Language : English
Hardcover : 448 pages
ISBN-10 : 1529084466
ISBN-13 : 978-1529084467
Book Blurb
Young Flora MacQueen has always dreamt of more than life on the small Scottish island of St Kilda. So, when she catches the eye of visiting adventurer and wealthy businessman James Callaghan, her future seems brighter.
Winter seas separate the lovers but the island’s evacuation the following summer promises to reunite them – until tragedy strikes.
Heartbroken and needing to support her family on the mainland, a chance meeting offers hope. Soon Flora is the toast of glamorous Paris; fame and fortune are hers for the taking. But at a high price.
My Review
Karen Swan is one of my favourite authors and I have completely fallen in love with her St Kilda series. I was really excited to receive her latest book, The Lost Lover, but even more excited to realise that what I thought to be a trilogy, and this the last book, is now going to be a four book series.
The previous two books, The Last Summer and The Stolen Hours focused on the stories of Effie and Mhairi respectively and The Lost Lover is the story of their friend Flora and her time on and off the Island. Flora is the eldest McQueen daughter so has to help in the house and with her younger siblings, but she has dreams of her own. Flora is a dreamer, wanting a more glamerous life like those she sees in the magazines the fishermen sometimes bring her; she dreams of a bright red lipstick. I loved her innocence, her outlook on life even though I did worry for her in parts, as people took advantage of that. Being back on St Kilda was like visiting old friends again, the same wonderful characters, like Big Mary, Donald, Laura and of course Effie and Mhairi.
What I love about the St Kilda series is the setting itself, this wild island where the residents hunt for their food, weave their own material for clothes and live by the seasons. Karen Swan beautifully captures this wild landscape, the rugged cliffs, the wild sea, the harsh weather conditions and the perilous lives the islanders live. The books have always follwed the islanders as they move to the mainland and a whole new world, but Flora’s story takes this to a new level when she ends up in Paris. Paris, with its glamour, the Ritz Hotel, the infamous Maxim’s are a far cry away from St Kilda. As well as romance, these books still have a murder at it’s heart, still unsolved with Effie, Mhairi and Flora potential suspects.
The Lost Lover is my favourite book in this series so far. Flora’s journey was amazing, her love story, her loss and her emergence in Paris. There were plenty of surprises and shocks in this book that I didn’t expect but made the book even more compelling and now I’m in high anticipation for the fourth and final book in the series. This is another outstanding novel from Karen Swan, and if you haven’t read this series then I urge you to buy them. A. simply sublime reading experience!!
