Reviewed by Emma Crowley
When Abby steps off the ferry and onto the isle of Kinlossay, she squeezes her daughter’s hand and prays this trip was not a mistake. For the last year she has been receiving letters from a mysterious stranger detailing every moment of his life on this rugged little island. Swept away by descriptions of buttercups dancing on rolling fields, his words were a lifeline to Abby, filling her grey life with colour. But then, one day, the messages stopped.
Perhaps Abby should have forgotten about the man who gave her hope again, but she’s learned the hard way that she needs to make her own luck in life. She knows what she felt as she read those letters and she owes it to herself and her daughter to find out the truth.
But what if the truth means discovering that nothing about the man you thought you knew is real? When the secret of the island is revealed, will Abby run home to safety, or stay and fight for the life her daughter deserves?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Little Island Secret to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Little Island Secret is another absolute gorgeous read from Emma Davies that I thoroughly enjoyed from the beginning to the end. It tells the story of Abby who runs a second hand book shop in Cambridge and what happens to her when she responds to an email enquiring about a certain book. A correspondence ensues between herself and Cam who lives on the remote Scottish island of Kinlossay in the Outer Hebrides. Little does Abby realise that this new found friendship will change the course of her life. Yes, initially you do think how could such a deep friendship that tends to venture into deeper territory really be all that possible via email? But the author really makes it work. I felt the connection between the pair, it felt real and it was exactly what Abby needed in her life. When Cam comes for a one-off visit an even deeper connection is established between the pair. The question arises can you love someone that you have only met once? Abby decides to keep emailing Cam as it provides a way to express how she is feeling. Things you can’t say to people in person often pour forth when you don’t have to see someone face to face.
Abby is a single mum to daughter Beth who herself is struggling with the way she is being treated at school. I loved how this aspect of the story wasn’t brushed under the carpet and the fact that Abby discovers what is going and wants to do her best for her daughter to help her navigate through the unwarranted cruelties she is experiencing at school. Beth doesn’t understand why can’t you just be the way you want to be instead of people expecting you to conform and become something you are not?
The first half of the book really focuses on Abby and the bookshop and I kept thinking when will the island of the title start to feature. I thought there was too much focus on the bookshop even though it was nice to read about the old man who visits on a regular basis and also Gwen who works alongside Abby. The shop is Abby’s passion but deep down you sense she is looking for something more. That she would love a father figure for Beth and to become a proper family but would she give her heart away to just anybody?
The book was moving along at a nice pace and then tragedy struck and it literally tore my heart in two. Cam stops emailing Abby. She can’t understand what she has done wrong but putting her detective skills to work she discovers that Cam has passed away. I felt every bit of her pain, grief and anguish. The one solid constant in her life is gone. Her link to another new and exciting world filled with possibilities and places to explore has disappeared and you just feel so desperately sorry for her. Knowing he was there and was someone to share things with had taken her by surprise so it’s even more heart-breaking now that this has been taken away from her. It’s testament to the way Emma Davies wrote this story that I had really felt for the connection the pair had established despite it only being for the majority of the time via email. It could have felt so implausible and just over the top but instead it felt tangible, real and worthwhile.
Abby had spent the majority of her life feeling like a misfit, like she belonged nowhere because of the way she is but Cam had changed all that and perhaps it had allowed her to see that she can carve out the life she wants for herself. Abby decides to keep emailing Cam as she feels it will help her continue to get things off her chest. But when an email arrives in her inbox from Cam she can’t believe it.Just what is going on? Cam is the ghost that Abby needs to excise and by going to the island it may be the only way she can lay him to rest and in turn move on with her own life.
Admittedly, I did start to get a little confused at this part and even more so when Abby arrives with Beth on the island of Kinlossay and a surprising turn of events ensues. But my confusion only lasted just for a few chapters as things are briefly explained even though there was a lot more to be explored on an emotional level. To say much more as to why I was confused would ruin the real heart of the story but I really loved the way the later half of the book was developed. Abby had come to the island as a way of finding closure. The holiday was giving both Abby and Beth a way of breathing again, to come out from under the weight of all that threatened to swap them but little did Abby realise that perhaps time away from the bookshop would give her the perspective she needed. Some new insights would ensue and some tough decisions would have to be made.
The descriptions and the general feel of the island were just outstanding. I really wanted to be able to go there because it seemed like the perfect place to rest, relax and heal. I loved all the new characters introduced and I felt having become slightly bogged down in the first half, the book took on a different tone and pace and I loved every minute of it. I could picture everything so clearly in my mind and I could sense that this would be a good place for both Abby and Beth to find the answers they so desperately sought and to take time together to work out what their next life move should be. You got a real sense of Abby’s anger and frustrations at what she learns and I did understand why she took on a certain attitude towards someone. Yet at the same time I understood why that person felt the need to do what they did. I’m being very vague here but to say anything else would give away a great and worthwhile twist to the story that really gets you thinking about Abby’s situation as a whole and the decisions she is forced to grapple with. Suffice to say I felt the later half of the story to be much stronger than the first and it really helped bind the themes, emotions and issues being explored in the book together very well.
The Little Island Secret is the perfect summer read and another sure fire winner from Emma Davies. It really makes you take stock of your own life and to think what would you do if you were in Abby’s situation? The ending felt just ever so slightly rushed but that only served to make me think there is room for more from the island and these characters. If a full length book is not possible then I would love a short story perhaps set at Christmas time? This is a lovely read about learning to accept yourself for you who are, to seek happiness and to try and become wild and free. It’s definitely one I would recommend.
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