A Merry Irish Christmas by Clodagh Murphy - Book Review

Publication Date: 06th Sep 2025

Genre: Christmas Romance, Contemporary 

3.7 Stars 

One Liner: Cute! 

Mary decides to fly home to Ireland for Christmas when things end with her boyfriend. Unknown to her, her family plans a similar surprise visit to New York. The result: Mary is home, and her family is in NY. 

As if that’s not enough, the family home is now occupied by a grumpy New Yorker, Evan, who wants nothing to do with her or Christmas. Can the two of them find a way to make Christmas memorable? 

The story comes in Mary’s third-person POV with a few chapters from Evan’s POV (also in the third person). 

My Thoughts: 

This is a short and cute book you can finish in a single sitting. The descriptions are very well done. I could visualize the Irish setting, the weather, and cozy dinners. 

The FMC is easy enough to like. This made the book enjoyable since we get most of the story from her perspective. 

The MMC is a proper grump in the beginning, but he proves himself to be a sweet guy. Just how it should be. I did wish he had more chapters to balance the narrative. 

There are many side characters, though my favorite has to be the mom. She pretty much runs the book, though her scenes are limited. There is also a bit of stereotyping, but given that those characters appear only once throughout the book, I didn’t mind it too much. 

So far, the book seems to be a standalone, which means a subplot has been left open. Maybe there will be another book for that one. It’s not related to the main characters, though. 

Given the timeline, this is no slow burn. It is insta-love. However, I don’t remember them actually saying the word, so that’s something. There’s a teeny bit of spice, but mostly closed door. The banter is fun, which I enjoyed. 

The ending is nice and hopeful, but I do miss not having an epilogue. The only way to make up for it is to complete the subplot in another book. 

To summarize, A Merry Irish Christmas is a lighthearted, cozy, and cute romance with some determined side characters added to the mix. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #AMerryIrishChristmas