This is the first book by Carmel Harrington I have read but, based on my love of this one, it certainly won't be my last.

The story is told through the perspectives of Lucy, who many years ago left her home of Kilmore Quay in Ireland to move to New York with her sister and of Bea, who in present day New York is looking into her family history and wants to learn more about her mother who passed away when Bea was a small child.

This book does a great job of exploring the experiences of Irish immigrants in America but centres it around one family where we see the different lives led by each generation. One of things that I loved the most about this book was how well the various relationships in the book were described and developed such as between grandparents and grandchildren, parents and children, female friendships and romantic relationships. These felt like believable characters where no-one was good or bad but were shades of both at times.

The plot was well paced and while there were some twists I saw coming, there were others I didn't, so it kept me hooked and entertained right to the end and took me on an emotional journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

Carmel Harrington has done it again. This book will have you laughing and crying. An amazing story of family and friends..
Bea grows up in New York with her Irish family and dreams of visiting “home” but when she does go to Wexford she finds more than she ever dreamed of.
#NetGalley #TheMoonOverKilmoreQuay

Two sisters Maeve and Lucy emigrate from Ireland to NewYork leaving their friend Michelle behind with her boyfriend. We hear how they fair on their first day in a new country and how different everything is for them.
Present day there is Bea who has just received a letter she put in a time capsule at school which was a letter to her older self. After she reads the letter strange things start to happen leading her to making things right with people she may have acted unjustly with.
We go back and forward with Lucy and Bea's stories and how they might be connected.

I am not going to write anymore about what happens in the book as to even hint at more would spoil the read for you. A few times near the beginning of the book I did get a bit confused but once I got over that I enjoyed the story so much. Each of the charters were believable. I liked reading about the Irish community in NewYork and how even the second and third generation who had never been to Ireland still thought of it as home and loved all things Irish. I enjoyed the bit of history of journeys that people had when they emigrated. Building bridges etc.
My tears started flowing when I got to 80% and didn't stop until they book was finished. I wasn't expecting to cry reading this but I can't remember the last time I cried so much at a book.
Even after the end I couldn't stop thinking about it. It took me a while to feel I could open another book.
I've read a few of Carmel's books in the past few weeks and she is now on my list of favourite reads..
A story of what ifs ? yearnings and forgiveness. If you don't cry ,you're heart is made of stone.

This is the first book I have read by Carmel Harrington.

I really enjoyed it set between current day and the 1990’s and between New York and Ireland.

The book was quite a slow start but easy to read and enjoyable. I loved the detail and doing between the timelines. Will definitely read more.

I’d like to thank Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for approving me for an ARC of this book. I have never read anything by Carmel Harrington before but I’m always on the lookout for new authors.

The story flicks between Bea’s story in the present day and Lucy’s story in the early 1990’s. I loved the back and forth between the timeline, learning little nuggets of information as I went. It made me more inclined to keep going as I wanted to know all the answers to many questions.

Initially I was a little sceptical about Bea’s story. I loved the time capsule letter and have often wondered what my younger self would say to me today. When weird things started to happen with it I was very confused and wondered what story was about to unfold? I loved her occupation and given her background it suited her completely. It was great to learn a little about how she found missing people and the story that took her back to her roots was excellent. Her amigo’s were brilliant characters, especially Katrina. She was a firecracker that anyone would want fighting their corner.

As I got to know Lucy I loved her more and more. She was a brilliant character filled with so much kindness, optimism and hope. Her story was the easier of the two to figure out but I still enjoyed the journey. She was dealt a rough hand which she took in her stride and came out the better person for it. I loved the little similarities between both women’s stories and how everything was tied up at the end.

Whilst I had figured out a few of the reveals the ending really took me by surprise. Don’t worry I’m not going to spoil it but you will need the tissues. This may have been my first Carmel Harrington but I doubt it will be my last. Filled with friendship, love, hope and family, it will warm your hearts and leave you speechless.

This is the first book I read by Carmel Harrington and I absolutely loved it! It started quite slow but I enjoyed the descriptions of Ireland and of New York, the relationships between the characters back in 1992 and in the present time. I really felt like I was part of it. The story "back then" unfolded and I started feeling teary until I literally bawled my eyes out at the end. I loved all the characters, both from the past and from the present and I would have loved the book to be longer and to spend more time with them all. That story will stay stuck in my head for a while, one of the best books I've read this year.

Thank you to the publisher who kindly offered me an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Another great read from one of my favourite Irish contemporary authors. This is my fourth or fifth book by Carmel Harrington and it was as enjoyable as all the others I have read. Carmel is a great storyteller and this is a wonderful story about a family broken by immigration and emigration.

This book has a dual storyline and it involves Bea and her life in Brooklyn New York in the modern time and Lucy and her life in New York in the 1980s and also in the modern time in County Wexford. Bea is a young woman experiencing some strange occurrences and is navigating her life trying to figure out more about her Irish background.

Lucy is also trying to navigate her life in New York as a young immigrant from a small town Kilmore quay in County Wexford Ireland. In the 1980s she moves to New York on a Morrison Visa with her sister Maeve. They encounter men and fun and I loved experiencing that with them. A tragic event occurs that brings them home to Ireland and in that their lives change.

I won’t go any further because I think I may spoil the plot but the accuracy with which Carmel Harrington describes the inner conflict between a person wanting to stay at home and emigrate will be very familiar to a lot of Irish people.

I thought all the stories wound up very very well. I think I would have enjoyed this even more had I read it and not listened to it as an audiobook. One narrator was flawless, the other made many errors in her pronunciation of Irish place names and even the authors name. These errors pulled me out of the story a little bit. I understand the Irish accent is hard to pull off but there are plenty of Irish voice actors out there. I would recommend this book to everyone.

I've loved all of Carmel Harrington's books but, sorry to say, this just didn't hold my attention or draw me in as her previous books always have. I felt that nothing much happened until over half way through the book although I did learn a great deal about New York! There was a lot of detail about streets, avenues, cafes, bars etc but I was waiting to get into the meat of the story which took quite a while. Towards the end of the book the story really did grab my interest and the surprises in that part of the book were unexpected and were truly emotional. I just wish it had been as gripping from earlier on. Despite feeling a bit let down on this occasion I will definitely look forward to the next book by this author. This one just wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest, review.

I did start to read this book but gave up sorry. I was skipping pages and it didn't hold my attention

This book is just so lovely. It’s a beautifully told story that will have you completely invested in the outcome.

Bea grows up in New York but has always wanted to visit her mother's home in Ireland and explore her heritage. A work opportunity makes this possible, but Bea learns things she never knew about. An enjoyable read, with a heart-breaking ending.

I received an advance copy of, The Moon Over Kilmore Quay, by Carmel Harrington. I usually love books by Carmel Harrington, but not this one. Once the topic of abortion, came up I stopped reading. Not my kind of book.

What an exceptionally written and heartwarming novel.
The book is set in two places Brooklyn New York and Kilmore Quay in Ireland.
What Carmel has achieved in this book is utterly amazing.
When Bea finds a letter that she had written many years before as a young woman she knows it's time to revisit her past and return home to Kilmore Quay and leave Brooklyn behind but can she really face what is waiting for her?

Bea has grown up in Brooklyn amongst the Irish community and listening to stories of home in Ireland. She discovers, in a time capsule, a letter from her younger self, it starts a series of events.
Years before, Lucy left Ireland to seek out a new life in America.
Bea discovers a secret which will take her back to Ireland to uncover long buried truths but fate has one last surprise for Bea.

Bea is recently separated from her boyfriend Dan when she receives a letter written by herself when she was a child. Her teacher at the time had got the class to write to their future self and promised to post it in the Year 2020
Bea’s mum (who emigrated to America as a teenager ) died when Bea was a young girl. All she has is her photos, a few of her things and her dads stories about how they met
When the letter from her younger self arrives strange things also seem to start to happen which Bea can not explain.
Bea starts to reconnect with friends she has lost touch with as she tries to work out what is happening to her.
Told from Bea and the present day and a young Lucy as she prepares to emigrate to a new country with her sister. Maeve
I absolutely loved this book, the characters and the way the story evolved
Would highly recommend
Many Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book
Carmel is a new to me author but I am keen to find more from her

To be honest I don't even know how to start writing this review, in fact I have left it for a couple of days to digest the book.

Being of Irish descent myself through my grandparents, any book like this always peaks my interest, and when I noticed the family name O'Connor which is also mine, I was even more intrigued. This book is not at all what I expected, and I have to say on reading probably the first part of the story with present day character Bea, I wasn't all that invested. Still reeling from the death of her mother years before, Bea longs to know what she was like and is always looking for a connection to her. Brought up by a strong Irish/American family she has never wanted for love or family. I found her a bit annoying at times and spoilt. A letter from her old school arrives and send Bea into her past re-evaluating mistakes she made and things she has done.

On the back of this we are following the story of Lucy and her Sister Maeve from Kilmore Quay, Ireland. They travel over to New York to start a new life. Maeve is confident and vivacious whilst her sister Lucy is quieter and longs for her old life back in Ireland, I felt an instant connection to Lucy and was swept along in her romance with Ryan.

Then the twists just keep coming, which I did not see all. By the end of the book I was an emotional wreck, ugly crying and everything!This book took me on an emotional roller coaster ride and it will be something that comes back into my head from time to time I am sure. And I will definitely look out for the author again.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely Lovely story.a book of immigration a story that drew me right in.The story of Bea&Lucy and kept me turning the pages enjoying their story.Abook Inwill be recommending.#netgalley #harpercollinsuk

The moon over Kilmore Quay was a bittersweet story for me. There was much Irish nostalgia at every step, the characters being set in the vibrant Irish community in New York.

The trip to Ireland, the unexpected twist and a bit of swoony romantic moment made this a good read. Though for the life of me I couldn't get the title reference in the story.

This is a surprising read that draws you in with its warmth and characters. Primarily about Bea who on receipt of a letter from her childhood self is drawn back to people from her past and this and other events seem to compel her to visit Ireland to discover her long deceased mothers past. We also have chapters from Lucy in the early nineties reflecting on arriving in New York with her sister and meeting Bea’s father.

I wasn’t sure about the letter storyline at first but when it took more of a back step in the story I felt the characters developed more, I was very curious about why Bea had split from Dan when both clearly had feelings for each other and when everything was finally revealed everything really pulled together well. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming with a few shocks along the way but overall a beautiful story, 8.5/10

The characters of Lucy and Bea are so likeable and credible. You fall in love with them. A fantastic read. The story is so well written and the characters really came to life for me. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️