Abeer

3 stars solely because of how much i adored Keegan's writing.

i loved the quaint, nostalgic mood throughout this book and appreciated learning about Ireland in the 80s, particularly this instance of the exploitation of girls and women by people in power using religion as a shield. it was interesting to see this through a man's lens - particularly such a compassionate one - but i do wish there'd been a bit more nuance in the narrative and choices leading to it. this might be a bias of mine, but i do also wish that a self-righteous man who was looking to find meaning in his life and was tired of his silly, self-centered wife wasn't the hero in this story of women's suffering...in all honesty, i was surprised that Keegan chose to go this route.

this book ended up feeling like an oh-so-convenient Hallmark Christmas movie. it's too bad it ended right as i thought we were reaching the climax. would love bigger things like these!! ultimately, this book had lots of potential, but just didn't live up to it.

i consumed this as an audiobook and loved the Irish narrator - will definitely be reading more books by Irish authors!

this was cute! too bad i didn't gaf