Monday Moods is a weekly bookish meme created and hosted by Unwrapping Words (aka, me!). The premise is simple: every week, there’s a new ‘mood’, ranging from tropes to genres or actual moods (happy, sad, etc). On a Monday, feel free to post about books on your TBR, books you’d recommend, or a mix – whatever you like – that fits the ‘mood’ prompt. And of course, you can use your own if you’re not fussed on a particular one!
Ireland has a rich literary history, as well as being a tempting setting for non-Irish authors. And I thought as it is St Patrick’s Day tomorrow, I’d spotlight a few Irish and set-in-Ireland books currently on my TBR.
This Week, I’m in the Mood For…
Ireland
The Irish Cottage
Juliet Gauvin
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: December 17th, 2014
I Want to Read This Because I’m always a little intrigued by Americans writing about other countries – it’s interesting to see how they portray places like Ireland or my own home country of Wales, if they get it wrong, mythologise it, etc. This sounds like it might be enjoyable, if the author did their research!
The Morrigan
Kim Curran
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: February 6th, 2025
I Want to Read This Because let’s start with the fact I’m not as familiar with Irish mythology as I’d like to be, so that’s something to add to the list of things to find out more about. Secondly, I think a lot of people outside Wales and Ireland are under the mistaken impression our mythology is the same (it’s not). However, there is something intriguing about different Celtic mythologies, and seeing where they match up a little and diverge, and I’m intrigued by The Morrigan anyway, so I think I’ll find this pretty interesting.
Legacy of Luck
Christy Nicholas
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: January 11th, 2017
I Want to Read This Because Historical romance with a dash of fantasy…sounds lovely! This is part of a series, but one which can be read as a standalone, and I always find dipping into a new series to be quite exciting. I never know if it’ll end up being my next obsession!
The Benefactors
Wendy Erskine
Genre: Contemporary
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: January 1st, 2025
I Want to Read This Because contemporary fiction that focuses on three women who are all mothers to 18-year-old boys, three boys who are accused of sexual assault. I imagine this is going to be a heavy read, but I find the premise really captivating, especially with the promise of explorations of histories, class and money.
Irish Eyes
Hope C. Tarr
Genre: Historical
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: December 5th, 2023
I Want to Read This Because it’s absolutely intriguing! I really like reading historical fiction from different time periods and countries, and I haven’t yet read something from this era that deals with immigration from Ireland to the US.
And of course, if you have any Irish fiction or Irish-based/inspired etc books to recommend, I’d love to hear them! Have you read any of these? Link me to your reviews – I’d love to see what you thought!
Unwrapping Words 