The Keeper of the Irish Secret

Magnolia Manor, Book 1

By: Susanne O'Leary

Narrated by: Aoife McMahon

Lily Fleury used to love visiting her eccentric grandmother Sylvia in Ireland, taking long sunset walks on the beach and exploring the nooks and crannies of the family’s old home Magnolia Manor. But when she arrives from Dublin broken-hearted, hoping to heal in Sylvia’s warm embrace, she finds the once ornate Georgian house in disrepair and the gardens wildly overgrown. Sylvia has always been fiercely independent, but Lily can’t believe she hasn’t told anyone she’s been struggling.

Lily knows she can’t leave until she gets Sylvia back on her feet. Although mysterious local builder Dominic agrees to help, from the moment Lily looks into his fierce green eyes they clash over how to fix the sprawling estate. It’s only when she hears the soft Irish lilt of his voice as he sings in the local pub that their arguments ignite a spark of passion neither can ignore…

But when Lily finds a trunk of tattered letters in the gatehouse, she discovers a devastating secret Sylvia has been hiding about Magnolia Manor. And she soon learns the real reason Dominic agreed to help out. Lily wanted to save her family home and could see a life here with Dominic, but will the truth force her to leave the man who has captured her heart and never return?

©2024 Susanne O'Leary (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Charming and heartwarming

The setting and the characters were great. Made the story more enjoyable to have the grandmother and granddaughters!

The way the characters interacted,

Nothing, it was a fun read! I want to read the next book ❤️ Thank you!

Too sing songy

Story was fine. Voice acting grated on me at times... too sappy sometimes and too sing songy other times. I like to finish the books I select, but I struggled to want to turn it back on. I am not saying that I could perform it better, but I just do not think I would choose another in the series.

A good hallmark type story

I was able to get an advanced copy of the audiobook, and really enjoyed the story and the narrator, Aoife McMahon. It gives me a feeling of a Hallmark movie. Wholesome, light reading, and an anticipation for the happy ending.

This story focuses on an Irish family trying not to lose their family home. Lily is the oldest daughter and is determined not to lose the home but make it better than ever. Her grandmother, Sylvia hasn’t been able to maintain the large property and everything needs repairs. Dominic is an engineer/singer that has Lily frustrated if not a little smitten too. Thanks to Net Galley, Dreamscape Media, and Susanne O’Leary for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Seventh grade effort

…with the help of a second grader. It was one of the most juvenile efforts I’ve ever read! I doubt the author ever experienced real love OR heartache or loss. In the beginning, I thought it was a bit twee but it was worse than that. It was childish. There was no depth to the characters or “mystery” to the story. The narrator is incapable of speaking with anything near a man’s voice — they all ended up sounding like a suicidal Eeyore.