Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling

What an enjoyable story. Easy to follow, well written and heart warming. A real feel good book. I really enjoyed it.

I completely adored this highly entertaining and comic look at the Irish cultural phenomena that is being an Aisling. She is bought to life here by the authors, a novel that has its origins in a Facebook page that documented and captured the varied traits attributed to an Aisling. I should warn readers that the book has numerous Irish words and references, but these can be looked up, and certain reviewers explain many of these. Our Aisling is 28 years old, is best friends with Majella, has been going out with John for seven years and is getting antsy about the fact that John has yet to propose. It begins with the wedding of Liam and Denise, and Aisling reflects on how so many women she knows have achieved the status of wife, and even motherhood, the normal expectations of a woman in the small rural community of Ballygobbard. On pushing John about their expected marriage, she is alarmed at his response that it is unlikely to be anytime soon. She organises a break to Tenerife for the two of them, clinging to the fantasy that he will propose, only on their return she breaks up with him.

Aisling commutes to work in Dublin at PensionsPlus and enjoys the comforts of living with her parents, who coddle and support her. Feeling her life needs a radical overhaul, she moves in with HR work colleague, Sadhbh and her intriguing flatmate, Elaine, in a plush penthouse in Dublin. Aisling soon begins to feel at home with her new close friends and their luxurious lifestyle. It is a culture shock for small town girl as she willingly joins their never ending rose wine and champagne drinking, the world of celebrities, new places to go out, their strange sense of fashion and ideas of cool, veganism and avocado diets. Sadhbh and Elaine open their hearts to the fragile Aisling, enveloping her into their warmth and care, always there for her when her life faces family crises and the neverending tears and hurt as she struggles to get over John. Her one attempt at dating married Barry from work is curtailed when she bumps into Piotr and becomes a sobbing mess when she becomes aware that John is seeing someone else. As family tragedy strikes and Aisling learns of family secrets, she is determined to support Sadhbh in her personal woes and troubles.

I love the way Aisling has her horizons broadened and her thinking pushed into different directions when her personal relationship falls apart. The humour and comic touches in the story are contagious and had me laughing, this novel is really good craic! The narrative begins and ends with a wedding, but we can see a different Aisling from the first wedding. She comes to appreciate that she might want different things in life than the old Aisling and can finally appreciate the viewpoint of her ex-boyfriend. I loved the way she embraced her new friends and their lifestyle, even when she was deeply uncomfortable with it, as at a techno disco on a Berlin city break. A brilliant read for those times you need something light and frothy, with great characters, and comic fun. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

Really enjoyed this book. Easy to enjoy style of reading. Great holiday read. Looks at issues that effect many of us in life. Did make me laugh in many parts but made me think as well. Thank you for letting me read this book.

Loved this book, it is funny, ridiculous and easy to relate to in so many ways. I've already ordered copies for friends! Aisling thinks she knows what she wants, but we have all been there, haven't we? Life is never simple, and neither is this book. A great read.

Oh what a complete Aisling this book was!

I read a review likening it to Marian Keyes (whom I love!), and Yes, it is set in Ireland and has comedy in it but at the same time it's totally different!

Aisling is 28, happily settled in her routine of going to work at PensionsPlus and travelling to her boyfriend John's house on occasion and meeting her friend Majella for drinks. But when will it be Aislings turn for the settled down country life?

I could relate to some of the situations in the book so thoroughly enjoyed it. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions, but then i was hit by a really upsetting part. ( *shakes fist at authors* !!) which I wasn't expecting and shed a few tears.
All in all though, the characters are brilliant, totally believable and for the most part hilarious (sure, don't we all know a Sabhbh?!)

If you haven't met an Aisling, then you probably are an Aisling (and that's a good thing)

Really didn't expect to like this & I was right...I loved it! Laugh out loud moments, great characters and overall great craic! Entertaining & captivating

What a complete privilege to have met Aisling, thoroughly pragmatic country bumpkin leaving her village world to live in Dublin with her glam house mates after a break-up with her old boyfriend. You will roar with laughter with her, you will scream at her (DON’T DO THAT!!!), you will get plastered with her, cry your eyes out and admire her and you will wish for her fabulously loyal bezzies. A proper “fierce” book!

I loved this - reminiscent of Marian Keyes at her irreverent best, this is a rare find - a book with both humour and heart which doesn't patronise and is able to be read by women of any age, though perhaps is skewed younger. I was definitely sceptical as I tend to assume dual authorship = not good enough writer to go it alone, but happily I was proved wrong. I especially enjoyed the Irish voice here and recommend it highly.

A hilarious ride through Dublin from the new Marion Keynes. A funny and moving story that I had to read in one sitting

I had a blast reading about Aisling, her family and her mates. Sure, it's an easy to read book and you could probably finish it on holiday but I found myself laughing out loud several times for sure. It's a bit like Sex In The City, because most of us have a Majella, or happen to know an Elaine, Ruby or Sadhbh. Every character has their own arc which I really appreciated- the authors do a great job fleshing everyone out without ever leaving the reader bored. I'd love to read more from the pair of them, or even visit Aisling and her corner of the world again.

One of my absolute favourite reads of this year. So, so good. Laugh out loud funny and real and moving.

A true gem of a read - the new Marion Keyes - I devoured this book and was delighted by the heroine Aisling. This book made me laugh out loud' brought tears to my eyes but mostly want a night out in Dublin with the girls for the 'craic' !! Read this book you will not be disappointed!!! Look forward to more by this duo

I absolutely loved this book! If you like Marian Keyes' novels, then you'll like this book. It made me smile, laugh out loud, but in contrast also has it deeper emotional moments. It's a good balance. A journey though the chaotic life of a young woman, who learns something new nearly every day! An easy to read novel that you will consume in a couple of sittings. Brilliant!

Hilarious and heart warming, this story follows out heroine (Aisling, obviously) through a period in her life where her friends are getting married and starting to have babies and she feels that her life is simple not enough. She's a small town girl who moves to the city and starts her very own adventure......I don't think I am giving anything away when I say she finds that the grass isn't always greener..... this would be a fab holiday read,

From the very first scene in this book, you'll know that you're in safe hands. We all know an Aisling, and yet Emer and Sarah's heroine feels at once completely relateable and a brand new voice. Warm, charming and unintentionally hilarious, Aisling's observances as she navigates love, loss and new beginnings are a delight. She's a heroine I can see myself returning to again and again.

I absolutely loved this book , fresh , refreshing and I actually laughed out loud at some points . highly recommended and a great holiday read . 5 stars from me 1

A delightful read, just right for relaxing by a pool. I loved every minute of this delicious read

Absolutely brilliant. Funny sad and compulsive reading.

I am so glad I decided to read books outside my usual genre of crime fiction this year, this book was like a breath of fresh air. Coming from an Irish family myself, Aisling and her family felt so familiar to me
Aisling thinks her life is all mapped out, her and John will marry and they will raise their family on the land gifted by her Daddy. John however doesn't share this view, so Aisling sets about living life on her own. Along the way she makes new friends and discovers that her Mammy is not just Mammy and has her own struggles.
I really loved this book, it made me laugh and cry at the same time.

Loved this book! Giggling away to myself when reading. Hotel breakfast🤣🤣 say no more!!

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was absolutely hilarious, making me laugh-out-loud on several occasions, but it also sensitively covered some very serious topics in a very deft way. I know this comparison has been made before but I found it very similar to Marian Keyes in style - and it was just as good. I have already given my review copy to two colleagues and am urging everyone I know to read this. My funniest book of the year so far, totally and utterly brilliant. I fell a bit in love with Aisling and I think everyone else who reads this will as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m sure I’m not the only reader to start off thinking ‘ oh no, I think I’m a bit of an Aisling’ and by the end I was quite proud to admit to it. The characters were well written and I loved that they were not one dimensional. I found that I was invested in how they developed and I cared about what they did. It was great to read a book where the female characters supported each other without being unbelievably ‘good’ and no one was a complete b***h. There were plenty of emotional ups and downs whilst still making me laugh throughout- I’ll definitely be recommending this book to friends.

Good craic!!!

Every single person on this earth knows someone like Aisling. Loves her parents to bits but can’t stand to be there too long; is horrified at the thought of missing a hotel’s inclusive cooked breakfast; has a fab circle of friends she has known for years and loves nothing more than going to her local for a night out; is disgusted by other people’s levels of uncleanliness and disregard for spending money - why take a taxi when you can walk/get the bus!!!

Our Aisling has been to a whole host of weddings recently but her boyfriend John thinks is ‘too soon’ for them to settle down and get married. Aisling is distraught - especially since they have been together seven years and don’t so much as even live together.

To escape the post Christmas blues Aisling and John go on holiday to Tenerife where Aisling is sure he will propose. When it becomes apparent he won’t, they have a massive argument and when they return to Ireland Aisling tells him it’s over.

Thereafter, Aisling’s ‘friend’ at work asks if she would like to move into her apartment as there is a vacant room. Aisling moves in and the next few months are a combination of work drama, flirtations, city breaks, lots of alcohol and spending time at home with her Mammy and Daddy.

This book made me laugh out loud A LOT and there were parts where I cried. Highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This book made me laugh out loud. Easy to read and very very funny. If you are feeling down then get a copy of this book it will soon cheer you up. Very well written with great characters too.

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. It made me laugh at the detail of it all and cry at the sad bits. Being English I had to look up how to pronounce a couple of the names but I liked that about it. I am completely Aisling and I thought I was the only one!

This book made my weekend after a very hard week , I spent my Saturday curled up laughing reading this.and it was just what I needed even if I did keep getting strange looks from my husband.and children. Reading about Aisling , her family , friends and her journey was just the refreshing kind of book I needed. Be prepared to laugh and cry , but don't think twice about getting this book you wont regret a single penny !!.

An absolute gas! I could really relate to his as I have lots of Irish friends. A really funny but heartfelt and moving novel, hugely enjoyed it.

This is one of those books that you find yourself finishing in one or two sittings. Whilst I often cry at books ( and I did at this one), I can't remember the last time that a book made me laugh out loud like this one did. I thought that the balance between the two extremes was handled very well, and Aisling was a well rounded and loveable character. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

This is one of my favourite books of all time. This book make me laugh out loud and cry. It's hard to explain how truly amazing this book is. It's so relatable and down to earth it feels like you're watching your favourite tv show that you know and love. It tackles the realities of life for a 20 something in Ireland with all the trial, tribulations and craic that brings. I would recommend this book to all as once you pick it up you won't want to put it down and wish you could read it again for the first time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, I enjoyed the 'irishness' of it, although I think you will find girls like Aisling everywhere. Young men like John as well, come to that! I absolutely was not aware that the English language was so different in Ireland, there were so many words I didn't know, although that did not stop my enjoyment of the book. As for Aisling's friend Sadhbh - I have no idea how that would be pronounced.

Aisling is a somewhat naive twenty-something country girl, working in Dublin, who is getting very frustrated that her boyfriend of seven years, John, will not propose to her. All her friends are getting engaged or married, and she is nowhere nearer to that happy state than she was seven years ago. Her frustration finally bursts to the surface, and she tells him what she is feeling, but it doesn't change his mind. What has been said cannot be unsaid, they are no longer a couple. The rest of the book is about Aisling trying to get on with her life, while still pining for her lost love.

She and her friends all seem to be heavy drinkers, going out always involves alcohol. The story has a lot of emotion, you will laugh out loud at their antics, and cry at their sadnesses. Aisling is a lovely character, I am sure that everyone has met someone just like her, so organised, so brave. And at the end you just know she will have her happy ending, albeit a slightly different one than she had always dreamed about. Very well worth reading.

I've always had a soft spot for Irish authors who write the type of books which are funny and sad at the same time. I swear I read them in an Irish accent in my head as they're not nearly as good in my native Scots!

Aisling (which, thanks to a long ago read Maeve Binchy novel I actually know how to pronounce) is a scream. Desperate for her boyfriend of seven years to propose, she finds herself in the unfortunate position of being in a toilet cubicle at yet another friend's wedding listening to two of the guests from her table chatting about her little idiosyncrasies. From that conversation we learn an awful lot about the type of woman Aisling is, and as we get in further it's revealed that she is also a good daughter to her parents, travelling up and down to her job in Dublin since her father was ill, although he's recovered now. She works hard and plays hard and thinks her future is settled with boyfriend John .. only, somehow, the magic proposal just hasn't materialised.

This is such a great read. With plenty going on both in Dublin and at home in the country, there isn't a single moment of boredom. It's action packed all the way. and the hangovers are epic. I've smiled and giggled my way through, empathised with Aisling so many times and yes, shed a tear or two with her as well. Never having come across the name Sadhbh before, I did have to resort to googling it - I can't bear to think I'm getting it wrong. There is a good mix of the old ways of Ireland and the new wave of change, and it all adds up to a sparkling read.

More than anything, this stands out as being the kind of story which is entirely believable. The characters are appealing and so entertaining, but the star of the show is, without a doubt, Aisling. If you have read any of the Irish writers who consistently pack the bestseller lists, then you will enjoy this one because that's exactly where it belongs. The authors have done a great job of creating a cracking novel and I hope they write more together, as I absolutely loved this one and fully recommend it.

My thanks to publishers Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, for pre-approving my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Wow! I really enjoyed this book even though I found the Irish country attitude so different from my own life. And what reader couldn't identify with a fundamentally lovely girl who doesn't let life change her? I enjoyed the fish-out-of-water elements of her new flat and giggled along to the nights out and holiday. I also cried when ... (I'm not giving any spoilers - go and read it yourself!)

I loved this story! Laugh-out-loud funny and moving in places covering subjects from abortion to long-term relationships and everything inbetween, it didnt stop! It took me a few chapters to get the hang of the Irish slang and conversation style but, when I did, I found myself reading it in an Irish accent in my head!! I loved the character of Aisling and I am sure we can all relate in one way or another to the brilliant characters in this story. In conclusion, it was gas!!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for the copy of this in return for an honest review.

I have A LOT to say so this will be a long one!

As the Irish would say, this book is gas. I did not think I would enjoy this book as much as I did but it had me laughing out loud, proclaiming ‘Oh my god’, and gasping in shock at some moments. Some of the book had me tittering and giggling and other times, I was stuck in horror at what Aisling and her friends had got themselves into.

The book is great. I will get into my review in more details but I must say; I lived in Ireland for 9 years and completely understand the slang and colloquial terms of the Irish. As the book is written in first person, the book is in complete slang with Irish sayings and words I would have never known had I not lived on the Emerald Isle for my teenage and young adult years. If you have no clue on Irish slang (knowing craic isn’t gonna help you out here), you may be completely clueless whilst reading this. Some terms are even in the Irish language and then you’re just lost all together. Below, I will outline some of the sayings that may be lost upon non-Irish people or people who just have no clue how the Irish talk (there is no ‘top o’ the morning to ya’ – sayings like ‘lob the gob’ and ‘fluthered’ are more like it).

(Bit of a spoiler here, scroll a few paragraphs down)

I want to get the serious bit over with first;

“I won’t be the first making this visit to her and I won’t be the last.”

This poignant line is a moment relating to an abortion storyline that features in the book; an incredibly relevant issue in Ireland at the moment. On the 25th of May 2018, Ireland will vote whether to remove the 8th Amendment – a law that disallows abortion in the country. Women travel daily to the UK for abortions – whether due to not wanting a child or due to the danger to the mother or baby’s life. No matter what side you stand on, both sides mean abortion will still be there. A vote for yes means safer, legal abortions whilst a vote for no means illegal pill-taking or travelling – abortions will not stop because of a vote for no. The quote above states this clearly. The reader feels the depth of emotion, the prejudice, and how the characters deal with the emotional time. This book is so much MORE than chick-lit or a light holiday read. This book carries a message and a story that so many Irish girls go through and has been published at such a poignant time in Irish history.

The Plot

It started with a Facebook page and evolved into the story of 28 year-old Aisling, a rural Irish girl, dating a local GAA player for years, surrounded by engagements and weddings but for her, there is no ring in sight.

On a holiday in Tenerife, everything goes tits up and Aisling finds herself single and making the rash decision to move to the big smoke, Dublin.

In Dublin, she finds new friends, travels, drinks a lot, dates, and has a run in with a potential ecstasy pill (hilarity ensues, I promise). Tragedies strike the family and her friends, and of course, there is the horrific moment of bumping into your ex whilst he is shopping with his new girlfriend but Aisling pulls through. She is a witty, strong, cautious, and hilarious protagonist to follow along.

The Review

I have seen people claim that the Irish authors (there are two of them) have tried to be too stereotypical and pack too many Irish references, colloquialisms, and stereotypes into this small book (272 pages). However, I felt these all fit. Maybe we could have done without the reference to Conor McGregor or some obscure Irish celeb blogger or magazine but I personally felt that Aisling’s mannerisms, the way she thought, the things she did all matched what my friends and I faced as young adults in Ireland. The language was how we used to chat, the sayings were stuff I’d hear on a daily basis, and the GAA scene was as prominent as it is in the novel. The novel may be short but I feel the book benefited from the quirkiness of Aisling’s first-person Irish perspective.

I got sent this book to review for non-Irish audiences. I was never going to pick this up on my own. It’s dubbed the Irish answer to Bridget Jones’ diary, and that did not really interest me. I’ve seen the plot be described as predictable, not challenging, and dull but if you’re picking up some chick-lit, isn’t that what it can quite often be? It’s not meant to be challenging, it’s just a commentary on an Irish woman’s life in the big smoke.

Actually in all honestly, the plot surprised me. I enjoyed it and didn’t expect some of it. The abortion storyline completely threw me for a loop and I was so pleased they put it in there. They knew when this book would be published and they knew that it would coincide with the referendum.

Whilst the book is fun, witty, and a light read, I will say that this may not cater to international audiences. I’ve stated above about the language used and I can really see a lot of it flying over heads. It’s easy to Google but who wants to Google when they read?! I’m going to list a few things that I think most people, who haven’t lived in Ireland, will not completely understand.

“I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating Taytos”

“A curling poster of Paul Galvin overlaps one of Mickey Joe Harte on the wall – both fine things. John used to say hanging up the Galvin one was sacrilegious to the parish and the county – but if he was allowed fancy any number of RTE weather ladies, I was having my poster.”

“And then there was the time Majella did finally shift Conor McCormack in the back-bar in Maguire’s and I was still smarting that he had never actually lobed the gob on me, despite what I believed to be out-and-out flirting on the Foroige bus several years previous…”

“Who wouldn’t enjoy being eyed up by a big ride with lovely teeth?”

These are some of the mild ones so maybe people would get them but as I’ve said, who wants to Google as they read? I just think some of the writing and moments are a bit too niche and not exactly catering to other nationalities. I know that if I had never lived in Ireland, I would not have understood these.

Some of the storylines ended quite abruptly but it all wound together in a little package. I’d say there will be a sequel of some form. Carry tissues for the last half of the book (just saying). In all, I actually give this book 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoy it and I know I’ll re-read this again!