Paul G. O’Connor’s If I Had You begins with a summer romance on Ireland’s west coast. Visiting his grandmother in County Clare, Nick Sullivan falls for Molly Hourihan among town dances, family gatherings, and afternoons near the Cliffs of Moher. Then Nick returns to Boston and leaves behind the St. Christopher medal Molly gave him, with her picture tucked inside. Years pass before a crisis brings him back. His grandmother Una is at risk of losing her home, Molly is engaged to someone else, and the boy who promised to return has to face what his silence cost them both. It’s a story about love that lingers, and about the choices people make while they’re waiting for life to turn out differently.

O’Connor gives that romance a lively and crowded world. Una can be sharp over a cup of tea and fiercely tender toward Nick in the same breath. Aunt Mary and Uncle Paddy trade barbs that make a visit feel like a family event, while the older, world-weary Mike Stetson brings a dry Boston voice to the story. His friendship with Nick becomes especially compelling once a loan meant to save Una’s house draws them into a dangerous financial scheme. The plot moves through betting shops, pubs, hotel corridors, and criminal offices, with each place adding another person whose decisions matter. Love, money, pride, and old grievances keep crossing paths, often at the worst possible moment.

Molly’s mother, Tara, gives the book much of its emotional weight. Her anger at Una has roots in a painful family history, and her fear for Molly comes from losses of her own. Watching Molly question the life she’s planned with Conor makes their conversations feel as consequential as the race to recover Una’s money. Molly wants a future she can choose for herself. Tara has to consider what her years of guarding against hurt have asked of her daughter. Their scenes make room for affection even when neither woman finds the right words immediately. O’Connor is also good at giving feelings a physical home: a kitchen table, a garden bench, a piece of bread offered when someone needs comfort.

The final stretch gathers those details into a satisfying return to the Cliffs. The medal, Una’s barmbrack, and Nick’s long delayed decision all carry the history of the people who have held on to them. There’s humor alongside the worry, especially in the family’s teasing and Stetson’s surprised enjoyment of Tara’s company. By the end, If I Had You has become a generous story about several generations finding the nerve to make a new choice. Its most affecting moments come when someone opens a door, offers a hand, or decides there’s still time to show up. If I Had You knows that love changes a life when someone finally chooses to stay.

Pages: 267 | ASIN : B0HCM5M1KB