Aisling Ever After is the fifth and final book in the wonderful Aisling series. Co-written by Irish authors Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, honestly, I just don’t want the series to end! Reading these Aisling books has been such a joy, she feels like such a real, rounded person and I’ve loved getting to know her over the past five years.
Opening sentence: It’s spring but it’s still cold so I’m wearing the jigsaw jumper with the big polo neck Granny Reilly knitted me and a pair of leggings with pink love heart shorts on over them.
A nostalgia trip
Aisling came to life through a Facebook group where people shared character traits (in a positive, endearing way) often found in Irish women they knew called Aisling. The character then made her debut in Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling in 2018.
Before writing my Aisling Ever After review, I read over my previous four reviews and it was such a lovely nostalgia trip. Not only did it remind of the plot highlights of this series but it made me remember why I love Aisling as a character so much.
For your reference, the Aisling books in order are:
- Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling
- The Importance of Being Aisling
- Once, Twice, Three Times and Aisling
- Aisling and the City
- Aisling Ever After
From New York to Ballygobbard
When we last saw Aisling she was living in New York, dating fireman, Jeff and smashing it out of the park in her job at a celebrity events planning agency. All is great until her ex-boyfriend, John suddenly turns up on her doorstep and throws her world upside down.
Add in the fact that her mother’s new relationship means she has two potential new step-sisters to deal with and a Jurassic Park stripper (it’s these hilarious moments that truly make these books so special for me) and Aisling’s final chapter is the perfect blend of funny and emotional.
This feels like maybe one of the most glamorous things I’ve ever done, and I recently sent out invitations for Barbra Streisand’s dog’s second birthday!
We also, of course, get the updates on Aisling’s best friends. Majella and Pablo are still at their comic best while there’s trouble in paradise for Sadbhb and Don, their effortlessly cool counterparts.
Aisling Ever After
This book really is the perfect ending to the series – Aisling’s character development is so realistic and she is just so relatable because we all have a little Aisling in us. From our shared love of the octopus documentary on Netflix to the fact I’ve had this exact thought is testament to that:
‘Do you think Farrow and Ball are bitter about the paint-mixing machines?’ I ask idly as I watch the hardware man strap a tin into his mega mix so we can copy Dead Salmon for our bathroom for a fraction of the cost.
Aisling is so brilliantly Irish, so real, so wonderful, I’ve enjoyed this series so much and would be 100% here for some kind of Christmas special. It feels very bittersweet to be saying goodbye to her, I would happily read another instalment of Aisling’s life every few years.
Also, what a perfect final line, absolutely had the tears streaming. If you haven’t read the Aisling books yet and are in the mood for comforting, heart-felt, wholesome, funny, emotional reads featuring a brilliant set of characters, pick them up immediately.
Slán leat, Aisling, it’s been a blast.
- Get your copy of Aisling Ever After here;
- Published by Gill Books August 2023;
- 354 pages;
- My rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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