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A review by fieldsnack
The Lost Girls of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm a sucker for the Woman Starting Over trope, so this was a naturally delightful read for me. I loved the small town Irish setting, and the pacing kept the story moving along steadily. It served as a great escape and had a little bit of everything - some WWII history, family drama, and romance.
My main issue was that this book has much less conflict than I typically like to read. Everything seemed to work out swimmingly for our main character. Her teenaged daughter is totally fine with uprooting their lives and moving across the country. Her husband dies, and she happens to have a secret house in her name. Her new neighbor just so happens to be handsome. People offer her jobs without any hesitation. We are constantly reminded of the main character's extravagant past life, but she shows very little resistance to a new life. It felt very much like a fantastical, low stakes story, and it felt less satisfying to witness this journey since any struggles along the way were quickly resolved.
I listened to the audiobook and overall liked it, although the love interest has a Boston accent and that was rough. Hearing the narrator do that accent really took me out of the story.
For me, the standout was the setting. I loved getting to be in Ireland for this story and the imagery was excellent. While I didn't love this book, I did like it and would pick up other works from the author!
My main issue was that this book has much less conflict than I typically like to read. Everything seemed to work out swimmingly for our main character. Her teenaged daughter is totally fine with uprooting their lives and moving across the country. Her husband dies, and she happens to have a secret house in her name. Her new neighbor just so happens to be handsome. People offer her jobs without any hesitation. We are constantly reminded of the main character's extravagant past life, but she shows very little resistance to a new life. It felt very much like a fantastical, low stakes story, and it felt less satisfying to witness this journey since any struggles along the way were quickly resolved.
I listened to the audiobook and overall liked it, although the love interest has a Boston accent and that was rough. Hearing the narrator do that accent really took me out of the story.
For me, the standout was the setting. I loved getting to be in Ireland for this story and the imagery was excellent. While I didn't love this book, I did like it and would pick up other works from the author!