Lorna has led a small but safe life since she fled her childhood home on the Isle of Kip over twenty years ago. But now she, and daughter Ella, must return to the Island leaving behind the anonymity of London for the place where everyone knows her history…or at least they think they do.
Alice may live on a tiny island, but her life is full. Surrounded by a wonderful community and nature at its most glorious. But with the arrival or Lorna, her husbands estranged sister, their family might finally be able to mend itself…and maybe the island too.
Is it possible to start over when you return to where it all began?
I should start by saying this is the first novel I have read by Libby Page, but it certainly won’t be the last. I was pleased to find similarities in her writing style to some of my favourite storytellers, such as Heidi Swain and Sarah Morgan. Like those, her prose was filled not only with charming characters but also delightful descriptions that had me daydreaming of hopping aboard a ferry and heading for the Hebrides!
Told from two POV; that of Lorna who dislikes the island and Alice who loves it. Both were endearing protagonists in their own, but very different, ways. I think this was an effective method for this story as it clearly portrayed how a person’s memories and experiences can create their perspective of something, in this case a place.
Whilst this novel is an easy and wholesome read, Page has woven some darker themes such as alcoholism, child abuse and terminal illness into the narrative. These matters were dealt with tact and apt gravitas, without the overall feel-good factor of the book being lost.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into Page’s work and being swept up in this pleasingly predictable plot-line for a few days. A sweet story of forging friendships, repairing family ties and finding home - not just in a place, but in people.
* Thanks to Orion Publishing Group, via NetGalley, for this ARC *
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