#BookReview: The Last Summer by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @panmacmillan #TheLastSummer #KarenSwan #TheWildIsle #5Stars #HighlyRecommended

Book Synopsis:

Summer on St Kilda – a wild, remote Scottish island.Two strangers from drastically different worlds meet . . .Wild-spirited Effie Gillies has lived all her life on the small island of St Kilda but when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young visitor around the isle, falling in love for the first time – until a storm hits and her world falls apart.Three months later, St Kilda falls silent as the islanders are evacuated for a better life on the mainland. With her friends and family scattered, Effie is surprised to be offered a position working on the Earl’s estate. Sholto is back in her life but their differences now seem insurmountable, even as the simmering tension between them grows. And when a shocking discovery is made back on St Kilda, all her dreams for this bright new life are threatened by the dark secrets Effie and her friends thought they had left behind.

My Review:

Oh my goodness I absolutely adored this book. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read one of her books. I went on such an amazing journey with Effy and just fell in love with all the wonderful characters.

The book is told in two halves. Before describes Effy’s life on St Kilda before the evacuation and After details Effy’s life after the evacuation as the villagers adjust to life on the mainland. I initially felt very sad when the story switched to After as I had really enjoyed the fabulous descriptions of life on St Kilda but I actually ended up loving following life at the house and all the fabulous people Effy meets.

I loved the author’s vivid descriptions of St Hilda which told of a very different life to the one I know. The author writes the book so I felt like I was actually there scaling the cliffs and hunting for birds alongside Effy. I was so intrigued that I spent a lot of time googling the Isle to see how it looked in real life. I doubt I’d have been able to cope with the harsh life there but it was interesting to live it through Effy. The description of the house and the community there amongst the servants was also really wonderful. I loved following Effy as she adjusted to life at the house and made new friends.

Overall, as you can probably tell, I loved this book and can’t wait to read more in the series. I quickly became absorbed into Effy’s world and found the book hard to put down as I was so enjoying it. There was always something happening to keep my interest and I loved following Effy & Shoto as they grew closer. I really wanted there to be a happy ending for them both. The last few chapters were brilliant and I loved the unexpected way the book was going. Fair warning the book does end sudden on a cliff hanger though and I’ll now be impatiently awaiting the next instalment next year.

I highly recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers and anyone who’s looking for an absorbing, intriguing read.

About The Author:

Karen Swan is the Sunday Times top three bestselling author of twenty books and her novels sell all over the world. She writes two books each year – one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Previous summer titles include The Spanish Promise, The Hidden Beach and The Secret Path and for winter, Christmas at Tiffany’s, The Christmas Secret and Together by Christmas.Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.Her five book historical series called The Wild Isle, is based upon the dramatic evacuation of Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.