This is a sad yet beautiful story about a lost boy and his grieving mother. It’s about life in a small fishing village and how things are never quite as they appear. It is also about love and redemption when you least expect it.

In the years after losing her young son at sea, Dorothy feels like an outcast in her small village. The village folks talk about her but rarely to her. When a young boy that looks eerily similar to her own lost son washes ashore after a bad storm, Dorothy needs to see him, needs to touch him. Could it be Moses, her boy? That doesn’t make sense, but Dorothy can’t get past it. The local Minister asks Dorothy if she could care for this boy until he heals and his folks can be located. As it turns out, they heal each other.

“The Fisherman’s Gift” is beautifully written, it’s mesmerizing and it’s heartbreaking. I highly recommend this to historical fiction readers and women’s fiction readers alike. Thank you, NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy of this 5-star book.

A sweeping novel sure to please fans of historical fiction, The FIsherman's Gift did not disappoint. The story begins as a little boy is mysteriously found on the shores of Skerry during a storm in the early 20th century. We then meet Joseph, the fisherman who found the boy, and Dorothy, a teacher who lost her own son to the sea many years ago. As the town buzzes about the boy and his origins, Dorothy convinces herself that he could be her long lost son. Through flashbacks and point of views from various townspeople, we slowly piece together Dorothy's past and the truth about her son.

I really liked the different character perspectives in the book. The end left me wanting a bit more closure which is why I am giving 4 stars instead of 5. Overall, a very captivating historical novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Fisherman's Gift will be published on March 18, 2025.

First, I want to thank both Simon & Schuster, along with NetGalley for providing me with the ARC of this beautifully written book. I am truly grateful for being able to experience the book early.

Julia R. Kelly transports the reader to a dreary Scottish fishing village and there, slowly peels back layers of pain and misunderstanding to reveal a beautiful and flawed MC we can all identify with. Oh how childhood trauma and judgment run our present day lives and instill a sense of fear that mutes our mouths and emotions.

The descriptions of a stormy, grey, wet, cold, rocky landscape bring the reader into the mind of Dorothy, who is constant turmoil and stress after the loss of her child, but before so, the loss of her self.

You’re constantly feeling Dorothy simply needs to “just say it.” Whatever the “it” may be for the particular situation in the book. This sense of frustration is perhaps exactly what Kelly wants the reader to feel and seems to be aligned with one of the main themes of book.

The prose are poetic and concise. A phenomenal book, a real story. Thank you Ms. Kelly.

This was a difficult read. It was written in a beautifully realistic historical prose but it had a painful sadness that made me what to scream. Each chapter carried more misunderstandings and more misfortunes, but….but I couldn’t put it down.
The author did a good job and I was swept in by the Scottish fishing village. Just get ready for some real hard things in this. I do recommend!
Thanks Simon & Schuster via NetGalley.

this is set in a small fishing village in Scotland. good character development. a little sad but a great story.

4.0. An interesting tale about a young woman, Dorothy, who leaves Edinburgh to teach in a small community on the sea in Skerry, Scotland in the early 1900s. It’s a hard and cold life in a town where everyone knows everyone and everything. Sad and heartbreaking at times and redemptive and uplifting at others. All characters are very well defined and relatable. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and unbiased review.

I found this book to be somewhat of a sad tale of a small 1900’s fishing community and its people, each with a tale to tell that somehow intertwined amongst them. I call this book fiction with a little fantasy sprinkled within. I enjoyed the writing style, and the book kept me engrossed and entertained. Who was the little boy that recently washed up on the shore? What exactly happened to the little boy that was washed out to sea? Sadness and small town gossip propels this story in many different directions, but it is all neatly tied up at the end. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

A fascinating story filled with intrigue, friendship, love and healing. The writing was beautiful, and the connection I felt to the characters was profound.

The story was complex, and I couldn’t say exactly what genre it would fit into but it wasn’t like anything i’ve read in a while. It felt like a breath of fresh air.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

beautifully written book about a small fishing town in Scotland in the 1900's where rumors fly and everyone knows everyone else's business. Dorothy leaves the big city and a cold mother to teach school in this small community where the women find her standoffish.

Some years later, a small child is found in the water. When Dorothy sees him, it takes her breath away, he looks so much like her child that she lost to the sea when he was 6. But it can't be, it's been 15 years ago now. This event brings back so many memories, many painful, things she wished she'd done differently.

As this story unfolds, it engrosses you more and more until you can't stop reading, but must find out the truth. The prose is so lovely that it is soothing to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

In 1900 Skerry, a small fishing village in Scotland, a schoolteacher named Dorothy Gray shops at the local store. Out of the window, they see a local fisherman walking toward the store carrying something. As he gets closer, they realize it is a small child's body. The child is taken to the pastor's house to be treated. Dorothy is shocked, her son disappeared into the ocean years ago. Who could be missing a child? As events unfold, Dorothy is asked to care for this mysterious child. Will this be too much for Dorothy? The child is also a male, approximately 6 years old, who was the same size as her son when he disappeared.

As she cares for the child, Dorothy looks back on her life. Decisions she made and the outcomes leading to her current life. Since the disappearance of her son, she shut that part of her life off. Now she begins looking forward. Through her introspection, we see the details leading to the disappearance of her son, how her fractured relationships happened, and who she considers friends. Winter brings solitude as everyone reminisces and examines their part in the tragic events. Dorothy's healing is in her hands and only she can effect the change.

This fascinating story is full of intrigue, self-discovery, loss, and love. There are heavy hearts and guilty consciences to examine during this bleak winter coupled with a constant feeling of foreboding throughout this story. Fans of Wuthering Heights will enjoy this darkly moving story. Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Emily Farebrother for the advanced readers copy.

I've noticed that lately these types of stories are the ones that rate 5 stars for me. They don't really fall into a particular genre, other than they are simple yet deeply complex stories of life. In this case, life in the 1900's. As I always say, I know 100% that I would not have been tough enough to survive in that era. I'm way too lazy and soft, so I really enjoy reading about how people lived way back when. It shows you time and again that across time people are just people, struggling to get along, and oftentimes failing spectacularly. This was a heartachingly mesmerizing story that grabbed me quickly and left a lasting impact.

This was a riveting story and I could not put it down Julia Kelly know how to tell a story that you want to know the end right away but still want to read every word and learn about every character. I would recommend this book.

This book took my breath away. It’s a wonderful story with relatable characters. Julia R. Kelly is gifted with words that transcend the page and travel right into your heart. There is sorrow, hope, trust, love and friendship and all of these feelings and relationships are intertwined in creating an unforgettable story. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #TheFisherman’sGift, #Simon&Schuster. .

In the early 1900s, a young Dorothy arrives in a small fishing village along Scotland’s coast to become the schoolmistress. Dorothy’s mother has undermined her throughout her youth, eroding any self confidence and encouraging her to eschew social interaction. So Dorothy is not predisposed to living in a small community in which everyone knows everyone else’s business and gossip abounds. From the beginning she is somewhat ostracized and in response retreats even more from engaging with her neighbors. Eventually she marries—not the man she loves--and has a child, but that child is lost to the sea. Years later, when a child the same age is found washed ashore, Dorothy’s life is set in emotional turmoil. Although at times I wanted to throttle Dorothy for her lack of sense, Kelly keeps Dorothy’s perspective in character throughout. The portrayal of an insular community—in both its caring for one another and its being confining and hurtful in its gossip—was well executed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Simon and Schuster for an ARC of this book. My opinions are my own.

For a debut novel, The Fisherman’s Gift is a wonderful read! It has everything that I love! A great book!

The story-telling was poetic and the story was mesmerizing. I was completely engrossed in the narrative and highly recommend to others. My appreciation to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Fisherman's Gift.

Hauntingly beautiful words flow across the pages of this novel set in Skerry, Scotland. Dorothy is the new school teacher from Edinburgh trying to make her way in this small village. The characters are all relatable and the story will make your heart ache. Read this wonderful book and thank you NG for the ARC.

An incredibly beautiful, powerful, and heart warming story about a woman who goes through the unimaginable, only to find healing in an unlikely way. This story was beautiful and definitely worth the read.

I liked the premise of this story, but I couldn’t get into the writing style. I think it was not for me, but others may enjoy this slower-paced, atmospheric book.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Painful enough to make you cry and with beautiful enough writing to glue you to the page it's the story of Dorothy, child of a cold, unloving mother, who comes to teach in the isolated village of Skerry in Scotland. Her first shared glance with Joseph, a fisherman, forges a connection between them that sets the scene for tragedy.

Dorothy is regarded as cold and uppity by the village women. She has no friends. Every meeting with Joseph enhances their connection, but that is not to be. Agnes, who has loved Joseph from childhood and her mother, (both) victims of by their father and husband) drive an insurmountable wedge between Dorothy and Joseph.

The story jumps from early days to many years later. A child washes up on the rocky shore who looks remarkably like Dorothy's child who drowned many years ago. There is talk of sea creatures who lure children to play in the waves. Are these folklore beliefs real? Read on and find out for yourself.

It's an engrossing novel that tugs at the heart and brings tears of frustration and sorrow to your eyes. The descriptions of cold and seemingly never-ending snowstorms will make you reach for a sweater. It depicts small village life and how lack of communication can alter events.

Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for an early copy that was offered to me in exchange for an honest review.