Catherine Walsh’s newest book follows Sam, an ambitious editor and total fanboy, who’s sent from his New York publishing house straight to the Irish coast to help Ciara Sheridan finish her late father’s final fantasy novel. Ciara’s legendary author dad left her with a sprawling, crumbling estate, an outline for the series finale his fans are desperate for, and absolutely crippling writer’s block. They’ve got two weeks and the hottest Irish summer on record to get this book written and neither of them planned on falling for each other in the process.
I really, really enjoyed this one. The Irish small-town setting is absolutely delightful. Walsh makes you feel like you’re there: on the coast, on the estate, the quirky locals, the pub. It’s the kind of setting that wraps around you like a warm blanket and makes you want to book a one-way flight to Ireland immediately. And the relationship between Sam and Ciara, both the professional dynamic and the personal one, is genuinely sweet. Their banter is sharp and funny, their chemistry builds at this perfect, natural pace, and the slow burn gave me full goosebumps. These aren’t characters who fall for each other because the plot says so. They fall for each other because they’re two flawed, real people on their own separate journeys who happen to collide at exactly the right moment, and that makes the love story so much more rewarding.
What I loved most, though, were the bookish bones of this story. The peek behind the curtain at the author-editor world is fascinating, and the depiction of fandom is probably a little too accurate. The way fans feel ownership over a beloved series, the way they assume the family home is basically a public landmark open for tours, the entitlement mixed with genuine love for the work. Walsh nails it in a way that anyone in the book community will recognize instantly. I also felt really tied to this story because of how it highlights the impact a beloved author and their world can have on people, and especially on the author’s own family, even after they’re gone. There’s a layer of grief and legacy running underneath the rom-com surface that gives the whole book real emotional weight.
The only thing that kept this from a full 5 stars for me was the romance itself. And I know that sounds contradictory after everything I just said. The banter is great, the chemistry is there, the slow burn works. But there was just something missing in the final stretch that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s perfectly good. It’s sweet and satisfying. It just lacked that last little spark to elevate it to the magic of the rest of the book. If the setting, the fandom elements, and the emotional depth are all operating at a 10, the romance lands at about an 8. Not a complaint so much as a wish, I wanted it to hit as hard as everything around it.
Still, I loved this overall and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys bookish stories, Irish settings, or rom-coms with more heart than you’d expect. This book is a love letter to small towns, to storytelling, and to finding your way through loss.
Also I’m going to need Walsh to take us back to this world at some point. Maggie’s story, perhaps?? I’m just putting that out into the universe.
AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKSHOP |★★★★★
How to Write a Love Story is out now. Huge thank you to Dutton for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
