Escape to Madeira with Kate Frost’s latest slice of sun-drenched romantic escapism, An Island in the Sun.

Successful songwriter Tabitha Callahan has had the rug pulled from under her feet. Nursing a broken heart, Tabitha decides to leave her sadness behind and head over to Portugal for a spot of house-sitting. Tabitha hopes that far from her problems, she can get some perspective, channel her heartbreak into her music and heal. The house she finds herself house-sitting in is certainly helping her out of the doldrums with its opulence and luxury – not to mention the breath-taking vistas and gorgeous pets that are keeping her company. Tabitha thinks that she is living the dream – until her peace is shattered by the arrival of an unexpected house guest! What is she going to do now?

As her new roommate forces her to take a long hard look at her life, Tabitha begins to wonder just what the future has in store for her. Is she going to let her heartbreak define her? Can she ever move on from her past? Will she ever be happy again? Tabitha is about to learn that life is for living and that she could have everything she has always wanted – but only if she finds the strength and courage to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on herself!

Kate Frost’s An Island in the Sun is a lovely read perfect for cheering you up on a cold, dismal and wet winter afternoon. Funny, heartwarming, emotional and absolutely glorious, An Island in the Sun is a wonderful tale about hope, moving on and forging a future for yourself without compromise that made me smile and had me shedding a tear or two.

Enjoyable, escapist and enchanting, let Kate Frost take you all the way to Portugal with An Island in the Sun.

The perfect pick-me-up, escape to the sunshine to brighten the dark, winter days!

Set on the island of Madeira, this is an easily-readable romance with likeable main characters and an idyllic setting. I’ve never visited, but thanks to Kate Frost’s wonderful descriptions, it’s certainly been added to the list.

This is not just a simple tale of romance, however as both Tabitha and Raff are running away from dealing with issues in their past and these are explored as they contend with their obvious attraction to one another.

If you’re looking for a splash of summer and a sprinkling of romance,this is the perfect book for you!

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

Tabitha is a pet sitter. She travels the world to be a pet sitter for the owner who leave their pet to travel. Her latest pet sitter job takes her to Madeira and while the owner is away, their estranged son Raff arrives unexpectedly to stay. There is instant attraction between them but both of them need to faced their demon before they can move forward.

This book is about love and fractured relationship between friends and family. Tabitha is a likeable character who loves her family but the travelling that she did is to deal with the ending of her relationship. Raff on the other hand, is the opposite of Tabitha in terms of his relationship with family where he come from a broken relationship with his parent. The only similarity that both of them have is they used travelling to deal with their complicated issues. Overall it is a good read to me.

It’s an easy ready and had my attention from the first few pages.
There’s a lot to love it’s not just a romance, it’s about love and family, loss and healing, learning to live again and accept.

Trigger Warnings
This book contains:
• Discussion of miscarriage and the lasting emotional impacts
• References to drug use and addiction
• Depiction of and discussion around absentee parents, being a mother and having a career and the impacts this has on individuals’ mental health and their relationships with others
• Lost pet.
Characters
Tabitha is a songwriter who also pet sits around the world constantly travelling from place to place to take on pet sits. Since leaving a difficult relationship after suffering a miscarriage, she’s moved from place to place hoping to heal.
Raff is the son of a wealthy couple and up until recently, lived in London. Thanks to a difficult relationship with his parents, he comes to Madeira while his parents are meant to be travelling hoping to get a couple of weeks respite before needing to figure out his next move in life.
Storyline
Tabitha arrives in Madeira to begin her latest pet sit for a wealthy couple heading off on holidays for a couple of weeks. On her first night after they’ve left, she’s woken up to the sound of someone in the house. Unsure of what she might find the last thing she expects is Raff claiming to be the son of the homeowners. The son they never so much as mentioned once in the time Tabitha spent with them.
Tabitha has only a couple of weeks to sort out what to do with Raff, what to tell the homeowners, and whether she’s going to try and reconnect with an old friend while she’s on the island.
Overall Thoughts
While I didn’t enjoy every moment of this books, I believe that was done purposely as you’re not meant to like Raff all that much when he first arrives. He’s impulsive, drinks and appears to be a bad influence on others to the detriment of everyone around him and them. Those moments that I didn’t like were the exact moments that were created to portray him in that manner and it’s expertly executed.
Once you piece together all the little pieces however, there’s moments of profound sadness, happiness, hurt and longing. All emotions that I’m sure all of us can relate to. The way each and every character is relatable either to ourselves or someone we know is amazing and a skill not many writers have.

After the Love Island Bookshop, I was keen to experience another Kate Frost book. An Island in the Sun was just what I needed to escape from life and the cold weather for awhile.

I loved the plot: house and pet sitting in different countries part of the plot. It was a great way to enjoy a different culture and country. In this case, Madeira. Madeira is somewhere I've never been to.

I felt the same immersive atmosphere as I did in the Love Island Bookshop, and that immersion was immediate. I really felt I was part of the journey. I felt the excitement of travel, and loved the people, food and culture.

An Island in the Sun was very slow after the immersive start, and it was slow for much of the book. I wasn't sure what to think of Raff for a long time before more about him was revealed.

Raff's story was heartwrenching and it was really terrible how his parents betrayed him so badly and caused so much disruption in his life. I didn't like Tabitha's ex Ollie at all. Her past with him was well woven into the plot and I liked her background in songwriting.

I liked Tabitha's friend Elspeth and Tabitha's supportive family. This was a good contrast to Raff's story.

I really liked all the emotions, secrets and internal conflicts in this novel, and the visuals of the scenery and attention to detail were great. All this helped in a novel that I felt was unfortunately too readily expected and anticipated by me in some ways: the getting away from problems, the very slow burn relationship between two people who met unexpectedly.

The novel is a ray of sunshine for cold winter days and could be a good beach read or listen too.

Thanks to Kate Frost, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

3.5 stars.

An Island In The Sun by Kate Frost felt like a mini-getaway! It was almost as if I was transported on a tropical vacation…plus, plenty of dogs. What’s not to love?!

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

Kate Frost always delivers an intriguing travel romance. I’ve read all her books, & grabbed the chance to read an early copy of this book. The island setting, so exquisitely described, and the interesting storyline kept me engaged throughout. It’s quite an escapist life pet-sitting around the world. Tabitha composed music in other people’s homes. These owners have secrets & one of them turns up in person to distract & disorientate Tabitha. And then she discovers her ex is on the island too. It’s never too late to make peace with your past. Hearts can be healed and forgiveness is key. I highly recommend Island in the Sun.

A perfect beach read or just to curl up on the sofa for the day and enjoy. Which is just what I did and loved it. The descriptions of the island made me want to fly off there immediately. What a great book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Kate Frost is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I love this book, set on the beautiful island of Madeira, which is now on my bucket list! A perfect way to escape a gloomy winters day!
Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book

"An Island in the Sun" by Kate Frost is the perfect beach read and a great book to curl up with in front of the fire. It is a quick, breezy, enjoyable read that will transport you to Madeira.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The perfect holiday read, or if like me you're not going on holiday, or you don't want to wait for the summer sun to read this, reading it curled up under a blanket with a hot cup of tea and a cat is just as suitable!
It may be cold, wet and miserable outside, this book will transport you to sunnier climates.
A nice easy read that is well worth the read

Tabitha is a songwriter that has been escaping her life by travelling around pet sitting. This story focuses on her pet sitting gig on the island of Madeira. I had to Google where that was... and it looks just as beautiful as Kate describes it. The island and the expat culture there really come alive in this story. I felt like I had been there myself pet sitting the adoable dogs Fudge and Bailey and Misty the cat. Raf, the estranged son of the owners is also portrayed really well. I could easily picture both Tabitha and Raf and felt their chemistry.

Overall this was a nice story to escape with, especially when the weather outside is so cold and grey.

This book is a gorgeous summer read, the descriptions make you think you are actually there. I lost myself in this book pretty much instantly, I couldn't resist turning the pages. The narrative feels so genuine and relatable. Most readers will be able to connect with the characters in this novel. The narrative feels so heartwarming and natural. I will definately read more Kate Frost books her writing style is beautiful.

Tabitha Callahan is a successful songwriter. Because she can work from anywhere, she also travels around from location to location pet sitting. This time, her travels have bought her to the Portuguese island of Madeira. It sounds like a free-spirited and idyllic lifestyle, but the reality is that Tabitha is running away from her past life - a broken relationship and more.


She does have another reason for coming to Madeira. Her former best friend, Ollie, owns a luxury villa on the island but they haven't spoken in years after he betrayed her on his way to global stardom. Can Tabitha and Ollie repair their relationship or is it too late now?

When Tabitha moves into the luxury villa for three weeks, she doesn't expect an intruder. I mean, who does? But this intruder is actually the son of the owners. The son that they didn't even mention and therr is no evidence of anywhere in the house. Raff is currently in the process of selling his home and so is a bit short of cash, so he decided to crash at his parents house while they are away.

Both Tab and Raff clearly have personal issues they need to deal with. Tab needs to deal with her grief and Raff needs to deal with his parental issues. Maybe what they need is each other. When sparks fly between the two, it could be the start of something, but they both need to let down the barriers to have any hope.

I don't know about you, but we always have a holiday that we are planning. I started reading this book while we were in Italy, and I was already thinking about how I could convince my husband that a trip to a Portuguese island wouldn't be a bad idea for when we next go to Europe. And I definitely was thinking a portuguese tart wouldn't go astray either.

I hadn't read Kate Frost before. I enjoyed lots of aspects of this story. I did find there was the odd moment that I was wishing the story would move forward a bit quicker. Overall I enjoyed it and I will read more from Kate Frost at some point.

Escaping to Madeira seems very tempting and I thoroughly enjoyed this uplifting story of coming to terms with the past and finding love.

Tabitha is a likeable character who loves her family but feels the need to travel light as she tries to come to terms with the ending of her relationship. Travelling has been part of her childhood and as yet, she has not found a place she wants to settle. In many ways, people are her home rather than a place. She has enjoyed cutting herself off from people and enjoys the companionship of the pets she is charged with looking after.

Raff is complicated character whose childhood experiences have meant that he is distant from his family. In many ways, he is similar to Tabitha as he too is getting over a broken relationship and using travel to avoid some truths. Raff’s family and neighbours are an interesting bunch and need to face up to issues from the past. This is an uplifting story. Tabitha and Raff both need to stop running from their past and face up to their feelings.

#blogtoir

The first thing that grabs you is the stunning cover, I love the little dog on the front too and the title for this is just perfect. The story certainly does it justice. The characters are superbly presented and the descriptive settings are beautiful and sunny. The plot of the story kept me turning the pages, I didn't want to put it down. Of course I love a book with dog's and this book has several. So do yourself a favour grab the sunscreen, your hat and chair and bask in the sun with this bright and beautiful escapism novel. I fully enjoyed reading this one.

An Island in the sun is a wonderful escapist read, travelling from the comfort of your favourite deck chair!
Tabitha travels the world to pet/house sit, she’s more than happy to be alone to work on her songwriting, with two dogs and a cat for company.
Tabitha isn’t impressed when the house owners son Raff arrives, in the middle of the night! I did catch my breath at how Tabitha allowed him to stay without confirmation of his identity!
The characters and storyline are spot on, describing various emotions and sunny location perfectly! Tabitha works through her heartache and makes new friends, reconnecting with an old one too!
I loved the character development and connection and feeling like I was on holiday! I’m hooked on Kate Frost’s storytelling, I’ll definitely be looking for more of her books!

Thanks so much to Boldwood Books, NetGalley and fabulous Kate Frost for the opportunity to read and review this book!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a gorgeous location and beautiful read
Just what this chilly day I really did need!
A story of family and friendship that are broken
With the past needing facing and feelings re-woken.

Tabitha is a escaping from sadness and loss
Taking time to heal whilst still being her own boss.
She's a songwriter who travels as house and dog sitter
The changes of location and folk really suit her.

On Madeira she's looking after two dogs and a cat
In a beautiful, luxurious home, with its own pool and all that!
She has time to work but also maybe the chance at last
To help heal a relationship broken in the past.

New friends, unexpected arrivals and reconnecting, too,
A story with so much going on all the way through.
With drama, healing and even a chance
For a renewed or even a new romance!

She's not the only one at a crossroad in her life
As others are facing their own potential strife.
I thoroughly enjoyed this right from the start
A beautiful setting and story to warm your heart.

KATE FROST: AN ISLAND IN THE SUN.

MY REVIEW: It’s that time of year, when we could all do with a bit of sunshine. Kate Frost’s new book, An Island In The Sun certainly delivers an abundance of the bright stuff.

Tabitha is a pet sitter. Her latest job takes her to Madeira, which seems like a great place to escape her painful past.
While pet sitting, the owners estranged son arrives unexpectedly with his own baggage in tow.
There is an attraction between the two, but they both need to deal with their demons before they can move forward.

This book felt like a holiday. The sun shines brightly, and Kate Frost does a fantastic job of setting the scene with some stunning descriptions.

Tabitha and Raff are both likeable and it was interesting to learn about their difficult pasts.
I felt particularly sorry for Tabitha. She really has had a rough time.

An Island In The Sun, is a well written, fun read.
There is a heartwarming and sweet romance, adorable pets, fractured friendships and lots of sunshine.

Grab your factor 50 and bask in this gorgeous book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood and Rachel’s Random Resources for a digital arc of this title.