5 stars for this little treasure. Quickest I’ve read a book in a while. I was willing Mary to find happiness. This book felt like a warm hug. It’s a similar vibe to the holiday with a hint of Irish charm. I recommend this book.

A Merry Irish Christmas borders too indulgent. Ireland, New York, Christmas, and a guy that plays Spiderman? It’s like Clodagh Murphy watched my dreams and ran with that vision. In all seriousness, I really enjoyed this book. I recommended it to a friend as soon as I closed the book I liked it so much. It was everything I could’ve hoped for and more. The only thing I would say as a critique is that I noticed the American characters had several bits of dialogue that were not phrases used by Americans (ex: saying “Happy Christmas to another American or asking if someone “got on” with another character). Probably not something that people from other countries would blink twice about, but, assuming this book is going to reach an American audience (other than myself and I hope it will), I think some of the language might feel off. This definitely didn’t make me like it any less, but maybe something to consider if this comes up in another book. Hope to read more of Clodagh Murphy’s work in the future!!

oh as soon as i saw this book i was in love. the cover had me. then the blurb had me more, and then the whole book had me whole. hook, line and sinker i was charmed by this whole book. from the scene setting, character descriptions and Clodagh's joyous writing this book was above five stars for me. this is the kind of book we all need this time of year. we may think its not Christmas yet, what going on? but this book and how good and comforted and held in a big hug is exactly why these kind of books are so special in how they make you feel and why they work so well at any time of year. we all need a bit of feel good and feeling comforted right now. especially right now.
the premise for this book was just brilliant. Mary has had a tough time. all was going well until it really really was not. she just had the worst breakup, having not been chosen she decides she needs some healing and hugs so decides to head home to get just that from her family. so off she sets for Ireland ready to be enveloped into family once again.
ermmm slight hitch Mary. because when she gets there she finds her family thought the same thing and were heading over to see her. no!?errmmm slightly hitchier hitch is that they have also done a house swap. no!? and oh come on who does this swappee turn out to be but a Hollywood star who just wants to hunker down and not be Christmas'd. at all. no!? yes yes yes!!!
well, Mary isn't having that so decides she will give him what she knows they both need right now and that is a proper Irish Christmas. they both need to heal. can this be just what they need? or can it be each other that they find they need?
these two were so good together. i was smiling too wide my cheeks hurt. it was cute, but deep, and sweet and heartwarming.
to see them go through what they had you truly felt for them both. and then to see how thy slowly brought out the best in each other and supported each other to healing one crack at a time.
Clodagh's writing all the way through was like a song to my heart. she has such a way with words. and you know when a book just flows, its almost like there is a lyrical feel to it. its smooth, its nice to read, feels good on the soul. this is what Clodagh's writing was for me.
this book was also such a unique and fresh story. i loved every moment of it. i want this book bought for me and wrapped up for under the tree so i can open it with joy and then keep it forever.
couldn't say more or enough about this book. it was everything.

A lovely and light NYC/Irish Christmas read. I couldn’t put it down! Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read.

This was such a cute, clean, hallmark-like holiday romcom. Despite the super hot temperatures outside, I wanted to curl up with a mug of hot cocoa while I read this. It was such a warm hearted, honest love story. I loved the uniqueness of it...Evan was a grumpy sunshine but not really because he just needed to find the right person to take the walls down after he'd been hurt. I loved the Irish traditions...my mom makes soda bread & this book made me want her soda bread. The banter is fabulous and the plot is a perfect pace. I truly loved this one!

What a lovely cosy read. Despite being apart from family and friends for the Christmas season both Evan and Mary manage to make the best of it. A romcom which will keep you reading and cosy with a cup of tea until the last word.

This book is a very entertaining christmas romance that is a perfect read for cozying up on the couch with in december. I could totally relate to Mary and I hated how her ex-boyfriend treated her. I didn‘t care too much for Evan at first but he grew on me and turned out great. The story is completely enjoyable and I personally felt like spending Christmas in Ireland had to be on my bucket list after finishing the story - maybe I‘ll skip the Christmas swim though…
Really a cozy feel-good holiday romance perfect for reading on a winter day.

After these NYC strangers are dumped by their partners, so close to Christmas, they both end up not only in the same small Irish town, but in the same house. Initially, they each want the other to leave, but when there are no good options for housing, they agree to share the house, but stay out of each other's way. The witty banter and family interference are what make this book a page turner.  It was a quick afternoon read for me.I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC ebook that I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Mary plans to spend Christmas in New York with her boyfriend’s family, until he dumps her a few days before the holiday. She was already bummed to be missing Christmas with her family in Ireland, and decides to go at the last minute and surprise them. Only, when she arrives, she finds out they had the same idea and are in New York. Not only that, they did a house swap, and a grumpy celebrity, Evan, is staying in her family’s home. And he is NOT excited that she’s there….

This was such a sweet, cozy Christmas story, right out of a Hallmark movie. The small town feel, kind and welcoming neighbors, pub scenes, and Christmas traditions made me feel like I was in Ireland at Christmas too. As Mary and Evan spend more time together too, it was fun to see their relationship grow. It was a little cringey sweet at times, and almost like the main characters were inexperienced teenagers rather than grown adults, but still a nice, happy holiday love story.

I absolutely adored Evan and Mary’s story of serendipity. I was raised in the UK but never got to travel Ireland (something I hope to remedy, soon) despite having ancestors from there, but I adored having a little piece of it in this book. It was incredibly hygge and cozy, and I had a hard time putting it down.

I just finished reading “A Merry Irish Christmas” by Clodagh Murphy. This author was new to me. I really enjoyed the style of writing. This was a quick read for me. I couldn’t put the book down. It was so fun to read about Mary and Evan’s story developing. I loved Mary’s loving family and especially her mom! She made me wish I was part of the family. Also it made me want to visit the town Mary grew up in. It sounded so peaceful. I liked the back and forth between Mary and Evan. The only thing I didn’t like was when they said Happy Christmas. I haven’t heard that phrase, since it’s normally Merry Christmas. Other than that, I recommended this short read to anyone who likes meet cutes and romcom stories!

My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Super cute and clean, I really liked this one!!

Mary is surprising her family by flying home from NYC to Ireland for Christmas after a bad break up. All she wants to do is feel loved and cared for by her awesome family.

Her family knowing Mary couldn’t come home for Christmas had the same idea… they have basically crossed paths in the sky.

Now Mary is stuck in her childhood home with a grumpy stranger who her parents have house swapped with. Evan has made it clear he doesn’t want company and he’s here to hide away from his super famous life and his own bad breakup…

But can Evan put aside his grumpy pants to embrace a proper Irish Christmas with Mary who is determined to have a good time now shes home.

Things might just heat up more than they bargained for!!!

Awww I loved this, it was so cute. To all my “keep that door closed up tight” girlies you will be pleased to know that this author has nailed the cute, romantic, comedic but door very much closed up to perfection.

First of all I really liked the story, for anyone who is not usually a RomCom reader (and I better stop saying that cause I have read more romcoms this year than I think I ever have) you may not know that they are quite predictable. But I liked that we kind of knew where this was headed… the way that it got there was a little bit unique and I really loved the Irish setting.

We had bad breakup jerks (boy and girls) who broke our FMC and MMC hearts. We had grumpy hot dude, and happy cute girl meet in a hilarious way!! We had small town vibes and big town lights. Snow and Christmas and references to yummy foods that I know I have never eaten. We got a holiday esk kinda house swap vibe and a cast of great secondary characters, from Mary’s family, to Evan’s friends and neighbours.

I really liked Mary from the get go and she isn’t one of these girls that takes all the shit but gives none back. She is funny and fun but also not just gonna be treated like crap. Even though she kind of does get treated that way in the beginning.

What I liked about Evan was that he wasn’t grumpy the whole time… so we don’t have to read almost the whole book to get him to thaw out a bit and not be a jerk… he’s actually never really a jerk just a heartbroken dude who is in hiding. And Mary thaws his stone cold heart pretty quickly which is cute.

There is the mandatory romance but its mostly just that… very kissy but when we get down to the “deed” it slams that door shut and we have to use our imagination (which works just fine thank you) and no gross bodily fluids are discussed. I am very much in favour of the zero spice books and it was one of the main reasons I picked this up and it was great.

Overall, this was a cute Christmas romcom and I recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for something light and funny and a bit cute. Also if you are into full on erotica look elsewhere… this is not for you. This one is also not massively long a lot of these books are like 500 pages but this one comes in under 300 and it was long enough to make you wish for a bit more. I liked that as well.

I highly recommend to anyone looking for a nice Christmas romance.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the Author for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!!

This is a fun, flirty, festive read, that hooks you in quickly.

Christmas is quickly approaching, and Mary is suddenly dumped unexpectedly by her boyfriend. Not wanting to spend Christmas alone in NYC, she decides to book a surprise flight back to Ireland to stay with her family on the Dingle Peninsula. Only, her family were planning on surprising her, so when Mary arrives home, her parents house contains an unexpected guest, a famous actor from New York who has house-swapped with Mary’s family for the festive period. It doesn’t take long for Mary and Evan to enjoy being in each other’s presence.

This is a grumpy x sunshine romance, but Evan quickly softened, and opened up allowing Mary to see the man behind the fame. They reminded each other what is most important in life. They were both very likeable protagonists.

It was set in a beautiful location on the Dingle Peninsula, and I now want to visit over the Christmas period!

There were some strong side characters that appeared to have interesting back stories. I would love to read about them in the future!

The romance is closed door, and the ending was sweet and very satisfying.

Its coming up to Christmas and for the first time Mary is going to be in New York, instead of going home to see her family in Dingle Ireland, she is going to visit her boyfriends parents. But when just before Christmas something happens and Mary finds herself stranded for Christmas alone, she decides to blow some of her savings and get a very expensive ticket to go home for the holidays, but in a total Home Alone style twist her family flies to New York to surprise her and arranged a house swap.

Evan is a Hollywood actor, he decides to lay low after his girlfriend is splashed over the newspapers for having an affair with her Director, so Evan's assistant arranges a house swap with a family in Dingle Ireland.

Mary arriving in Dingle is not very happy to find this stranger in his house and Evan is not very happy of sharing his solitude with some stranger, but eventually they come to an agreement to co-exist in the property for the property., but the longer they spend together the more they are drawn together but surely a famous actor has no interest in an Irish expat in New York, can he?

I loved this story Evan and Mary are fabulous characters and the supporting characters are fantastic, especially the Irish Mammy.. If you need to smile over Christmas I beg you to read this book. A Christmas gift to yourself.

Good light closed door holiday romance. Fun premise as the MFC ends up in her childhood home and her family goes to NYC to see her having down a house swap. The person they swapped with is a famous actor. Loved that the MMC is down to earth but it didn’t seem he was a famous actor throughout the story really..

There is minimal conflict and an easy conclusion. I thought some of the getting intimate scenes were written awkwardly and some of the language seemed dated like “bro” and “did she think we were boning” also the author writes along the lines of “moistness of his breath on my lips” - just wasn’t a huge fan but that’s personal opinion!

This was a fun, quick read with a great premise as a hook. Both protagonists have been subjected to harsh breakups just before Christmas: the grumpy but handsome celebrity actor and the family-loving girl now living in New York who meet up under unusual circumstances in Ireland.
I loved the setting, the descriptions of Kerry and the activities that take place around Christmastime. A good fun Romance.
Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
Recommended.

I loved this book! Fans of Debbie Macomber's Trading Christmas are in for a real treat with this newest rom-com set in Ireland by Murphy. As Mary, who finds herself alone in znew York City after breaking up with her boyfriend, decides to surprise her family in Ireland. Unbeknownst to her, her family had the same idea and even arranged a house swap wirh sexy American actor, Evan. What follows is a delightful tale of romance, Christmas and growth as these two characters learn a lot about themselves and falling in love!!

This story is pure comfort food. Nothing shocking happens—and that’s exactly what made it feel so lovely. It was like a warm hug in book form.

Mary is planning to spend Christmas with her boyfriend’s family, which means she won’t be heading home to Ireland to see her own. But just days before Christmas, his ex-girlfriend shows up at his apartment, confesses she still loves him... and he takes her back. WHILE MARY IS STILL IN THE APARTMENT AND HEARS THE WHOLE THING. So now she’s stuck spending Christmas alone in New York—or so she thinks.

Instead, Mary uses her holiday bonus to book a last-minute flight to Ireland to surprise her family. What she doesn’t know is that her family had the same idea—they’ve already bought tickets to New York to surprise her.

Mary ends up back in her childhood home, but she’s not alone. Her mom arranged a home swap, and now there’s a brooding actor named Evan staying there. He’s grumpy, recently heartbroken (his famous co-star cheated on him), and very much not thrilled to have Mary around. Cue the forced proximity, which unfolds exactly how you’d expect—in the best way.

As Mary and Evan spend more time together, feelings start to grow. It’s a sweet, small-town Christmas story with charming characters and a predictable but delightful arc. No third-act breakup, no shocking twists—just a gentle, satisfying read that lets you settle in and enjoy the ride.

This is a great cosy Christmas romantic novel. Mary splits with her boyfriend and decides to surprise her family by going home to Ireland but her family have the same idea and decide to surprise her and spend Christmas with her in New York. Mary arrives back in Ireland to find a famous actor called Evan is living in her family home having swapped homes with her family. I loved the characters of Mary and Evan and the supporting characters. It was perfect for a wintery day relaxing at home. Its my first book by this author and I would definitely read more books by them.

3.5 stars

The premise was great. Like The Holiday, meets Home Alone, meets Leap Year. Cute, very hallmark movie-esque. Easy read.
The romance for me fell a little flat for me, as did the story overall.
However, I really have the urge to spend Christmas in Ireland now!