It was wonderful to find myself back in the skilled hands of a favourite author, and I was delighted to dive straight in. I must confess that I was a little concerned at first as the build up to the story had me wondering if I wasn’t going to enjoy it as much as usual. My faith was restored as soon as Cass and Ranulph set out for Dominica. I could almost feel the writing drop a gear and accelerate into the storm-battered island.
The Island of Dominica is a standout character in itself; the joys and dangers are everywhere, and I could almost imagine that I was also fighting my way through the landslides and fallen trees. Despite the devastation that was described, I fell in love with the people and their positivity.
I totally took to Cass and loved her fighting spirit. Her unwillingness to be perceived as incapable of mucking in was inspiring and reminded me of myself at a similar age. Similarly, it was easy to recall the pain of seemingly unrequited attraction, and I genuinely felt sadness for her. Having said that, her draw to Ranulph was not the main theme of the book as that was the race between an obnoxious American and their host to prove or disprove the presence of an important stone carving.
There are some fabulous characters in this story, and whilst they didn’t all play major roles, their presence affected Cass’s time in Dominica. In particular, I adored Bastian and Delphine. Their connections definitely brought a warmth to the story that is usually discovered through family. That said, their community had a strong feeling of being a family, and I loved that element.
Discovering in the acknowledgements that Katie has a family connection to the island explained the warmth and affection in her writing. I absolutely loved this book. It had a different feel to the usual style of writing, but it absolutely enchanted me, and I simply couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

I usually love Katie Fforde. I think I’ve read all her others… but this one just didn’t quite click for me. I think it was the setting, I prefer it when Fforde writes about a quintessential British village, the hapless female and the super wealthy evil Lord of the manor - that sort of thing. This one just wasn’t quite like that! An easy read but not one I’d read again.

I do love Katie Fforde’s books and style of writing, however this one isn’t my favourite of hers. There are some elements of this book that I enjoyed, the settings sounded beautiful and I liked some of the characters. However it felt like some of the descriptions of the characters were under-developed and I found it really hard to warm to them. Because of this, I didn’t feel the pull to keep reading as I became frustrated with why they acted the way they did. I will definitely try more of hers in the future, but this wasn’t for me.

A lovely heartfelt read from Katie Fforde you can tell she has a softspot for Dominica. Cass is supposed to be going into teacher training in September she really doesn’t want to but is being pressured to get a “proper job” she has a secret she loves to draw and would love to be an artist but knows her family would write her off. When she goes to visit her father on a remote island in Scotland he asks her to take a trip to Dominica to return a map to the son of an old friend. With a hurricane just having hit Cass and her fathers neighbour Ranulph go and help the hurricane hit island . With a lot of things at stake can Cass help the island and maybe discover things about herself to make her realise her future.

This book was an easy, fast paced read.

It’s a chilled romance with a happy ending, interesting characters set against a beautiful backdrop. I really enjoyed that it included a bit of a different take on a beautiful country, focusing on natural disaster and the chaos that follows one.

I liked Cass although she read as very young to me. You really got to see her take on challenges and come into her own. I just kept wishing she would be able to see her own worth which got a bit frustrating at times.

For me, the plot moved to quickly at times and I felt more time could have been spent on the build up. For instance, the relationship was quite insta-love, some of the twists lacked a bit of suspense and there was a lot of miscommunication between characters which I found frustrating.

It was a good read, I enjoyed it but probably not one I’ll revisit

Probably my favourite genre of books, are those with a great plot, romance and destinations so vivid and descriptive, they make you believe that you are really there. Upon reading the blurb for Island in the Sun, I thought this book was going to deliver exactly that, so I had very high hopes for the story. I have never read a book by Katie Fforde, so wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

This book was mostly set between a remote Scottish Island and the island of Dominica. Cass was being sent to Dominica to do a photography project and personal favour for her dad, a well-known photographer. Cass was travelling with Ranulph, who was searching for the rare stone carvings that her father wanted her to photograph. In the run up to her trip, a hurricane hit the Island, so this caused them to change their plans slightly, in order to help the Islander's get back on their feet. Cass had seemed pretty lost and stuck-in-a-rut at the beginning of the book. This trip to Dominica would leave her on a journey of self-discovery. Woven alongside this are stories of friendships, history, romance and danger.


It has the premise to be everything that I look for in a good book, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I felt distance from all of the characters and couldn't get engaged into them nor found them particularly likeable. I think this was partly as it was written in a 'third party' point of view, which I find harder to enjoy. I knew that Cass was described as being young, her dad was in his 70's and Ranulph was a slightly older man, with a head of white hair. This didn't narrow down the ages of Cass and Ranulph, so I spent the majority of the book trying to work it out. I knew from Cass' job that she must be at least 18, but it was a shock to find out near the end of the book that Cass was 25 (and Ranulph mid-late 30's), as Cass seemed to have the emotional maturity and self-doubt of a teenager. It was frustrating at times and left me wanting to shake some common sense into her! She went from fancying Ranulph at first sight, to being in love with him a few pages later- yet seemingly too scared to even ask him at any point, whether or not he was seeing anybody.


In my opinion, the plot seemed to be too far-fetched at times. It left me wondering why they put up with a certain character, given all the trouble and stress he was causing everybody. I was surprised that they didn't even consider calling the police on him during a couple of occasions, given the severity of the situations! Cass' family seemed to be cold-hearted and Cass seemed to be scared to tell them what she wanted from her own life/career. Some of the other characters popped up at times, but then didn't really seem to bring much (if anything), to the plot. There were a few bits which seemed laughable or repetitive too, such as the amount of times Cass had seemed surprised that the Atlantic Ocean that she saw in Scotland was the same as the one surrounding parts of Dominica! It felt that they were there just to pad out unnecessary pages of what seemed to be an overly long book, considering the relatively basic plot. The end seemed to be rushed, and again, unrealistic.

I wanted to love this book, but I'm afraid that it just wasn't for me. For the positives, I did like the descriptions of the places, plus learning a brief history about Dominica and it's people. I could tell that Katie Fforde had done a lot of research. This is why I upped my rating from 1* to a 2* review.

Thanks to Netgalley, Katie Fforde and the publisher, for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Cass is sent to Dominica by her father to try and photograph a treasure which he knows to be on the island. I loved the descriptive narrative of both the island of Dominica and the remote island in Scotland but I really struggled to get into the story and believe the romance. I couldn’t connect with the characters enough and it all seemed a bit rushed through. I think I would have enjoyed the story much more if it hadn’t been a romance but a story about Dominica and/or Scotland because the descriptions of life there were beautiful! This book wasn’t for me sadly. 3 stars at best.

Having read other Katie Fjorde books, I was aware of what I was getting. This was a lovely romance but with a little treachery thrown in for good measure. The descriptions of the Caribbean island and the wilds of Scotland were very well done. If anything I think the ending was a little rushed and found it fairly unrealistic that two people would declare heir love for each other and within days a proposal happens.

I've read quite a few of Katie Fforde's books, and I think I enjoyed the earlier ones more. This is a pleasant enough read - I read it as a palate cleanser between two rather heavier history books - but I'm afraid neither the characters nor the story engaged me. The setting in Dominica is interesting, but not enough to compensate for the instalove theme, and the way that the central character Cass just seems to fall on her feet.

Other reviewers have given the book glowing reviews, but the book isn't for me, but then taste in books is a very personal thing. I'm sure Katie Fforde 'superfans' will love it.

Set on the beautiful island of Dominica, this story is a real gem to read. It is full of romance and adventure, inlaid with many twists and turns. It is warm and uplifting. I enjoyed this book immensely.

A bit of a slow burner but does improve as the story moves on. I loved the setting of the book & the way the people all pull together when they are needed to feels very real. I loved all the characters with one exception, who was like an irritating fly and I think that was the point & if so it came across well. For me this felt a slightly different style of book by Katie but still a good one Thanks netgalley for an advanced copy for a review.

I love Katie Fforde’s books with this being no exception. A wonderful romance story in a beautiful setting. The story romped along at great pace and kept me hooked from start to finish.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Another wonderful book by Katie Fforde.

Cass has been asked by her father to go to Dominica to find and photograph some rock carvings that has not been seen in years, she agrees. She’s escorted there by a family friend of her fathers Ranaulph. Preparing for the trip, they hear a hurricane is heading towards the island so the the travel plans change to helping the locals instead. Love is ever far, but is it closer than you think.

A beautifully written book and loved that Katie has ties to the island, she knew what she was writing and tried to include some family members. The island sounds lovely and think it would be worth a visit. You will want to savor each and every page,

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

this story follows Cass, the daughter of a well known photographer who is living in scotland and she goes out to visit him, with the hopes of telling him she wants to change career paths. This leads to a trip to Dominica with Cass and Ranulph.

this book unfortunately was not for me. i found it hard to connect with the characters and enjoy the dialogue. however, i do appreciate what the story was trying to tell. The plot was definitely there but it just wasn’t for me.

thank you net galley and the publishers for a chance to read and review this book

As always Katie Fforde didn't disappoint with this beautiful Romance between two wonderful characters plus the various Landscapes that their story is set in #NetGalley, #GoodReads, #FB,#Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

At a little over 50% I’m giving up on this one.
Cliched, tired and huge holes in the story. It’s a no from me. The main character, Cass, goes from fancying someone to being completely in love with them within pages. The plot is questionable and none of the characters are particularly likeable or believable.

Quite enjoyable, but just a bit too formulaic for my taste.
Some good descriptions of places, but the story is just too predictable - love at first sight, disaster, a baddie, rescue, misunderstandings, a reconciliation and happily ever after.
Katy Fforde has written many books, so perhaps this is what her readers want. I found it rather unsatisfactory.

I’ve enjoyed reading Katie’s books for many years. Enjoyed the travels and the love of the two very different islands but didn’t feel as if the romance in this book worked.

This was an interesting book to read with good descriptions of Scotland and Dominica. This book didn’t grab me as much as other Katie Fforde books have but still a good holiday read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a preview copy of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is the first book by Katie Fjorde that I have read.
Firstly, it made me want to visit Dominica. What a beautiful sounding island! There are few books that I am sad about finishing, but this was one of them. I feel like I got off a boat and left the island after finishing the book. I would love to have joined Cass and Ranulph on a tour of the beautiful island. The storyline was great, the characters were well developed and I felt like I knew them well at the end of the book. I would describe it as a magical book that transports you to a new place. The ongoing relationships being formed were beautiful to read. I will certainly be looking to read more of Katie Fjorde’s books, I have been meaning to try one for a long time, so I was really grateful for this opportunity.