I enjoyed this second episode of the Wild Isles series. This book is from the perspective of Mhairi - Effie’s friend. She is the eldest daughter and needs to be married. A plan is hatched for her to be wed to a contact on the Isle of Harris. She returns from the trip determined to marry despite her chaperone’s misgivings and the fact she has fallen in love - but with the wrong man.

The decision to evacuate the island gives the lovers more time together - Mhairi spends the summer away from her family and gives birth to a child.

Once evacuated she goes to live with her prospective husband and father until she hears that her lover has been arrested for the murder of the factor on St Kilda. She flees to provide him with an alibi for the night in question.

Overall captivating and intriguing - I will be very happy to read the final part of the trilogy.

The Stolen Hours by Karen Swan is the second in the author's The WIld Isle series about the last inhabitants of St Kilda. We pick up the narrative pre-evacuation again, this time following Mhairi's story and her need to find a husband. Inevitably she falls for the wrong man and the consequences of this are not all obvious - each novel is peppered with clues as to the murder of the Laird's Factor to St Kilda and its clear that Mhairi and her love are wrapped up in this somehow. I loved this parallel story to the first novel, The Last Summer, and how although more of the overall plot unfolds, but there's still unsolved clues.
WIth thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Part 2 with the islanders of St Kilda.
This time the main focus is Mhairi and her story. It sort of ran alongside Effie’s story in the first book. There were certainly some twists and turns I wasn’t expecting
I loved it and hope there is more to come, I couldn’t put it down

This book is the second part of The Wikd Isles trilogy. It is very well written, very atmospheric and engrossing. I really enjoyed reading it and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I was so in love with Effie's story in the first book that I started to read this second instalment with a slight fear: Will I enjoy the book of Mhairi? Will this novel be able to tell me anything new, now that I have read the events of the evacuation? And the answer is that The Stolen Hours is very different to The Last Summer, but I enjoyed it a lot nevertheless. The first one is more adventurous while the second is more emotional. The events of course are overlapping at some points, however, the tiny details of the two books fit like cogs in a machine. It didn't bother me at all that I met familiar faces and situations every now and then. I hope Flora's story is next - I can't wait!

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the Advance Review Copy.

Having read the first part of the trilogy, and loved it, I was very much looking forward to this sequel.. it was a little strange to go back in time , back to living on St Kilda when we had read about the evacuation and Effie’s life on the mainland. This book focussed on Mhairi, now of an age to marry and becoming a burden to her family which consists of eleven children.
Although the story is set around 1930, the way of life on St Kilda runs some 50 years earlier, the minister a man to be in awe of, a parents word to be followed at all times and the Ten Commandments to be observed. With little influence from the mainland the young girls had no experience of romance.
I loved this book. I think it was the nativity of the islanders, their old ways of living with the land and enduring whatever the weather and circumstances sent their way.
Although this book may be read as a stand alone, I would recommend reading The Last Summer too.

The second in a series about the folks of St Kilda running up to evacuation. Atmospheric and giving an insight into the life and traditions. A spellbinder trailing the life and expectations set upon a young Mhairi cleverly linking in the story of Effie from the earlier book. Foll on the next episode with its mystery and intrigue

The Stolen Hours is the second novel in Karen Swans Wild Isle Series which is set around 1929-1930 on the remote Scottish island of St Kilda. I haven't read the first, though I will now.
Book 2 is Mhairí's story, the third of nine children, she sent to Harris to meet who may be her future husband. As the story unfolds, it is clear Mhairí is in love with another, her suiter isn't all he appears to be and she is a young woman of strong will and determination.
I really enjoyed The Stolen Hours, Karen Swan painted a vivid picture of what life was like for island inhabitants, I look forward to reading the third instalment and will seek out the first.

Second installament in the Wild Isle series - telling the story of Mhairi Mackinnon.
Set in the summer of 1929, Mhairi is the eldest of nine children and desperately needs a husband as her father can’t support her past the coming winter.
She goes to the mainland and returns an engaged woman.
But she faces a dilemma, she’s fallen love with someone else.
Will she get her happy ending - when word comes that St Kilda is to be evacuated, the lovers are granted a few months reprieve, enjoying summer of stolen hours and forbidden love.
Expressive, rich style of writing and very well researched, with very loyal characters showing their sense of community, responsibilities and expectations.
Perfect for any historical fiction fans.
Thanks @swannywrites, @panmacmillan & @netgalley for the eARC

An absolutely beautiful and soulful story! The historical setting is perfect, and the plot is mesmerizing! Loved it!

This goes back to 1929 and is part of the Wild Isles series and one not to be missed. It would be better if you read the first book but Karen Swan has done a recap at the front of this book so you can catch up with the characters and the story. Great read with 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

A fabulous book. This is the second book in Karen Swan's Wild Isles series. Having not read the first one, I wondered whether this would be a problem, however I need not have worried. There is a recap at the start of the book and within the first few pages I was falling in love with some of the characters.

I loved the main character Mhairi and the forendiship she had with the other girls on the island of St Kilda. In the second half of the book, Mhairi moves to the mainland where she meets her groom to be.

This was a real page Turner focusing on a forbidden love and female friendships surrounding a murder mystery which had me rooting for Mhairi.

I always find Karen Swan's books so immersive and rich in detail, they suck you in and this one definitely does not disappoint.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oan Macmillian for providing me an ARC.

Without any doubt, Karen Swan is a master storyteller! The Stolen Hours, the second book in her captivating Wild Isle series, lives up to its predecessor, The Last Summer. With its well-crafted writing, immersive atmosphere, and compelling plot lines, it is another page-turner. The memorable characters add depth to the story, leaving readers eager for the next instalment, which I presume will be Flora’s tale.
Can't wait to read more!

Another fabulous book in The Wild Isle series. There are so many adjectives I could use in this review but, will use captivating, mysterious and powerful. Highly recommended.

This book focuses on the story as experienced by Mhairi, one of the friends on St. Kilda. It really brings how how hard life was on St. Kilda but also a real sense of community. There is also the need to marry and not be a burden to the family. The first half of the book is concerned with life on St. Kilda and the second half on the mainland. It is on the mainland that Mhairi’s groom is waiting but Mhairi has conflicting feelings about her situation. This was an enjoyable and interesting read and it does end on a cliff hanger, as did the first book, as it’s part of a series. I did read the first book and I think it is helpful to read that first. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.b

I was grateful for the overview of book one at the start of this book, as I haven’t read it, but I was really confused as it mentions the death of a man who is then alive at the start of this book. It took me a while to realise that this is not a sequel, but the same story effectively, told in parallel, from a different POV.

It was really interesting to read about the difficult lives the islanders lived in the small Hebridean island of St Kilda, around 100 years ago. Great descriptive writing and well researched history.

I found it hard to like some of the characters; Donald came across as a bit of a dirty old man - stuck in a miserable marriage so goes for an 18yo girl! I felt some characters, such as Mhairi’s brothers and parents were under developed and more could of been made of them, although it may be that they featured more in book one, perhaps?

So I didn’t completely love it, however I think for anyone who has read book one, this would be a great read.


3⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Another poignant and well plotted story by Karen Swan, a historical saga with romance, strong characters and a tightly knitted plotted.
A paged turner that moved me and made me root for the characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is the second book in the Wild Isles series.

The first book, was about Effie and Sholto, but this book is about what happened up to the death that took place in the first book.

It tells the story from a different viewpoint.

Although it can be read as a standalone, reading The Last Summer will give you a better understanding.

I highly recommend this book.

As usual in my reviews I will not rehash the plot...

This is the second book in Karen Swan's "Wild Isles" series. Having enjoyed the first novel last year (The Last Summer), I was delighted to be invited to read this one.

This novel runs parallel to the previous book, and therefore features many of the same characters we met in "The Last Summer" together with new ones. This time the focus is on Mhari and her lot in life...but with events from the previous book popping up now and again too.

I felt sorry for Mhairi - sent over the water in pursuit of a "match" by her father, she was like a kind of sacrificial lamb (though I guess with 9 children though her parents had to prioritise "the greater good"). Cupid intervenes however, and she returns to St Kilda as an engaged woman, but with her heart given elsewhere - and I'll say no more than that to avoid spoilers!

The book ends on a somewhat more optimistic note - but also a "cliffhanger", so I can't wait to see what happens next!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

This is the second book in the Wild Isles series following the love story between Mhairi and Donald.
Although the first book in the series centres on Effie and Sholto and ended with a cliffhanger this book does not start where The Last Summer ended but takes events leading up to the death the island’s factor from a different perspective.
It is a stand alone book but reading The last Summer enhances the read more.
This series is a history lesson on the life and deprivation the inhabitants of St Kilda experienced until they were evacuated to the mainland.
Absolutely brilliant read and can’t wait for the final one in the trilogy