Book Reviews

Hearts in Ireland (World of Love) by J.C. Long at Dreamspinner Press

Genre Gay / Contemporary / Romance
Reviewed by Serena Yates on 11-May-2017

Book Blurb

When the future is shrouded and it’s hard to find direction, maybe it’s time to let the heart lead the way….

 

Ronan Walker stands at a crossroads, unsure how to pursue his education… unsure if he even wants to. Now that his mother is gone, all he has left are the wonderful stories of her youth in Ireland, and he’s drawn to the land of his ancestors. There, he seeks out his mother’s family and meets Fergal Walsh, who works at Ronan’s aunt’s bookstore. A love of literature facilitates a fast friendship between the two men, and even though Ronan cannot deny the potential—and his desire—for more, he cannot see a future for the two of them when he leaves Ireland. Fergal must persuade Ronan to give school in Dublin a chance—and convince Ronan that his heart has already found its home.

 

 

World of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.


Book Review

Family can be a wonderful thing, and while Ronan has met the Irish half of his when they came to see him in America over the years, he has never been to Ireland himself. His mother always wanted to take him but never got around to it – and then she dies. Roan is heartbroken, but decides it is finally time to go and explore his Irish ancestry. And what an adventure it turns out to be!

Ronan is adrift in more than one sense of the word. He and his mother were very close, so he feels her loss deeply. He has thought about becoming a teacher, but hasn’t got the master in education he needs to pursue that career. And now he has an invitation - and a reason – to go to Ireland. And I was hoping he would figure out what to do once he was there. His aunt calls his explorations soul-searching, and I think that is a very accurate description.

Ireland is beautiful, and this story is full of little details that made me feel as if I were there. Discovering things and places through Ronan’s eyes was especially fun. The fact that he meets Fergal, who works in Ronan’s aunt’s bookstore, gives Ronan not just a “local guide”, it also makes him think about what to do with his life. The result is a very emotional story about Ronan finding a new home despite quite a few self-imposed obstacles, a new career that surprises him, and the love of his life.

If you like romances that give you a great sense of their setting as well as fun characters, if you think that two men from very different backgrounds deserve a happy ending, and if you’re looking for a read that goes from very sad to extremely happy, then you will probably like this novella.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format ebook
Length Novella, 119 pages/40669 words
Heat Level
Publication Date 10-May-2017
Price $4.99 ebook
Buy Link https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/hearts-in-ireland-by-j-c-long-8451-b