The Irish Boarding House: Completely heart-warming Irish historical fiction

I realized after a few chapters that no matter what was going to happen, there would be a happy ending with a resolution for all the characters. Did this mean the book was predictable? Yes, to some degree; however, after reading so many novels about tragedy and despair, I found this book uplifting and heartwarming. This book allows the reader to escape the current state of our nation and world which has witnessed so much chaos, confusion, anger and division. The kindness of the main character is not only inspiring, but enviable. Thank you Ms. Taylor for writing an enjoyable, quick read.

I truly enjoyed this book. The characters had depth, and their and their stories intermingled in an interesting way. Mary Kate was someone you would love to have known.

As a baby, Mary Kate Ryan was abandoned by her mother in a small town in Ireland and had a hard childhood. As a young woman, she got a solicitor’s letter drawing her to Dublin, and he told Mary Kate that her mother had died and left her a huge inheritance. I highly recommend this totally charming and feel-good story of how Mary Kate used her money to renovate a big house on Merrion Square and make it a boarding house that was warm and welcoming to a cast of characters of all ages. The Audible narrator also was wonderful and added so much to the Irish atmosphere of the book. Five enthusiastic stars!

I really liked the feel good, overcoming hardships, generosity in this story. I love the realistic romance sub stories not being the main focus and usual trite plots. It kept my interest. I did not like the fact that money supposedly resulted in true friendship that she never had before or changed her to suddenly wanting to serve and be a blessing to others. Poor struggling people can have true friends and love and serve others also. My main dislike was the repeated use of "Jesus" as an expletive. Taking the Lords name in vain is offensive and unnecessary in a story such as this. It was even said as an exclamation (not as speaking to or about Jesus) by a nun and an orphan raised by the nuns in front of a nun, as just casual use in a conversation. This was very unrealistic and would not have been used by them. If the author reads this, I hope she will consider other exclamations to use in the character 's conversations.

A baby is left with grandparents and the mother disappears. Raised in poverty but rich in love Mary Kate Ryan grows into a wonderful human but the path to get there was long and lonely. Just as she is ready to give up living a wonderful thing happens. Instead of thinking about herself she begins to make a difference. This is a beautiful story and I am so glad I read it and will be looking for more books from this author.

This is an interesting book though it got off to a slow start. The main character, Mary Kate, is a warm, kind, caring person who wants to share her good fortune with others. However, one thing disturbs me: I've read many books that are quite similar, yet never read phrases about violence to one's face. The picture it conjures up is really nasty, to me - possibly it said "eat his face off" - whatever the words, the picture that comes up in my mind is horrible and ugly. To mention it once could be easily dismissed; twice lingering; but repeatedly was over the top. That would be my only negative. I've already bought Return to the Irish Boarding House and dread that I might find that phrase again.

Mary Kate’s story drew me in from the beginning. I’m from the US and I enjoyed the Irish flair. It was nice to read about good people helping each other through difficult times in life. I recommend this book.

After erasing several unsuitable or complicated novels, this was a sweet and refreshing change. Characters I cared about and a storyline that drew me into their worlds. Lovely recommend of 5 stars.

Fantastic author, hard to put down.

I can't describe how much I enjoyed this book. I truly love a good Irish story and they've been hard to find since Maeve Binchy passed. This book was just so lovely and heartwarming. You really got to know and love all the characters. A real gem of a book.

“The Irish Boarding House”, was simply delightful and I throughly devoured this book. Its writing is simplistic, and you will quickly find yourself drawn to it with a magnetic force. It’s set in Dublin in the 1950’s where second chances and the power of kindness are its central elements. Many women, especially of the Catholic faith faced adversity on many occasions, leaving them in a constant state of despair and without intervention or help, hope and dreams fade into the darkness and loneliness and abandonment takes precedence. Mary Kate Ryan was abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandparents, after their death she was a lost soul, but an unexpected inheritance, an actual windfall puts her in a position of wealth and the ability to pay it forward and she does it wholeheartedly. This book sends a powerful message about generosity and the positive impact it can have in the lives of those who are struggling to make it through another day. Mary Kate makes her dream of owing a boarding house come alive and within those walls a kindred family will slowly start to form, uniting lonely souls desperate for a place to call home. Hope can triumph over adversity. This book doesn’t have a selfish bone in its body,and is a little far fetched from reality, but that’s what makes it so heartwarming. The views are emotional, raw and insightful, actually inspiring. The characters are diverse and there are a lot of them, but the story itself flows sweet-fully. Family secrets are revealed and dealing with them is a lesson in life. This book will restore your faith in humanity and lift your spirits too. This Irish author has a magical gift, writing a book that is absolutely worth reading and one that will make you smile. It has nothing to do with the luck of the Irish, but having faith in people and their ability to help others. If you are looking for a book that is uplifting, then I highly recommend reading this one. I LOVED IT!

This was a pleasant read. It is about the people who live at a boarding house in Dublin and their backgrounds and individual lives and how they all get along. It’s a good story and a very easy read.

At the beginning I found this book a bit too "sweet". The main character was beautiful, kind and also rich!! . But as the story unfolded, and I got to know the other characters , I enjoyed the gentle pace. A very relaxing read, with well developed characters and a somewhat predictable but enthralling story.