The hotly anticipated second book in the Aisling trilogy, The Importance of Being Aisling, is set for release on September 20th. The women I am having brunch with (brunch is a "notions" meal observed by notions Dublin types, and Aisling would strongly favour a sandwich with chips on the side) tell stories of Aislings they know or work with, or tell stories about themselves in an attempt to prove they are "actually a complete Aisling really". When a week in Tenerife with John doesn’t end with the expected engagement, Aisling calls a halt to things, and soon she has surprised herself and everyone else by agreeing to move into a three-bed in Portobello with stylish Sadhbh from HR and her friend, the mysterious Elaine. Newly single and relocated to the big city, life is about to change utterly for this wonderful, strong, surprising and funny girl, who just happens to be a complete Aisling. Aisling’s neuroticism arises from her deep conscientiousness and investment in those she loves, and is considered fondly by her reader. She is presented to us as a tender, well-rounded, functional person who is a benevolent influence on people around her. She is caring, independent and robust. She is the sort of person who can function as an individual and can also prioritise others when the situation calls for it. She is a modern Irish woman, and the book presents Aisling’s neuroticism as a realistic element of her character that both benefits and stymies her depending on the context.

Meanwhile, in Ballygobbard, it’s all go. Baby showers are the new hen parties, Mammy and Dr Trevor are more serious than Aisling thought, and the prospect of two evil stepsisters has her doubting her place in the family. Pulled between head, heart and home, Aisling strives to finally create her own happy ever after.” There's a theme of romance in this, but it's not a romantic story, more a coming of age story which disappointed me a bit if I'm honest. The end kind of came up from nowhere and ends were left loose which isn't my thing, but still, a good read.The synopsis reads: “With her café BallyGoBrunch flying and the door firmly closed on her relationship with John, an unexpected job offer sees Aisling boarding a business-class flight to New York in her best wrap dress and heels. As she finds her feet in the Big Apple, she throws herself into the dating game, grapples with ‘always-on’ work culture, forges and fights for new friendships, and brings her good wedges to a party in the Hamptons (much to Sadhbh’s dismay). Aisling Ever After’ is on shelves now after Ireland, while the audio book is due to be released later. Meanwhile Emer gushed: “We’re giving our girl the best send-off possible.” Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen Pic: VIPIreland READ MORE: Electric Picnic speculation rife that popular band could reunite for surprise appearance Then I had some mental health struggles like feeling the pressure of having to produce another book and really struggling with it.

But Aisling, never one to worry about having too much on her plate, rolls up her sleeves: she's got this. When a week in Tenerife with John doesn’t end with the expected engagement, Aisling calls a halt to things and soon she has surprised herself and everyone else by agreeing to move into a three-bed in Portobello with stylish Sadhbh from HR and her friend, the mysterious Elaine. Aisling spends two nights a week at her boyfriend John’s. He’s from down home and was kiss number seventeen at her twenty-first. Aisling wohnt mit 28 Jahren noch bei ihren Eltern und träumt von der großen Liebe und einem Ring am Finger. Doch ihr langjähriger Freund John hat da offenbar andere Pläne. Als ihr das klar wird, trennt sie sich kurzerhand von ihm und zieht in eine WG in Dublin.

Novelists for Yes

There was space there for me to do that. So we did that twice, we delayed a book. And everyone around me was so brilliant. Emer said: “One thing that often happens is we get pictures of people reading it by the pool in places like Tenerife and Leo Varadkar in Vegas.” We’ve seen her move on from John, head to New York and now we’ll see where her journey has brought her. Aisling (which, thanks to a long ago read Maeve Binchy novel I actually know how to pronounce) is a gas, a scream, a hoot and fiercely funny - to everyone else. Desperate for her boyfriend of seven years to propose, she finds herself in the unfortunate position of being in a toilet cubicle at yet another friend's wedding listening to two of the guests from her table chatting about her little idiosyncrasies. From that conversation we learn an awful lot about the type of woman Aisling is, and as we get in further it's revealed that she is also a good daughter to her parents, travelling up and down to her job in Dublin since her father was ill, although he's recovered now. She works hard and plays hard and thinks her future is settled with boyfriend John .. only, somehow, the magic proposal just hasn't materialised.

After a year-long break, the fourth and penultimate book, Aisling and the City, will be published on October 8 this year and sees Aisling jetting off from Ballygobbard to the city that never sleeps: New York. Beside me, John is horsing into the contents of his second trip to the buffet. He looks so cute that I can’t stop myself reaching out and squeezing his hand affectionately. His plain white T-shirt is inside out, I’ve just noticed – the big gom. He looks up from his sausage sandwich and raises his eyebrows quizzically. Nach diesem ganzen Geschimpfe über das Buch muss ich aber auch sagen, dass es schnell und gut zu lesen war. Die Autorinnen haben einen tollen Schreibstil und an Einfallsreichtum was peinliche Situationen angeht sind sie kaum zu überbieten. Ich denke die Geschichte kann schon unterhaltsam sein, wenn man über die großen Schwächen hinweg sieht. Das Ende fand ich ganz gut aber das konnte eben das gesamte Buch für mich überhaupt nicht retten.

Éigse sees Múscraí Gaeltacht pay tribute to beloved sean-nós singer 

Oh my God, What a Complete Aisling is an almost-but-not-quite satire. It began life as a Facebook group, run by its two authors, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, and riffing off the Aislings of this world: a girl from rural Ireland who has “never dyed her hair”, “carries her court shoes to work in a bag” and harbours a deep suspicion of sushi (“the price of it for something that’s not even cooked. I ask you.”) For a dyed-in-the-wool farmer, Daddy is low-key obsessed with soaps, especially the Australian ones. I think part of him longs for a bit of escapism. He doesn’t get much glamour moving sheep and cattle around all day. However, they added: “This is the end of the Aisling series, however, we are not going to be burning any bridges with our publisher. That rare, precious thing: a fictional character you care about like a friend. It's a joy to spend time with Aisling again' LISA McGEE, creator of DERRY GIRLS

I think we have a little bit of Aisling in all of us so it's really easy to identify with her. I found myself getting quite emotional in some of the lifelike, sobering scenes but it wasn't long before I found myself laughing again. Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen need to bottle Aisling and prescribe her in place of anti-depressants; I can't imagine anyone reading it without a smile on their face. Emer McLysaght (left), and Sarah Breen during the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2019 (Image: DPA/PA Images) a b McLysaght, Emer; Breen, Sarah. "What a Complete Aisling: The story of a very particular type of Irish girl". The Irish Times.Sarah said: “It was very hard to see Emer feeling the way she did and she ended up becoming an inpatient in a hospital and that was tough but we always said when we started this that our friendship was more important than the project and the Aisling project has been amazing and changed our lives, but our friendship is the most important thing.”