‘Dreaming Under An Island Skye’ by Lisa Hobman

Synopsis

After three wonderful years of marriage, librarian Juliette Fairhurst’s heart is shattered when her husband, Laurie, is taken from her much too soon.

Devastated, Juliette decides to take a sabbatical and reconnect with her mother’s birthplace, the village of Glentorrin on the picturesque Isle of Skye.

Welcomed by most of the villagers, Juliette throws herself into an idyllic community life, taking on the role of temporary summer guardian at The Lifeboat House Museum; a role that offers her the perfect escape from the tragedy of her real life.

During her time on the island, Juliette clashes with brooding single dad and artist, Reid Mackinnon and is befriended by his son Evin and dog Chewie. It’s clear that divorced Reid is struggling and scarred by his own painful experiences.

Can these two lost souls find a lifeline to rescue each other?

Or will their pasts scupper their second chance at real happiness?

My Review

I read the synopsis for ‘Dreaming Under An Island Skye’ and it certainly like just the kind of light hearted, fun kind of read I was looking for.  I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down for what I hoped would be a fabulous read.  Oh ‘Dreaming Under An Island Skye’ was certainly that and so much more.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Dreaming Under An Island Skye’ but more about that in a bit.

I loved the character of Juliette Fairhurst and I warmed to her from the start.  When the story begins we learn that she works in a university library and she has got herself into a bit of a pickle.  She is rescued by Laurie, who Juliette happens to have a major crush on.  The rest as they say is history.  One day Juliette has the rug pulled from underneath her feet and her world falls apart with the death of her beloved Laurie.  Juliette eventually comes to realise that she has to allow herself time to heal from her loss and to carve out a new life for herself.  She decides to take some time out and travel to somewhere she has always wanted to visit- her mother’s birthplace.  Juliette is such a likeable character and I really did feel for her when she was describing her feelings of loss.  I even found that I was comparing myself to Juliette- no I haven’t lost a partner to cancer but my Dad died suddenly of leukaemia and much like Juliette, I kept myself busy so that I didn’t have to think about my loss.  I kept everything crossed for Juliette and I hoped that everything worked out for her in the end.  What happens?  Well for the answers to that question and so much more, you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.

I fell under this book’s spell from the moment I read the first word on the first page.  I think that part of the reason why I enjoyed the book so much was because I liked Juliette so much and I identified with some of what she was saying.  I became so addicted to the story that I literally took my Kindle everywhere with me just so I didn’t have to stop reading this gorgeous book.  I developed a desperation to find out if Juliette got the happy ever after ending that she deserved.  The pages turned over at a fair old pace as I worked my way through the book.  Then all too quickly I reached the end of the story and I had to say goodbye to Juliette.

‘Dreaming Under An Island Skye’ is beautifully and sensitively written.  Lisa doesn’t shy away from discussing difficult subjects but she does it in a such a gentle and compassionate way. Lisa certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draw you into this lovely story.  She clearly cares about her characters and describes them so well that they seemed to be just as real as you and I.  I also liked the vivid descriptions of Skye, which were so convincing that they made me want to pack a suitcase and go on my holidays.  I also loved the fact that my home county (in my opinion THE best county) of Durham got a mention or two as I love reading about places with which I am familiar.  I found ‘Dreaming Under An Island Skye’ to be a beautifully and compassionately written story, which kept my attention throughout.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Dreaming Under An Island Skye’ and I would recommend this book to other readers.  I will certainly be reading more of Lisa’s work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.