Member Reviews

A Christmas Miracle in the Little Irish Village is a wonderful story of family, second chances, and communication. The narrator made the audiobook with Irish accent. The story centers on Ava and Shane. Ava and Shane went separate ways when Ava moved to London with her twin sister, Grace. Ava rushes back to Emerald Bay, her hometown, when Shane goes missing in a boating incident.

While in Emerald Bay, Ava must face the decisions in her life and assess the her next steps. Through this process, she confronts her sister about the misery of her life in London and that she wants a life with Shane. Throughout the soul searching, the reader is given a glimpse at the Kelly family, including Ava's four sisters, parents, and Nan.

The book is perfect for a Christmas time read, especially if you are looking for a little miracle. This is the 3rd installment in the Little Irish Village series, which means I need to go find the first two fast to catch up with the Kelly sisters.

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The Little Irish Village #3
A Christmas Miracle in the Little Irish Village
Michelle Vernal
Emerald Bay is home and will always feel like home to Ava Kelly. Every Christmas she returns to the Shamrock Inn, her parents’ pub. Ava and her identical twin sister Grace have always done everything together. Ava is the quiet one while Grace is more adventurous and outgoing; she tends to make the decisions for both twins. They left Ireland for the adventure of living in London. Ava not only left Ireland but she also left Shane, the love of her life. She has tried dating, but the results never go well. She has a job she doesn’t like; the rent is high and she’s tired of living in London. After a year in London, she is ready to return home to Shane; she daydreams about curling up with him in front of a blazing fire. She remembers all the time she spent with Shane. Returning home means breaking the news to Grace. Telling Grace, she is returning home to Ireland and to Shane won’t be easy. Before she can have that discussion, she receives a phone call from her mother, Shane has disappeared; he has been swept overboard while working on his family’s fishing boat. She rushes to the airport to return home. Her first stop is the harbor where the rescue squad is doing their best to locate him. Ava realizes she is still in love with Shane, but will he survive the accident? Will he want her back if he does survive? Will she and Grace come to terms with their disagreement.
This is a beautiful love story that shares a Christmas Miracle. Emerald Bay is a beautiful setting. There is a lot of humor in this tale as well as a deep message concerning second chances. I enjoyed reading about the family dynamics of the Kellys, especially the relationships of the five sisters. It was nice seeing the community of Emerald Bay pull together for Shane’s family.
Thank you to NetGalley a copy of this book for review. My reviews are always my unbiased opinions.

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This is a second chance romance that I wish I could have finished. 90% in, and the audio stopped. Oh well, I vibe it 4 stars anyway.

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A Christmas Miracle in the Little Irish Village
by Michelle Vernal, narrated by Jessica Regan

Ava Kelly had always been the passive twin, the follower, the people pleaser, so despite the fact that she had loved Shane since she was seventeen, she let her twin sister, Grace's, desires run roughshod over her feelings for Shane. Grace had never like Shane and Shane had never liked Grace and Grace used Ava's desire to see places other than just Emerald Bay to get Ava to move to London with her. A year later, Ava is tired of being miserable and of having possibly lost the best man for her she will ever know.

Ava is going to tell Grace her feelings, as hard as that will be since she'll catch heck for even having those feelings. Then Ava gets a phone that wipes all doubt out of her mind where she wants to be. She's waited too long, lost her chance, unless there is some kind of miracle. This is a great Christmas story that tugs at my heart and feelings. I certainly took sides in the story but won't say more so as not to give anything away.

There are five daughters in the Kelly family that also include their parents and their grandmother. What a funny family they are, silly, bossy, but full of love. The townsfolk are funny and interesting, too. Through them I felt like I knew the place not even too far into the story. With the narrator's Irish accent, I was there even though I had to work hard to understand the accent. Not only that, the story has a lot of words I've never heard before, but I'd still get the gist through context and happenings in the story. I'll be visiting Emerald Bay and these characters again because I like being around them and care about what happens to them.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

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I was really excited for this ARC (thanks, NetGalley and Michelle Vernal) because, on paper, this story has a lot of what I enjoy:

This story has:
* Christmas
* squeaky clean romance
* small town charm
* A close family
* Sisterhood
* Second chance romance
* a foreign setting (an Irish village! For most of the story)

Lots of great stuff! Somehow it just didn’t come together in an immersive way for me, however, and I felt my attention drifting throughout. Still, a ton of people have enjoyed it so I think fans of those tropes (but especially fans of Irish romance) will enjoy this!

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Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

A great, feel-good book. Loved the small-town Ireland imagery and the Kelly clan.

Regrettably, the book archived with about 20 minutes remaining, so I was unable to finish — although I can guess how it ended.

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