
This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.
Romance Books Set in Ireland
The perfect time to take a vacation and visit Ireland without ever leaving your cozy reading nook. These books will take you on beautiful romantic journeys, sometimes angsty, sometimes sweet, but always sexy.
Contemporary Romance
Devil of Dublin
by B.B. Easton
Available on Kindle Unlimited
From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of 44 Chapters About 4 Men (inspiration for one of the most-watched Netflix series of all time) comes a dark mafia romance steeped in Irish folklore.
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 farmโshy 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.
Contemporary Romance
Off the Map
by Trish Doller
Trish Doller’s idyllic romance Off the Map proves sometimes a wrong turn can lead to the exact right destination.
On the road to love, you don’t need a GPS…
Carla Blackโs life motto is โhere for a good time, not for a long time.โ Sheโs been traveling the world on her own in her vintage Jeep Wrangler for nearly a decade, stopping only long enough to replenish her adventure fund. She doesnโt do love and she doesnโt ever go home.
Eamon Sullivan is a modern-day cartographer who creates digital maps. His work helps people find their way, but heโs the one whoโs lost his sense of direction. Heโs unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled outโliterally.
Fate throws them together when Carla arrives in Dublin for her best friendโs wedding and Eamon is tasked with picking her up from the airport. But what should be a simple drive across Ireland quickly becomes complicated with chemistry-filled detours, unexpected feelings, and a chance at love – if only they choose it.
Paranormal Romance
Kiss of Vengeance
by S. Young
Available on Kindle Unlimited
A standalone paranormal romance from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young, writing as S. Young.
Fionn Mรณr was once a high king of Ireland; a fierce warrior who led his tribes against the invading fae. It was a war he couldnโt 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, itโs 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, sheโs still lost, traveling across Europe in search of that elusive missing โsomethingโ. When sheโs 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 Mรณr claims to have answers to.
Following the powerful and enigmatic Fionn to Ireland, Rose quickly realizes sheโs 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 loveโฆ and the darkest revenge.
Magical Realism
Jewels of the Sun
by Nora Roberts
BOOK ONE OF THE GALLAGHERS OF ARDMORE TRILOGY
In Gallagherโs Pub, where the fire is burning low and the pints are waiting, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts has a story to tell…
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 countryโs haunting myths. Although heโs devoted to managing the family pub, a hint of wildness still glints in his eyesโand 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 herโwhile they create a passionate history of their own.
Historical Fiction
What the Wind Knows
by Amy Harmon
Available on Kindle Unlimited
An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller.
In an unforgettable love story, a womanโs impossible journey through the ages could change everythingโฆ
Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfatherโs stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, 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 of war, 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 boyโs long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the womanโs disappearance is connected to her own.
As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Irelandโs independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether sheโs willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought sheโd find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?
Pin this for later

Contemporary Romance
Her Best Laid Plans
by Cara McKenna
Experience Irelandโthe dramatic beauty, the warm hospitalityโฆand the smoking hot local guys!
Imagine nursing a pint in a cozy, authentic country pub, far from Cork’s busy city pulse. Getting here took you a plane, bus, taxi andโฆum, bicycle. But just as you’re resigning yourself to drinking beside grey-haired farmers, you see himโa man with the looks and charm to soothe any heartbroken girl.
He’s your bartender. Your really, really gorgeous bartender.
For American Jamie Webbโrecently dumped and housesitting for two weeksโConnor Kelleher is like a six-course feast after a 23-year starvation diet. But it’s gotta be casual. She’s just begun rerouting her life after a three-year man-related detour. Still, a sexy romp (or twenty!) with Sexy McBartender?
But what happens when Jamie’s best-laid plans for no future plans with any man begin to change?
ENJOY READING CARA MCKENNA? TRY CHARLOTTE STEIN!
And if you don’t know where to start, check out our beginners’ guide to Charlotte Stein here
Magical Realism
Wild Irish Heart
by Tricia O’Malley
Available on Kindle Unlimited
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tricia OโMalley comes an enchanting romance series set on the rocky shores of Ireland. Readers are addicted to this bestselling series that transports them to a mystical town where magick and romance unite.
It is timeโฆ
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.
Contemporary Romance
The Matchmaker
by Catherine Walsh
Available on Kindle Unlimited
Katie has barely ever left her tiny Irish village of Ennisbawn. Why would she? With its tightknit community, friendly local pub, and gorgeous countryside, it has everything that Katie needs. That is, until hot-shot Callum turns up.
Though sheโd rather not admit it, hot is the perfect way to describe Callum. With his deep green eyes, strong jaw and (tattooed) arm-full of plans for a new hotel just outside the village, his arrival causes uproar in the village.
But when Katie discovers that the pub will need to be demolished as part of the plans, any feelings of attraction vanish in an instant. The pub is the last connection to her parents who met at Ennisbawnโs once-famous matchmaking festival.
So, after being laughed off the building site in her best flannel pyjamas for demanding the developers leave, Katie decides enough is enough and hatches a plan. Sheโs going to revive the matchmaking festival, save the pub, and single-handedly bring the town back to life again.
But as the plans for the festival escalate to brilliant, if terrifying, heights, Katie sees another side to Callum, and sheโs forced to question where her feelings really lie. Callum is promising not just a new start for the village but potentially for Katie too. Will Katie discover that even when someoneโs really not your type on paper, love might be a little bit more than just a formula?
A gorgeously escapist and utterly hilarious small town romcom perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Sophie Kinsella and Christina Lauren.
Urban Fantasy
Darkfever
by Karen Marie Moning
MacKayla Laneโs life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, sheโs your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks . . . until something extraordinary happens.
When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her deathโa cryptic message on Macโs cell phoneโMac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sisterโs killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessedโa gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae. . . .
As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sisterโs death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlaneโan alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human womenโcloses in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Macโs true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Bookโbecause whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands. . . .

have you read the Fever series?
5 Reasons Why Jericho Barrons Isn’t So Bad
While JZB may not be the poems and flowers kind of guy, there are plenty of reasons why he is the perfect book boyfriend.
Contemporary Romance
Still Life with Strings
by L.H. Cosway
My name is Jade Lennon and I stand still for money.
The night I saw Shane Arthur watching me everything changed. A man in a suit always catches my eye, but it was the way he looked at me that was different. Like he knew me or something. He didnโt know me, especially not in my costume. My sobriety rests on staying away from men, but there was something about him that made me throw caution to the wind.
After all, I was never going to see him again, right?
Wrong.
Standing still isnโt the only way I make my money. I also bartend at a concert hall. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Shane was going to show up there. Not only that, but heโs the most recent addition to the orchestra. So now on a daily basis I have to resist one of the most beautiful men Iโve ever met and he plays the violin. For me thatโs one hell of a deadly cocktail.
He wants me to teach him how to live. Iโm not sure how much a twenty-six year old recovering alcoholic who works in a bar and moonlights as a living statue can teach a world class concert violinist, but Iโm sure going to try.
Not suitable for readers under 18 years. Contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature.
Young Adult
Love & Luck
by Jenna Evans Welch
From the author of the New York Times bestselling Love & Gelato comes a heartwarming tale of a road trip through Ireland filled with love, adventure, and the true meaning behind the word family.
Addie is visiting Ireland for her auntโs over-the-top destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one thing she did that left her miserable and heartbrokenโand threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isnโt about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie canโt wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brotherโand her problemsโbehind.
So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, sheโs able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ianโs criticism.
And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the worldโs smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.
That is if they donโt get completely lost along the way.
Historical Romance
Duke Seeks Bride
by Christy Carlyle
In the swoon-worthy finale of her Love on Holiday series, Christy Carlyle takes readers to the breathtaking coast of Ireland where a pretty, young countessโs secretary agrees to impersonate her mistress to help a duke appease his fortune-hunting family…until he falls for her instead.
โSimply delightful!โ โJulia Quinn
Miss Evelyn Graves has never had a holiday. She is much too busy as the personal secretary to the Countess of Waverly. But the Duke of Ballymore Castle in Connemara, Ireland, has invited the countess to visitโand as the countess cannot travel, she has insisted Evelyn go in her stead. Except when Evie arrives, everyone mistakes her for the countessโand itโs clear the family who owns crumbling Ballymore were hoping to match the widowed countess with Alexander Pierpont, Duke of Rennick. Though Alex knows the truth of Evieโs identity, he has an unusual request. Heโll happily show her hospitality if sheโll agree to let others think sheโs the countess during her visit.
Thereโs just one problem: as time runs out on their arrangement and Alex increasingly fears he must in fact marry an heiress to save his familyโs fortunes, he finds that his heart now belongs to Miss Evie Gravesโฆand he canโt bring himself to let her go.
Contemporary Romance
Straight Up Irish
by Magan Vernon
I need a wife if I want to help save my familyโs billion-dollar pub empire. Thereโs just one problem: I never plan on marrying. So, I need someone who understands that this is just another business deal. I donโt do commitments. And my brotherโs executive assistant, Fallon Smith, fits that bill.
Fallon needs help with her grandmotherโs expenses, and her pretending to be my fake wife is a way we can make that happen. Sheโs not my biggest fan, but we can help each other and then go our separate ways. That sheโs beautiful and I enjoy spending time with herโdoesnโt matter. When all of this is done, sheโs heading home to America, and Iโve got a company to run.
A fake wedding and a whole lot of whiskey. What could go wrong?
Women’s Fiction
P.S. I Love You
by Cecelia Ahern
You may have watched the movie, but have you read the book?
Everyone needs a guardian angel! Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other’s sentences and even when they fought, they laughed. No one could imagine Holly and Gerry without each other. Until the unthinkable happens.
Gerry’s death devastates Holly. But as her 30th birthday looms, Gerry comes back to her. He’s left her a bundle of notes, one for each of the months after his death, gently guiding Holly into her new life without him, each note signed ‘PS, I Love You’. As the notes are gradually opened, and as the year unfolds, Holly is both cheered up and challenged. The man who knows her better than anyone sets out to teach her that life goes on. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying, singing, dancing–and being braver than ever before. Life is for living, she realises–but it always helps if there’s an angel watching over you.
Books that feature Irish main characters
Even if you can’t explore the beautiful Irish scenery with the next books, you’ll fall madly in love with these Irish characters.

WANT MORE BOOK RECS?
Get Access to Our Full Book Database
When you join the Under the Covers Community you’ll get access to our release calendar and trope database. Guaranteed to find your next read!

Join the Under the Covers Community
- Book Release Calendar
- Book Tropes Book Database
- Reading Under the Covers: Extra Bite – Exclusive Bonus Podcast Feed
- Additional recommendation lists
- Reading wrap-ups and our Bookish Brunch weekly behind the scenes newsletter
- Free downloads (activities, templates and more)
- And much more!
Pin it for Later
Originally posted February 28, 2023 | Last updated March 6, 2024
Thanks for the post. I’ve read a few of these and have a few on my TBR.
I’m in the mood for some Irish reads this month. Thanks a bunch!
Perfect timing!
I really enjoyed Off the Map and the Darkfever series. And I think Roark is my favorite Irish character.
Roark is king!