A Merry Irish Christmas by Clodagh Murphy was such a great read by a new to me author. I love all things holiday and this book didn't disappoint! Mary and Evan? They are so, so cute together. I loved learning about each of them as people, but together, they were so good. This book reminded me of a great Hallmark movie to set the mood for the holidays!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of A Merry Irish Christmas by Clodagh Murphy. This was such a cozy, small-town holiday read that gave me major Hallmark vibes. While the third-person POV and large cast of characters took some getting used to, I loved the charm of the Irish setting—it was refreshing and piqued my curiosity. The romance was sweet, though their first kiss felt a bit forced as part of a “challenge.” Overall, it’s a cute, easy read perfect for the festive season.

A Merry Irish Christmas was a hug in the form of a book. It's such a lovely chick lit read, definite Hallmark movie vibes (but a little spicier) I loved Mary and Evan and hope to see them again soon. While reading this book you got the sense of the hassle and bustle of a New York Christmas and the cosy, homely feeling of an Irish one. With a strong supporting cast, some laugh out loud moments and some absolutely swoon worth moments, Evan and Mary's story will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend reading this book under a cosy blanket with a hot drink.

Adorable cozy holiday read. Also, if the story takes place in Ireland, I will read it because it is my favorite country to visit. Love seeing how the characters develop over time, including their relationship and I love seeing the family traditions in the story. If you want a cozy and feel good holiday read, give A Merry Irish Christmas a try.

Ok to be honest I thought I was going to DNF this book since the beginning felt real forced and cheesy. HOWEVER- this book was so cute! I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit, the banter between Evan and Mary was so good and the chemistry was palpable. I feel like a lot was packed into 240 pages and none of it felt very rushed except for perhaps the end. That also might be me wanting to selfishly enjoy the result of all of the build up.

Overall a quick fun easy holiday read!

A Merry Irish Christmas is the perfect holiday vacation read. It's perfectly light and fluffy to take your cares away during the winter season.

I think this book is perfect for those looking for a low spicy or closed door romance book, as well as those who aren't looking for a super involved or overly complex story line.

Beware readers who don't like "convenient situations" that perfectly line up a plot point or people who like more meat in their stories (world building more fleshy characters).

All in all a solid three for me.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A very cute fun read! It’s a quick read and a light hearted cozy story. I personally was not a big fan of the writing style, hence the 3 stars. I thought there was so much repetition to make the same point across over as if the reader needed constant reminders. It was a little distracting for me. However, the atmosphere was super cozy and easy to get immersed it.

What a super-cute holiday read with definite Hallmark vibes throughout. It may only be September but its the perfect time to start getting wrapped cosy and thinking festive thoughts!
I loved both Mary and Evan, their banter was so humorous and warm.
I loved all the little traditions they mentioned such as the Christmas day sea swim, all the potatoes and such like.
I couldn't put this down, I sat and read it from start to finish over the one afternoon. It was just like a warm hug that I didn’t want to part from.
We had misunderstandings, interfering families, exes, and cute kids - all the things that make a wonderful romcom.
I haven't read anything by this author before but I would absolutely read more from her now I've read this.
Fans of festive reads with light romance will love this!

A Merry Irish Christmas by Clodagh Murphy
Genre: Rom Com
Length: 239 pages
Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2025
My Rating: 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the e-ARC of this book. The opinions stated here are solely my own.

Summary:
Mary was living the dream life of an Irish girl in New York City - apartment, great job, and a boyfriend, Greg, of 2 years. Right before Christmas when Mary was supposed to go spend it with Greg’s family, he broke up with her in a humiliating way. Now, left with no family, boyfriend, or plans for the holidays, Mary is devastated. Last minute, she decides to splurge and buy a ticket back to her hometown of Dingle, Ireland and surprise her family. When she arrives, only a strange man is occupying her family’s home, as they have done a house swap for Christmas so they could surprise her in New York. With nowhere else to stay, she is forced to spend the holidays with grumpy Evan, who has also just been dumped by his girlfriend, and seems to be in no mood to be pleasant. It also turns out that Evan is a big superhero adventure movie star living in NYC, so what could he and Mary POSSIBLY have in common? Will the two of them exist in harmony, or will this be the least Merry Christmas ever?

Review:
This book was just what I needed for a light, fun, holiday romance! I have never read Clodagh Murphy’s books before, but I will definitely read more after this one. Read this if you love the tropes of:
- grumpy/sunshine
- forced proximity
- celebrity/regular person
- Christmas season
- Ireland setting
I thought that the relationship between Mary and Evan really did develop in a believable and natural way. I loved how Mary’s kind, compassionate personality wore down Evan’s tough outer shell and that he was actually just as good of a person inside. I enjoyed the fun Christmas traditions described in the town of Dingle (especially the winter swim in the Atlantic!) and how the whole town seemed to either be family or very close knit. The book was definitely a comfort read and had a lot of heart and some great comedic parts. Definitely give this one a try - it will make you think of a Hallmark Christmas movie!

📱E-Book Review📱

A Merry Irish Christmas
Clodagh Murphy

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I'm definitely getting into my festive reads now and I have to admit that I just can't resist grabbing all the books that give me that Christmassy feeling.
Just look at this gorgeous cover!

I'm just going to come straight out and say that this gave me strong The Holiday vibes and we all know how that story goes - but given that that's one of my favourite ever Christmas films, I have to say that this didn't spoil this read one tiny bit - in fact it was a sure winner!

Ok, so there's differences and here we just follow the story from one side as Mary heads home for Christmas after a breaking up with her boyfriend just before the festive season.
When she arrives home, she finds the grumpy Evan enjoying a quiet, non-festive holiday - she realises that Christmas with the family might not be quite as expected!

I love this house swap setting and thought it was so funny (but sad obviously!) that her family had had the same idea and headed off to New York to surprise Mary ...right as she's heading back to Ireland.

I loved Mary's enthusiasm for all things festive - a kindred spirit! - and definitely a character I could connect with.
Evan - the perfect contrast and great for this opposites attract read.

The writing had me hooked from the start and I literally flew through this so fast!
It didn't matter that I could guess the plot - I was smiling and chuckling throughout!

This was my first read by this author and although it was the festive theme that drew me in, I'd definitely love to read more in the future.

Loved this book. Its got me all in my feels! A very rom com kind of The Holiday feel good book! Made me laugh out loud lots!

A Merry Irish Christmas is a lovely heart warming story with definite Hallmark vibes, located between Ireland and New York. Written with obvious warmth, this witty story is very entertaining and surprisingly relatable.

American TV star Evan has a very public break up with his co-star Olivia, his on screen and real life love interest. Wanting to avoid the paparazzi, he tasks his assistant Max with finding him somewhere to lie low for Christmas.

Meanwhile, Mary McBride is preparing to spend Christmas with her boyfriend Greg's parents in Maine, although she would much rather be going home to Ireland. When Mary is unceremoniously dumped right before Christmas, she decides to fly home to Ireland and surprise her parents at their home in Dingle.

However, when Mary's mum Sheena believes her daughter is going to be alone in New York for Christmas, she organises a house swap with an American actor looking solitude for the holidays...

Forced into each other's company, Mary sets about showing Evan a proper Irish Christmas, despite his reluctance...
Anyone who has experienced an Irish Christmas will confirm that there are definitely at least three types of potatoes with Christmas dinner and cold water sea swimming on Christmas morning is a real thing! Enjoy this lovely festive story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the review copy.

A Merry Irish Christmas
Clodagh Murphy
Publication date: September 6, 2025
5/5 stars

I loved this book! Mary is disappointed to be missing Christmas in Dingle with her family, but also excited to be spending the holiday with her boyfriend and his parents. When her boyfriend breaks up with her last minute, she decides to fly home to Dingle to surprise her parents only to find out they had the same idea! Evan, a grumpy actor trying to hide from the limelight, is at her parent’s house after agreeing to a house swap with him.

This is such a cozy, well written book! I felt like I was watching a movie while reading it and didn’t want to put it down.

Thank you Clodagh Murphy, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

✅ This is a great book for anyone who enjoys -
• books/genre - Christmas romance & romantic comedy.
• themes/tropes - Hallmark vibes, Christmas/festive fun, forced proximity, grumpy MMC, small town x city setting, Ireland x New York setting, sweet romance & celebrity romance.
• ‘The Holiday’🎄☃️

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Merry Irish Christmas is a lighthearted festive romantic comedy that feels like ‘The Holiday’ & all things Hallmark Christmas blended into one. The majority of the story takes place in Dingle, Ireland but a smaller portion is set amongst the bright lights of New York. As a result it has a small town, tight knit community feel as well as a hint of a busier, noisier city vibe too. Theres a great mix of characters of varying ages from all walks of life. The FMC Mary is a small town Irish gal living in NYC with a love of all things festive whilst the MMC Evan is a famous actor from the city who sees Christmas as just another day. The romance is fun & exciting with off page ‘spice’ but there’s still make out sessions, flirty banter & more than a few suggestive conversations. Overall, A Merry Irish Christmas is a hilarious, heart felt easy going story, full of love, warmth & Christmas magic. A book guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

~

As a huge Christmas person, I really enjoyed this book. It was (obviously) filled with all things festive from start to finish but my favourite thing overall was the inclusion of so many relatable scenarios. Things like the panic of last minute present buying, amping yourself up to see those awkward family members that you spend the rest of the year avoiding, contemplating the very difficult decision of what to have for your Christmas dinner & more importantly how much?! (our house is a 3 potato household too) which in turn leads to the post dinner slump/nap. I genuinely found myself laughing out loud on numerous occasions.

Whilst I adored Mary & Evan’s relationship, I found myself hoping for more. The few in depth conversations they shared were really sweet & definitely brought them closer but they were so short. It felt like due to the length of the book, things had to conclude before they were fully explored. I was also really disappointed that we didn’t see Evan meeting Mary’s family!? A huge missed opportunity. Not sure about the possibility of future books but hopefully thats the reason it wasn’t included

Overall, this is a fun festive read, exactly what you would expect from a Christmas romance. It’s light hearted, comforting & easy going. It includes the growth of a ‘Grinchy’ character, the realisation of the ‘true meaning of Christmas’ & a happy ending. There’s only so many routes a Christmas romance can take so although it was entirely predictable, I still really enjoyed it. Do I wish it had that little something extra to make it stand out from the rest? Yes. However, it was still a cosy, comedic positive story full of Christmas spirit.

~

📣 Thank you so much to NetGalley, Boldwood Ever After & Clodagh Murphy for allowing me to read & review this ARC. This honest review consists solely of my own thoughts & I’m leaving it voluntarily.

A Very Merry Irish Christmas owes a lot to both The Holiday (at one point, it is even name dropped) and oddly enough, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's relationship. Superstar Evan is hiding away in a small County Kerry village when Mary, fresh from a breakup, shows up to surprise her family.

As an American married to an Irishman (although we tend to travel back to Ireland for Thanksgiving rather than Christmas), I did appreciate what a sense of Irish holidays that the book portrays - in small villages, the whole village is really an extended family and so broadening holidays to the community (and eating multiple potatoes) is very normal.

The love story in the book is sweet, but I enjoyed more how this book captured a slice of Irish life over the holidays. Thanks to Boldwood Books for an early copy and I'd recommend for fans of Marian Keyes.

A Merry Irish Christmas - Book Review ❄️🎄🌊

If you want to read a cozy, internationally-set holiday read, you NEED to pick up this book.

Mary is going home to surprise her family for Christmas after her boyfriend dumped her a few days before the holiday! She travels all the way to Ireland to find that it’s not her parents at home. Instead, a famous actor, Evan, swapped houses with her family for the holidays. So, Mary’s family is in NYC while she is back home in Ireland! Talk about a big mess and well-intentioned surprises gone wrong!

I loved learning about the complexities of the main characters and why they needed this holiday in Ireland to reset. Evan was grumpy while Mary was the sun. However, they quickly realized that they didn’t have to be miserable together and wanted to make the most of the situation! The ending had me turning the pages so quick!!

This book is for you if you love hallmark-like love stories, forced-proximity tropes, and love to read about different holiday traditions.

4 stars for my first Clodagh Murphy book!! And man am I wishing it was Christmas time!

I also want to say a HUGE thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and author Clodagh Murphy for providing me with the eARC of “A Merry Irish Christmas,” in exchange for an honest review.

🎄 Bookish Thoughts
A Merry Irish Christmas is a hilarious holiday romance! One of my all time favorite movies is The Holiday and this book gave me those same cozy vibes with an extra dash of Hallmark charm.

Mary was absolutely hilarious. Her internal monologue had me cackling, and I loved how fun and festive she was. She never let Evan’s grumpiness drag her down! Instead, she just roasted him 🤣🤣🤣

Evan grew on me too! I would’ve loved even more of his POV, but I adored how he couldn’t say no to Mary’s mom no matter what 🤣

This was a solid 5-star read for me. The only thing that could have made it better would be an audiobook!

🍀 What to Expect
• Grumpy x sunshine
• Cozy Hallmark
• Irish holiday
• House swap
• Forced proximity
_ _ _ _

📅 Pub Date: September 6, 2025
Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

A wonderful and super cute holiday story. I read it quickly and knew I’d just found a great new author. Now I am looking up her previous books and buying them all. Thanks for the advanced copy. I have just increased my TBR pile and I couldn’t be happier.

You will enjoy visiting the Irish countryside during the Christmas holidays while reading this book. It is a cozy, romance book in which the descriptions of Irish life make one feel like they are present. You will learn about different cultural events as well as being entertained by the language. I loved the two main characters as well as all the side characters. Don't try to mess with mama! The romance itself was enjoyable to read, albeit the main characters getting together was a bit rushed (especially after experiencing other breakups). Thank you to Netgalley for this free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

A Merry Irish Christmas is a slight but enjoyable Christmas book. It's ideal for curling up with on Christmas Eve. You'll be finished with time to spare before Santa comes and you'll feel warm and fuzzy.