The Little Irish Farm is a lovely contemporary romance by Michelle Vernal with a small town feel even though most of the story took place in Dublin.
Jess Baré is a journalist living in Dublin, having moved there from New Zealand to get away from her mother and her overbearing, matchmaking ways. Jess is relatively content with her life, writing and spending time with her close friends and indulging in her passion of thrift shopping for vintage goods. Her greatest passion is collecting old children’s books, and when she completes the set of one of her favourite series’, she is inspired to look up, and write about the original owner of the book, after finding an inscription and the child’s name inside.
Owen Aherne is the brother of Amy, the books original owner, and when Jess reaches out to him and finds out about Amy’s tragic story, she is even more determined to write about her. After meeting the moody Owen, she has a hard time getting him out of her mind, and from there we watch a sweet romance unfold.
One of my favourite things about this book was the support and friendship between Jess and her two best friends, Nora and Brianne. They were so supportive of each other, even when they were being snarky and sarcastic with each other, it was refreshing to see such a great relationship between a group of women.
I found Jess’s mother both funny and frustrating. I could understand why Jess was so annoyed by her mother at times, as she seemed to have a one track mind about how her daughter should live her life. It was nice to see them work out their differences by the end of the book.
If there was one problem I had with the book it’s that I would have liked to see more of Jess and Owen together. I did enjoy their few interactions, but would have liked to see them together more.
Although this is on the funnier side, do have a box of tissues handy, because Amy’s story was moving and had me in tears. I recommend this as a light, slightly emotional read for anyone who loves a good small town romance.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Little Irish Farm will be published on August 28 2024
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