Thank you so much to NetGalley and Clodagh Murphy for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Merry Irish Christmas coming out September 6, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I enjoyed it. It was a cozy Christmas story. I think I was waiting for something bigger to happen. I’m used to cozy murder mysteries, but this was a family drama set around Christmas. I would check out other books by this author.

Okay this was such a sweet holiday romance. The book was written well, you get totally get the vibes of Xmas in a small Irish town. Evan and Marys banter was fun and once things settled between them, I liked how the loved each other. Of course Marys mother was the star of the show. Hope we get to see all the sibling stories as well.

#netgalley #AMerryIrishChristmas

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

A Merry Irish Christmas is a fun holiday romp by Clodagh Murphy. Mary McBride is left in the lurch when her longtime boyfriend Greg reunites with his prior girlfriend just days from Christmas. As Mary was supposed to accompany Greg to his parents’ house for the holidays, she feels there is no way she can fly home from New York to her home in Dingle, Ireland until her friend Gina suggests she use her Christmas bonus to surprise her family. Meanwhile, her entire family has the same idea and does a house swap with a NYC resident.

When Mary finally arrives home she finds an empty house until a strange man comes traipsing in. If Mary watched more TV she might have recognized him as the new Spider-Man, Evan Prentice. As she did not, she was ready to fight for her life until he was able to explain the situation.

With a cast of lovely characters on both sides of the Atlantic this is a truly delightful romcom farce, Ms. Murphy has given her readers a lovely holiday treat. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I enjoyed reading A Merry Irish Christmas by Clodagh Murphy. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

A Merry Irish Christmas was such a light hearted and cozy read. This story gave me The Holiday movie vibe. I enjoyed every bit of it.
I couldn’t believe Greg!! Firstly telling Mary she was his rock to kissing with his ex Juanita! Even though it was early on I wasn’t a big fan of him anyways. Someone like Mary deserves much better.
I didn’t blame Mary for wanting to spend Christmas with her family after what happened with Greg.
It’s so funny that her parents went to spend time with her in New York and then she went to see them in Ireland. I love the way we get to experience Ireland at Christmas time through this story.
I love the relationship between Mary and Evan.

This was painful to get through.

I wanted to love this cute holiday mixup with Mary and Evan, but I couldn't get past the awful third person writing. Too much explanation, not enough dialogue. It dragged on!

The romance was forced and not at all reliable. One day, Evan just decided to stop being so cranky? Absolutely not.

I would not recommend this one.

I love all things Christmas & this was right up my street.
Fab festive frolics.
Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

This was a great Christmas romance. I was honestly not surprised with how this one worked out. I totally called it when there was a phone call between her mom and her. I did like how it was written and it's a very cozy Christmas story. I will definitely be recommending it.

Published- 6th September 2025

Mary lives in America and her family are back in Ireland. Should she surprise them and go for Xmas …….??

I loved this book … easing me into all the Xmas books I have to read lol!! Quite a number of laughs in this book.
Make it one of your cosy reads this year. Thanks #Netgalley

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I enjoyed this book. It is a little bit of a holiday mix up and a little bit of the Holiday. It's a light holiday romance read that moves quickly. There is a little spice in this book near the end, but it is mostly fade to black without a ton of details.
I actually loved the Spiderman references but then couldn't help but to see Toby Maguire as Evan, which didn't quite match his description in the book!
Overall, if you are looking for a little Irish romance with warm fuzzies and a HEA, this is a good holiday read for you!
Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy.

Thank you so much to Clodagh Murphy and Boldwood Books for the eARC of this book. I LOVE a good Irish and Scottish setting in a book and this one hit it on the head. It's a great quick and easy read for the holiday season. It's well written and flows quite well. It is a third person POV and has great Hallmarky vibes! :)

did i read a Christmas book in summer? yes.
did i enjoy it as if i was experiencing the Christmas holidays? also yes.

as someone who spends all her time during winter watching Christmas movies, this book felt the exact same way!!! I loved the cliche of the story where he hates Christmas and the idea of her - that turn into them falling in love together. The grumpy x sunshine trope was very well done to me, and the Christmas aspect of the book was well put together.
I liked how both main characters (Mary and Evan) begin to be really soft and gentle to each other. It made the story flew by, and i really enjoyed reading this book!
I would recommend it to anyone who would love an easy and quick read during the winter. It is perfect for an afternoon read when it's cold on a sunday. :)

Thank you to Netgalley for the early copy of this book in exchange for a honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC! A Merry Irish Christmas was a warm and festive story that blended family drama, romance, and holiday charm perfectly. Clodagh Murphy captured the cozy magic of Christmas in Ireland while keeping the characters heartfelt and relatable. It’s the kind of book that makes you feel both joyful and nostalgic by the end.

My first Christmas read of the season (yes, it starts now) and a fab one at that.
This grabbed me from the first page.
A super-cute sweet romance with a grumpy celeb, a bit of forced proximity and an Irish setting with lots of lols and some swoonwirthy moments.
Warm and cozy just like Christmas should be.
All the stars from me!

A Merry Irish Christmas by Clodagh Murphy was a great book! I opened the first page and before I knew it, I had finished reading it. It was a fun easy quick book to enjoy.
Evan and Mary are two characters that I will think about and wonder what they are doing now that I have finished the book. It felt good to spend time with them.
This is a book that calls for snuggling under soft blanket while sipping a cup of hot chocolate.
Thank you NetGalley, Clodagh Murphy and Boldwood Books for the copy of A Merry Irish Christmas. This is my personal review.

Ireland at Christmas? This feels like it was made for me! My husband and I love to travel to Ireland during the holiday season and so this was a special read for me. This had Hallmark vibes in the best way. I love reading contemporary romance all December long and look forward to recommending this to my audience during the upcoming holiday season. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC!

If you are in the mood for a cute, cosy Christmassy book with The Holiday vibe, then this is the one you may just need to read. Thanks netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read a copy.

I really enjoyed this book. It's my first Christmas book and definitely won't be my last.
Really good characters. Loved the story.
Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review

Mary originally from the village of Inch on the rugged coastline of Dingle in Southern Ireland is now living in New York and should have been staying with boyfriend Greg and his parents for Christmas BUT she has just split up with him!

Famous actor Evan has just split with his girlfriend and wants to lie low from the paparazzi. His PA Max has arranged a house swap much to Evans annoyance. Max felt sorry for Mary's mother, Sheena, who wanted to be in New York for Mary in her hour of need, so they do a last-minute house swap. Evan wants to cancel, but he just can't do it when he speaks to Sheena herself.

Mary, meanwhile, decides at the last minute to go home for Christmas for the comfort of her loving family.

This story definitely has the vibes of the film "The Holiday"! A Christmas house swap holiday story BUT Whereas in "The Holiday" the lead male character is very likable, Evan is distinctly unlikeable and grumpy and there's not an instant attraction between the female and male lead characters. In this case, it's very much an enemies to lovers tale.

There's various likable characters in this novel from Arnold, Evans doorman for his apartment block in the Upper East Side in New York to Marys adorable mother Sheena who ends up inviting people for Christmas dinner, including Magda, Evans neighbour down the hall.
There's misunderstandings aplenty and people missing each other like ships in the night in this gentle heartwarming Christmas story.