From the publisher:
When a librarian moves to a quaint Irish village where her favorite novelist lives, the last thing she expects is to fall for the author’s prickly son… until their story becomes one for the books, from the New York Times bestselling author of Summer Reading.
Emily Allen, a librarian on Martha’s Vineyard, has always dreamed of a life of travel and adventure. So when her favorite author, Siobhan Riordan, offers her a job in the Emerald Isle, Emily jumps at the opportunity. After all, Siobhan’s novels got Em through some of the darkest days of her existence.
Helping Siobhan write the final book in her acclaimed series—after a ten-year hiatus due to a scorching case of writer’s block—is a dream come true for Emily. If only she didn’t have to deal with Siobhan’s son, Kieran Murphy. He manages Siobhan’s bookstore, and the grouchy bookworm clearly doesn’t want Em around.
Emily persists, and spending her days bantering with the annoyingly handsome mercurial Irishman only makes her fall more deeply in love with the new life she’s built – and for the man who seems to soften toward her with every quip she throws at him. But when she discovers the reason for Kieran’s initial resistance, Em finds herself torn between helping Siobhan find closure with her series and her now undeniable feelings for Kier. As Siobhan’s novel progresses, Emily will have to decide if she’s truly ready to turn a new page and figure out what lies in the next chapter.
A LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection!
“Whimsically wonderful and wryly witty…. This is a swoon-worthy romance that has not only a great deal to say about self-love, forgiveness, and the importance of living in the moment but also celebrates the undeniable magic of books and the important place they hold in a reader’s life.” —Booklist (starred review)
https://amzn.to/3WNfL1m
“A cleverly written forced proximity romance for book lovers.” —Kirkus Reviews
I’m in for any book set in Europe, and the setting here is a charming small village in Ireland. In a bookstore, my happy place. The main character is Emily, a librarian who takes a one year leave from her library in Martha’s Vineyard to be her favorite author’s assistant and work part time in the bookstore. Talk about a fantasy life! I was all in.
Kieran Murphy is the proprietor of the bookstore, but he is not happy at all with his new bookseller. It turns out he is afraid she is a bit of stalker – his mother is a world famous author with a severe case of writer’s block. But Emily is no stalker, just a huge fan with a good memory for her favorite series of books, which proves to be helpful to Siobhan, the author.
Kieran begrudgingly gives Emily an ancient laptop and orders her to the third floor of the bookshop to start doing inventory. Emily is not thrilled, but she does as he asks. As the two of them continue to butt heads, you know where this is going to end up.
Meanwhile, it turns out Siobhan has gone through a couple of bouts of breast cancer, which partially explains why she never completed the series. When she’s not doing inventory, Emily works with Siobhan and tries to get her to start writing again – and she is successful. But Keiran isn’t happy about that at all, causing more strife between them.
This enemy-to-lovers romance is a charming love story with enough depth to make these characters come alive on the page. McKinlay did herself proud here – I loved it!
5/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
LOVE AT FIRST BOOK by Jenn McKinlay. Berkley (May 14, 2024). ISBN: 978-0593545744. 368p.
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