Every so often I pick up a quick easy read from the library. I chose this one because of the bird reference in the title.

I gave this two stars because it wasn't terrible, the story and setting was nice and I don't think I've ever found another story that's set on an oyster farm. But there were a number of things that irritated me about the book.

It was incredibly predictable. I don't think there was anything that happened that came as a surprise. The way the main storyline was going to end was obvious from the cover (fair enough, it's a romance), but unfortunately everything else was fairly obvious too. This was all down to the writing, which gave everything away with big pointy signs and didn't hint at anything in a subtle way. It gave me nothing to really think about, during the story or after it ended.

The main character, Fi, well ... I had to suspend my disbelief a lot here. She seemed completely clueless. The list of things she had never seen and never done, and the list of things she was afraid of, was overly long and I wasn't convinced. I'm not sure how she got as far as she did without anyone knowing who she was - in a small town where everyone knows everything, how come nobody noticed a crashed campervan and a lady wandering around in a wedding dress? I live in a city and this would never go unnoticed. and how did she manage to get a job without being asked questions? I've never had an interview I didn't need ID for ... but anyway. The majority of the other characters were what I would call off-the-peg, they were unoriginal and rather stereotypical. I didn't really connect with any of them.

The story is mostly written in present tense, which isn't my preference and isn't a criticism, but every so often is a short passage written in past tense, so a different character's views can be read. I didn't really see why this is necessary and the change in tense was a little jarring. It didn't fit in well with the rest of the book and slowed down the pace.

Having said all that, I did quite like the story, the setting was lovely and there were some good ideas here, but they got smothered in all the fluff.
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About 40% in, I became more invested in the book. Before that, I figured it would be an amusing audiobook to pass time with, and it was!

But I became more interested in the characters as I went along. I can really see this book being a movie and I also think movies can smooth out any rough edges that sometimes exist in books. They can also sometimes do more with character development, back story, etc.

Some of the motivations of the characters, I didn’t always understand/maybe they seemed underdeveloped, which would really be my only critique. But I don’t really mind when these kinds of happy reads aren’t hugely in-depth because they don’t need to be!

The characters were fun and interesting and the sense of community was always present throughout. It really does sound like a great place to live.

Overview:

- Fun, warm characters
- Great setting
- Easy read
- Happily ever after ending
- Ireland
- Nicely narrated audiobook from Chirp

Oh, one thing I wanted to mention: I love when nature parallels what's happening in a story. The oysters and the characters paralleling was a nice touch.

If I were to write a synopsis you would groan. You've read it all before. Typical chick lit, and too many of the typical plot lines mixed in. Except this time it really works. Real characters that develop as the story goes on. All the loose ends wrapped up believably at the end. ( )