A Bealtaine Bonfire Kiss
(2026)(The fifth book in the Love in Ballymara series)
A novel by Maeve McBride
An old misunderstanding, a bonfire night, and a second chance bright as flames.
May in Ballymara arrives in wildflowers and long evenings, with a Bealtaine bonfire waiting on the strand like a dare.
Fiona, florist and garden designer, has built a beautiful life out of careful choices. She knows where everything belongs, including her heart. Seán does not fit anywhere she has made room for him. He is the heritage carpenter and local historian she almost married years ago, the one she never quite forgot, and he has just come back to town.
They are forced to work together. The Seaglass Inn needs heritage status to unlock the funding that could stop the developer's plan for good, and Seán is the only person who can make that case. Fiona is already dressing the inn for its biggest fundraising push yet. The town needs them aligned, not divided.
Seán has lived with the guilt of leaving and the stubborn belief that it was too late to fix what he broke. He tells himself he came back for the inn, for the craft, for the history Ballymara is trying to keep. He does not tell himself he came back for Fiona.
The truth is simpler and more painful. They did not end because the love was gone. They ended because one misunderstanding made them both feel unwanted, and neither of them was brave enough to ask for the truth.
As the bonfire light flickers across the strand, they must decide whether they will let the past decide their future again.
One kiss can be a goodbye. Or it can be the moment you finally come home.
Perfect for readers who love: second chance romance, former sweethearts reunited, Irish festival settings, slow-burn emotional tension, and a happily ever after that has been a long time coming.
Genre: Romance
May in Ballymara arrives in wildflowers and long evenings, with a Bealtaine bonfire waiting on the strand like a dare.
Fiona, florist and garden designer, has built a beautiful life out of careful choices. She knows where everything belongs, including her heart. Seán does not fit anywhere she has made room for him. He is the heritage carpenter and local historian she almost married years ago, the one she never quite forgot, and he has just come back to town.
They are forced to work together. The Seaglass Inn needs heritage status to unlock the funding that could stop the developer's plan for good, and Seán is the only person who can make that case. Fiona is already dressing the inn for its biggest fundraising push yet. The town needs them aligned, not divided.
Seán has lived with the guilt of leaving and the stubborn belief that it was too late to fix what he broke. He tells himself he came back for the inn, for the craft, for the history Ballymara is trying to keep. He does not tell himself he came back for Fiona.
The truth is simpler and more painful. They did not end because the love was gone. They ended because one misunderstanding made them both feel unwanted, and neither of them was brave enough to ask for the truth.
As the bonfire light flickers across the strand, they must decide whether they will let the past decide their future again.
One kiss can be a goodbye. Or it can be the moment you finally come home.
Perfect for readers who love: second chance romance, former sweethearts reunited, Irish festival settings, slow-burn emotional tension, and a happily ever after that has been a long time coming.
Genre: Romance
Used availability for Maeve McBride's A Bealtaine Bonfire Kiss