BOOK REVIEW: Loving Irish (The Summerhaven Trio #3) by Katy Regnery

Loving Irish (The Summerhaven Trio #3)
by Katy Regnery
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Ian Haven and Halcyon Gilbert haven't seen each other since Hallie's 17th birthday...
...the same day Hallie pledged she would never, ever speak to Ian again as long as she lived.

Hallie Gilbert has had an especially awful year. When her husband of five years left her, Hallie’s 4-year-old daughter, Jenny, essentially stopped speaking. Add to this, she had to sell her Boston apartment to pay her husband’s exorbitant credit card bills. What Hallie needs is an uncomplicated autumn at Colby Cottage, her family’s summer home in Sandwich, NH, where she and Jenny can re-group and figure out what happens next.

But Colby Cottage, located adjacent to the Summerhaven Camp, has not been well-maintained and Hallie finds it in such disrepair, it's almost unlivable. When nearby camp owner, Rory Haven, arranges for his brother, Ian, to handle renovations for Hallie, her plans for an uncomplicated autumn suddenly get a lot more challenging.

Review:

Loving Irish was a charming second chance story.  While each book could be read as a standalone, I definitely recommend going back and grabbing the first one, Fighting Irish.  This series was a lot of fun and you don’t want to miss a minute.  From that first book, Ian Haven captivated my attention.  I just knew his story would be something special.  So here are three of my favorite things while I was reading this story:

✮ Both sides of the story:

Still looking deeply into his eyes, she reached up with a trembling hand and placed it in the crook of his arm, watching the worried lines smooth out on his handsome face and wondering if her heart could stand the risk of loving him out loud again.

Yes we got to hear the story from both Ian and Hallie’s perspective, but we also got to see their lives in the present and the past.  I was drawn to their back story.  Every few chapters we would go back ten years, when they were first together.  They were beyond adorable and it looked a lot like first love to me.  But as their past story unfolded, we got to that moment where everything went wrong.  It was heart wrenching to watch, but it added so much understanding into who they were now.  While their lives ended up spiraling into two different paths, they met again.  They were given a second chance and I couldn’t wait to see how they could get back together and heal from the past.

✮ The heart of a child:

“’Night, ladybug,” he whispered.
He straightened up to find Hallie looking at him intently, her eyes liquid and vulnerable, her lips parted.

Hallie had a daughter named Jenny.  Oh my gosh I loved that child fiercely!  She was four years old and not only did she add a lot of heart, but she helped steer where the story went and I loved that!  Jenny quickly connected with Ian and I had so much fun watching their friendship flourish.  Not only did Ian give Jenny the nickname ladybug, but their relationship was beyond adorable and oh so memorable.  Jenny helped Hallie see Ian in a different light, and it was also heartwarming how Ian tried to help mend Jenny and Hallie’s broken relationship.  There were moments that I had tears in my eyes or I was clutching my heart.  This child was absolutely everything.

✮ True second chances:

For the first time since that terrible morning, the future felt…hopeful. Like maybe, just maybe, there was another chance for them; like maybe fate wasn’t finished writing their story.

This story was not only about Ian and Hallie having a second chance at love, but it was also about them getting a second chance at life.  I loved watching them slowly find their way to happiness.  Because both of their pasts hurt my heart.  Ian’s past was filled with alcohol and Hallie’s past had a failed marriage where her husband devastated her in so many ways.  They both had a lot of work to do on themselves, individually.  And I loved that they found their paths.  To what they wanted in life.  To happiness.  But most of all I loved that Ian worked his hardest to try and redeem himself and find his way back into Hallie’s heart.  It was an emotional, hard journey and I loved every minute of it.

“Halcyon,” he said, his voice interrupting her awful thoughts. “I want you to know something.” He paused, the silence taut and heavy as she waited for him to continue. “I never stopped loving you. Never.”katy

Loving Irish was a story with a lot of heart.  If you adore second chance romance then definitely give their story a try.  I’m so very glad I did!

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