Falling Softly

Holly Russo couldn’t be happier.

Christmas, her favorite time of year, is only seven weeks away, and her boyfriend has just popped the question. David is steady and reliable, and Holly knows he’ll give her a wonderful life. The kind of life she’s always wanted.

Then her new neighbor moves in.

Josh O’Toole is also approaching the festive season with joy. He loves his teaching job. He’s about to have a baby with his adored girlfriend, Stephanie, and they’ve just moved into a new home to begin their life as a family.

But as Josh and Stephanie settle into their new house across the road from Holly and David’s, things begin to get complicated and soon the Christmas gifts aren’t the only things that have to be kept under wrap this holiday season.

Maria Duffy left her career in the bank to become a stay-at-home mum, but she never dreamed that she’d become an Irish Times bestseller. Her first novel was published in 2011 in Ireland and she now has six novels published there. All her books have been bestsellers in Ireland and some have been published in various languages. Maria lives in Dublin, Ireland, with her husband, Paddy, and her four children.

"This is a warm story about love and romance. Maria Duffy writes with charm and skill. She makes you really care about her characters and want to turn the page to find out what happens to Holly and Josh." —Sinead Moriarty, international bestselling author of Our Secrets and Lies

"Holly just got engaged to her practical boyfriend, David, and wasn’t prepared to see her first love, Josh, move in across the street with his pregnant girlfriend. Holly and Josh were childhood sweethearts who talked about having a romantic Christmas wedding. But he broke up with her in college, and neither has ever recovered. Holly learns that her sister interfered in the past, and now she and Josh tentatively start communicating in the hope of gaining closure. Instead, they see the problems with their current partners and fall back in love. Both try hard to make things work in their relationships. David does all that he can to stay with Holly, but Stephanie, Josh’s girlfriend, is simply detestable. Readers may be exasperated with characters who can’t see the solutions in front of them, but the engaging prose and appealing minor characters, including an elderly neighbor and his rambunctious dog, make this an enjoyable read. Duffy's destined-love story will appeal to fans of the late Maeve Binchy." —Booklist