Irish Encounter by Hope Toler Dougherty is a stand-alone contemporary older-couple romance. Trying to get over the grief of losing her husband, Ellen Shepherd travels to Galway, Ireland to help her daughter settle in for a year of study abroad. There she meets Payne Anderson, a fellow American, on vacation to attend a wedding. She helps him see his need for God and he helps her get over her grief. After a whirl-wind friendship they go their separate ways hoping to meet up again in the States. I’m usually not one for reading about older middle age couples and romance; but because this was set in Ireland and especially Galway, I took a chance. It was a great little story. I loved Payne’s sense of humor! Ellen was such a sweet person to get to know. All of the interaction was believable and down to earth. Just like real life! I truly enjoyed this book and being able to “re-visit” Galway.
I received this book from Celebrate-Lit for my honest review.