Love At First Book

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.

When Siobhan’s health takes a bad turn, she’s more determined than ever to finish her novel, while Kieran tries every trick in the book to get his mother to rest. Thrown into the role of peacemaker, Emily begins to see that Kieran's heart is in the right place. Torn between helping Siobhan find closure with her series and her own growing feelings for the mercurial Irishman, Emily will have to decide if she’s truly ready to turn a new page and figure out what lies in the next chapter.

This was delightful! I loved the setting: a bookstore in a small Irish village? Say no more, I knew I had to read this when I saw that!

The bookstore and its cast of characters was really fun, if a bit twee at times, and I found Emily and Kieran’s refusal to let the other have the last word in a conversation a bit cringey at times. But there was very strong bookworm appeal here for me! If you love books and reading, this captured some of that booklover magic.

I also enjoyed the romance, and Emily and Kieran were both likeable characters. This is the second book in a series, but I hadn’t read book one (which follows Emily’s best friend). Based on this, though, I would definitely go back and check that out, and am looking forward to seeing if Jenn McKinlay writes another in this world.