The beloved author of The Mistletoe Matchmaker returns with an enchanting new novel, perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Nina George, and Nancy Thayer, about residents of Ireland’s Finfarran Peninsula who set up a Skype book club with the little US town of Resolve, where generations of Finfarran’s emigrants have settled.
Distance makes no difference to love…
Eager to cheer up her …
Distance makes no difference to love…
Eager to cheer up her recently widowed gran, Cassie Fitzgerald, visiting from Canada, persuades Lissbeg Library to set up a Skype book club, linking readers on Ireland’s Finfarran Peninsula with the US town of Resolve, home to generations of Finfarran emigrants.
But when the club decides to read a detective novel, old conflicts on both sides of the ocean are exposed and hidden love affairs come to light. As secrets emerge, Cassie fears she may have done more harm than good. Will the truths she uncovers about her granny Pat’s marriage affect her own hopes of finding love? Is Pat, who’s still struggling with the death of her husband, about to fall out with her oldest friend, Mary? Or could the book club itself hold the key to a triumphant transatlantic happy ending?
The Transatlantic Book Club continues the stories of the residents of the Finfarran Peninsula and introduces readers to new characters who they will surely fall in love with.
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I was utterly charmed — a pitch-perfect delight.
Another wonderful book in the Finfarran Peninsula series. This time around we find young Cassie still visiting with her grandmother, Pat, in Lissbeg, after the death of Pat’s husband, Ger. Cassie convinces Pat to go on a trip back to the town in New York that she visited in the 60s. Resolve, and particularly The Shamrock Club, is filled with many former residents from Finfarran who moved to the States in the 50s and 60s. The two have a lovely visit, but there is something from Pat’s past in Resolve that has her a bit uneasy even after their return to the beautiful Irish coast. There is something from Resolve that has Cassie feeling like her life is a bit topsy-turvy too. Life in Lissbeg is as always with Hannah in the library, Mary Casey being her bossy, needy self to both Hannah and Pat, Fury being cantankerous but wonderfully helpful, lovable, and prescient as always, and the Divil being an adorable little devil. Cassie has a new job or two and is trying to decide what she wants to do with her life. Pat is trying to settle in to her new life without Ger while her son, Frankie, is being his usual spoiled, bratty self to her and rude and quite odd to both Cassie and Fury. To try to cheer Pat up, Cassie comes up with the brilliant idea to have a transatlantic book club with the residents of Finfarran and the members of the Shamrock Club in Resolve and it is a huge hit! This brilliantly written book has so much to offer … loss, love, old secrets, and the constancy of family and friendship.
This book might be fun for a person about the age of the main character, but I found it very dull. It’s slow moving in terms of the actual book club, which I thought would be fun. It’s also not very realistic in many respects: The main character from the U.S. is about to get a job driving a bookmobile, which very likely would be difficult to do given all the E.U. regulations on hiring non-E.U. citizens.
Thanks to Book Club Cookbook & Harper Perennial for a gifted copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
This title was irresistible, and it takes place in Ireland! This was book #5 in the series – how could I have missed the first four? I will definitely be returning to the Finfarran Peninsula. The novel works as a stand-alone, but the characters continue from the first four novels so I look forward to visiting with them again in the earlier books.
This was a heartwarming story that takes place in Ireland, with recently widowed Pat, her adult granddaughter Cassie from Canada, and a collection of quirky small town characters. In addition to the library’s new Skype book club between Finfarran and the US town of Resolve, the novel includes family secrets, a bit of romance, a library bookmobile, and beautiful descriptions of the Irish countryside. I recommend curling up with a hot cup of tea and this enjoyable, comfortable read.
To cheer up her grandmother who just lost her beloved husband, Cassie, a free spirit, decided to start a transatlantic book club.
The book club was going to have readers from Ireland’s Finfarran Peninsula and the town of Resolve in the United States where many Irish folks lived.
This book club had its problems just like any book club….which book to choose that everyone can agree on and which will please everyone as well as the problem that some members do not read the chosen book for whatever reason.
Did the book club stir up things that shouldn’t have been stirred up instead?
There are a lot of quirky but fun characters. Some lovable some not so much.
A book about a book club always catches my attention. We also get lovely descriptions of the countryside and landmarks.
I do have to say it’s a bit wordy, but still interesting.
I may have missed some background on the characters since I hadn’t read the previous novels, but it was still easy to follow.
There also are some love stories mixed in and lovely information about a traveling library.
Readers who enjoy family connections over generations, nostalgic scenes, and joining in on a book club should enjoy THE TRANSATLANTIC BOOK CLUB. 4/5
This book was given to be by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.