Spotlight

Once Upon an Irish Summer Scavenger Hunt excerpt

Beth Erin

Hello, reader friends, and welcome to stop 1! We’re spreading the book love for a new inspirational contemporary romance with an Irish Summer Scavenger Hunt featuring a Once Upon an Irish Summer excerpt by Lisa T. Bergren and a giveaway!

Irish Summer Scavenger Hunt Stop #1

about the book

Once Upon an Irish Summer by Lisa T. Bergren

Once Upon an Irish Summer by Lisa T. Bergren

Series: Once Upon a Summer Collection (standalone titles)
Publisher: BCG Press
Release Date: ebook July 1 & print July 21, 2020
Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense

You Can’t Embrace Your Future Until You Deal With Your Past…

Fiona Burke has long been obsessed with Ireland’s famed, sixteenth-century pirate queen, Grace O’Malley. Now that she’s on the final stretch of earning her PhD in history, all she needs to do is finish her dissertation—with Grace O’Malley as her subject—then return home to Boston to defend it. Once that’s done she can compete for a highly coveted history professor position.

Fiona arrives in western Ireland aiming to interview the locals and find additional folklore to flesh out her work. But when she encounters Grace’s distant relative—the handsome, commanding Rory O’Malley—she gets seriously distracted. Rory shares her passion for history and Ireland, and cares for his grandfather and great-uncle in a winsome way. Unfortunately he also carries wounds beyond his injured leg…wounds that threaten to dismantle every little bit of a relationship that he and Fiona begin to build.

As a famed TV host becomes intrigued with Fiona—as well as convinced she should do guest appearances on his show—Rory starts to figure out that he might be as interested in his own personal romantic future as he is in Ireland’s epic past. But can he take the steps toward the healing he needs before it’s too late? It all remains to be seen… Once Upon an Irish Summer.

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Once Upon an Irish Summer excerpt

Fiona’s sea-blue eyes fairly sparkled with excitement, making Rory think about sailing the Atlantic on a brilliant summer day. They’d made the climb to the lighthouse and Fiona had tried to ask some questions about Grace of an ancient farmer beside the road. But the old man had been more interested in talking about the prospects of his “spuddies”—potatoes—than the island’s most famous resident.

And as they coasted down the hill back toward town, he had to admit that he’d quite enjoyed playing escort to Fiona Burke. He liked her inquisitive mind, her gentle but forthright way with people, how she got lost in her own thoughts about life in a different age. Had he not frequently felt that way himself?

But he had never gotten so lost in it that the rest of the world seemed to fade away, as it seemed to do for her. Perhaps it was because he’d been to Clare’s tower and the abbey before. But standing beside her at the ferry rail, looking out, he admitted it was more than that. Even when he’d stood in Saint Mark’s basilica in Venice or in the Coliseum in Rome, he’d considered the history of the places at a distance. Was it because Fiona had a “character” for her story to hang her hat on, a pin from which her history could spool into a finite chasm she could enter?

“So,” she said, nudging him playfully at the hip. “Tell me about your name. Rory. Were you named after the ancient king? Because the only other Rory I know is a female character on ‘Gilmore Girls.’”

“Ya think my da would’ve given me a girl’s name?” he nudged her back with his hip, immediately feeling the heat of a blush at his neck. He hadn’t been so forward with a girl in…years.

She smiled, showing off her cute dimples and white teeth. Rory focused instead on the wake the big ferry was casting off beside them, a white, bubbly wash disrupting the silver sea. “Oh, okay. So then why did your ‘da’ name you Rory?”

“I was named after my great-uncle. He was two years younger than George. When they were but wee lads, he died.”

“Oh,” she said, all trace of humor fading from her face.

Rory chastised himself inwardly, hating that he’d brought an end to her high mood. Could he not have found a better way to say it? Or have deflected for another time?

“Did he look like you?” she asked.

“Yes, if ye’re referring to the fact that I’m a ginger,” he said. “Because that’s all that my folks could really make out, when I was first born. That I had Rory’s red hair. There’s one in every generation, for us. How ’bout in yours?”

“More than one,” she said, with a cock of her head. “But then, for a couple generations, gingers seemed to attract gingers, so the gene pool was against me.”

“Against ya?” he repeated, about to tell her she was the prettiest girl he’d seen in years. But he caught himself. “I wouldna’ describe it as such. Grandda says your hair is quite fetching in the sun.”

“Does he now?” she said, casting him another teasing smile. “So you boys are sitting in your kitchen talking about my hair?”

Now he had to be blushing in earnest. It felt like he was dead scarlet, with heat up to his hairline. “Well, I… It just-just was something he said one day.”

She nodded and gave him one last, knowing glance before looking back out to sea, plainly holding her tongue—and blessedly, potential further torture.

He was sorely out of practice with women. At school, with most of his fellow teachers being female, he’d become rather adept at avoiding them all. He knew they gossiped. According to the school scuttlebutt, he was either gay, injured in a way that kept him from ever having an intimate relationship—which wasn’t true, as far as he could tell—or too shy to approach a girl.

He knew he’d allowed the rumors to stand without rebuttal, because together, the gossip formed an effective barrier wall. But that was in Shannon, away from here. It was different here on the coast, the place he called his heart’s home. The place where he felt he most belonged.

And the very place Fiona Burke had wandered into.

 

about the author

Lisa T. Bergren

Lisa T. Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of over 60 books in a variety of genres, that have sold over three million copies combined. She lives in Colorado Springs, CO with her husband and three big kids. You can find out more about her at LisaTawnBergren.com.

Visit Lisa’s website or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

 

Once Upon a Summer collection

Once Upon a Montana Summer Once Upon a Caribbean Summer by Lisa T Bergren Once Upon an Alaskan Summer by Lisa T Bergren Once Upon an Irish Summer by Lisa T. Bergren

 

scavenger hunt giveaway

Enter to win ALL 3 previously released books in the Once Upon a Summer series—plus 3 other LTB books of your choice—(over $80 in retail value!) by collecting all the clues in our mini-hunt, adding them all up, and entering on Lisa’s site on the 16th!

scavenger hunt clue: 3

Open to international contestants too (but if someone outside of the USA wins, they will be sent ebooks.) 

Once Upon an Irish Summer FB Live with Lisa T. Bergren

Prize winner will be chosen on July 17 after the Facebook Live party!

 

stop 2 giveaway

Thanks to the generosity of the author, one Faithfully Bookish reader will receive a signed copy of Once Upon an Irish Summer by Lisa T. Bergren! I’m keeping the Rafflecopter options short and sweet since we’ll be partying all week but be sure to sign up for Lisa T. Bergren’s newsletter and for daily, weekly, or monthly email updates from Faithfully Bookish!

Once Upon an Irish Summer giveaway on Faithfully Bookish

US only | ends 7/17 | complete giveaway rules

enter giveaway here
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Irish Summer Scavenger Hunt

July 12            Faithfully Bookish – Excerpt

July 13            Reading is My Superpower – Q&A

July 14            Relz Reviewz – Character Spotlight

July 15            Wishful Endings – Lisa’s 10 Days in Ireland Itinerary

July 16             Lisa Tawn Bergren

Follow along to collect the clues and learn more about Once Upon an Irish Summer by Lisa T. Bergren!

In the organizing phases of this hunt, I offered to share an excerpt because I knew (as much as I would like to) I should not add one more book to my read and review stack (currently at 50 books needing reviews)… BUT when have I ever demonstrated bookish self-control, y’all?

I told myself, “I’ll just read a chapter or two so I can tell my readers how good it is…” (mind you, this was BEFORE I read the excerpt from Lisa… clearly, a blushing hero who uses the word “fetching” with an Irish brogue is completely irresistible, right?!) And then (why am I surprised?!) these wonderful characters sucked me right in!!! Grab a copy of Once Upon an Irish Summer and we can read it together!

P.S. This scavenger hunt was organized by (and the gorgeous graphics provided by) author Lisa Bergren and the extraordinary Rel of Relz Reviews (and all the awesome author assisting things)! Bravo, ladies, and thank you for inviting me (and my reader friends) to participate!

89 thoughts on “Once Upon an Irish Summer Scavenger Hunt excerpt”

  6. Ireland is one of my travel bucket list places, so reading this book will let me travel when we can’t right now.

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  7. This definitely looks like a novel to add to my “to be read” pile. I have appreciated many of Lisa T. Bergen’s series over the years. I struggle with self-control too, Beth. You are not alone. 🙂

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  12. I’ve been seeing Lisa’s posts on facebook – of her trip to Ireland. It so makes me want to go again. I’d love to read this book and see the corresponding photos from her posts.

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  13. So excited for this next book! Lisa is a fantastic author and I’m sure this will be just as great as her others!

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  14. I’ve always loved the story of Grace O’Malley so I can’t wait to read this book. Thank you, Beth Erin, for sharing the excerpt with us!

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  26. So, the Rafflecopter entry says to answer the prompt at the end, but I can’t find one. I did love the excerpt. I love flirty banter and insecure heroes. And I have been wanting to visit Ireland, too.

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  40. You are another author that have some amazing book covers. It is on my bucket list to visit Ireland. I think it started with my childhood memories of using Irish Spring.

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  42. I very much enjoyed the excerpt. I also love the mini scavenger hunt. It’s not quite as complicated as the full blown ones. II like that!

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