Books & Audiobooks
Imagine you’re swept away to a charming town in Ireland to work in a quaint bookshop as the author in residence’s assistant. The same author whose book series guided you through a tough childhood with a difficult mother, and a father who would abandon you and go on to marry one of your old high school classmates. The very same author who hasn’t written in ten years after leaving the lead character of said series in a sort of purgatory, leaving you with a sense of unfinished business. Oh, and the manager of the bookshop where you’ll be working just happens to have the rugged Mr. Darcy type charm of a romantic hero. That’s where Jenn McKinlay takes us in Love at First Book, a charming and surprisingly heart-wrenching story about closure and new beginnings. Emily Allen, a librarian from Martha’s Vineyard sets off on the adventure of a lifetime after writing a letter to her favourite author Siobhan Riordan begging her to finally finish the Tig McMorrow book series. She’s shocked when Siobhan actually writes her back inviting her to travel to Ireland and assist her with the final book in the series.
No matter what has stopped Siobhan from writing over the past ten years, Emily is determined to help her conclude the story, even if it means putting up with her prickly son who happens to be her new boss at the bookshop. Kieran Murphy may be wildly attractive but he makes his distaste for Emily’s involvement in his mother’s work abundantly clear. It’s obvious that there’s a reason why he doesn’t want Siobhan to dive back into Tig’s world – Emily just doesn’t know it yet. From his banishment of Emily to the third floor of the bookstore to do inventory whenever she’s not on assistant duty, to his insistence on calling her “Red” instead of her real name, Kieran seems annoyed at her very presence in his mother’s life.
As Emily learns more about Siobhan and why she stopped writing, she begins to understand why Kieran might be so stand-offish. As their irritation at each other gives way, is it possible that something more might take its place? Love at First Book is not only a heartwarming romance set in the idyllic Irish countryside but a story that will tug at your heart strings. I’ll admit that a few tears were shed by the end of this novel. I first picked up this book expecting a cozy rom-com between two book lovers and ended up with so much more. It was as unexpectantly touching as it was engaging, transporting its reader in the best way possible.