Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this. Sadly it wasn’t for me as it just didn’t grab me the way I’d hoped it would but I wish the author the very best success with it.

This book was a brilliant read and one that is perfect to escape for a few hours and loose yourself.
Characters that fall out of the pages of the book and make you fell apart of the story, the setting is lovely and captured well with words.
A great read. that I would highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this saga set on a small Scottish island just before the Second World War. It is an emotional rollercoaster story of love, loss, lies, misunderstandings and very bad luck. The story unweaves at a perfect pace, the diverse range of characters are engaging and the descriptions of the Sottish island are beautiful.

I have read several of Leah Fleming's previous books and have really enjoyed them all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Another good book by Leah Fleming although I find that there are a lot of books by ms Fleming at the minute this one did not disappoint. A enjoyable saga perfect for fans of lorna cook .

Minn MacFee has grown up poor, working in service at the Big House on a Hebridean Island. As a child she formed a bond of both joy and tragedy with Ewan Mackinnon that has only grown stronger as they have grown up. But now, Ewan has gone off to fight against the Nazis, leaving Minn behind, despairing of ever being able to be with the man she loves. This story really brings home how difficult the lives of our parents and grandparents must have been during those bleak and terrible years. Still, love does indeed, conquer all

Set before the Second World War, two star crossed lovers Ewan Mackinnon and Minn Macfee grow up together in a small rural village called Phetray in the remote Hebrides. Socially they are worlds apart, he from a well-respected family and she brought up by her single mother in a poor cottar's dwelling. They had always known each other, as small communities always did, but one sunny day Ewan is teaching his sister to swim and Minn is there too, her best friend. They are inseparable so inevitably Minn also joins in with Ewan’s swimming lessons. Minn becomes a confidant swimmer; a feisty little dare devil. Later on tragedy strikes when the girls are on the beach innocently playing together. They spot Ewan canoeing off shore and wave at him as they swim out at sea to greet him. He is horrified, the waves are way too high but they cannot hear his warning shouts. Both girls flounder and soon they are in trouble. Ewan’s sister sadly drowns, but he manages to save Minn. Ewan shoulders the blame for her death as the older brother. Her parents are understandably distraught. Minn carries the horror and guilt in her heart forever after. It was her idea.
They go their separate ways but are destined to meet again just before the start of World War Two. All grown up, they fall in love and before Ewan sets off to war doing his naval duties they make promises to each other that they will always be together throughout their lives. Their love is powerful, they will never be parted. This is their stirring story, a story of love and loss, shabby lies, interference, terrible bad luck and misunderstandings. Leah Fleming is a fabulous author, her novels engrossing, intelligent and full of intrigue. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed many of her novels. Her storytelling is wonderful and her characters relatable and diverse, as in life itself some are heroic, warm and charming, others menacing, gross and despicable. Her ideas are well sequenced and the action evenly paced; the stories meaty and always teaching you something new and exciting. The ending to this story involves a shocking twist that kept me guessing right up to the very last word.
I received this book through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Head of Zeus in return for an honest review. Thank you for my copy. These are my own thoughts and I have read no other reviews before writing my own. This story was quite dark and the subject matter disturbing at times, but their love for each other was palpable. It’s a 4* review from me.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
What a FANTASTIC book huge fan of this author she never disappoints and this book is so worthy of 5 stars highly recommend

There's a lot to like about a saga during wartime set on an island. The author has fictionalized Tiree which is not a place I know much about and even though the story is of course fictional I feel I know the place better now. Island communities are always good to get to know and in wartime, they must have had even more challenges that they have now. Imagine trying to communicate, get from one place to another without the boats and tech we have today?

The main thread of this story is a love story and one of hope. Wartime brings tragedy and trauma to the characters but it's the way the story weaves in and out to provide threads that last over time that really makes the novel a smooth and interesting read.

Minn and Ewan live with the consequences of the tragic drowning of Ewan's sister on a small Scottish Island when they were children.
A family drama love, war and hardship.
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely book with a story and characters that flow so well together Leah Flemming is a great story teller that draws you into the book 5*