Publication Day Review: Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews
Road Trip
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
Published: TODAY, June 2, 2026
Audiobook: 14 hours 59 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: May 6-17, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Pack your bags for a summer journey shaped by family secrets, long-buried history, and charming men with Irish accents.
Maeve and Therese Dunigan haven’t spoken in years. Raised under the same roof in Savannah, the two sisters could not be more opposite—Maeve the rule follower, Therese the unapologetic rebel. But when their mother’s death pulls them back together, they inherit more than just grief: a mysterious painting that may be worth millions…if it’s real.
Determined to uncover the truth—and desperately in need of the money—the sisters set out on a journey to Ireland, tracing their family’s roots and the origins of the portrait. What begins as a search for answers soon becomes something deeper—a reckoning with the past, as they uncover secrets that span generations and reshape everything they thought they knew about their family.
With tensions simmering, the two hit the road and find themselves on twisty lanes, in colorful villages, at local pubs, and with handsome men whose gift of the gab is surpassed only by their charm.
Can Maeve and Therese actually survive the journey without killing each other? Join Mary Kay Andrews on a road trip that will entertain you for miles.
Jessica’s Review:
Mary Kay Andrews is back after two years with a new summer beach read, and I was beyond ready for it! Bonus points for having Kathleen McInerney narrate and most of the novel taking place in Ireland! Listening to this made me want to go revisit the Emerald Isle!
Now this is not your typical MKA beach read to start the summer. It’s a mystery with family history in it! It was intriguing to see what direction the story was going to go in. It was still very enjoyable!
We have sisters Maeve and Therese who are estranged, and total opposites! They come together after the death of their mother and discover that a painting they grew up looking at may just be worth millions! But to do that they must travel from Savannah to the other side of the world: Ireland. Along the way they learn more about their family history, each other, and some they have romance of course! The novel has a colorful cast of Irish characters, including an English Cocker Spaniel named Sinead O’Cocker.
Kathleen McInerney is always superb, but she even got the Irish accents as well. Whenever I see her name attached to a book, I have to listen to it. If McInerney narrates it, you know its going to improve on an already good novel!
Having been to Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2007, as I listened to the novel I had fond memories of my trip there with my aunt and of course Road Trip makes me want to go back. MKA’s novels always have so much fun in them and I was so happy to be able to listen to an advanced copy. MKA is a favorite and an auto read of mine.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Here are a few pictures from my Ireland Trip back in 2007:
At Blarney Castle
With my Aunt!
Having a pint of Guinness in an Irish pub! (and I did drink the whole thing!)
At the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland
A Re-Listen to The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews
The Santa Suit
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
Published: September 28, 2021
Audiobook/224 Pages
Book Description:
When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it’s a full-time job sorting through all of it.
At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it’s from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?
Ivy’s quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.
Jessica’s Review:
I can’t really say much more than what I said on my previous review back in 2021. My review is with Kim’s as a double review here. I wanted to share this before we got too far away from Christmas! Definitely click the link to see what both Kim and I had to say.
This was a reread for me and a book club read for December. It’s MKA which you know I adore her, and the book bringing up nostalgia for me with my dad playing Santa when I was younger and remembering those days. He was Santa in the 1990s before it became the very popular ‘thing to do’ that it is now.
I hope you and your loved ones had a great Christmas!!!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Short Story Sunday: Holiday Hideaway by Mary Kay Andrews
Holiday Hideaway: A Short Story
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Narrator: Eva Kaminsky
Published: October 29, 2024
Audio: 1 hour 59 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: December 2, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Short Story Description:
Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.
George Holloway is here to sell his granduncle’s house—and to reconsider whether he and his fiancée are right for each other. Amid home repairs, George notices strange noises and missing food, but as much as he gets his rental agent on the phone, Tilly dodges every invitation to meet. He’s sure that someone’s here with him, and it’s certainly not the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, or Future.
As Tilly and George circle each other, they both wonder where their lives are headed and if, maybe, meeting each other is just the Christmas miracle they need.
Jessica’s Review:
MKA wrote a Christmas short story, so you know I was going to read or listen to it!
Holiday Hideaway was a cute short story that could really use being expanded upon! It was almost too short for me. It’s not realistic at all: Hiding in the attic of a house that your company rents while the new owner who inherited it is staying there. And add your dog to the mix? Does this dog not bark… Ever!?!?! Come on. Other than all of that, Tilly and George’s banter and chemistry seeps through the audiobook. You just know what is ultimately going to happen. I was ready to go on this short story and see what ultimately happens. And with MKA you know it’s never really that easy!
The narrator for this short story is Eva Kaminsky and she did a good job with her narration!I did enjoy it an gave it 3.5 stars, but I think MKA needs to stay away from short stories and at a minimum write novellas, like her previous Christmas novellas have been. Which I loved both of those!
My reviews for those novels are here:
The Santa Suit This one was a double review with Kim!
Bright Lights, Big Christmas