Books Read: Pauline Lawless - Behind Every Cloud

Who would have thought a wine course could be life-changing? But a group of people signing on for wine-expert Sam's course are about to find out. 

Ellie is planning her dream wedding to accountant David who has just been head-hunted by a prestigious firm. She detests social pretensions but he seems overawed by his elite new colleagues. Can they overcome these differences? 

Rachel is the beautiful wife of newly elected politician, Carl. Perfect life, perfect home, perfect children but is anything ever as perfect as it seems? Does Carl have a roving eye and is Rachel too fond of her wine? 

Ronan's marriage to shopaholic Louise is teetering on a knife-edge and, when he loses his job, things go from bad to worse. Then Sam offers him a job in one of his wine shops. But can he get his life back on track? 

Zita, who works in television, is fiercely ambitious and has set her sights on Rachel's husband to further her success. Will she be able to ensnare him? 

Eight weeks later, they know their wines but everything else has changed out of all recognition.

Irish Fiction Month Review: Siobhan McKenna - The Other Woman

Kennedy's Cafés & Chocolate is about to celebrate its centenary year. Four generations of Kennedys have mastered the flavours of chocolate and coffee. Now, Owen Kennedy is expanding the business into the world of wine. 

Ruby Hart has worked her way up the corporate ladder to become Owen's right-hand woman. Excited by the challenge of introducing wine to the cafés, she sets off with Owen to meet their prospective partners, the Boselli family, on their wine-growing estate near Lake Garda, Italy. 

However, as Ruby's taste buds are awakened to new possibilities, other desires are also ignited, and amorous farmhand Alfonso is determined that she experiences the true taste of Italy. And is Owen's relationship with Emma Boselli strictly business? 

Meanwhile, Owen's wife Katherine is invited to Africa by the Kenyan Coffee Growers Society. There, she finds herself enraptured by the Maasai culture as the heat and dark intensity of Kenya arouses feelings she'd thought she'd lost forever. 

It seems that the Kennedys passions lie everywhere but with their business. Responsibilities seem to pile increasingly on Ruby's shoulders. But Ruby has her own secrets to protect and all may not be as it first appears.

Irish Fiction Month Sneak Peeks: Roisin Meaney - Something in Common

I can't believe it's the last day of my Irish Fiction Month feature, first up I bring you a quick glimpse at Roisin Meaney's new book, Something in Common, which is due out on 1st May.  

It's 1975. Helen O'Dowd and Sarah Flannery encounter one another briefly, under traumatic circumstances. Three years later their lives collide unexpectedly again, and for the next thirty years they remain in contact without ever laying eyes on one another again, or realising that they once met.

As time goes by they share their triumphs and disasters, their hopes and their fears.

This is a story that begins on a bridge on an autumn afternoon. It's a story of marriage, children, love and true friendship.

Irish Fiction Month Review: Ciara Geraghty - Lifesaving for Beginners

Kat Kavanagh is not in love. She has lots of friends, an ordinary job, and she never ever thinks about her past. 

This is Kat's story. None of it is true. 

 Milo McIntyre loves his mam, the peanut-butter-and-banana muffins at the Funky Banana cafe?, and the lifesaving class he does after school. He never thinks about his future, until the day it changes forever. 

This is Milo's story. All of it is true. 

And then there is the other story. The one with a twist of fate which somehow brings together a boy from Brighton and a woman in Dublin, and uncovers the truth once and for all. 

This is the story that's just about to begin...

Irish Fiction Month Review: Michelle Jackson - 4 a.m. in Las Vegas

It's Halloween in Las Vegas and things are crazier than normal for Connie the wedding planner. Vicky and Frank are in town for their nuptials but she soon realises that he has more on his mind than wedding bells. Vicky's teenage daughter Tina is less than impressed until she meets Connie's moody and enigmatic son Kyle. Frank's brother John is trying to hold everyone together but then something happens that turns the wedding party on their heads at 4am in Las Vegas! 

Life and love seem to have slipped through Suzanne's fingers but then, new to Facebook, she stumbles upon more than she expected when she receives a friend request from old flame Ronan in Boston. He's on his way to Las Vegas for a work convention and Suzanne's friend Eddie convinces her that she should go too. What has she got to lose? 

When they all meet in Binion's Casino the cards have already been dealt but will there be a winner?

Irish Fiction Month Debut Spotlight: Mary Grehan

As much as I love reading books by established authors, I also love discovering new authors so I'm delighted to be able to introduce you to Mary Grehan whose debut novel, Love is the Easy Bit is being published by Penguin Ireland on April 4th.

Mary Grehan studied ceramics at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and arts management at University College Dublin. She went on to become an arts manager and now specialises in the area of arts and health. Mary is Arts Director of the Waterford Healing Arts Trust, Ireland’s leading arts and health programme based at Waterford Regional Hospital.

Born in Dublin, Mary has travelled widely including south east Asia and south America. She lived in Kyoto, Japan, in the early 90s where she taught English and studied Japanese calligraphy. She now lives in Co. Waterford.

Irish Fiction Month Guest Review: Maeve Binchy - The Return Journey

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe
 

In this extraordinary collection of stories, the world-wide bestselling author of Evening Class once again reveals her incomparable understanding of matters of the heart. In The Return Journey, Maeve Binchy creates powerful compelling stories of love, loss, revelation, and reconciliation. A secretary's silent passion for her boss meets the acid test on a business trip; a man and a woman's mutual disdain at first sight shows how deceptive appearances can be; an insecure wife clings to the illusion of order, only to discover chaos at the hands of a house-sitter who opens the wrong doors; a pair of star-crossed travelers pick up each other's bags, and then learn when you unlock a stranger's suitcase, you enter a stranger's life. These and many more poignant, ironic, often humorous stories - unforgettable slices of life -make up The Return Journey, a spellbinding trip into the human heart. 

Irish Fiction Month Interview: Claudia Carroll

Earlier this month I did a sneak peeks feature for one of the books I'm looking forward to reading this year which is Me and You by Claudia Carroll.  Today I'm delighted to be able to welcome Claudia back to the blog for a bit of a natter about the book, which Irish writers inspired her and the biggie, why has Irish fiction become so popular?...

Why do you think Irish Fiction has become so popular worldwide?
Oooh tough one! Hard to call, but I always think it’s because we’re a desperate nation of talkers. Yak yak yakking the whole time. In this country, trust me, in this country, it’s tough having a phone call with your mother that lasts less than an hour. So I think maybe the huge input of Irish lady authors is a natural follow-on to that. Would love to know what everyone else thinks though!

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
It was always something I’d just done automatically, without ever a second thought of publication. Even as a kid I was forever scribbling away short stories and at one point co-wrote a sitcom for telly which I know would make a holy mortifying show of me if it were ever to see the light of day! But I have to say, never with any thought of publication. Honest.

Irish Fiction Month Review: Caroline Grace-Cassidy - When Love Takes Over

Mia Doyle has a talent for selling houses. She values her independence weekly visits home for her mam's corned beef and cabbage are enough to bear! So when her boss cuts her wages and takes on his niece Anita to share commissions with her, it s quite a blow. Worse still, the two women don t see eye to eye. 

Anita is dealing with a bad family situation and unfortunately she brings her problems to work. Mia is torn between sympathy for her and anger at her self-serving attitudes. 

Meanwhile Mia's friend Carla needs her wholehearted approval when she decides to have a boob job to please her boyfriend approval Mia is not able to give. Suddenly their rock-solid friendship seems more like quicksand.

To add to Mia's tensions, her love life is shaky too. When she first met Paul the Builder it was love at first sight or so she thought. But what does he think? She really can't tell as he blows hotter and colder than an Irish summer's day. 

Then Mia takes on a client of Carla s, the millionaire Gordon McHale who reveals a secret about Carla that Mia would prefer not to know. 

At a time when she needs to put the head down and get on with it, Mia is distracted by the disastrous events unfolding rapidly all around her. Suddenly she isn't so sure she knows herself at all or has any idea of what she wants from life.

Irish Fiction Month Review: Sheila O'Flanagan - From the Heart

From the Heart reveals the unexpected tales that lie beneath the surface of every-day lives, through a memorable cast of characters all in search of their own happy endings. A hot date gets off to a disastrous start; a young couple long for peace and quiet as they prepare for their first Christmas as parents; two eavesdropping passengers realise they share more in common than they had thought; a couple celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, wondering if it's all a sham; and Isobel from Isobel's Wedding encounters an unexpected reunion in a luxurious Caribbean getaway.

A touching and heart-warming selection of stories taken from Sheila O'Flanagan's bestselling collections Destinations, Connections and A Season to Remember, available together exclusively in this digital-only edition. 

Irish Fiction Month Interview: Claire Allan

Tonight I'm pleased to welcome bestselling author Claire Allan to the blog for a bit of a chat. I've read most of Claire's books but have to confess that her last book If Only You Knew is still sat in my staggering TBR pile and I don't have a copy of her latest book What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? yet although I do have it on pre-order for its paperback publication next month.

Why do you think Irish Fiction has become so popular worldwide?

As the late Frank Carson would have said, it's the way we tell 'em!  I think Irish writers tend to write with a warmth and honesty that makes their work accessible and welcoming.  The Irish popular women's fiction writers can tell a story like no other - it does become like sitting down for a chat with a friend. You don't have to work too hard at reading what we write, but that doesn't make it any less worthy or any less important. The humour in our books - even dark books - also helps. 

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 

Yes - always. Even as a young child, before I could write, I would spend hours making books - drawing pictures and clumping them together. That never changed. Whether or not I ever believed I could be a published author is another story - but the desire to write was always there.  And when I was facing my 30th birthday I decided it was definitely a case of "now or never" when it came to writing a novel. I had to put up or shut up! 

Irish Fiction Month Sneak Peek: Emma Hannigan - Perfect Wives & Keeping Mum

Emma Hannigan is an author whose books I've started reading in the last couple of years.  Whilst browsing on Amazon I've seen that she's got a new book, Perfect Wives, being published as a Trade Paperback on.  I love the sound of it so will add it to my wishlist to order when it's published as a regular paperback.

When actress Jodi Ludlum returns home to Ireland to raise her young so in the leafy South Dublin village of Bakers Valley, she's determined to shield him from the media spotlight that has dogged her throughout her glittering career. Even if coming home means leaving her husband - and waking old ghosts.

Meanwhile, Francine Hennessy, queen of the coffee mornings, was born and raised in Bakers Valley. She takes pride in juggling her children, her beautiful home and her high-powered career. But behind closed doors, Francine's life is crumbling around her.

As Jodi struggles to keep her secrets to herself, and Francine comes to terms with some life-changing news, the two become unlikely friends. When they do, they quickly discover that there's no such thing as the perfect wife, or the perfect life - but sometimes it's better to be happy than to be perfect.

Irish Fiction Month Review: Mary O'Sullivan - Full Circle and Other Stories

I've always liked the word 'eclectic' but never found reason to use it - until now. Full Circle comprises a collection of stories that can best be described as eclectic. While the common theme revolves around relationships, the characters range from a comatose patient in story one right through to an eerie scarecrow in the last story . In between you'll find tales of people dealing with the challenges life holds for all of us.

This collection of short stories, Full Circle and Other Stories, from Mary O'Sullivan has been on my Kindle since last summer but my Irish Fiction month has finally given me the perfect excuse to make the time to read them.  And with it is being a selection of short stories it meant that I could read a story or two whenever I had five minutes to spare.

The stories cover an interesting mix of topics exploring family relationships, a comatose patient, serial killers although death seemed to feature quite highly in most of them! 

Irish Fiction Month Interview: Catherine Dunne

Today's interview guest is Catherine Dunne who is the latest author to agree to an interview as part of my Irish Fiction feature month.  I've read several of Catherine's books in the past although I have to confess I haven't read any of her books in recent years but I do like the sound of her latest book, The Things We Know Now, which has just been published.

Why do think Irish Fiction has become so popular worldwide?
I don’t think that there is any one, single answer to that. I do believe, though, that we are a nation of talkers and storytellers. I think that making stories is often the refuge of the colonized.

The 1980’s and 90’s brought about a new flowering of writing from Ireland, though: a highly-educated generation with a new self-confidence that burst upon the world stage.

But fashion also has something to do with it, too. Latin American writing, Irish writing, Indian writing: these have all enjoyed huge waves of popularity in the recent decades.

What they all have in common is the ability to tell a compelling story with insight and empathy, and, of course, to do so with writing that is honed and finely-crafted.

Irish Fiction Month Review: Roisin Meaney - One Summer

On Roone, an island off the west coast of Ireland, stands a stone cottage by the edge of the sea. The locals are convinced that it brings luck to those who live there and Nell, its current owner, is certain there's something to it. After all, it drew her back to the island from Dublin and it brought her Tim, her fiancé, whom she's set to marry in a few short months.

So when Nell decides to rent out the cottage during the summer to raise money for her wedding, deep down she hopes that it will work its magic and attract the right tenants to her home.

But as the summer unfolds and Nell's carefully-laid plans for her wedding start to go awry, she begins to question her decision to let out her beloved cottage.

As the arrival of each of the tenants brings about unexpected change to the lives of the islanders, Nell is forced to face some home truths about herself and answer one increasingly burning question . . .

One thing's for sure, it's a summer on the island that nobody will ever forget.

Irish Fiction Month Sneak Peeks: Casey Hill - Hidden

I really must get my review pile under control so that I can start to read some of the books I bought last year that I haven't found the time to read yet.  One of the books in the pile is Torn by Casey Hill, husband and wife team Melissa and Kevin Hill, especially as the next book in the series, Hidden, is being published this year.

A Fallen Angel. A Devil on the Loose....

When a young girl is discovered dead on an isolated Irish country road, it seems at first glance to be a simple hit and run. Then the cops see the tattoo on her back - a pair of beautifully wrought angel wings that lend the victim a sense of ethereal innocence. 

Forensic investigator Reilly Steel is soon on the scene and her highly tuned sixth sense tells her there is more to this case than a straightforward murder. But with almost zero evidence and no way to trace the girl's origin, Reilly and the police are at a loss. 

Irish Fiction Month Interview: Caroline Finnerty

Tonight I'm delighted to welcome back Caroline Finnerty to my blog.  Caroline was my first ever interviewee when I started doing Author Interviews on the blog last year so I'm delighted that she's agreed to take part in another interview as part of my Irish Fiction feature month.

Why do think Irish Fiction has become so popular worldwide?
Ireland has always had a strong literary tradition but I think the surge in popularity of Irish writers over the last few decades can be attributed to authors like Maeve Binchy, Roddy Doyle and Marian Keyes. These writers opened a lot of doors for Irish authors because for the first time it was okay to write the way we speak. While there will always be a place for beautiful prose, the warmth and humour with which these authors write, has made literature accessible to everyone.

I also think Irish people have a unique sense of humour, which probably helps too – maybe it’s because of our weather (if you didn’t laugh you’d cry...) There is a phrase here ‘never let the truth stand in the way of a good story’ - it’s perfectly acceptable to embellish stories in everyday life. And whether you’re at the hairdressers or the post office, people are telling you stories. I think it must seep into our pores somehow…

Irish Fiction Month Sneak Peeks: Claudia Carroll - Me and You

Today I've decided to give you a sneak peek at one of the books I'm really looking forward to reading this year, Me and You by Claudia Carroll who I'll also be interviewing later this month.

I’m fine. I’m sorry. Please take care of him for me. And maybe one day I’ll get to explain.

Angie knows a lot about her best friend Kitty.

She knows Kitty is mad and wild and loves to wear clashing colours. She knows she’s incredibly funny and generous but also very unreliable.

And she knows that there is a perfect explanation for Kitty standing her up on her birthday.

She thinks she knows everything about Kitty, except she doesn’t.

Irish Fiction Month Interview: Clare Dowling

Today I'm delighted to welcome Clare Dowling to my blog for a bit of a chat.  

I've read all of Clare's books apart from her last book, Would I Lie To You, which I have to confess is still sat in my backlog of review books... BUT I'm definitely planning to read it in the next week or so as part of this Irish Fiction month.

Why do you think Irish Fiction has become so popular worldwide?
I think it’s possibly because Irish writers approach most things with a sense of humour, even issues that are quite dark and bleak. And there is real heart at the centre of the stories.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
No. I wanted to be a ballet dancer originally – I think it must have been the pink frilly outfits – and then I wanted to join a circus. I fell into writing by accident, having trained as an actress and discovering that there were really very, very few parts for young actresses. I rather naïvely thought I would write one, and embarked upon my first stage play. It turned out to be best thing I ever did.

Irish Fiction Month Review: Maria Duffy - The Terrace

St Enda's Terrace, nestled in the heart of Dublin city, is like any other closeknit community - there's the newly-weds planning on having a baby; the single mother raising her children on her own; the upwardly mobile couple who bought in the height of the boom, and the long-timers to whom everyone goes for advice.

But behind every closed door, there are secrets. And when the street syndicate wins the national lottery, but the ticket is nowhere to be found, these neighbours are about to discover just how much has been kept hidden...

As friendships and relationships are put to the test in the search for the missing ticket, the residents of St Enda's learn that, while good times might come and go, good friends are forever.