Emma's Review: A Winter to Remember by Roisin Meaney

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Emily Feeney has always loved the festive season, so when she invites some of her favourite people to Christmas dinner at her restaurant, she has an afternoon of delicious fare and seasonal fun in mind. But as the big day draws near, her plans start to look a bit uncertain . . .

Her partner Bill is preoccupied by family worries, and both he and Emily have been skirting around a big unanswered question. When events finally force Emily to issue an ultimatum, Bill must choose between the two women he loves.

Tom and Lil have moved into the apartment above Emily's restaurant, hoping to put the past behind them while they plan their summer wedding. Little do they know that an unexpected arrival in town is about to make the past a lot harder to forget.

And Emily's best friend Heather has surprise visitors too: the mother she left behind as a teen, who now needs Heather's help, and a man she thought she'd never see again. Maybe it's finally time to give each of them a second chance?

As Emily's prospective guests navigate their way through the holiday season, their lives become more and more complicated. Will they all find themselves around the table together on Christmas Day?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Book Club by Roisin Meaney

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

A tragic accident leaves the tight-knit book club in the small seaside town of Fairweather reeling. Then stranger Tom McLysaght arrives in the community, and the members of the club find their lives changing in ways they never could have imagined.

None of them realise that Tom is hiding a secret. On the surface, his move to Fairweather was to escape his highflying life in London and to put some much-needed distance between him and his ex-fiancée - but deep down Tom knows that there are some things he cannot run from.

As the months pass with book club gatherings, secrets are shared and hurts begin to heal. New friendships might be the last thing on their minds but the members of the book club are about to discover that opening themselves up to other people might be the only thing that will help them all to live, and to love, again.

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: It's That Time of Year by Roisin Meaney

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

It's the day before the wedding ...

Three strangers arrive home to Ireland to the house that gave each of them refuge when they needed it most. They are there to celebrate the winter wedding of their beloved Annie, the woman who fostered them in their childhoods.

Now Julia is a world-famous singer living in luxury in Paris and Eddie is a chef in London, while Steph spends her days on a remote Greek island, running a writers' retreat with her older lover.

All three have moved on from the past, but as the wedding celebrations get underway, certain truths come to light. It turns out that some hurts last longer than others ...

As Annie says 'I do', with an unexpected twist for her wedding party, will Julia, Eddie and Steph discover their own happy-ever-afters in time for Christmas Day?

Book Link: Kindle

Emma's Review: The Restaurant by Roisin Meaney

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

When Emily's heart was broken by the love of her life, she never imagined that she would find herself, just two years later, running a small restaurant in what used to be her grandmother's tiny hat shop. The Food of Love offers diners the possibility of friendship (and maybe more) as well as a delicious meal. And even though Emily has sworn off romance forever, it doesn't stop her hoping for happiness for her regulars, like widower Bill who hides a troubling secret, single mum Heather who ran away from home as a teenager, and gentle Astrid whose past is darker than any of her friends know.

Then, out of the blue, Emily receives a letter from her ex. He's returning home to Ireland and wants to see her. Is Emily brave enough to give love a second chance -- or wise enough to figure out where it's truly to be found?

Amazon Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Birthday Party by Roisin Meaney

Reviewed by Emma Crowey

Another summer is in full swing on Roone, an island off the west coast of Ireland, and preparations are underway for a big birthday party at the local hotel. But before then, love and friendship will be tested ...

Who is the stranger who arrives at Imelda's door, just weeks after her world falls to pieces?

How long can Eve hide her secret from Andy?

And will Nell and Laura's friendship survive the storm that's about to hit the island?

Amazon Affiliate Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Anniversary by Roisin Meaney

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Three couples. One weekend. Everything is about to change...

Lily and Charlie separated after twenty-six years of marriage. Now, with their divorce due to come through in a matter of months, Lily, newly engaged to the dependable Joe, decides to get the whole family together for one last weekend at Land's End, their old summer home by the sea. Lily has to break some news to Charlie, her daughter Poll and son Thomas -- news she knows they're not going to be happy about.

But as the family makes their way to Land's End with their new partners, Lily's best laid plans are about to go awry.

As Charlie's much younger girlfriend Chloe guards her own secret, Poll seems intent on sabotaging her apparently perfect relationship, while Thomas wrestles with a decision he knows could break his family apart.

And amid the drama, they've forgotten that this weekend also just happens to be Lily and Charlie's wedding anniversary ...

Will all the couples survive the weekend intact?

Amazon Affiliate Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Reunion by Roisin Meaney

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

It's their twenty-year school reunion but the Plunkett sisters have their own reasons for not wanting to attend ...

Caroline, now a successful knitwear designer, spends her time flying between her business in England and her lover in Italy. As far as she's concerned, her school days, and what happened to her the year she left, should stay in the past.

Eleanor, meanwhile, is unrecognisable from the fun-loving girl she was in school. With a son who is barely speaking to her, and a husband keeping a secret from her, revisiting the past is the last thing on her mind.

But when an unexpected letter arrives for Caroline in the weeks before the reunion, memories are stirred.

Will the sisters find the courage to return to the town where they grew up and face what they've been running from all these years?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback 

Author Interview: Roisin Meaney

Today it's my pleasure to welcome one of my favourite Irish authors Roisin Meaney back to the blog.  We'd originally planned to do this interview as part of next week's Irish Fiction feature week but I was then invited by her publishers to be a part of the blog tour for her new book Two Friday's in April so we're bringing the interview forward to today.  

But don't worry as Roisin will still be a big part of the feature week as I'll be reviewing After the Wedding, which has been sat neglected in my TBR pile since last Summer, and hopefully Two Friday's in April as well if I manage to read both books between now and then... 

It's Friday, April 2. Daphne Darling knows that she should be celebrating her stepdaughter Una's 17th birthday, but it's hard, because the date also marks the one-year anniversary of her husband's death and she and Una just can't seem to connect anymore. Daphne can't turn to her own mother Isobel for advice as their relationship is distant, to say the least, and Mo, Finn's elderly mother, is still grief-stricken at the death of her only son, so she is of little help. But by the end of that day in April, marking the occasion with a slice of cake and a glass of wine will be the last thing on anyone's mind... 

Before that Friday, Daphne, Mo and Isobel were all stuck in the past, with their grief and their loss. And then Una takes matters into her own hands, and even though she makes a terrible mistake, she teaches Daphne, Mo and Isobel something about life: that it is to be lived and that, in spite of everything they've been through, happiness can still be a part of it.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel Two Fridays in April?
Sure: as the name suggests, it all happens during two Fridays, both of which happen to fall in April. The story is told from the point of view of four women, and the book follows each of them as they make their way through the days in question, sometimes interacting with one or more of the others, and sometimes not. The book begins in the morning of the first Friday and ends on the evening of the second. A LOT happens in between, to each of the women! 

Books Read: Roisin Meaney - Something in Common

Our lives are defined by other people. Some are with us from the start: parents, siblings, childhood friends. Others find us later: work colleagues, lovers.

But occasionally there are people whose paths cross ours in unexpected ways - people who are destined to change our lives profoundly.

One rainy afternoon two very different women meet, and through a twist of fate, Helen and Sarah become unlikely friends. This is the story of their friendship - from its traumatic beginning to its most unforeseen end.

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: 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.

Guest Post: From Breakfast to Bestsellers by Roisin Meaney

Some people love it and others hate it but whatever your feelings are there's no doubt that social media plays a large part in our lives nowadays.  I for one love it as it's through the likes of Facebook and Twitter that I'm getting to meet... albeit virtually... a whole host of wonderfully talented authors.

Today I'm pleased to welcome to my blog one such author, Roisin Meaney, who I met through a Facebook group, to talk about her journey into writing. Hope you enjoy reading it.

Long, long ago, when I was eighteen, I was having breakfast (Cornflakes) and reading the back of the box. They were running a competition to win one of six Ford Fiestas, and on impulse I entered. I had to complete the sentence ‘I would like to win a Ford Fiesta because....’ using ten words or less. I used seven – ‘my father won’t let me drive his’ – and won a green car. It was my first experience of the power of words. Over the next decade I entered every competition I came across that required a sentence to be finished, and won everything from holidays to mountain bikes to watches to air miles. Words became my means to a free thing.

In the meantime I became a teacher, but after ten years of talk and chalk I wanted a fresh challenge. ‘You’re good with words,’ a cousin said. ‘Look for a job in advertising.’ I was still under thirty (just) and brave enough (foolish enough?) to put together a homemade portfolio and knock on doors in London. Incredibly, an agency took me in and paid me peanuts to come up with eye-catching slogans and natty one-hundred word magazine ads. I was in heaven – I would have worked for nothing. I adored playing around with words and ideas, and coming up with new ways to make teabags/tights/butter sexy enough for consumers to feel they couldn’t live without them.