The Pub Across the Pond

I'm heading to Ireland in 2026 and Galway was one of our stops so when I saw this audiobook on NetGalley, I requested it quicker than I can down a Guinness. I'm excited about our trip (some of it to the Galway area!) and, of course, I love a good pub stop too.  

This was a light contemporary story about an American woman winning an Irish pub in a raffle. It's a fish out of water type of deal as townspeople get used to an American coming into their small town where everyone knows everyone and the gossip is always fresh.

Carlene meets the townspeople of the small town of Ballybeog. From the pub regulars to the townspeople and Ronan, the overly brooding Irishman who used to own the pub. There's some romance and a bit of mystery about who is pranking Carlene when she takes over the pub but, in the end, I felt like the story didn't have a lot of focus and readers were left with too many loose ends.

I appreciated the Irish culture and Aoife McMahon's Irish lilt as she narrates, but the story needed more oomph leaving me struggling to stay interested in this meandering story and get on board with the romance between Carlene and grumpy Ronan. 

Final Thoughts: Cute concept, great location but weak execution of the story and characters.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Dreamscape Media for the complimentary advanced copy of this digital audiobook that was given to me in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 2.5 stars

Author: Carlene O'Connor

Genre: Cozy, Contemporary Fiction

Type and Source: eAudio from publisher via NetGalley

Narrator: Aoife McMahon

Run Time: 13 hrs, 2 min

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

First Published: Dec 16, 2025

Read: Dec 13-20, 2025

Book Description from GoodReads: Carlene Rivers is many things. Dutiful, reliable, kind. Lucky? Not so much. At thirty, she’s living a stifling existence in Cleveland, Ohio. Then one day, Carlene buys a raffle ticket. The a pub on the west coast of Ireland. Carlene is stunned when she wins. Everyone else is stunned when she actually goes.

As soon as she arrives in Ballybeog, Carlene is smitten not just by the town’s beguiling mix of ancient and modern, but by the welcome she receives. In this small town near Galway Bay, strife is no stranger, strangers are family, and no one is ever too busy for a cup of tea or a pint. And though her new job presents challenges—from a meddling neighbor to the pub’s colorful regulars—there are compensations galore. Like the freedom to sing, joke, and tell stories, and in doing so, find her own voice. And in her flirtation with Ronan McBride, the pub’s charming, reckless former owner, she just may find the freedom to follow where impulse leads and trust her heart—and her luck—for the very first time....