The Lost Girls Of Ireland written by Susanne O'Leary and published by Bookoutre

Lydia’s Butler’s life has been turned upside down in a heartbeat – quite literally. When her husband suffers a massive heart attack and dies, Lydia finds out secrets about him which forces her, and their daughter Sunny to leave their wealthy, luxurious Dublin lifestyle, selling their house and most of their possessions and moving to Sandy Cove, in Kerry on the west coast of Ireland.

Wild Rose Bay is the last place Lydia Butler thought she’d be, but seeking solace in the run-down cottage she inherited from her Great Aunt Nellie, she tries to protect her daughter from the gossip of Dublin and adapt to a different lifestyle, but can she escape the web of deceit and re-build their lives on a shoestring?

This book was perfect for me – it was like slipping my feet into handmade shoes – the fit was spot on, and I don’t know how I haven’t read any of Susanne O’Leary’s books before. Although this book is just one of the Sandy Cove series, I really didn’t feel that I missed any of the story by not reading the others, it is a standalone book but I shall now be going back to the beginning and reading them all.

I absolutely loved Lydia as a character, even though she didn’t realise how strong and resilient she was and Sunny was the perfect daughter, supporting her mum when she needed it - they made a great little team together, fighting grief and rumours but coming out smiling together.

For me though, the absolute best bit of the book was the visit to Garnish Island – my family are all from Bantry and Glengariff, although I’m a townie from London, and so reading about my parents home-town made me feel closer to all my relatives, especially in a time when I can’t travel to see them, so it was a really lovely surprise for it to pop up on the pages of the book.

In a time where we are all stuck at home, this book was so descriptive and the writing was spot on that it made me feel the wind in my hair, and I could even smell the salt from the Wild Atlantic sea without leaving my living room.

Thank you Susanne for such a wonderfully, brilliant story.

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