Thank you so much NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I first saw this book, I was immediately drawn in by the cover and the blurb. I’ve always dreamed of going to Ireland, so I was intrigued by the premise of a girl going there to meet a long-lost half sister. Enter Aidan. Such a green flag of a MMC. You could really feel the chemistry between the character and that's such an important thing for me in romance novels. I don’t want to be gaslighted by the author into thinking that two characters like each other, but for these characters and this author’s writing, it was entirely believable.
These characters seemed entirely real. Their actions and reactions were natural, and you could feel their emotions through the page.
And not just the main characters, the side characters were also incredibly likable and I enjoyed the relationship dynamics we saw throughout the book.
The setting was beautiful, and I loved the way the author described the various places in Ireland we see.

Some things to note:
This book is labeled a “spicy romance”, and while there are elements of spice and some spicy scenes, it is not super spicy for a majority of the book.
In fact a lot of this book does focus more heavily on the characters and their individual issues and drama (which, again, made them complex and feel very real). But this meant that sometimes the romance seemed lacking/ the plot dragged on. For this alone, I could not give it a full 5 stars. The characters had a lot of chemistry but not enough romantic development for me.

Overall, a solid romance book! Definitely recommend it for when you're in the mood for an Irish book boyfriend ;)
I think if you liked Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez or Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy, you’ll like this book!

I have always wanted to go to Ireland, and reading this book made me wish for a trip even more. I know Ballygra doesn't exist, but I sure hope if/when I do eventually make it out to Ireland that I'll get to explore small, charming towns like the one in The Half of It. The community, I believe, was the true star of the show.

I read this book in one day. It's quick, light, and easy, but with some heavier thematic elements to keep it from being all fluff and no substance (though there is a time and place for those kinds of stories, too). I love a found family trope, and The Half of It delivered. I wanted to be wrapped up in one of Evvie's hugs, championed by Cara, and take a photography walk with Aidan. Theresa Christine's cast of characters were exactly the kind of group I dream of being part of one day.

My main downside to this novel is the driving tension of the novel. I understand conflict needs to arise from <i>somewhere<i>, I just had only hoped it would be different. I also don't love instalove stories, but Aidan was just too sweet and gentle with June that it didn't bother me as much as other books.

All in all, I had a good time reading The Half of It. As this seems to be Theresa Christine's debut novel, I look forward to reading more of her in the future.

Juniper ha vivido de manera solitaria; su madre la abandonó, su abuela solo la cuidó por unos años y luego fue ingresada en el sistema de acogida. No sabe lo que es tener una familia y se lleva una gran sorpresa cuando un examen de ascendencia le informa que tiene una media hermana en Irlanda. Cuando su jefe se entera de su historia familiar, la anima a escribir un artículo sobre ello, y ella acepta, ya que tendrá la oportunidad de conocer a su media hermana. Además, si hace bien su trabajo, podrá escribir los artículos que desee y no los que le encarguen. Al llegar, conecta inmediatamente con Cara y pronto se siente parte de su familia. Conoce a Aidan, el mejor amigo de Cara, y las chispas empiezan a volar. Todo parece ir de maravilla, pero todo cambia cuando recibe una llamada de la empresa que realizó el test de ADN.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful, beautiful book! I am happy that I got to devour this lovely story. In “The Half of It,” Juniper, a writer living in New York, discovers that she has a half-sister, Cara, who lives in Ireland. Cara invites Juniper (June) to her wedding, which June uses as an opportunity to get to know her sister and to write an assignment about. But June has a hard time letting people in. June never knew her (or rather their) father, she didn’t have a relationship with her mother before her mother passed, her grandmother who was left to raise her never made her feel loved, and she then bounced around foster care before becoming emancipated. So getting to know, and growing fond of, Cara and her family is both enticing and incredibly scary.

And Cara’s best friend, Aidan, is also very enticing. Aidan has been struggling since the death of his brother, having moved home to help his family with their pub, and trying to figure out what he wants or can even want that he can do next. The chemistry between June and Aidan is instant but neither wants to mess anything up, especially with June leaving soon, and with both of their connections to Cara. When June gets a call that puts what she thought she knew into question, she has to navigate these new feelings without hurting anyone, including herself.

It is almost hard for me to wrap my arms around what made this book so magical but I think at the center were the characters who were flawed in such an authentic way and so kind hearted at the same time. Sometimes, it can feel like the plot drives the character’s personality (if that makes any sense) but here the characters are so full, well-crafted, and real. Even the “secondary” characters all felt three dimensional and compelling. And the tenderness and kindness of almost all of the characters was really moving. No one made perfect decisions and no one was completely selfless but at their core, they were trying their best all the same. It made for a really moving story.

June’s character was also super special to me. I have such a tender spot for characters who don’t think they deserve love and kindness or aren’t sure how to accept it but sometimes it can feel really frustrating to read 300 pages of them constantly rejecting that love or having miscommunications because of it. I felt like “The Half of It” did a really great job of slowly showing how a character like June could let her walls down, feel like she has to put them up, and then slowly bring them down again. Seeing that character growth was really poignant.

Plus add some really well written spice and I will be thinking about this book for a while.

Thank you to Theresa Christine and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.

What a wonderful book that transported me to Ireland and took away my problems while I read. I thought the spice level was appropriate for the story. The characters were likable, and the book was well written. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

she was such a cutie!! i sat and read this in one sitting and it certainly did exactly what i expected- that being delivering an excellently steamy and sweet irish romance that i ate up 🤭 now, was it absolutely life changing? no but i didn’t need it to be! this was the perfect palette cleanser after a more emotional and heavy read that put the brightest smile on my face and kept it there 💫