Jenny Colgan is one of my favorites and her standalone novels are always a treat! The Scottish Highlands and island archipelago are brought to life with Colgan's descriptions, and also always, the romance is sweet and wonderful. Also, the blurb is very wrong as it is Morag MacIntyre, not McGinty, and few other errors that hopefully will be corrected before publication.

This book is based out of Scotland and therefore uses a lot of Scottish words and phrases that I don’t understand. This made it very hard to get into at first. But when she gets stranded the storyline really picks up and fully held my interest regardless of the “language barrier”

* I am reviewing this ARC for honest feedback.

Jenny Colgan always has a way with captivating her audience. This book follows Morag, a female pilot, who finds herself and love, when she gets stranded. It's such a feel good book, and the characters are all like friends by the time you finish it. I look forward to more from this author.

Jenny Colgan always manages to weave tough topics into most delightful of stories, and her latest release is no exception.. A female pilot suffering.from PTSD after a mid-flight tragedy must either push through her fears and return to the skies, or give up on her family's legacy for good. This story is beautifully written, well researched with incredible detail, and the terrain of Northern Scotland's islands are as much a character as Morag or Gregor. Colgan has the gift of taking the readers into darkly emotional places with the promise of sunnier days and a jolly dose of self-love on the other side. Highly recommend.

I love Jenny Colgan's books so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her most recent book. ( My thanks to Ms. Colgan, her publisher and NetGalley for making the ARC available to me for an honest review.) I really enjoyed this one despite there being quite a few errors ( including the very sudden introduction of a major plot point). That said, there were some points that irritated me and I hope they get smoothed down a bit in the editing process. All the same, I'm giving this four stars. I hope you enjoy it, too.

A fun departure of sorts from Colgan. Morag is a pilot called home to take over a small plane that brings visitors to the northern part of Scotland. Quirky small town characters, a gorgeous setting and a fun rance.make this one not to miss!

Thank you to @netgalley and @AvonPublishing for this ARC. Morag is a pilot for a major airlines in London who is recovering from an accident that has kept her from flying. Her grandfather calls and is sick in bed and needs someone to fly his commuter route in the islands north of Scotland. Not wanting to let him down, she agrees to "help" fly his route with his partner, knowing she is not ready to fly herself. When Erlo suffers a medical emergency on the plane, Morag has to overcome her fears and land the plane. But after Erlo was taken care of, Morag had to assess the damage to the plane and is now stranded on a very small island. The only other person on the island is a scientist with very little regard to other human beings. Cute story! Love Jenny Colgan #TheSummerSkies #JennyColgan #AvonBooks #July2023

I have read all of Jenny Colgan’s books, and as time goes on, her books are better and better. This was no exception. I can see the start of a new series with these characters, but The Summer Skies is also wonderful as a stand-alone novel in its own right.. The setting is beautifully descriptive and the characters are well-developed. I’m looking forward to another Jenny Colgan book as soon as possible! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review with opinions that are my own.

I absolutely love everything Jenny Colgan writes. This one was a bit different, starting out with a romance from the first pages. Every female character Jenny creates is fiesty and strong and Marog was no exception. In the end, it was the best kind of book—laugh-out-loud funny in parts, intense in others, and people you are completely invested in. We need more in a series!

Some of Jenny‘s books are interesting from the beginning, but this one I kept flipping through pages trying to get to an interesting part and it just never quite got interesting. The last four or five pages of the book were edge of your seat, but the rest was pretty much a waste in my opinion. Would not recommend this book of hers, but I liked others.

I love Jenny Colgan books so this review is hard for me. However, I did not like this book. The characters were not relatable for me.

I’m a huge fan of Jenny Colgan and once again she doesn’t disappoint. At first I had a difficult time getting into this book with all the flight information. But then the book took off with me soaring through a storm to a lonely island and endearing characters. Her writing is so descriptive that I felt myself in the story. A book that I was at first hesitant about became a favorite. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me this advanced copy to enjoy.

Scotland - Present Day

Morag MacIntyre, first officer on a routine flight to Alicante with a plane full of holiday makers experiences a terrifying event when a small crop duster suddenly appears in front of them. As she and the pilot pull their plane higher, they witness the hapless smaller plane spiraling towards the ground. Later it's confirmed that the young pilot and his girlfriend died when the plane crashed in a field. Morag and the pilot must go through several medical and psychological tests afterwards, which Morag passes easily. However, deep inside she knows she's not ready to fly yet.

The third generation of pilots in her family, Morag returns home to the north of Scotland when her family informs her that her grandfather is ill. Not only do they want her there for her grandfather, but also because his business needs to keep running. His island plane service delivers supplies, tourists, medicines, and locals to and from some of the five hundred islands that swing towards Norway. Morag knows this is essentially why she's there, but her inner voice says she can't help. However, the needs of the family are important, and Morag agrees to be the first officer as long as she doesn't have to actually pilot the small plane.

Morag has the opportunity of going back to flying the big passenger planes, hopefully on long flights. Her new boyfriend, Hayden, will be stationed in Dubai, and he'd like Morag to base herself there. But first, there are the needs of the islands. Things go fine at first with Erno, the pilot grudgingly doing all of the flying, but when a serious incident occurs, Morag's life takes a different route.

THE SUMMER SKIES is an outstanding, and entertaining tale of recovery, a change of perspective, and the realization that things can change for the better. Morag is tough on herself, questioning her reaction to the flight event, and wondering if she'll ever be able to fly again. But her toughness is tested again, and she'll find out what she really wants in life.

Another fun novel by Colgan, this one telling the story of a female pilot working for her families firm on a remote island of Scotland.

Morag has been a pilot for a large airline, but after a near miss, she has lost her confidence. Her grandfather is ill so she returns to the island where she grew up to help out with the family airline business.

A summer storm grounds her on one of the islands with a naturalist who lives there. During their time together, Morag starts to wonder just what it is she really wants. The descriptions of the people and Islands are excellent and the story flows nicely.

Morag is a commercial pilot who returns home to the northern most islands of Scotland to help her family owned island puddle jumper. After an emergency landing on a remote island, Morag is stuck with the lone man maintaining the island for several days. Romance ensues in the beautiful Scottish landscape!

I adore Jenny Colgan books! She writes the most perfect cosy romance and Summer Skies was no exception.

Thank you Net Galley and Avon Books

Jenny Colgan always writes a dang good book. As a daughter of a pilot, I was really able to get into this book. Colgan has me dying to just pack and move abroad.

As always, Jenny Colgan gives us a cozy, immersive Scottish setting, which I love. And her Scottish heroes are quite yummy as well. The beginning technical bits about flying made my eyes glaze over, but the second half of the book flew (lol) for me. I wish we had more about the birds!

A classic, enjoyable Colgan read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and the author for the e ARC in exchange for my review.

So fitting that my first ever pre-release read is The Summer Skies - I always devour Jenny Colgan stories as soon as they’re released. They are lovely and comforting and give hope to my spinster existence. Though Scotland is always its own character, this time was different - the imagery and facts involved in the descriptions of flying were so unique and beautiful. The characters are relatable in their flaws and quirks but are somehow still ideal fictional crushes. I also appreciate that there are always musty books. Now I must go find a recipe for potato scones.

Soul nourishing! Reading a Jenny Colgan novel is the literary equivalent of snuggling up with a blanket and a cuppa in front of a roaring fire on a chilly, gray day. You can depend on a gaggle of quirky, flawed but fascinating and relatable characters, spunky and intelligent women, and being transported to gorgeous, interesting settings. The Summer Skies primarily takes place in a northernmost archipelago of Scottish islands, where pilot Morag McGinty finds herself marooned on an almost deserted isle and seeks to chart her course in life. I would not have minded a bit more bird-themed content and a bit less about the mechanics of flying planes, but I enjoyed learning in both arenas.

I loved this heartwarming and charming story! Perfect for beach reading and fans of Jenny Colgan and for fans of Trisha Ashley and Katherine Center, who similarly pen tales that inspire and spark joy and hope.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins / Avon Books for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

3.5 This title has been difficult for me to rate. The first half of part one required a lot of effort for me to keep turning pages. In part, because the pacing felt a bit slow, and the word count per page was dense (a.k.a. scant dialog). I was also finding it difficult to connect with the main character, Morag. By the second half of part one, though, as more characters began to be introduced and to interact on page, I became more interested in the story and relationships. As part two progressed, it became increasingly difficult to put the book down.

Some things I liked: the bantar between Morag and some of the other characters-esp. bff Nalitha, unenthusiastic pilot Erno, and "stupid beardy bird nerd weirdo loner guy," Gregor. Colgan can be quite funny! I also liked learning more about aviation and the industry. Colgan did a good job of expressing how deeply Morag felt about being a pilot and portraying this integral part of her identity and the value she ascribed to this aspect of living out her family's legacy. I also think Colgan did a lovely job bringing the NW Scottish archipelago to life and explaining elements of culture and history unique to that area. She always makes me want to visit whichever part of the British Isles she writes about!

I'm not sure if a U.S. edition will be released, but some of the English and Scottish references in this edition were unfamiliar to me. I googled some, and it was fun to learn new things, but it also disrupted the story flow. I think these references, which often obscured meaning or which were lost on me altogether, would enrich the experience for a U.K. reader. If a U.S. edition is released, I expect that some of these references and word choices will be modified to better accommodate American readers.

The e-book I read states that it's an "uncorrected proof," so I expect that the final edition available upon publication will differ somewhat from what I read. It's a bit of a challenge to review something that is still a work in progress. There were some plot points and character elements that I felt would benefit from more development. Sometimes the transitions between sections were a bit bumpy, and it took me a few rereads to reorient myself and understand or guess what was now happening or who was being referenced. Having said that, I will be interested in skimming the published version this summer to compare how it might differ from the version I read.

Thanks to #NetGalley, #AvonBooks, and #HarperVoyagerUS for the ARC e-book.
Publication date is Jul 11, 2023