Review by Booklist Review
Colgan's newest edition to the Mure series (after Christmas at the Island Hotel, 2020) has an impressive setting with many interesting characters. The little Scottish island of Mure is the backdrop for not one, but two weddings. Flora Mackenzie and her fiancé Joel are planning an intimate ceremony at Flora's hotel. In stark contrast to these nuptials, Flora decides that her hotel will also host a lavish, over-the-top wedding for Mure native Olivia. Olivia was a bit of a legend, known as the most beautiful woman on the island who left Mure as soon as she could and became a model. She now wants to return to her hometown and get married. Regular readers will be happy to be surrounded by familiar characters, and new readers will get caught up in the introduction the author provides. This heartwarming novel about love and relationships will have Jill Mansell readers looking to start the series from the beginning (with The Cafe by the Sea, 2017).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Two very different women plan their summer weddings on an idyllic island in this rocky but amusing romance from bestseller Colgan (The Christmas Bookshop). Hotel manager and cafe owner Flora MacKenzie is beloved by the small island community of Mure, Scotland. All the locals are expecting invitations to her long-awaited wedding--the only problem is she's promised her fiancé, Joel, that they'll keep their ceremony a quiet affair. Then Olivia Mathieson, who grew up on the island and left to become an influencer, returns to Mure to plan her own ostentatious wedding at Flora's hotel--on the same weekend as Flora's small ceremony. Chaos ensues as Olivia blows through the island like a charming tempest, and though Flora helplessly tries to keep up, she gets swept away by Olivia's beguiling antics and slowly realizes that she may want more than the intimate ceremony she'd promised Joel after all. Heavy exposition in the prologue makes for a slogging beginning, and the scattered, subplot-laden narrative can grow disorienting, but the eccentric supporting cast saves the day as Mure's outlandish locals meddle in both women's happily ever afters--and provide plenty of laughs along the way. It's a bumpy ride, but it will be worth it for Colgan's many fans. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
This is the fifth novel in Colgan's popular series set on the fictional island of Mure in northern Scotland (following Christmas at the Island Hotel). The story centers around Flora and Joel's upcoming wedding, a secret romance between her best friend Lorna and Saif, a Syrian immigrant and father of two boys, and the recently engaged Olivia, a gorgeous islander who became a model and social media influencer. Olivia is planning her own Mure wedding extravaganza for the same day as Flora's, while Flora is dismayed to learn that Joel wants a "sweetheart wedding" with only the immediate family present. Meanwhile, Saif finds out his wife, who was fighting in Syria, has moved on, and there are immigration legalities and racism at play here. The insanity of Olivia's Instagrammable wedding and the teasing Flora and Joel get about their baby's walking skills add humor and lighten the story. This is a slow-paced, very descriptive sweet story, but be forewarned, not all these characters get their happily ever after. VERDICT Fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy this latest addition, but others may want to start with the first book, The Cafe by the Sea. For those who enjoy Felicity Hayes-McCoy, Katie Fforde, and Sophie Kinsella.--Stacy Alesi
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