booking the irish opportunity of a lifetime

Emily Allen wants to get away from her life on Martha’s Vineyard. She loves her library job, but she’s always wanted to travel the world. And when the opportunity to be assistant to her favorite writer showed up, Em couldn’t help but apply. She never thought she’d be chosen, but before she knew it, she’d been on a plane to Ireland to meet Siobhan Riordan herself.

Em would be working with Siobhan in the mornings and working at Last Chapter, the local bookshop, in the afternoons. And as soon as she met the gruff bookshop owner, Em wondered if she’d made a mistake. Kieran Murphy seemed to take an instant dislike of her. He gave her a nickname she hated, quickly gave her a tour of the store, and then assigned her the task of creating an inventory of all the books they had, starting on the third floor, with a laptop that was on its last legs.

But Em was willing to put up with Kieran in order to work with Siobhan. She had written a series of fantasy novels about a boy named Tig that Em had read when she was a kid going through difficult times with her parents. Those books had helped her to persevere, but the last book had left Tig stuck in a portal, and Em had always wanted to see his journey finished. It had been ten years since a bout of writer’s block had kept Siobhan from writing that last book, but now Em is there to help her get that book written.

But her son is opposed to Siobhan writing that last novel. He thinks it’s unnecessary and will put too much pressure on her health. Em wants to send him away, but she can’t. He is her boss, after all. Kieran is opposed to his mother trying to write that last book in the series, but she won’t listen to him. And she encourages Em not to listen to him either, at least when she’s not working in the bookshop.

Em isn’t sure how to get Siobhan writing again, but as they head out to some of the places in Ireland that originally inspired scenes from the books, slowly Siobhan starts to get some sparks of ideas. And Em finds that the beauty and magic of Ireland speaks to her heart.

She’s been unhappy at home because of her mother, who had expected Em to sacrifice her life to take care of her, despite there not being anything wrong with her. Now that Em is on the other side of the world, she’s keeping her word to call her mother every night, but it’s easier for Em to set boundaries with her, and she can always hang up if her mother’s complaining gets to be too much. Getting to live her own life for a change gives her a break from her anxiety and hypochondria, but the crush she’s developing on Kieran is new challenge she wasn’t anticipating.

But it’s wrong to fall for your boss, right?

As Emily finds herself getting closer to both Siobhan and her son, she is pulled in two different directions. Will she figure out a way to help them both, or will she and her warm feelings get sent back to America without a boyfriend, without a job, and without that final book she’s been waiting ten years for?

Love at First Book has all the things a summer rom com needs. There is a handsome bookshop owner, a loveable dog, fabulous flirting, and genuine Irish castles. These characters bring the majesty of Ireland to life as they eat scones, drink whiskey, and avoid the puddles from all the rain.

I am big nerd for all things Irish, so I dove into this book and loved it all. The small village of Finn’s Hollow sounds like a dream come true, and I’d love to spend time in the Last Chapter. I thought the romance was very sweet, and it was interesting to watch an author find her voice again. However, there was some talk of toxic parental relationships and scenes where the parents behaved in ways that were unkind, and these scenes could cause readers with challenging parental relationships to be triggered. Other than that Love at First Book is a dreamy rom com with love, books, and Ireland, so I’m going to have to say that overall it’s just grand.

Egalleys for Love at First Book were provided by the author, with many thanks.