Re-listen: Wild Irish Christmas by Tricia O'Malley

Author: Tricia O'Malley

Narrator: Amy Landon

Title: Wild Irish Christmas

Series: Mystic Cove #9

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Novella

Format: Audiobook 

Published: December 18, 2020

Where I Got It: Audible

Summary: 

Lily Walden finds herself inexplicably drawn to the small village of Grace’s Cove where she retreats to heal from a broken relationship as the lonely Christmas holiday looms. Escaping each evening into dreams more vivid than life, Lily nurtures a secret desire to write the fairy tales she lives each night. If only the fae prince of her dreams could rescue her from her haunted past.

Prince Callum, head of a secret faction of Fae protectors, is desperate to find his fated mate as each night she sings their lovesong to him in his dreams. One fateful night, he takes to the seas to find her, only to land catastrophically at the shores of an enchanted cove.

With Prince Callum near death, only Lily can save him in time, forever sealing their fated bond – but first, she must bring herself to believe in her own fairy tale…

Review:

We're back babbbyyy! I decided to have a relisten to this one because....I couldn't remember anything that happened. It's been so long. 

Here we have Prince Callum of the Fae and Lily the human. After an abusive relationship, she needs to break free. She runs to Grace's Cove. She doesn't know why, but it calls for her name. This could be the escape she needs to heal and write her little fantasy stories that she dreams about. Little does she know that her dreams have been real and Callum is real and has been looking for her. He finally gets the clue he needs to find her, but he is attacked and near death until Lily saves him. 

Again....I loved this as much as I did the first time. It's so sweet and they are adorable. Lily deserves all the love the world can give her. Callum is adorable and sweet and perfect. 

I loved seeing old faces along at the pub. This is a cross-over with another of the author's works so that is fun. I read book of that other series...I should push forward and read more once I catch up with this one. Soooo many books....so little time. 

But yes. Still just as sweet as the first time I read it. I wanted more though. I just really loved these characters. 

The narrator? Still amazing. Still perfect for this series. 

5 stars still from me.

Favorite Character(s): Lily and Callum

Least Favorite Character(s): Lily's ex

 Challenge(s):

- Audiobook #35

Best of July

Here are the best of the bests for July. 

Best Book of the Month:

Blodeuedd - A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

"Also best book of the month!"

Carole - Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

"I am in love with book!"

Best Movie of the Month:

Carole -  The First American (2016)

"This was informative and a nice watch for history lovers."

Blodeuedd - KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

"I watched Kpop demon hunters with my kid, and omg these rongs rocked."

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Patience & The Marlow Murder Club

"Summer means British murder mysteries and I watched Patience and the Marlow Murder Club."

Carole - The Daily Show & Superstore (s1-6)

"The Daily Show keeps going strong even after all these years! And we re-watched Superstore...so funny."

Best Cover of the Month:

C's pick

B's pick

Honorable mention(s):

Blodeuedd's - "And a shoutout to these. I had an incredible month and there are more I could mention."

Carole's - "I would be remiss if I didn't give a special nod to this one. Honestly to the whole series so far. All of them have been great."

Audiobook Review: Wild Irish Dreamer by Tricia O'Malley

Author: Tricia O'Malley

Narrator: Amy Landon

Title: Wild Irish Dreamer

Series: Mystic Cove #8

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

Format: Audiobook 

Published: July 14, 2020

Where I Got It: Audible

Summary: 

What would happen if dreams came true?

It's said that the world is made of dreamers. Which is a lovely thought and all, except for when those dreams come with a foretelling of the future. In order to find out what she really wants, Fiona MacAuliffe has spent her life running from who she truly is. Determined to ignore her gifts in order to make her own way in the world, Fi long ago said goodbye to her family's pub in Grace's Cove and set off to follow her heart.

Little does she know that it is her heart that will betray her when she returns home.

Review:

Man. Coming back to this series is like coming back home. For some reason I took a LONG break from this series. In 2021 (eek), I accidently skipped this and read book 9. It's nice coming back. 

We are back in the cove. Here we have Fiona (Fi) and Liam. They both have the wanderlust and they keep on meeting randomly. Or is it the universe giving them chance after chance? Fi doesn't want to be held down by her small town, her powers, or a man. She doesn't want the white picket fence life. She wants to be free and explore every corner of the world and be surprised by it. Love? That isn't a dream to her....or is it? 

*sighs deeply*

Fi. Fi oh Fi oh Fi. Idiot girl. I wanted to kick her. I get she has some issues trusting men outside of her group because of her ex. However, Liam is friends of friends and was saved by Grace in the past so he believes in magic. Plus he's SUCH a good guy. He shows it over and over and over. But Fi is so "I don't need a man! They'll hold me down!" So the universe gives her a man that has the same wanderlust and would travel the world too, but nooooOoooOOOooooo still not good enough. >_> 

Plus her hating her powers? Sure...I get it...don't abuse your powers and use them for bad. Keep your walls up and etc, but she flat out ignores the signs her dreams tries to give her. Like near the end with a certain situation (no spoilers from me). 

Don't get me wrong Fi is a nice girl, but she's an absolute moron. I still loved this book and it was nice seeing Fi FINALLY grow up. It took the entire book but she finally does it. Bless Liam for his patience. He has his own demons and terrible ex trauma to deal with, but he's willing to try but Fi keeps leading him on. 

Again...I liked this book a lot but Fi drove me to insanity. 

I can't wait to read book 10 (I may re-read book 9 since it has been so long and I read out of order by mistake). I hope we can see more of Fi and Liam enjoying each other. It took forever for them to become a couple. I want to see them be in love. 

The narrator is a gem. I can't imagine ANYONE else reading these books. 

In the end, I had some big issues with Fi. Yes, I love good conflict and internal (and external) issues standing in the way, but man, she really was a rough character to understand and in some moments...like. I'll give this 3 stars overall.  

Favorite Character(s): Liam

Least Favorite Character(s): Fi 

 Challenge(s):

- Audiobook #34

Audiobook Review: A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Author: T. Kingfisher

Narrator: Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: A House With Good Bones

Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery

Format: Audiobook 

Published: March 28, 2023

Where I Got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.

Review:

I picked this for book club! I've really been meaning to read more by this author. So far I've only read one a while back, so it was time. Seen this and it seemed like a nice pick. 

Sam is temporarily moving back in with her mother. Her brother's words scare her a bit, but it just can't be true that their mother is "off". Or is her brother being overdramatic? She'll have to see for herself. When she steps in, the house seems to be transported back in time. The once vibrant house, is now back to the sterile white walls and questionable decor that her grandmother used to have. Her mother is jumpy and way too skinny. Something is wrong and Sam will figure it out. 

Creepy. SOOO creepy. The last...quarter of the book had me glued! I couldn't stop listening and I kept mumbling, "WHAT THE F?" Wild. Loved it.

The "answer" seemed so simple. The answer was literally written on the wall, but the further you go the more complex and weird it gets. It was awesome. One scene? A thing of absolute nightmares and I loved every second of it.

I do wish we had more of a solid ending. Like....what? Sure, the unknown is scary and we are supposed to be a little scared for them, but I wanted to see more. Maybe a future book? 

The narrator was alright. Sometimes she was a little jovial for Sam. Sure, Sam is kind of jovial, but it seemed too much. Her guy voices were...eh. Poor Phil sounded so weird. 

Overall, I did like this. It makes me want more from the author. Wild story that got crazy good. I wanted more from the end and the narrator was just alright, but I ate up every second of this. I'll give this 4 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Gail (spell?) and our vulture buddy

Least Favorite Character(s): The grandmother

 Challenge(s):

- Audiobook #34

- Cloak & Dagger #19

- Library Love #20