Before My Actual Heart Breaks Paperback – Import, 28 October 2021

"'If I could go back to being sixteen again, I’d do things differently.''Everyone over the age of forty feels like that, you total gom,' says my best friend Lizzie Magee."At sixteen, Mary Rattigan wanted to fly - take off like an angel from heaven and leave the muck and madness of troubled Northern Ireland behind. Nothing but the Land of Happy Ever After would do for her.But as a Catholic girl with a B.I.T.C.H. for a Mammy and a silent Daddy, things did not go as she and Lizzie Magee had planned.Now, five children, twenty-five years, an end to the bombs and bullets, enough whiskey to sink a ship and endless wakes and sandwich teas later, Mary's alone. She's learned plenty of hard lessons and missed a hundred steps towards the life she'd always hoped for.Will she finally find the courage to ask for the love she deserves? Or is it too late?It took me a while to really sink my teeth into Mary's story. I re-read a few chapters to understand the context to the backdrop of the Northern Ireland Conflict against which this is set. But once I got caught into its momentum I was sucked in.Tish Delaney's debut is a searing novel about a woman struggling to come to terms with the reality of her life at a time when the world around her is burning. Her use of the vernacular in her lyrical prose brings out the Irish ruralness, both in its humour as well as pain. She writes with a raw emotion which, when expressed by her characters is heartbreaking.An emotionally charged, coming-of-age story, this surprises you in how deftly it evolves into a romance novel, finding its way to where Mary truly belongs.This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Cornerstone.For complete review, visit aquamarineflavours.wordpress.com.

Would recommend this book. A great read.

An exquisite story that tells of all of life’s joys and sorrows, loves and losses written with such tenderness and humour it was hard to put down! The characters and all their stories stay with you even after you’ve finished reading the book!

Magnificent writing and a beautiful story. I absolutely loved it and would highly recommend. A breathtaking story about love and a heartbreaking insight into the troubles.

What an amazing book. Such rich, beautiful language and a story that keeps a grip of you. Funny, heartbreaking, deeply moving

I loved this book! It was insightful, hilarious and poignantly sad. The characters were bold and interesting without being cliche and the story kept the attention til the very end. In fact the only thing I wasn’t keen on was the title itself, nice cover artwork though.