ABOUT THE BOOK
I guess our life on the island was one which never fit you right. I like to imagine you some days when I look out the window across the harbour, all those miles of sea and land between us. But, sister, we are always connected.
When young nurse Emer loses her beloved sister, she is haunted by grief and desperate to escape her memories. Taking a job in Vinalhaven, a rocky outpost in the wild Atlantic, feels like the refuge she so badly needs.
Her patient,
Susannah, has lived in isolation for many years, since the tragic death of her sister Kate caused her to withdraw from island life. However, when Emer discovers a bundle of letters in a rainbow quilt in her bedroom and shares the story of her own loss, Susannah opens up. She begins to tell the story of Kate’s brutal and secret past, and her marriage to a man with a heart as cold as the ocean.
But when Emer starts asking locals about Kate, the island air sizzles with hostility. There are people who would rather that Susannah kept quiet, who have no qualms about threatening Emer. But despite the warnings to stay away, Emer is determined to find out what really happened the night Kate died – and the final secret that is keeping Susannah a prisoner to the past.
An unputdownable and unforgettable story of impossible choices and two sisters who would do anything for one another. Set on a bewitching sea-scented island, The Island Girls will burrow into your heart. Perfect for fans of Lisa Wingate, Anita Shreve and The Light Between Oceans.
PUBLISHED BY BOOKOUTURE
PURCHASE LINK
MY REVIEW
So much love for this book!! I adored the story of Emer and the prickly Susannah, as they both face up to extremely difficult pasts and find ways of moving forward.
Emer is on a boat and running away. Grieving for her sister Orla, she wants to right some wrongs and needs to do that away from memories of the past. So she gets a job nursing the terminally ill Susannah, a stubborn old woman who is convinced she doesn’t need any help and resents the intrusion of this new person in her life. Emer has time to explore the local surroundings with her nursing duties, and makes an impression on some of the locals immediately.
And then we have the story of Susannah, and we look back on her childhood in the 1950’s as she grows up with her sister Kate, who is the apple of her mothers eye. Whatever Susannah does is never good enough, and when she wants to take a different path that what her mother, and society, expects then she’s even more of a black sheep of the family. It was so fascinating to see Susannah and her struggles to live her own life. Imagine being discouraged from wanting to better yourself and be more than just a housewife and mother!
The more time Susannah and Emer spend together then the more the similarities about their pasts and their relationships with their sisters are explored and I loved the different storylines as they both played out. The stories take quite a dark twist at times and I enjoyed the suspense and drama that added to the mix!
It’s a story about the bond between sisters, about grief, about regret, not following the path others plan for you and I highly recommend it!
★★★★★
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