The Heart of Summer - (Finfarran Peninsula) by Felicity Hayes-McCoy (Paperback)

Thanks to Harper Perennial and Lisa Erickson/Harper Collins for an advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own. This is another “Finfarran” novel, which takes place on the fictional Finfarran Peninsula of Ireland's West Coast during the summer. While the characters carry over from earlier novels in the series, the only other one I’ve read is #5 (The Transatlantic Book Club), and both of them easily read like a stand-alone. If you’re looking for a peaceful story of family, with small town doings, where everyone knows everyone else’s business, with some eccentric and quirky characters and animals as well as stunning descriptions of the rural Irish country, this is the book for you. Even though this novel isn’t full of trauma and drama, several of the characters are dealing with problems to be solved. The primary focus here is the relationship between librarian Hanna Casey and her architect boyfriend Brian, who live together in a stunning new home Brian built in the rural countryside outside of town. Brian and Hanna’s plans for a romantic getaway are interrupted when Brian’s adult son suddenly moves in and Hanna is invited to a reunion of former flatmates in London. Hanna’s grown daughter, who lives nearby, is worried her gram may be having memory issues. Young Conor, a farmer and library assistant, and his new bride, Aideen, can’t seem to communicate without lost tempers and misunderstandings. As relationships develop and bonds between characters evolve throughout the book, Brian makes an observation about solving the problems Hanna is worried about, and that helps Hanna to put things in perspective: “That’s life, though, isn’t it? The human condition consists of temporary solutions.” With a painful divorce behind her, Hanna is learning to move on and trust herself. “It’s feeling alone that breeds foreboding, isn’t it? Everything being dependent on your decisions, and not knowing what you ought to do for the best. Having family around makes a difference. Even complicated families like ours.” This is a story about families, trust, communication, and learning to live in the present, not the past. Hanna’s thoughts perfectly express what she has grasped from the summer’s experiences. “And here I am,” thought Hanna, “still trying to learn that neither foreboding nor optimism matters. What matters is to be content to live each moment as it comes.” As the novel wraps up, several of the characters’ issues are perfectly resolved, which provides a lovely, warmhearted novel of contemporary Ireland. I never forgot I was in Ireland while reading this book, not only due to the beautiful landscape descriptions, but also the charming turns of phrase, word choices, and the Irish rhythms of speech expressed by many of the characters. So nice to know there are several other books in this series when I feel the urge to visit Finfarran and Ireland again.