Review: Breakfast at Darcy's

When Darcy McCall loses her beloved Aunt Molly, she doesn't expect any sort of inheritance - let alone a small island.

Located off the west coast of Ireland, Tara hasn't been lived on for years, but according to Molly's will Darcy must stay there for twelve months in order to fully inherit, and she needs to persuade a village full of people to settle there, too. Darcy has to leave behind her independent city life and swap stylish heels for muddy wellies. Between sorting everything from the plumbing to the pub, Darcy meets confident Conor and ever-grumpy Dermot - but who will make her feel really at home?

Title: Breakfast at Darcy's
Author: Ali McNamara | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: November 24 2011
Length: Paperback 448 Pages / Audiobook 11 hours 37 minutes
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Audible

Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Narrated by: Beth Chalmers
Cover Love: Cute, fits the story.
Point of View: 1st person, following Darcy

My Rating: 4 Stars

Ali McNamara has quickly become one of my favorite chick lit authors.  Her stories never cease to keep me laughing, romanced and entertained.  Thankfully, Breakfast at Darcy's was no exception.

I will admit that I had to warm to Darcy, but this is kind of the point of the story.  At the start, she is a self-absorbed, label obsessed, glory hunter... and I didn't really care for her very much.  That is until she goes to live on Tara, the Irish island that has been left to her in her Aunt Molly's will.  It is on Tara where Darcy truly starts to come into her own.  Taken out of the big city and put in charge of other people's well beings, she quickly becomes a character that you can care and root for.

There is a bit of a love triangle... no wait, don't run away that quickly.  There is Conor, who is handsome, sweet, and has a love of travelling.  Then there is Dermot, who always seems grumpy, uptight and a bit of a know-it-all.  However... I was never in any doubt as to who Darcy would end up with in the end.  I don't think this is meant to be any real secret to be honest.  I was surprised though with a few of the secrets that are uncovered about one of them.  I won't post any spoilers, but I really didn't see that coming.

However, my true love for Breakfast at Darcy's comes from Tara itself.  I have never wanted pack in my job, and go live on an isolated island as much as I do right now.  To say I was jealous of the life that Darcy and the other residents of Tara have been able to live, is an understatement.  I would give pretty much anything to be able to live as simple of a life.  As long as I had a roof over my head, there is electricity and a bit of Internet access so that I can buy by Kindle and Audible books... I would be in heaven.  Absolute heaven.

I do think the only let down to this story would be the ending.  It wasn't really bad, it's just that I would have liked there to be a bit more build up to the happily ever after.  It seemed a bit rushed, however this could be from me not feeling like I was ready to say goodbye to these characters.  I really would love to read more about Darcy, the island's residents, and of Tara itself.

Because I listened to this in Audiobook, I should mention that I have also become a huge fan of Beth Chalmers.  This is not the first Audiobook I have listened to her as the narrator, and I hope it will not be my last.  She does a superb job, and I think she has an amazing talent with the multiple accents that are used in this book.