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waywardvickie's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 stars!
Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!
I’m going to be honest, I went into this book with some high expectations for a cutesy little irish romance book, which this definitely still is but there were definitely things that had me a bit… underwhelmed.
There was just so much miscommunication in the book that it became annoying. The book would have been a lot shorter if all the characters actually spoke and said what they had to.
The first half of the book and the second felt like two separate books to me in ways that i can’t really explain.
The main characters relationship didn’t feel genuine and i just found it really hard to root for them as a couple. I was more interested in the pubs, the characters friends and the plot about her dad. Like if they ended up being just friends I would not have been upset in the slightest.
[SPOILERS]
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Her ex showing up to apologise & explain why he did what he did in regard to the debt and offering to pay her back was just so unrealistic that it was laughable, it was just so oddly convenient for the plot in the sense of just wrapping up that story like last minute.
thebookishnarwhal's review
5.0
In the quaint embrace of an Irish island, where the sea whispers secrets and the air carries the scent of forgotten love, "Last Call for Love" by Rebekah Crane unfolds. Known for her evocative storytelling, Crane weaves a tale that transcends time, family feuds, and the boundaries of the heart.
Meet Maeve Kaminski. She’s a Chicagoan with a penchant for color-coordinated datebooks, never expected to inherit a pub from her estranged biological father. Yet, life has a way of surprising us when we least anticipate it. As Maeve steps onto the Irish soil, she's greeted by the salty breeze and the promise of new beginnings.
Meet Briggs. He’s the rugged owner of a renowned pub and a man whose heart is as guarded as the ancient cliffs surrounding the island. Recently diagnosed with the same condition that claimed his father's life, Briggs isn't seeking love. But fate, with its whimsical brush, paints a different picture. When Maeve's striking blue eyes lock with his, something shifts. Their connection defies familial legend; they're meant to be enemies, yet destiny insists otherwise.
The chemistry between Maeve and Briggs crackles like a bonfire on a chilly night. Their banter dances between wit and vulnerability, and as they navigate the intricacies of their shared history, the island itself seems to hold its breath. Crane's prose captures the essence of Ireland: the rolling hills, the cozy pubs, and the ancient folklore that clings to every stone.
The pacing is exquisite. Each chapter unfurls like a delicate petal, revealing layers of longing, regret, and hope. The tension between Maeve and Briggs is palpable, their stolen glances and accidental touches igniting sparks that leap off the page. And oh, the kisses! I mean the kind that taste like salt and redemption, like promises whispered across centuries.
But this isn't merely a romance. It's a story of redemption, of rewriting history before it's too late. As Maeve and Briggs grapple with their pasts, they unearth buried secrets, confront family legacies, and discover that love isn't always convenient—it's messy, inconvenient, and utterly transformative.
Crane's characters are flawed and achingly real. Maeve's vulnerability is a balm for the soul, and Briggs's stoicism hides a well of tenderness. The supporting cast adds depth to the narrative. And let's not forget the pub itself, an old soul with its own stories to tell.
The island becomes a character in its own right and is a witness to love lost and found, to rivalries that span generations. As Maeve and Briggs grapple with their feelings, the waves crash against the cliffs, echoing their inner turmoil. The setting is vividly rendered, inviting readers to sip a pint of Guinness and lose themselves in the magic of the Emerald Isle.
"Last Call for Love" is a symphony of emotions, from the crescendo of longing, the delicate notes of forgiveness, and the final chord of acceptance. Crane's prose is lyrical, painting scenes that linger like the taste of whiskey on the tongue. And when the last page turns, you'll find yourself believing in second chances, in love that defies logic, and in the healing power of a well-poured pint.
This book is a five-star masterpiece. It’s a love letter to Ireland, to lost dreams, and to the resilience of the human heart. So raise your glass, dear reader, and toast to love, redemption, and the magic that awaits when we least expect it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Meet Maeve Kaminski. She’s a Chicagoan with a penchant for color-coordinated datebooks, never expected to inherit a pub from her estranged biological father. Yet, life has a way of surprising us when we least anticipate it. As Maeve steps onto the Irish soil, she's greeted by the salty breeze and the promise of new beginnings.
Meet Briggs. He’s the rugged owner of a renowned pub and a man whose heart is as guarded as the ancient cliffs surrounding the island. Recently diagnosed with the same condition that claimed his father's life, Briggs isn't seeking love. But fate, with its whimsical brush, paints a different picture. When Maeve's striking blue eyes lock with his, something shifts. Their connection defies familial legend; they're meant to be enemies, yet destiny insists otherwise.
The chemistry between Maeve and Briggs crackles like a bonfire on a chilly night. Their banter dances between wit and vulnerability, and as they navigate the intricacies of their shared history, the island itself seems to hold its breath. Crane's prose captures the essence of Ireland: the rolling hills, the cozy pubs, and the ancient folklore that clings to every stone.
The pacing is exquisite. Each chapter unfurls like a delicate petal, revealing layers of longing, regret, and hope. The tension between Maeve and Briggs is palpable, their stolen glances and accidental touches igniting sparks that leap off the page. And oh, the kisses! I mean the kind that taste like salt and redemption, like promises whispered across centuries.
But this isn't merely a romance. It's a story of redemption, of rewriting history before it's too late. As Maeve and Briggs grapple with their pasts, they unearth buried secrets, confront family legacies, and discover that love isn't always convenient—it's messy, inconvenient, and utterly transformative.
Crane's characters are flawed and achingly real. Maeve's vulnerability is a balm for the soul, and Briggs's stoicism hides a well of tenderness. The supporting cast adds depth to the narrative. And let's not forget the pub itself, an old soul with its own stories to tell.
The island becomes a character in its own right and is a witness to love lost and found, to rivalries that span generations. As Maeve and Briggs grapple with their feelings, the waves crash against the cliffs, echoing their inner turmoil. The setting is vividly rendered, inviting readers to sip a pint of Guinness and lose themselves in the magic of the Emerald Isle.
"Last Call for Love" is a symphony of emotions, from the crescendo of longing, the delicate notes of forgiveness, and the final chord of acceptance. Crane's prose is lyrical, painting scenes that linger like the taste of whiskey on the tongue. And when the last page turns, you'll find yourself believing in second chances, in love that defies logic, and in the healing power of a well-poured pint.
This book is a five-star masterpiece. It’s a love letter to Ireland, to lost dreams, and to the resilience of the human heart. So raise your glass, dear reader, and toast to love, redemption, and the magic that awaits when we least expect it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
the10thingsiloveaboutbooks's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to Skyscape and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.
tropes:
-she is getting over heartbreak
-forbidden romance
-instalove
-enemies to lovers (kinda)
This book focuses on Maeve, a polish American living in Chicago who receives word of her absent father’s passing. She is informed that in order to receive her inheritance she must travel to a small town in Ireland. Whilst there she meets Briggs Murphy the owner of rival pub and enemy #1 to her family.
This book sounded like something I was going to enjoy from the very beginning, and the dedication is so sweet. “Always enter laughing” which became a prominent feature throughout the book.
We are introduced to Maeves character in a perfect way - an email conversation which in itself was hilarious and had me laughing out loud. I will say that as this was read as a digital book, I did struggle with the format of the book in a few places. The main issue was with the text message conversations, I believe that this really needed some form of animation to make it a clear text message instead of it just being a new paragraph. Similarly to this, the reviews. It would be so much more enjoyable and engaging with a multimedia aspect, which I’m hoping will be in the physical copy
I thought the side characters in this were sweet, they added a dimension to the book that really helped with pacing. I think because this book was around 250 pages long, we struggled to get invested in the romantic connection between Briggs and Maeve and in places it just seemed underdeveloped. I believe this would be greatly improved by bulking up the relationship by around 70/80 pages.
But overall a very sweet Romeo and Juliet inspired romantic comedy.
erakareads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Maeve is called to go to Ireland to see what her biological father is leaving her in her inheritance. She’s struggling after trusting the wrong person. She is taken to a place she’s never been to before and is told she is being left a pub, The Moorings. She meets Briggs the owner of the only other bar on the island. There’s a legend their families are enemies so any romantic feelings they have are off limits. This rivalry is silly, funny, and i like the lore of their familiar feud.
Briggs insta love was not my cup of tea because they didn’t really know each other and barely had interactions by the time he was admitting to himself he liked her. I think from his first meeting with Maeve to being confused why he feels this way. It’s pretty typical for the mmc who is unavailable emotionally and loves being distracted by a new woman every night.
Also I felt like we lost a bit of the plot of her worry of being in debt and the person who did her wrong.
I do think the plot of figuring out life on this island. Figuring out who her dad is and what this place met to him and to her later on.
Thank you Rebekah Crane for this book. Thank you Netgalley and thank you Skyscrape for this ebook arc. I appreciate it.
Briggs insta love was not my cup of tea because they didn’t really know each other and barely had interactions by the time he was admitting to himself he liked her. I think from his first meeting with Maeve to being confused why he feels this way. It’s pretty typical for the mmc who is unavailable emotionally and loves being distracted by a new woman every night.
Also I felt like we lost a bit of the plot of her worry of being in debt and the person who did her wrong.
I do think the plot of figuring out life on this island. Figuring out who her dad is and what this place met to him and to her later on.
Thank you Rebekah Crane for this book. Thank you Netgalley and thank you Skyscrape for this ebook arc. I appreciate it.
sevbetweenpages's review
4.0
I RECEIVED AN ARC ON NETGALLEY
★★★★
If I could summarize this book shortly, it'd be Leap Year. Not because I started it on February 29th, because it gives me the vibe of Leap Year the movie. It takes place in a small Irish town and gives the feels of a community and found family pretty well.
Maeve and Briggs made me smile throughout the book, though initially, I thought their attraction turned to love a bit too quickly. I wish the author had emphasized Briggs more, knowing Maeve's existence and celebrating her birthday for years. I thought his affection also stemmed from that; if so, it'd be a nice touch. A girl he's known and dreamed of for years shows up eventually, and she's even more than he imagined.
I love the healthy family interactions, the portrayal of Maeve's control-freakness, Briggs, the rivalry between two bars (and the reviews mentioned in the beginning of chapters), the side characters (especially Barb).
ALSO, Liam was so interesting! His story took an unexpected turn, and it was realistic — brutally realistic. On the other hand, I hated Eoin, and I was pissed at Maeve and Briggs for falling for his tricks every single time. Dudes, you know the man's cunning and you can tell it smells fishy so why do you fall for it EVERY SINGLE TIME?
Lastly, there were some quotes I marked during the book that really, really touched me, but I'm waiting for the pub day to post them online.
It was a beautiful read overall.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sharing an arc with me.
★★★★
If I could summarize this book shortly, it'd be Leap Year. Not because I started it on February 29th, because it gives me the vibe of Leap Year the movie. It takes place in a small Irish town and gives the feels of a community and found family pretty well.
Maeve and Briggs made me smile throughout the book, though initially, I thought their attraction turned to love a bit too quickly. I wish the author had emphasized Briggs more, knowing Maeve's existence and celebrating her birthday for years. I thought his affection also stemmed from that; if so, it'd be a nice touch. A girl he's known and dreamed of for years shows up eventually, and she's even more than he imagined.
I love the healthy family interactions, the portrayal of Maeve's control-freakness, Briggs, the rivalry between two bars (and the reviews mentioned in the beginning of chapters), the side characters (especially Barb).
ALSO, Liam was so interesting! His story took an unexpected turn, and it was realistic — brutally realistic. On the other hand, I hated Eoin, and I was pissed at Maeve and Briggs for falling for his tricks every single time. Dudes, you know the man's cunning and you can tell it smells fishy so why do you fall for it EVERY SINGLE TIME?
Lastly, there were some quotes I marked during the book that really, really touched me, but I'm waiting for the pub day to post them online.
It was a beautiful read overall.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sharing an arc with me.
eventhedevilreads's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I went into this book thinking it would be a fun, upbeat romcom -- and for a fairly good portion it was. However, this book does discuss heavy content, i.e., grief and health issues.
This book is extremely fast paced and falls into the 'insta-love' category, this made it a struggle for me to really connect with the love the two main characters shared. I found the rivalry between the two mc’s to be the main plot point of the book, so much so that there were a few loop holes the debt and her relationship with Sonya throughout majority of the book that had to be closed very quickly at the end. I don't enjoy a third act breakup at all, however, this one was well done as it was really needed to bridge the gaps.
I was pleased by Maeve's growth throughout the story. Her insecurities did not rule as much of her life by the end of the book which was great to read. Her relationship with her father and Irish heritage was also touching.
I loved the relationship of the side characters with the main characters, they felt really apart of the story - for such a fast paced book -- without delving into a long winded recap of their past. I loved the relationship between Hugh, Briggs and Aofie.
At times, the book felt a bit silly but for a romcom it works. If you are in need of a quick love story pick me up - this is the book for you.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!!
dianabee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
niffler_for_words's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
“If you understand your role, you can play it better”
I thought I was picking a sweet and funny romance to put me in the St Patrick’s mood and… I found something else. I loved the idea of the setting : an Island around Cork (my fav’ city in Ireland!), two rival families who use the rumours to boost the business. Pranks, misunderstandings, that was a funny idea. And I was delighted by the Romeo and Juliet vibes.
In the end, that part is more a secondary one in the story. Grief had much more importance. That part is truly well written. I cried more than once (and that’s not easy to make me cry), I found so many quotes to collect in my reading journal.
But… I didn’t pick the book for that. I wanted a romance. And if the side characters are powerful and full of feelings, I had a lot of trouble getting attached to both MCs. I couldn't feel chemistry between them, nor see them truly evolve. Which, in a romance, is a bit of a problem. On the same line, but it might be related to my attachment to the city, I didn’t feel the Irish vibes so much, it wasn’t really immersive.
I’m really torn here. I didn’t like the romance, I never connected to it. BUT I loved the grieving and filial love story (especially the letters).
Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for that ARC copy in exchange of my honest review.
whenallsreadanddone's review
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was a solid 4-star beginning for me. I LOVE stories set in Ireland, especially romances. I really enjoyed the faux enemies/Romeo and Juliet story line until it kind of fizzled out for me. I think it would have been more believable if it was more of an enemies to lovers trope instead of insta-love, but I just didn’t feel the spark or chemistry between Maeve and Briggs. I think it felt rushed, but the book kind of also felt longer than it should have at the same time?
I say that to add that I did like the secondary characters, especially Hugh, Barb, and Aoife. Overall, this was a 3-star read for me because I lost interest in the romance when it didn’t come across as believable.
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
I say that to add that I did like the secondary characters, especially Hugh, Barb, and Aoife. Overall, this was a 3-star read for me because I lost interest in the romance when it didn’t come across as believable.
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
ashkat2631's review against another edition
2.75
The first thing I want to say is that this book was labeled teens & ya. While there aren’t any detailed explicit scenes, there is lots of sexual language and innuendos all throughout this book. A lot. Including constant talk about other people’s bodies. So I’m not sure I’d consider this YA.
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I want to start by saying I didn’t hate it but I didn’t quite love it either.
I read the premise of the book and expected something different. I expected a little more back and forth tension between the two MCs. The rivalry part with both pub’s success depending on it to keep tourists coming just never really made much sense to me. I feel like if the rivalry aspect hadn’t been as much of a focus and there was more focus on just Maeve it would have made more sense and had more emotional impact on the reader. She had a terrible breakup, she was on this new island with a bunch of people who knew her father when she never even met him, and she now owns a pub she has to learn how to run. There was a lot of potential storyline to develop there but for me it never fully did.
I also never fully connected with the main characters. A lot of their personality traits were discussed but they didn’t feel quite authentic throughout the book. They were a bit cliche and lacked depth. Because of that, I felt like all the relationships formed also lacked depth.
Overall, I enjoyed the parts about Maeve finding herself and learning about Liam. Liam’s letters were the best part for me. It was also a quick read. I would still read other books by this author in the future.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.