Customer Reviews
A very good read - By: L. Murphy, 17 Dec 2008 
Binchy starts off by giving us a detailed view of Fernscourt & the first few chapters give us a good discription of the characters livingin the quite Irish village so that when the drama begins you actually feel like your part of the village yourself.
This book is about the Ryan family who own one of the three pubsin the town. On the arrival of the American family the O'Neils, the towns opinion is dividedin two when Patrick ONeil gives his plans to build a hotelin the town, with one half believing the town will profit & the other believing it will put them out of business. The arrival of Patrick O Neil & his children Grace & Kerry cause a lot of changesin the village & there energy certainly brings the village to life.
Theres quite a few suprisesin this one & a really unexpected twist at the end.
A Wonderful Read! - By: Jessica Chambers, 19 May 2008 As an avid fan of all Maeve Binchy's novels, "Firefly Summer" has to be my favourite. Written with the trademark warmth that has earned her such a special placein the hearts of so many readers, this book takes you on an emotional journey that will have you laughing & cryingin turn.
In the sleepy Irish town where this story is set, it is easy to forget the outside world & to imagine life will stay the same forever. Kate & John Ryan will continue to run the local pub, while their children enjoy an idyllic childhood having their run of the town. Then, the arrival of an American Patrick O'Neill & his two beautiful children, changes everything. He has a dream to restore the run-down hotel to its former glory, butin doing so stirs up some very strong feelings amongst the local residents.
Follow along with these immensely vivid & likable characters as they experience a good deal of tragedy & hardship, overcome great difficulties & fallin love. By the end, Michael & Dara are no longer the carefree children they once were & Patrick O'Neill realises the true price of fulfilling his dream.
A truly wonderful read!
More of the same - great if you like it! - By: , 26 Jan 2001 
Maeve Binchy has her style & she's sticking to it, or was until she retired last year, & why not? After all her winning formula has gained her fame, fortune & fans worldwide. This book sticks to the formula, with the usual array of stock characters, the drunk, the repressed religious nutters, the villain who's name always ends with a Y, & of course the village wise woman who knows all but says nothing. This book centres around the Ryan family who own a pubin the village. Their livelyhood looks like being snatched from them with the arrival of an American business man set to avenge his ancestry & build a hotel. Once his children fly out to join him it becomes apparent the business isn't all he's taking from the Ryans. If you already know & love Maeve Binchy then I'm sure you will relish another dip into her glossy green Irish views, but if you've tried her before & not enjoyed it then I wouldn't bother with this one.
