An Irish Country Yuletide: An Irish Country Novella (Irish Country Books, #16)

by Patrick Taylor

A charming Christmas entry in Patrick Taylor's beloved internationally bestselling Irish Country series, An Irish Country Yuletide.

December 1965. 'Tis the season once again in the cozy Irish village of Ballybucklebo, which means that Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, his young colleague Barry Laverty, and their assorted friends, neighbors, and patients are enjoying all their favorite holiday traditions: caroling, trimming the tree, finding the perfect gifts for their near and dear ones, and anticipating a proper Yuletide feast complete with roast turkey and chestnut stuffing. There's even the promise of snow in the air, raising the prospect of a white Christmas.

Not that trouble has entirely taken a holiday as the season brings its fair share of challenges as well, including a black-sheep brother hoping to reconcile with his estranged family before it's too late, a worrisome outbreak of chickenpox, and a sick little girl whose faith in Christmas is in danger of being crushed in the worst way.

As roaring fireplaces combat the brisk December chill, it's up to O'Reilly to play Santa, both literally and figuratively, to make sure that Ballybucklebo has a Christmas it will never forget!

Bonus: This heartwarming Yuletide tale also includes several mouth-watering recipes, straight from an Irish country kitchen.

• ISBN10: 125078090X
• ISBN13: 9781250780904
• Publish Date: 12 October 2021 (first published 1 October 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 208
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

An Irish Country Yuletide is the sixteenth novel in Patrick Taylor's Irish Country series. To be fair, I accidentally jumped right in the middle of this series (whoops!). But honestly? I have no trouble following right along. Oh! And don't forget, this book (and series as a whole) contains actual recipes within the pages. It has been a hot minute since I read a book that blended together like this, so that was a fun surprise.

The year is 1965, and Christmas is right around the corner. One quiet and charming town, Ballybucklebo, is getting ready for all of the festivities, with citizens such as Doctor Fingal Flatherie O'Reilly and Barry Laverty looking forward to singing carols and the likes.

Unfortunately, the universe frequently doesn't understand what a holiday break is. As such, the town will still have to deal with a chickenpox outbreak and more before it is all said and done.

An Irish Country Yuletide is such a charming read – that really is the best way I can describe it. Charming. Also, don't read this book while hungry, as the recipes may just wake up your stomach if you're not being careful.

I've honestly never read something like An Irish Country Yuletide before. I love how the historical and fiction elements merged to seamlessly with recipes. It's such a, dare I say, cute idea! Maybe this is more common than I'm aware, but I really enjoyed this break from what I normally read.

I'm honestly not sure what else to say about An Irish Country Yuletide, so I'm going to leave this review short and sweet. Go read it, as this is such a perfect holiday book to pick up!

Thanks to Forge Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks