On Ireland’s Finfarran Peninsula, summer means glorious weather and a life-changing choice for local librarian Hanna Casey in this delightful installment in the USA Today bestselling series, a captivating tale filled with all the beauty, charm, and warmth of Ireland that is perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Nina George, and Nancy Thayer.
Summer has finally arrived on Ireland’s west coast. On the Finfarran Peninsula, Hanna Casey is looking forward to al fresco lunches with friends and balmy evenings with her boyfriend Brian in their stunning new home in beautiful Hag’s Glen. With a painful divorce behind her and family drama finally settled, Hanna begins to plan a romantic holiday getaway for the two of them.
But life takes a turn when Brian's adult son suddenly moves in and Hanna unexpectedly runs into Amy, a former flatmate from Hanna’s twenties in London. Reminded of her youth—and all the dreams and hopes she once had—Hanna begins to wonder if everything she now has is enough. When Amy suggests a reunion in London with old friends, Hanna accepts.
USA Today bestselling Irish writer Felicity Hayes-McCoy is the author of the 'Finfarran' novels, set in a fictional county on Ireland's West Coast. Marian Keyes calls her writing "a pitch-perfect delight", Cathy Kelly, bestselling author of "Between Sisters" and "Secrets of a Happy Marriage", has described the Finfarran books as "a delicious feast", and "sunshine on the page", while Jenny Colgan, bestselling author of "The Cafe by the Sea", calls them "charming and heartwarming".
The Heart of Summer, (Finfarran #6) was published by Hachette Irl in May 2020. Ireland's Sunday Business Post reviewer wrote "This works perfectly well as a standalone novel ... her writing sings", and bestselling author Patricia Scanlan wrote "Fans of Maeve Binchy will adore it - she just gets better and better!"
Finfarran #1, The Library at the Edge of The World, was published in June 2016: The Sunday Times called it "engaging, sparkling and joyous" and The Sunday Independent wrote "If you like reading a feelgood novel, take a journey to the edge of the world. An easy, pleasant summer read for fans of Maeve Binchy".
Summer at The Garden Café, the second in the series, came out in the UK & Irl May 2017, The Mistletoe Matchmaker, a warm, empowering Christmas story, in October 2017, and The Month of Borrowed Dreams, in June 2018: The Irish Independent's review called it "a heartwarming novel which will leave you longing to read the earlier ones". The best-selling author Marian Keyes said she was 'utterly charmed' by Finfarran #5, The Transatlantic Book Club, which was published in 2019.
A US & Canadian edition of The Library at the Edge of The World, published by Harper Perennial in Nov 2017, was chosen as a LibraryReads Pick. The US & Canadian edition of Summer at The Garden Café was published in 2018, The Mistletoe Matchmaker followed in Oct 2019, and The Transatlantic Book Club will be published there in Fall 2020.
The Finfarran novels have been translated into six languages and can also be purchased in English as ebooks and audiobooks.
Described as 'wise, funny' and 'blazingly beautiful' by the actress and writer Joanna Lumley, Felicity's first memoir, The House on an Irish Hillside was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2012. It takes the author to London - where she worked as an actress and met her English, opera-director husband - and back again to Ireland, to a remarkable stone house on the Dingle peninsula where she first studied the Irish language in her teens.
In response to requests from readers, Enough Is Plenty: The Year on the Dingle Peninsula, a sequel to The House on an Irish Hillside, was published by The Collins Press in 2015. Illustrated with photographs taken by Felicity and her husband, and with a foreword by the best-selling Irish writer Alice Taylor, it charts the cycle of the Celtic year in Felicity's own house and garden.
A second memoir, A Woven Silence: Memory, History & Remembrance, described by The Sunday Times as 'a powerful piece of personal and political history', was published in September 2015, also by The Collins Press. Inspired by the lost story of her grandmother's cousin Marion Stokes, one of three women who raised the tricolour over Enniscorthy town in Wexford during Ireland's 1916 Rising, it explores the consequences for individuals, families, communities and nations when memories are erased, intentionally or by chance.
Felicity's cultural guide to Ireland's Dingle Peninsula, Dingle and Its Hinterland: People, Places and Heritage, written with her husband Wilf Judd, and illustrated with their own photographs, was published by The Collins Press in 2017.
My Thoughts...
I have really enjoyed this series. The Writing and the characters are so easy to fall in love with. If you have not read this series that alright the books can be read as stand alones.
I gave this one 4 stars and I recommend it.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.
Good post.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI like the airplane window on the cover.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of this one, I have not read this author before either.
ReplyDelete