Hello Sweet Friends :)
I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to join me here on The Preppy Book Princess for another book review.
I'm Kirby, and I'm always happy to welcome you to my little bookish corner of the internet.
Are you someone who enjoys rereading? I definitely do, and it's something I honestly try and make time for almost every month.
I recently decided to reread a title I read quite a few years ago to see if I'd end up feeling the same way about it.
If you're interested in finding out how this experience went, then please join me down below for today's full review.
When Irish Guys are Smiling by Suzanne Supplee:
Source: Library
Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: January 10th, 2008
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Series: Students Across the Seven Seas
Synopsis:
For seventeen-year-old Delk Sinclair, studying abroad in Ireland means one thing: escape. Delk is tired of hearing about her friends' debutante parties, watching her pregnant stepmother redecorate her mother's house, and having to smile sweetly even though she doesn't think she'll ever get over losing her mother. Ireland is Delk's chance to be happy. With the stunning green landscape as backdrop, Delk revels in all things Irish, from living in a real Irish castle, to celebrating St. Paddy's Day in Galway, to enjoying Irish music and dance, to studying Yeats and shearing a sheep! So when Delk begins to fall for a very handsome Irishman, she wonders if there's more to the Emerald Isle than it first seemed. It is fun, to be sure, but will those smiling Irish eyes really be able to heal her broken heart?
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
About ten years ago, I had read the entire Students Across the Seven Seas series. While I didn't end up enjoying the majority of them, I remember loving this one, and actually rating it five stars. I was in the mood for some rereading lately, and I decided to pick this one up for another go around, and was interested to see if I'd end up feeling the same. While I do feel it's still a cute contemporary, it's not quite as good as I remembered, and I left feeling a little let down.
Perhaps my favorite part of the entire story were the beautiful depictions of Ireland. I've never been, and this book definitely encouraged me to want to see it for myself someday. I enjoyed the close friendship that develops between our main character Delk and many of the other students on the study abroad program. It was interesting to see characters who were so different from one another learn to get along, and play to each of their own strengths. Lastly, the romance is quite adorable, even though it's not entirely believable, especially concerning the short timeline within which everything happens.
However, it stuck out to me this time just how juvenile the majority of the characters were, and I felt like the characters came across more of the thirteen to fourteen year old range, rather than the juniors/seniors they were supposed to be. Although it's a relatively short book, the plot is quite muddled, and it took me quite awhile to get around to finishing it. Lastly, the ending is quite rushed, and doesn't seem to resolve a lot of the questions raised in a way that's satisfactory to the reader.
It was cute to revisit an old favorite, but my opinions have definitely changed, and I'd probably only recommend this one to younger teens as I don't think anyone else would be able to relate too well to the story.
Final Rating: 3/5.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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