3*
I have read many of Jenny Colgan’s books, but none in the past couple of years. Either I’ve forgotten her writing style or this story diverged from her norm. Part One was very difficult to get into, and I was tempted to stop reading because very little was happening, too many characters were introduced at once without enough description to make them come alive in my head, and the abundant use of Scottish colloquial words and phrases took me out of the story too many times, often without being able to find a definition (e.g., saltires, dreich, schtum, stocious, etc.). Although I loved her Mure series, it annoyed me that, in describing the fictional town of Carso on the northern rim of Scotland (Thurso perhaps?), she also made up names for all the outer islands and their landmarks. Since I love finding place names on maps and in photos, it was frustrating to realize I couldn’t find visuals for the Mermaid’s Spyglass, the golden beaches, and the village itself.
Fortunately, the perilous adventure in Part Two grabbed my attention and didn’t let go until the very end. It was wonderful seeing both Gertie and Struan, one with the reputation of being a meek daydreamer and the other a failed musician in the eyes of their community, defy all expectations by taking heroic measures to save lives. Although I guess this could loosely be called a clean romance, there was no development of one, just a brief kiss or two near the end. I would categorize it more as women’s fiction and adventure. My 3* rating is the average of 2* for Part One and 4* for Part Two.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
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