11 Best Romance Books Set in Ireland
I love it when romance books sweep me away into a different world, and what better world than the Emerald Isle with these romance books set in Ireland?
Get ready to fall in love with these Irish romance novels filled with hot Irishmen who will steal your hearts. Of course, you can’t go wrong if you want to read them to get ready for St. Patrick’s Day, or check out my list of St. Patrick’s Day romance books for even more great reads.
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The Best Romance Books Set in Ireland
What the Wind Knows
by Amy Harmon
Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken by his passing, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.
The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.
As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?
Amy Harmon’s storytelling is AMAZING no matter the subject matter she chooses to write about next which is why she is one of my favorite romance authors. But she enthralls in this romance book set in Ireland of the 1920 that is quite the time travel romance book as well.
Harmon mixes Ireland’s dangerous history with a captivating love story that will have you wondering what will happen next!
A Crack in Everything
by L.H. Cosway
Life used to be simple. I was a city girl with humble dreams. Then Dylan O’Dea broke into my flat, held me against the wall and told me to stay quiet.
It was like in the movies, where the universe zeros in on a single scene. I looked into his eyes and knew he was going to change me.
For Dylan, the sky was always falling. He showed me how our world is a contradiction of beauty and ugliness. How we choose to ignore the awful and gloss over it with the palatable. How you need just a tiny drop of something unsavory to create every great scent.
Pretty deep for a pair of teenagers living in a block of council flats in inner city Dublin, right? Probably. But we weren’t typical. We both had our obsessions. Mine was growing things, Dylan’s was scent.
He taught me how to use my nose, and I introduced him to the magic of flowers. I had no idea that one day he’d build an empire from what we started together.
But before that, there was love and happiness, tragedy and epic heartbreak… My name is Evelyn Flynn and I’m going to tell you about the crack in everything.
Cosway made me feel like I was in inner city Dublin right along with Dylan and Evelyn – a boy desperate to leave and a girl who couldn’t and wouldn’t.
This book is part one in a duet that will have you grabbing book two immediately after finishing it because you’ll need to know how their love story ends. Plus, it’s such a unique look at perfume which will have all of your senses on alert while reading this romance book set in Ireland.
The Awakening
by Nora Roberts
In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own.
When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates.
But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.
This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined.
Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home.
Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny.
The Awakening is book one in a fantasy series by Roberts that is set in Ireland and blends the modern world and the world of Fae and magic.
Breen finds herself a very special conduit to both worlds with a past that was hidden from her and a future that is dependent upon her. If you love fantasy books that sink deep into world building then this is a perfect read for you.
Check out my full book review of The Awakening.
Devil of Dublin
by B.B. Easton
I can’t remember anymore if my grandfather’s eyes were blue or green, but I’ll never forget the way they wrinkled at the corners when he laughed at one of his own jokes.
Or the way they sparkled with mischief when he told me tales about the magical creatures that dwelled in the forest behind his humble Irish sheep farm—shy fairies who liked to eat tea biscuits, cruel witches who liked to eat children, a moody lake spirit with a taste for expensive gifts.
As a child, I believed every fantastical word. But when he warned me about the mute boy who also lurked in those woods, the one the priest had declared to be the spawn of Satan himself, I refused to listen.
Kellen wasn’t evil. He was kind, and beautiful, and special, and hurting. He was my friend. And with every summer I spent stolen away with him in those enchanted woods, he grew to become so much more.
But when I return to Glenshire as an adult, grieving and engaged to someone else, all those legends quickly morph into nightmares. My grandfather had been right about everything, especially the boy. If only I had listened.
This romance book set in Ireland is not for the faint of heart as B.B. Easton gives plenty of trigger warnings at the start to warn readers this isn’t a typical romcom but an intense mafia romance book that brings childhood friends back together again.
If you want to read a love story that has it’s share of darkness then check out Kellen and Darby’s in Devil of Dublin.
The Rebound
by Catherine Walsh
It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday and Abby Reynolds isn’t where she wants to be. She wants to be in her beautiful loft apartment in Manhattan, drinking a coffee with her fiancé.
Instead, she’s heading back to the childhood home in rural Ireland she swore she’d never return to, with some big old secrets. Namely that she’s suddenly found herself unemployed, homeless, and absolutely 100% single.
She’s feeling all out of luck. Until the first person she meets after she touches down is an absurdly hot guy called Luke, who offers her a lift home. Gazing deep into his sparkling emerald-green eyes, Abby knows instantly that he’s exactly what she needs to take her mind off everything. The perfect rebound.
It’s a flawless plan. Until the next day, when Abby realizes who he actually is. Not just a stranger. He is, in fact, Luke Bailey, aka the boy next door.
Luke Bailey who—so help her God—she’s pretty sure she once shared baths with, back when they were kids. Not that she can allow herself to imagine him in a bath now, not without blushing from head to foot.
And judging by the smirk on his face, the same Luke Bailey who’s known exactly who she was the whole time… And who, like everyone in the village, still thinks she’s a high-flying New Yorker… who’s getting married next year.
Abby is certain getting under Luke will help her get over her ex. But the truth is stopping her. Can she admit to everyone back home that she’s single and has lost everything? Because, if she wants the boy next door, she may just have to.
This is the childhood friends to lovers romance that you want to pick up if you want a romance book set in Ireland that is a sweet romcom. And after reading this one, be sure to check out all of Catherine Walsh’s books for even more Irish romance novels as she loves to write about hot Irishmen!
The Irish Goodbye
by Amy Ewing
Cordelia James was once at the top of her game—a renowned street photographer with a massive social media following, gallery showings in Chelsea, and a lucrative book deal. But after the sudden loss of her father, Cordelia can barely force herself to leave her apartment.
That is, until she sees an ad for a summer gig at a cozy cottage on Ireland’s picturesque Inishmore island. Cordelia is on a plane before she can talk herself out of it.
The moment she steps off the boat, she crashes—literally—into Niall O’Connor, a grumpy local who’s just returned home to Inishmore from Dublin. Niall is nursing a broken heart and trying to patch up a broken life, and he has no time for posh American tourists.
The more Cordelia’s and Niall’s paths cross, the more they make each other’s lives hell. But as with all rivalries, their hatred is about to reach a tipping point—and it’s going to heat up their cool coastal nights.
Say no more that this is an enemies to lovers romance set in Ireland as I’m already on board. Despite the need to get on each other’s nerves, I love how both Cordelia and Niall are both struggling with broken hearts and how they may just be what the other needs to heal that brokenness.
Jewels of the Sun
by Nora Roberts
Determined to reevaluate her life, Jude Murray flees America to take refuge in Faerie Hill Cottage, immersing herself in the study of Irish folklore and discovering hope for the future of the magical past.
Finally back home in Ireland after years of traveling, Aidan Gallagher possesses an uncommon understanding of his country’s haunting myths.
Although he’s devoted to managing the family pub, a hint of wildness still glints in his eyes—and in Jude, he sees a woman who can both soothe his heart and stir his blood. And he begins to share the legends of the land with her—while they create a passionate history of their own.
Nora Roberts is the author that first comes to mind when I think of romance books set in Ireland. Jewels of the Sun is the first book in her Gallaghers of Ardmore trilogy where she weaves in Celtic folklore and legends and fables of Ireland.
This is a classic that deserves a spot on your TBR list.
Chasing River
by K.A. Tucker
Armed with two years’ worth of savings and the need to experience life outside the bubble of her Oregon small town, twenty-five-year old Amber Welles is prepared for anything. Except losing her life in Dublin.
Had it not been for the bravery of a stranger, she might have. But he takes off before she has the chance to offer her gratitude.
Twenty-four-year-old River Delaney is rattled. No one was supposed to get hurt. But then that American tourist showed up. He couldn’t let anything happen to her, but he also can’t be identified at the scene—so, he fled. Back to his everyday life of running his family’s pub.
Only, everyday life is getting more and more complicated, thanks to his brother, Aengus, and his criminal associations. When the American girl tracks River down, he quickly realizes how much he likes her, how wrong she is for him. And how dangerous it is to have her around. Pushing her away would be the smart move.
Maybe it’s because he saved her life, or maybe it’s because he’s completely different from everything she’s left behind, but Amber finds herself chasing after River Delaney. Amber isn’t the kind of girl to chase after anyone. And River isn’t the kind of guy she’d want to catch.
K.A. Tucker’s romance books always have that little bit of something extra in them and that’s definitely the case in this romance book set in Ireland that weaves in a bit of suspense.
River and Amber have the craziest of meet-cutes but it’s enough that neither can forget about the other person until they meet again.
Read this one for the romance, the suspense, the Irish history and the entire package!
Wild Irish Heart
by Tricia O’Malley
An ancient book, a power untouched, and a heart unloved lead Keelin O’Brien from her graduate studies in Boston to a small village on the coast of Southern Ireland.
Determined to unearth the secrets lying hidden in the enchanted waters of the cove, Keelin has little time for a surly Irishman who infuriates her during the day and haunts her fantasies at night.
Inexplicably drawn to the woman who has stepped from his dreams and into his world, Flynn fights a stubborn battle against his increasing attraction for Keelin. Forces unknown have better plans for the two.
Only the secrets of the cove can show Keelin who she really is, the beauty of her mysterious power, and a love that will break the bounds of what she knows.
This is another fantasy romance set in Ireland where Keelin travels to learn about her special powers that are passed down from female to female in her family lineage.
If you fall in love with Keelin and Flynn’s love story then you can binge-read all twelve books in the Mystic Cove series for even more romance books set in Ireland.
Kiss of Fate
by S. Young
Fionn Mór was once a high king of Ireland; a fierce warrior who led his tribes against the invading Fae. It was a battle he couldn’t win and to save his family he turned consort for the Fae Queen.
Fionn escaped as the thing he once despised, and the people he loved betrayed him for it. Now, centuries later, it’s time to reopen the gates to Faerie to take his revenge against the Faerie Queen.
At sixteen Rose Kelly discovered family secrets that changed her forever. Years after, she’s still lost, traveling across Europe in search of that elusive missing ‘something’.
When she’s attacked by a vampire, not only is she wrenched into a supernatural underworld she never knew existed, a knock on the head releases a spell on her mind and unlocks powers beyond her wildest imaginings. And with them more questions. Questions Fionn Mór claims to have answers to.
Following the powerful and enigmatic Fionn to Ireland, Rose quickly realizes she’s a pawn in his plan for vengeance. What begins as a passionate battle of wills leads to an inexplicable but undeniable connection. One that will force them to face an impossible choice between the deepest love… and the darkest revenge.
I love Samantha Young’s writing and I loved how she’s ventured into fantasy and paranormal romance with her True Immortality series. If you love suspense, vampire romance and an overall engaging love story, then you don’t want to pass up this romance book set in Ireland.
Wild Irish
by C.M. Seabrook
I went searching for trouble and I found it. I just didn’t expect to find it in the form of Cillian Gallagher.
The gorgeously tatted lead singer and guitarist of Wild Irish, Cillian is everything I’ve always tried to stay away from. He’s wild and dangerous. And exactly what I need to cross off number four on my bucket list: Kiss a complete stranger.
It should have been that simple. But I wasn’t prepared for the scorching heat that would ignite a passion, leaving us both gasping for air.
It was never meant to be more than a fling. I didn’t expect that when I left Ireland, I’d be leaving a piece of my heart, or how our lives would be intertwined even when we were thousands of miles apart.
One last request. One life-changing list. One month of no regrets. I ran from my boring, simple life, straight into the arms of trouble. The thing with trouble is that it has a way of finding you, no matter where you go.
I have a soft spot for rock star romance books so to read one about an Irish rock star? Yes, please! I love how one bucket list item can change Delaney’s life forever when she decides to take a trip to Ireland. This is a romance where two broken hearts find love with one another that is so deserving.
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