The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes by Laura McLoughlin was an intriguing story and perfect for the Halloween season or any season really because it's a cosy supernatural story and not a scary one. I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover, I came for the blurb but stayed for the unique storyline! I really liked Mia, her development of pleasing everyone to standing up for herself - I liked how her strength grew and when it came to the ghosts, I mean she did better than I would have! I really liked how she developed and how the storyline played out with her in the role of helping the hotel ghosts. I quite liked all the characters in this novel, they all had their unique role and it really brought the story together. I enjoyed the pacing of the story but I did feel a little bit of a wane before the half way mark but i felt I then got back into the rhythm of the pacing. I really enjoyed the play out of this novel.

A brilliantly ghostly read for the spooky season. I really enjoyed the relationships between friends and colleagues as well as those between the living and the ghosts. The plot developed well. Although a little slow at times.

Mia Anne has worked at the Ballinadrum hotel for 5 years. She has heard all the rumours about ghosts but has never actually seen one. When strange things happen, she soon finds herself promoted to concierge to the spirits. 


This was an interesting take on a haunted hotel story. It started slowly, setting the scene and introducing us to Mia Anne and some of the other characters from within the hotel. The pace picks up towards the middle of the book. The latter part of the book had me quickly turning the pages to see what happens next.

The book is nicely written, and the plot was engaging and different. I liked the idea of all the ghosts and how they came to reside in the hotel as this was an unexpected twist. It is not a scary haunting, more of a mystery that needs to be solved. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I think this would appeal to those who like a ghost story or like a mystery to figure out. 

With thanks to the author, Netgalley and Love Books Tours, for providing a copy of the book. This is my honest review, which I'm leaving voluntarily.

I loved this book. The sense of time and place with a dash of magic and as perfect for this time of year. I bought the hardback to add to my shelf!

I loved the cover, premise and Mia and her ghosts. Slower paced and meandering than expected I found myself confused at times but it still remained a delightful read.

This was a very interesting read for me as it was a mystery horror which had me thinking the whole novel. I was so confused while reading it and when I thought I knew what was going on, the author put in a twist which had me shocked. The author has a really good way of describing characters and locations which is one of the things which grabs me into the story.

Tis the season for ghost stories and this is a great ghost story 👻

It is also so much more than a ghost story, Mia seems happily engaged to Rocco, planning her upcoming wedding whilst living with her Gran.

When her boss dies strange things start happening and Mia is drawn into a ghostly mystery.

Over the course of the book Mia seems to find herself and her strength to do the things she wants to do.
I loved the mystery within the story and the various characters that appear both who Mia works with and those how ‘live’ in the hotel.

It would make a great series, I will certainly book looking out for more from this author.

Thank you @lovebookstours @bonnierbooks_uk @_lauramclo for having me on the tour and for a copy of the @netgalley ebook

This story centres around ghosts and hauntings but not in a horror way. It's more cosy and reminds me of the BBC TV series Ghosts. I thought it was a mixture of a quest and a mystery story. I wanted to know what had brought each ghost to haunt the hotel and if Mia would fulfill her quest to send the ghosts on.

With Halloween fast approaching, this was a great read for this time of year! I love reading anything with the Paranormal side in it, and the 2 genres went so well together as the author weaved them together to give us this Paranormal/Thriller Mystery!

It took a little bit to get into it for me, but once I was invested, I wanted to know what was going to happen. If you love programmes like the ghost whisperer ( I was obsessed with this when it first came out!), this will be right up your street, and if you read it you will get what I mean! (
it!)

The author does a wonderful job with the descriptions, settings, storyline, and characters to give us a supernatural world that we can immerse ourselves in.

Mia Anne Moran was a little lost at the start of this book and my heart went out to her. Despite their age difference, she had been good friends with hotel owner Donahue Byrnes and was really sad about his death. When his less than agreeable son Cormac arrives determined to sell the business, it seems likely that she'll lose her job and also the venue for her fast approaching wedding. I wasn't really sure what to make of her fiancé Roscoe so that was one of the aspects of the story that had my attention.

When the rumours of the hotel being haunted turn out to be all too true, Mia finds herself with a very different task of keeping the ghosts in check, a task she discovers that Donahue had been doing for years. At first the ghosts seemed reasonably friendly and benign but things soon changed. I enjoyed reading about Mia's endeavours to find out what was tying the ghosts to the hotel and her efforts to finish their unresolved business. Although it seemed like this was going to be a charming and fun part of the story, things soon turned a bit darker and there was an element of danger.

The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes was an entertaining read and perfect for anyone like me who isn't keen on being terrified but does enjoy reading about ghostly goings-on! A engaging debut novel, perfect for the long winter evenings. I'd happily read more from Laura McLaughlin.

I read this E-ARC book in exchange for an honest review and I selected it looking for something spooky and Halloweeny and this really delivered. This was a really intriguing book and I've never read a story quite like it. I can't really say much without some pretty major spoilers but I loved this story. It was a story about love and belonging and how complicated people can be, they're neither wholely good or bad but sometimes both at the same time. I loved the theme of memory which runs through the novel and what we choose to focus on after we're gone. It was a great read and I'd really recommend it.

As soon as I read the plot for this book I knew that I wanted to read it. A great read for spooky season.
The story itself was very well written and entirely compelling which for me meant that I was able to read it very quickly. Within the story we are following Mia Moran who completely adores where she works her life completely revolves around it, to the very beginning of the story we find ourselves at the funeral of the hotels owner Donahue Byrnes. Donahue had always told stories of the hotel being haunted little did Mia know just how true these stories were. Mia’s peaceful love of her work is interrupted when Donahue’s estranged son appears after his funeral demanding that he is going to sell the hotel.

Through the story we work with Mia on trying to help the ghosts which have remained at the hotel to see if she can find a way for them to move on. I was extremely invested with finding out the fate of these ghosts and could not put the book down, definitely a page-turner.

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Mia Anne Moran (and what a fabulous name for a character that is!) is a 22 year-old waitress at a country hotel that just happens to be haunted by a multitude of ghosts. Following the death of the hotel's elderly owner, Donahue Byrnes, Mia is tasked with entertaining the hotel's ghostly inhabitants, helping them with their unfinished business and preventing them from causing harm to the hotel and it's guests whilst reluctant owner Cormac Byrnes attempts to offload the property.

It's such a magical wee story. I loved Mia and loved seeing her grow in confidence with her unlikely new role as ghost concierge, learning to stand up for herself and embracing those things which make her truly happy. The staff at the hotel, the small close-knit community around it - all created a sense that this was happening in a little bubble in some small untouched corner of the country that I''d happily visit!

With a spooky mystery to uncover at the heart of it all, well-paced story-telling and well-rounded and authentic characters, I just couldn't put it down once I'd started reading.

This is, as far as I'm aware, a debut novel from Laura McLoughlin but I am very much looking forward to seeing what comes next - and if it were the further adventures of Mia Anne Moran, I wouldn't be in the slightest bit disappointed! A brilliant book that'll be thoroughly recommending to everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley, Love Book Tours and to the publisher Black and White Publishing for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review. 


TW: death, hauntings, grief, horror, mentions of suicide


Mia Anne Moran adores where she works, the Ballinadrum Hotel in rural Ireland, because it's been part of her life forever. Its owner, the eccentric and always jolly Donahue Byrnes, had the best stories about ghosts and fairies and the most outlandishly beautiful ways of looking at the world in her childhood. Now twenty two and preparing to get married, Mia is left devastated by the elderly Donahue's death and the thought that his estranged son, the cold hearted and mysterious Cormac, might be about to sell his father's legacy. Soon enough Mia discovers that the stories Donahue told about the Ballinadrum being haunted were true and that he alone had managed the ghosts by keeping them happy. Unable to sell the hotel as the ghosts become more rowdy and dangerous to guests, Cormac turns to Mia with the promise that everyone who works there will keep their jobs once it is sold if only she takes on the role of ghost keeper and clears them out within a month. Believing that this role is what she was destined for, Mia becomes determined to figure out why the ghosts- including three WW2 soldiers, a tormented bride, an angry vicar, a little girl and a normally friendly baker- remain and if she might be able to help them move on. However, the more Mia gets caught up in the care of Ballinadrum's ghosts, the less involved she is with her real life and soon enough what Mia thought she wanted for her future isn't guaranteed. 


I really enjoyed this book, it's a slow burn but I loved Mia from the first page as she's forced to reckon with the idea that her safe place- and the man she saw as family- might not be here much longer. I found her character so interesting, she's made to almost grow up and let go of her naivety while managing two separate lives that can't link together. The hotel and its ghostly inhabitants were so well written, they were spooky and a little disturbing when upset but also friendly and deeply confused by what they're going through. The mystery of their back stories was great, each spirit and their circumstances felt unique. As she and Cormac work together you see something of his father in him, a man Mia adored and Cormac hated, and I think that their gradual trust in one another about everything worked really well. I wish we'd seen more of Mia's grandmother and her two dogs, learned more about the loss of her parents and how she met her fiance Rosco (who I was caught between disliking and being alright with on and off until the end). Ultimately this was a fun, original read that turns the idea of a place being haunted from a bad thing into something worthy of love and I really liked that.

Most of Mia’s life revolves around the Ballinadrum Hotel. Many of the local residents have stories that involve the hotel as well. It’s as if this historic building is the fabric of the community. So when its owner, Donahue Byrnes, dies, it’s a pretty big deal. Especially for Mia, whose life Donahue had a huge impact on.

When Donahue’s estranged son arrives and reveals his plan to sell the hotel, Mia is in for a real surprise. All the stories she’s heard about ghosts and the hotel being haunted turn out to be absolutely and totally true. Donahue somehow managed to control these spirits, but now that he is gone, mayhem could ensue. His son needs Mia to keep the ghosts at bay so he can find a buyer. Or better yet, get rid of them altogether.

Mia obviously hasn’t watched as many episodes of the "Supernatural" tv series as I have. Otherwise, she would have known right away ghosts have unfinished business that keeps them tethered to a person, a thing, or a place. It takes her a while to figure out how she could possibly help these ghosts but once she gets going, she’s definitely on a mission to save the hotel.

It's remarkably easy to keep the ghosts apart. There's the bride, the old headmaster, the reverend, the gossip, and a little girl, for instance. Each one has certain demands, or questions. Maybe they're looking for something. Mia needs to figure out what those things are so the ghosts won't get restless and start walking through walls, thus scaring the hotel guests. But she also needs to listen to what is being said, even if it doesn't always make sense, so she can set the ghosts free from this place.

I thoroughly enjoyed this cosy supernatural mystery and was entirely unable to see why the ghosts wouldn’t leave the premises. The reveal was most satisfactory, and the whole story was rather well plotted. Obviously Mia’s life won’t be the same after all these spooky events but that’s a good thing, in my opinion. Just wait until you meet her boyfriend, Roscoe, who is seemingly the most supportive and loving partner, but to me just came across as extremely manipulative and condescending.

As so often happens, it just goes to show that you never really know someone or what they're capable of. Along the way, Mia will learn some of life's lessons, and find out she's stronger and smarter than she thinks. Mia, and her grandmother, are characters you warm to without even needing to try. They're like a nice, cosy, warm blanket wrapped around you like a hug.

Great setting (who doesn't love a haunted hotel?!), wonderful characters, a mystery to solve, and a little spookiness ... 'The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes' kept me wonderfully entertained. The perfect spooky read for those who would rather not be too terrified to sleep at night.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

This book was hard to put down. I was so totally invested in the hotel, the fate of the ghosts, the mystery and the details of the main character’s life and what she would choose to do! A real page turner.

We have a haunted hotel which is always something I love in literature. But this isn't typical horror. It’s more subtle. Many of the ghosts aren’t inherently bad, they’re drawn to the hotel but they don’t know why. We have a woman in her early twenties whose best parts of her childhood and growing up are attached to this hotel and the eccentric owner who introduced a level of magic and whimsy into her life. Following his death she starts to find strange occurrences happening at his hotel and she seeks to discover more.

The supernatural elements of this book were really well done. The ghosts were so distinct and the descriptions of how they manifest and their sense of being was so cohesive that it wasn’t hard to suspend disbelief and truly immerse yourself in this fantastical world. While there is a level of whimsy to these apparitions, there’s an undercurrent of menace and a threat of chaos at any time due to their often unpredictable natures.

I also thought the exploration of identity was exceptionally well done. The author did an excellent job of walking a fine line with making something feel not quite right in certain relationships the main character has, whilst also allowing the reader to understand the uncertainty she is feeling. We can see why the hotel is so important to the main character, even when others seek to force her to keep up something critical to her identity to fit into a shape more appealing and easy for them. This really stood out for me in the book as my views changed slowly about certain characters.

A satisfying, intriguing supernatural mystery.

I loved following the mystery of the hotel and following Mia's journey to find out the truth, great read overall.

When Ballinadrum Hotel's elderly owner Donahue Brynes dies, twenty-two-year-old Mia Anne Moran discovers the spectral rumours that have long plagued the place are true. Meanwhile, Donahue's son, Cormac, wants to sell up as soon as possible but finds his plans thwarted by the ghostly goings-on.

I loved this I couldn't put it down. The characters were so vivid in my mind when reading. Mia reminded me of Melinda Gordon from the TV series Ghost Whisperer.

If you are looking for a delightful mysterious ghost story that's got just the right amount of chill in the air then you should read this.

This book had made me have so many mixed feelings. The plot had me desperate to read this book. To be honest It took a long while for me to get reading and I don't know why.....maybe it just took a while for things to get going.....the story was fantastic and the characters relatable I think my problem was I just wasn't interest on what was going on till half way through the book. A good read for the Halloween season....

Book Review: The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes

I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes by Laura McLoughlin. This book caught my attention with its intriguing premise and atmospheric setting, and it did not disappoint.

The story centers on Mia Anne Moran, a young waitress at the Ballinadrum Hotel, who is thrust into a decades-old mystery following the death of the hotel's owner, Donahue Byrnes. The moment Donahue passes, Mia discovers the hotel is haunted, and these ghosts are far from quiet. The idea of acting as a concierge for the dead is both whimsical and chilling, and I found myself drawn into Mia’s journey as she navigates the complex dynamics between the living and the spectral inhabitants.

Mia’s determination to solve the mystery surrounding the ghosts adds depth to her character. I appreciated her desire to keep the hotel running and protect her colleagues’ livelihoods, showcasing her resilience and empathy. The tension between her and Donahue’s son, Cormac, who is eager to sell the hotel, adds an engaging layer to the narrative. Their partnership in managing the ghostly inhabitants is both humorous and heartfelt.

As Mia delves deeper into the ghosts' histories, I was captivated by how each spirit revealed their own story, intertwining with Mia’s personal growth. The exploration of what draws these spirits to the hotel is compelling and adds a rich layer of intrigue. McLoughlin's writing is atmospheric, bringing the hotel's eerie charm to life while balancing the emotional stakes of Mia's journey.

Overall, The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes is a delightful blend of mystery, humor, and the supernatural. It’s a thought-provoking