The Island Between Us

by

Dougie McHale

Carissa thought she had escaped her past when she fled Edinburgh for the sunlit island of Skiathos. But her peace is shattered when her former partner finds her, determined to drag her back into his control.

Her only strength lies in the friendships she forges with Thomas, a WWII veteran who carries the burden of betrayal and loss, and with Demitris, who offers the love she desperately needs. As Thomas recounts his wartime mission, where danger, loyalty, and love collided, Carissa finds the courage to stand against the shadows threatening her own life.

REVIEW

Carissa is recovering from a toxic relationship with her former partner and decides to leave her home town of Edinburgh to take up a job on the Greek island of Skiathos as a walking tour guide. 

She forms a friendship with Thomas, who is a WWII veteran and he begins to tell her his story of how he came to end up on Skiathos. His story will tear at your heartstrings with his memories of love, loss, bravery and loyalty.

She also has her colleague, Dimitris, who she would like to become more than a colleague and she thinks the feeling is mutual.

On returning back to her house on the island one day after work, she finds a note on her doorstep which sends chills up her spine. Is her past catching up with her all the way from Edinburgh?

I loved the dual timeline aspect of this book. The characters were great and each chapter left on a cliffhanger and so made me want to read "just one more chapter"!

This is the first book I have read by this author, but I am already hoping to read his new one coming out soon as I thoroughly enjoyed this story and read it on holiday in just a couple of days. 

 The Island Love Song

by

Emma Cowell

Hydra, the picturesque Greek island, is a paradise for most, yet for sisters Ella and Georgia, it is a place where their darkest secrets dwell. And now the time has come for them to confront their past as they return to Greece to scatter their mother’s ashes.

Ella is haunted by a love song that was written for her by the man who broke her heart years earlier and she longs to find peace so she can move on with her life.

Georgia pretends everything in her life is perfect, but she is plagued with guilt. If what she’s kept hidden for decades was revealed, their family would never be the same again.

The island is urging the sisters to confront the truth, but can they build a future on the ruins of their past?

REVIEW

Ella and Georgia are sisters, but complete opposites. Ella is carefree and travels the world as a photographer and Georgia is married with a daughter, Phoenix and pretends she has the perfect life, but they come together to take a trip back to the island of their birth, Hydra, which is a Greek island to scatter their late mother's ashes. 

Ella really doesn't want to go back to the island as it holds too many sad memories, especially when she had her heart broken.

As you can imagine, things do not go to plan and Ella and Georgia have different ideas of what they want to do whilst they're on the island and Georgia is worried that secrets from the past could come back to haunt her and her family.

This is such a lovely summer holiday read, with a few twists and turns along the way. I really love this author's writing and this one is no exception.