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A delicious romantic tale of wild 1930s Scotland . . . perfect for everyone dreaming of summer' - Rachel Hore, author of A Beautiful Spy
The author certainly leaving us wanting more and I do hope we get to find out who owned the brooch. I actually want to relisten to see if there are any hidden clues! Effy has to compete and win against the males and it seems no challenge is too small for this young girl. I like the idea of a book set on a remote island and the descriptions of the location were very good. Unfortunately, the story didn’t grab me. The book is in two parts, following the life of eighteen year old Effie before and after the evacuation from the island in 1930.Karen Swan has delivered the perfect forbidden love story with the two protagonists separated by powerful class boundaries that seemed insurmountable. However, her ambition and her spark creates many open doors for exploring and despite initial prejudices for her name sake, she wins the hearts of many surprising characters! I can imagine in the 1930s this spirited girl existed and I hope it's true! I'm a fan of Karen Swan's books, always enjoying her flowing prose full of descriptive sentences that allow readers to really immerse themselves in the setting, as well as the story. She is an author that I am very glad to have discovered. En als haar dat al niet genoeg stress oplevert, verandert haar leven nóg meer als zij - samen met de 35 andere inwoners van dit eiland - wordt geëvacueerd naar de bewoonde wereld. Plots moet ze zien te wennen aan 'simpele' dingen die zij nog nooit heeft gekend als trappen in een huis, spiegels om jezelf in te bewonderen tot veel keuze bij de slager. I absolutely loved this. I really enjoyed the first part, which detailed Effie’s life on the island, as well as introduced the reader to a lot of the other inhabitants, including her two best friends, Flora and Mhairi who I believe will get their own books. The reader is given insight to the way of life on the island – they are a cashless society who pay their “rent” to the laird who owns the island by way of goods. They must also be pretty much entirely self sufficient, making use of the good weather during summer as much as they can. But the way of life is coming to an end – the population has dropped below having enough able bodies to provide for everyone and they have a signed petition asking to be removed from the island, which ended up going to parliament in London to be debated. When their request is granted, they are moved en masse and given new jobs and new houses and have to adjust to an entirely different life. Effie has never even seen things like mirrors, it makes for a big adjustment period.
Despite romance seemingly the focus initially, all is definately not what it seems and the reader's endure an unforgettable adventure with fun, sadness hardships and so much laughter and unpredictability even a pet cheetah & food fights! After losing her mother and her brother it is just her and her father, with poor health, surviving and she is desperate for her father's attention as not being his son Effy has to compete with the male islanders to provide for her father.I found the narrator’s voice extremely slow and had to speed up the audio to listen to it. I also thought she over enunciated some words which made her a bit irritating to listen to.
Being so strong and independent and outspoken causes many upsets among all the islanders and wearing her dead brothers clothes she really does not conform to the expected behaviours of the women of the era. Effys enthusiasm to learn from the rare gifted books given by the Factor is kept a secret from her father and later is revealed as a dark alteria motive. Not only shops and trees but new rules and discrimination never known to Effy before and yes she causes chaos! Lord Sholto has lead a privileged life but when he and his father visit the island they do not show airs and graces as Effie acts as tour guide to the visitors. Sholto falls for Effie the minute he sees her and Effie dreams there may be a life for her off the island.
This book is the first in The Wild Isle series and what a great start it sure is. This is the third book that I have read about the history, lives, and events taking place on the isolated island of St Kilda, and each one is so unique and brings something different to the table. When a unique visit from the mainlands Earl and his son throws Effy into being a guide for a week she easily impresses with her knowledge of the island and the bird inhabitants and obviously her amazing climbing skills! Of which will never be forgotten. Effy also has her first experience of that loving spark but sadly once again Effys actions are not well received by her father and the others!
As in her previous novels, the setting is wonderful, created and told with such detail that there is no doubting the meticulous research the author has carried out. One of the reasons I'm drawn to her novels is her attention to details and this novel is no different.With the subsequent evacuation of the residents to the mainland, the story then moves to a story line very similar to watching Downton Abbey! We have the gentry of which Sholto belongs and the staff downstairs. There is plenty of adventure and action in this second half of the book: a dead body found on the evacuated St Kilda and plenty of secrets.
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