Lovely feelgood read, with surprising depth. A warm and thoughtful story that looks at dealing with PTSD. I loved the idea of the swap and the descriptive quality of the writing really made the scenery feel two separate characters in their own right. A definite recommendation.

I really enjoyed the two previous books in this series so I jumped at the chance to request this ARC and Jenny Colgan did not disappoint.

Lissa is a London nurse practitioner liaison (NPL). Cormac is an NPL in Kirrinfief, a small village in Scotland, he was in the Army and is finding life in his home village a little boring. When things get overwhelming at work Lissa's boss suggests she has a change of scenery and has a three month job swap with Cormac, he can get some big city work experience while she has a less stressful life.

At first they are both fish out of water, struggling to cope with their clients and surroundings, but slowly they each come to appreciate things about their temporary situation. As they email back and forth about their clients Lissa and Cormac find themselves falling for each other, without having ever met!

I loved this just as much as the other two books, a sweet romance leavened with some traumatic events, the novel is full of charming and memorable characters, we also see the main characters from the first two books.

Absolutely perfect for anyone looking for a fish-out-of-water romantic comedy featuring a traumatised heroine and a gruff hero. Loved it and can't wait to read my way through Jenny Colgan's back catalogue.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Thank you little, brown book group and Net galley for this ARC.

I have not read a Jenny Colgan for a good few years and this book made me think why I have I left it so long.

Lissa lives in London and witness's an accident of somebody she knows.
After a near breakdown she does a job swap with Cormac from Scotland.

Adapting to a total different way of life for them both a friendship is formed over E-mails then progress into text so brilliantly written, I loved both these characters.

I highly recommend you read this wonderful story.

This book was fabulous - it was like coming back to family. Initially I was a bit confused as to how it fitted in with the rest of the series but fell in love with it. I loved the foreigner’s description of their new homes and how they described each other’s patients.

It is advisable to know the earlier books to know the characters in Scotland but not necessary.

I ate this book very quickly. It’s a fab spring read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Every one of Jenny Colgan’s Scottish bookshop books gets better and better.

This follows two nurses as they switch roles in the Highlands and London, but with deeper tons of loss and PTSD.

I highly recommend this series because it gives me a little comfort towards the near constant homesickness I feel for Scotland on a daily basis.

Trigger warnings for gore, descriptions of injuries, loss of a loved one, PTSD, alcohol and substance abuse, and detailed injuries of a cat.

I’ve been a Jenny Colgan fan for many years, so it’s a huge privilege to receive a copy of her latest book, Five Hundred Miles From You, from NetGalley. I enjoyed it immensely.

After a horrible event, Lissa and Cormac end up swapping locations for their job for 3 months, and in the process fall in love. Although the beginning and the end packed an emotional punch, the rest of the book was a lovely and gentle read - my favourite kind. I loved all the characters (excellently written, of course), and it was great to see how those from the previous two books set in Kirrinfief are getting on. I really hope there will be another book set here - it’s such a beautiful setting.

I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a slightly unconventional romance, set in a beautiful place. Just keep a small number of tissues handy for the beginning and end.

I was given a free copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

500 Miles From You follows Lissa, a London based nurse, and her traumatic experience with a hit and run of a 15 year old kid she knew. After experiencing the crash, Lissa isn't the same; she is anxious and can't sleep and can't stop crying. It is suggested to her that she goes on an exchange programme in order to get her thoughts in order and to recover. And that is how Lissa ends up in Scotland, taking over Cormac's job and how he ends up in London, taking over Lissa's job.

The start of this novel was incredibly powerful and left me full of hope. However as the story progressed I found myself getting more and more detached from it. There were a lot of descriptions of what Lissa and Cormac were going through in their daily job life but not really any meaningful interaction or story progression.

I truly lived for the small and few moments we got of Lissa and Cormac interacting through their e-mails and later on through their texts but I felt like the experience of reading about them finally meeting up after everything they had gone through was a bit rushed and slightly disappointing.

Jenny Colgan created a very well detailed contrast between London and Kirrinfeif and I was very enveloped in the way the places and the people were described and built.

I didn't hate it, I actually really enjoyed it, I just didn't love it either. It was an enjoyable read with some really powerful moments and sections about real life, anxiety, ptsd and healthcare life.

Jenny Colgan's books are always a treat, and Five Hundred Miles From You was particularly lovely. Jenny returns again to the Scottish village of Kirrinfief (which will soon be full of more English girls seeking refuge from city life than locals) and revisits several characters from previous books as well as introducing new ones. The new English girl here is Lissa, a London community nurse who is traumatised following her involvement in an incident where a young boy died. She's not sure about the temporary exchange with Cormac, who does a similar job in a very different setting, but she knows something's got to change. The story then follows both Lissa as she adjusts to life in Kirrinfief, and Cormac doing likewise in London - stepping into each other's lives although they have never met.

I loved both Lissa and Cormac, but there are some great supporting characters too, notably Lissa's friend and fellow nurse Kim-Ange, who probably defies description.... she just has to be experienced. There's a kind of subplot, though not really, about a heart transplant - which I actually thought would play a bigger role than it did. I really enjoyed all the nursing stuff, following Cormac and Lissa on their rounds, with many new experiences for both, and I always appreciate the diversity of Jenny's characters. A lovely, satisfying read with its heart firmly in the right place.

It’s been a while since I have read a Jenny Colgan book and I was looking forward to this one.

The story follows Lissa who lives in London and Cormac from the Scottish Highlands both working as nurses, who swap jobs for three months when Lissa has a near breakdown after witnessing a tragic accident. Both are unsure what to expect from their swap and are surprised to find they adapt better than they expected.

A lovely lighthearted story which was a quick and easy read.

Although a well-established author, this is my first read by Jenny Colgan.

Alyssa 'Lissa' Westcott loves her job; she works as an NPL: a Nurse Practitioner Liason, following up hospital discharges, in London. That is until she witnessed a deliberate horrific act.
Lissa finds it challenging to get over what she had witnessed, and it starts affecting her work. Her bosses decide that she needs a bit of time away and they suggest a 3-month rural exchange.

Cormac MacPherson, an X-Army Medic, left the Army to get away from the endless trauma cases, he works as an NPL in Kirrinfief, a quiet village nestled in the trees near Loch Ness in Scotland. When a chance of a 3-month exchange to London is offered, so he goes.

So Lissa and Cormac exchange homes, work and patients, we learn how they adjust and cope in their new environment and relationships. Lissa and Cormac start emailing each other initially about how their patients are, but they soon develop an online friendship.

The book is a light-hearted read while covering some well researched sensitive subjects, i.e. death, mental health, organ donation and drug addiction, all of which is delicately handled in this well-written novel.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Jenny Colgan.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and author Jenny Colgan for a pre-publication copy to review.

This was such a brilliant book and I found myself so invested in the story I can't say I have ever not enjoyed a Jenny Colgan book. She is probably one of my favourite authors. I will say you should give this one a go you won't be disappointed!

I read the entire book in a single afternoon. Absolutely outstanding and highly recommended. I was gripped and so invested in the characters.

I loved this series so when Netgalley gave me a chance to review it I was delighted.. It was great to be back in Kinfieff and catching up with the characters from her previous books. Cormac and Lisa are two wonderful characters and I loved the journey they went on. One tiny niggle there wasnt much to Robbies story however maybe that's the next book in the series., I hope so anyway.

A really enjoyable book. The idea of the 2 main characters being 500 miles away from each other in a job swap is brilliant. The way they both have to adapt to completely different locations and lifestyles is fun to read. I definitely recommend this book for an easy summer read.

I am relatively new to Jenny Colgan's work, have plenty of a back catalogue to get through but in the meantime I am transported back to Scotland. To the little town of Kirrinfief where you are part of the community, where you are part of everything that goes on and where you can suddenly feel at home. 

Cormac is out of the army, a nurse in Kirrinfief, he has lost that sense of purpose and perhaps the small town community is not challenging himself or his skills enough. 

Lissa is a city nurse through and through, nothing phases her as she goes about her duties in the community that is London. That is until she witness an horrific event and cannot come to terms with it. To still keep nursing, her bosses decide she needs to take the quiet life for a moment. 

What better place that Kirrinfief and it means that Cormac can perhaps see something different and remember why he chose the quieter life. 

So as the complete strangers swap places, we get to see how well they cope in different places with some challenging patients and locals. Lissa and Cormac find themselves communicating with each other, initially about the patients they might encounter but through these short missives a friendship develops. 

Whilst this book delves into the lovely landscape of Kirrinfief (I want to go), the interesting relationships and new friendships which develop between the main characters and the others you meet along the way as well. Some will be familiar if you have read any of the other Colgan novels based in Kirrinfief. 

The book is light hearted but it does deals with some rather difficult subjects to tackle, mental health, organ donation and drug addiction to name a few. All of which are so beautifully written into the novel that you understand that they can play a role in any story providing they are handled as well as Jenny Colgan has done here. 

A book full of hope, laughter and love with a good dose of realism just to remind you that there is another life out there. And the one you choose should always be the one for you and no one else. 

A must read for all old and new fans of Jenny Colgan.

You can never go wrong with a Jenny Colgan book. This latest was just as wonderful as her earlier ones but has an added dimension of some hard hitting subjects such as mental health, PTSD and organ donation. The two main characters, Lissa and Cormac are such likeable people that you are desperate for things to work out for them. Both have suffered traumatic events in their lives and they are given the opportunity of swapping places for three months - Lissa to move from London to work in the beautiful, highland community of Kirrinkief and Cormac from there to London. I especially enjoyed Cormac's reaction on first arriving in London and his sweet naivety. This made for some amusing situations! It was nice to meet a few characters from Jenny's other books including Nina, Lennox and Zoe but this can be read as a standalone book so readers who aren't familiar with those characters need not be concerned as this doesn't affect the enjoyment of this book in any way. Lissa and Cormac keep in touch online, swapping details of their work and how each is coping doing the other person's job. Although they have never met or even spoken on the phone this kind of pen pal relationship is lovely to follow as it builds and develops and the anticipation of how things will turn out when/if they meet in person keeps the pages turning. I was just a tiny bit disappointed by the ending of the book - maybe just because I was expecting something else - but on the plus side maybe it might lead to a follow up book. I'd like to learn more about Kim-Ange and various other characters who could have very interesting back stories. Again, another humdinger of a book by Jenny. I loved it.. My thanks too Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a lovely book. Thank you so much Jenny Colgan for cheering me up in lockdown.
I think I'll dream of Kirrinfief for ages. I fell in love with it initially in her bookshop of dreams, but after meeting Cormac and Lissa I'm definitely sure that's where I need to be. Don't worry I won't break lockdown over it though.
Lissa is everything I wish for in a heroine and who doesn't want a handsome, rugged, Scottish ex-army nurse, who cares about hedgehogs to come home to every night.
I must admit to having read every one of Ms Colgan's books if that doesn't sound too geeky and this does not disappoint one bit. Honestly one of her best yet.
But it, you won't regret it!

Absolutely love this book!!
This is an absolutely fantastic author and had been the perfect read. I literally have nothing negative to say about this book. It has been a lovely escape and although this has made me cry I absolutely love it.

Having read most of Jenny's books I was delighted to receive an arc.
This is quite a change from Jenny's other books but was an excellent book over all, sensitivity was needed in writing this and it was there in abundance i enjoyed this book and would recommend.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Another fabulous book from Jenny.

Although this book is very different than some of her other books, the difference being that the catalyst of events is a tragedy.

The main character Lissa witnesses a hit-and-run on the streets of her native London, and this sends her into an emotional tailspin.
She is numb from the experience; the shock of not only the accident. The ensuing criminal trial takes its toll on LIssa both emotionally and professionally.
When her employer gives her an opportunity to escape to the Scottish countryside on a secondment to regroup, she grudgingly heads North and finds herself enjoying being there.

Jenny Colgan delivers a book with characters you can relate to, as well as reading the book like you are the person in it, being submerged into the sights, smells, flavors and people of the British Isles..
Definitely recommend it.