocence, love, survival and tragedy. This short story collection made me cry, laugh and feel so much. I would definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Denis Byrne, and BooksGoSocial Kindle Edition for a free electronic ARC of this book.

Denis Byrne’s Once Upon A Time In The Emerald Isle offers a topical debate on the social role and moral responsibilities of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Comprising four short stories with interconnecting themes of morality, faith, loss and deception threatening social cohesion, Byrne’s stories have a dark, twisted edge which warns not to be taken for granted.

This was a very good collections of stories that give character to Ireland. It tells tales of Irish people so that a reader gets a good reflection on the culture.

I wasn’t able to read this one as I have not been able to download a copy. As I was bot able to read the book, I will still give it a five star review because it was not the author’s fault.