An Irish Country Christmas. Ah, who am I kidding…Anything by Patrick Taylor, the author of this gem. I have purchased Taylor’s entire Irish Country series as pre-orders—all 16 of them—sight unseen, no idea what the premise is. I have read some more than twice. One such novel is the Christmas entry, An Irish Country Christmas. (There’s also An Irish Country Yuletide, released in 2021, but it was the Christmas novel that captured my heart.)
Taylor’s books are refreshing. There’s no heavy-lifting; no existential turmoil; no triggers. His novels are my comfort food—and I gobble each one down as soon as the download is complete. The characters are well-defined, the narrative just quirky enough to seem believable, and the description of food vivid enough to make me chase down the recipes on Pinterest. The loving interaction between the characters makes me long to live in the fictional town of Ballybucklebo, the setting for each novel. The gruff doctor, his sassy housekeeper, and the young intern keep me coming back for more as the depth of each character is revealed in each ensuing novel. But it was An Irish Country Christmas that hooked me on the series.