Do you need to find out where you've come from before you can know what the future holds?Ruby's singing career is on the verge of hitting the big time, when her voice breaks. Fearing her career is over, she signs up for a retreat in Tenerife to recover.
But an unexpected call from a stranger on a remote Scottish island takes her on a short trip to sort out some family business. It's time to go and see the grandfather she's never met.
City girl Ruby knows she will be happy to leave the windswept beaches behind as quickly as she can, especially as a years-old family rift means she knows she won't be welcome at Teach Mhor.
But as she arrives at the big house overlooking the bay, she finds things are not as straightforward as she might have thought.
There's an unexpected guest in the house and he's not planning on going anywhere any time soon ...
Many thanks to Headline review via NetGalley for my copy of Coming Home to Winter Island to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Time and time again Jo Thomas just writes the most gorgeous stories with such stunning of settings that you wish you could visit and Coming Home to Winter Island proved to be no different. This uplifting and heart-warming read set on the picturesque Winter Island will soon have you wrapped up in a captivating and sparkling read within a few chapters. With such a beautiful cover, that screams read me now, Jo has written a story that has many important messages to be taken from it. One of the most important being, how life is for living in the here and now and how special memories can be created along the way.
The memories evoked for the main characters throughout the story are unlocked through the power of music as away of attempting to recollect the good times. The overall themes of family and community bonds mix well with dealing with some of the harsher realities of life, one of those being dementia. Everything was handled with such sensitivity, tact and genuine love and understanding for the subject matter that you couldn't fail to be drawn into the wonderful and endearing story unfolding before your eyes. It's a perfect read for this time of year, as you curl up on the couch during the long dark days of winter as the gifted Jo Thomas takes you on a journey that will find a special place in your heart.
Ruby Mac alongside her fellow band members is just on the cusp of making it big in the music industry. Talent scouts are coming to hear the band sing at a gig and hopefully they will like what they see. If the band gets the desperately wanted recording contract Ruby has agreed she will marry Joe and they can embark upon building a solid foundation to their relationship. But on the night of the performance as the big moment arrives for Ruby and co to shine, she just freezes and her voice deserts her. She can't sing a word as memories of her Dad rush through her mind. That's it, the opportunity is gone and Ruby is told to rest her voice or else permanent damage will be done. But without her voice and the band, just who is Ruby? She feels growing panic that everything she has worked so hard for is slipping away through her fingers. Singing is all she has known in her life. So she decides to book a yoga retreat in Tenerife to try and bring herself back to normal and recover her voice but before she can go on her trip she receives a message that little does she know will change her life forever.
Ruby has never had any contact with her father's family and as he has been dead for many years she had never even considered that a message would arrive from the small Scottish island of Geamhradh where he was brought up but left so long ago. Her grandfather Hector MacQuarrie is unwell with dementia and as things worsen something needs to be done about his future care and well being. I thought fair play to Ruby that she had a conscience and some sort of loyalty to her father that she was able to bite the bullet and travel to the remote island. Things were out of her control and she didn't like that as she likes certainty and control in her life. She always has a plan and sticks to it but having to disrupt her plans meant she was stepping out of her comfort zone not really knowing what was waiting for her outside of the boundaries she had established for herself.
Right from the moment Ruby stepped foot on the island I felt I was there alongside her as she embarked upon a journey that would be full of twists and turns and packed full of many surprises. Jo Thomas transported the reader to a windswept island that held so many hidden treasures that would hopefully be the key in unlocking Hector's memories and therefore maybe saving Teach Mór, the house he had called home for so long. Or would Ruby want to get off the island as fast as possible once things had been put in place for Hector? After all she did have a yoga retreat to get to and she had promised the band members and Joe she would go.
I didn't like the fact that the further we moved through the story that Ruby just kept putting Joe off and telling a few tales as to what was really going on and why she was still on the island. I think honesty is the best policy and she should have told him what was unfolding and maybe stood up for herself. She should have admitted that things had changed and she was going with the flow and doing something for both herself and her family. This doesn't mean I didn't like the character of Ruby, in fact the opposite I loved her and I also loved observing the journey she was on. I just wish she had been a little more truthful when it came to certain matters.
Teach Mór is a big, cold and neglected house but as Hector can't help this as sometimes he is present and knows who people are and at other times he is locked away in his own world and when Ruby arrives in the hopes of quickly signing some papers and getting off the island as soon as possible she is soon surprised to find Lachlan living with Hector and helping him out. At first Lachlan was aloof and elusive and didn't give straight answers and I suppose in a way he was right to be wary of someone from Hector's family turning up out of the blue after so many years. Given Ruby wasn’t fully aware of Hector's situation and past and that she wanted to maintain a distance and keep certain things private, Lachlan perhaps had to enforce a barrier for the sake of Hector whom he genuinely cared for. But at the same time it was clear he was hiding something and no wonder Ruby had her suspicions about both his character and intentions.
Lachlan fully believed that Ruby had turned up for money and that she would disappear once she had got what she wanted with no regard for Hector's welfare. But in no time at all, Jo Thomas weaves such a fabulous story that has you eagerly turning the pages to see what will happen next. You become caught up in the chemistry that is starting to filter through between Ruby and Lachlan although they wouldn't admit to anything given they are both so stubborn in their natures. Ruby knows getting emotionally involved will make things harder when she has to leave once things have all been neatly wrapped up. But Hector and Lachlan in a way don't make things all plain and simple for things to be signed, sealed and delivered in a fast as manner as possible. What unfolded was a delightful, tender and emotional journey with of course some sort or food or drink at its centre as no Jo Thomas book would be complete without some mention of said items. It's what she is know for and what makes her books special and memorable alongside some fantastic characters.
This time around gin features in a very special and unique way. Even though I don't drink gin I was still caught up in the strands of the story that made a recipe for gin the crux of the later half of the book. Clearly such detailed research had gone into learning all about gin and how it is made and then it was incorporated in the most wonderful way into this story. Working together for one common cause gives Ruby and Lachlan a purpose and over the course of attempting to reach their goal Ruby finds herself becoming more deeply involved with things. Is the emotional distance starting to be broken down? Instead of feeling detached, is she starting to form bonds with people when until now she has felt lost and like she doesn't belong anywhere? Maybe time really is a healer and in trying to do good for someone else she is in fact doing the same for herself.
The past and the future play a big roll in how Ruby embarks upon an at times difficult and emotional journey which highlights where we have come from to where we are going. As the island starts to work its way under her skin will Ruby solve all the clues to complete her mission and if she does so is she ready to leave the island and go off to Tenerife and get things with the band on track? Or will Winter Island and its magic work on Ruby and get her to follow her heart? To find out, you must read this exquisite book packed full of warmth, love and human understanding that just gives you the best feeling deep inside. Coming Home to Winter Island is classic, wonderful Jo Thomas and long may she continue to bring us books of this nature.
Thanks so much Emma and Sharon xx
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