500 Miles From You

500 Miles From You by Jenny Colgan

Published:  June 2020 – Harper Audio

Borrowed from my library via Libby App

Description:  

Lissa, is a nurse in a gritty, hectic London neighborhood. Always terribly competent and good at keeping it all together, she’s been suffering quietly with PTSD after helping to save the victim of a shocking crime. Her supervisor quietly arranges for Lissa to spend a few months doing a much less demanding job in the little town of Kirrinfeif in the Scottish Highlands, hoping that the change of scenery will help her heal. Lissa will be swapping places with Cormack, an Army veteran who’s Kirrinfeif’s easygoing nurse/paramedic/all-purpose medical man. Lissa’s never experienced small-town life, and Cormack’s never spent more than a day in a big city, but it seems like a swap that would do them both some good.

In London, the gentle Cormack is a fish out of the water; in Kirrinfief, the dynamic Lissa finds it hard to adjust to the quiet. But these two strangers are now in constant contact, taking over each other’s patients, endlessly emailing about anything and everything. Lissa and Cormack discover a new depth of feeling…for their profession and for each other.

But what will happen when Lissa and Cormack finally meet…?  (publisher)

My take:  Two nurses, he’s from Scotland and she’s from London, change places and jobs for three months. She’s never lived in a small town and he hasn’t spent much time in the big city. Themes of loss and PTSD figure strongly in the novel. Jenny Colgan’s characters are warm, sympathetic and believable. I wanted to keep reading about Cormac and Lissa. This is the third in a series but can stand alone.  Recommended, especially on audio.

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Christmas On The Island by Jenny Colgan

Christmas On The Island by Jenny Colgan

Published:  October 2018 – William Morrow Paperbacks

Thanks for the free/gifted book, @WmMorrowBooks @LibraryThing 

Description:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Café by the Sea—whose novels are “an evocative, sweet treat” (JOJO MOYES)—comes this heartwarming holiday novel set on a charming Scottish island

On the remote Scottish island of Mure, the Christmas season is stark, windy, and icy—yet incredibly festive and beautiful…

It’s a time for getting cozy in front of whisky barrel wood fires, and enjoying a dram and a treacle pudding with the people you love—unless, of course, you’ve accidentally gotten pregnant by your ex-boss, and don’t know how to tell him. In the season for peace and good cheer, will Flora find the nerve to reveal the truth to her nearest and dearest? Will her erstwhile co-parent Joel think she’s the bearer of glad tidings—or is this Christmas going to be as bleak as the Highlands in midwinter?

Meanwhile Saif, a doctor and refugee from war-torn Syria is trying to enjoy his first western Christmas with his sons on this remote island where he’s been granted asylum. His wife, however, is still missing, and her absence hangs over what should be a joyful celebration. Can the family possibly find comfort and joy without her?

Travel to the beautiful northern edge of the world and join the welcoming community of Mure for a Highland Christmas you’ll never forget! (publisher)

My take:  I loved catching up with Flora and her family and friends on the (imaginary) island of Mure. This is the third in a series about the lovely inhabitants of Mure. If you haven’t read the first two books you really should before dipping into this book. You’ll want to learn all about the people – get the context of their relationships. I have loved each book and the third just as much. It boils down to connections between people and how we all need them and must continue to try to do better – in every way. I really hope this isn’t the last I’ll read of the people of Mure. There are some ends that weren’t completely tied up – and I need some reassurance!

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The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan

William Morrow Paperbacks (May 22, 2018)

Review copy courtesy of the publisher

Description:

When Flora MacKenzie traded her glum career in London for the remote Scottish island of Mure, she never dreamed that Joel—her difficult, adorable boss—would follow. Yet now, not only has Flora been reunited with her family and opened a charming café by the sea, but she and Joel are taking their first faltering steps into romance.

With Joel away on business in New York, Flora is preparing for the next stage in her life. And that would be…? Love? She’s feeling it. Security? In Joel’s arms, sure. Marriage? Not open to discussion.

In the meanwhile, Flora is finding pleasure in a magnificent sight: whales breaking waves off the beaches of Mure. But it also signals something less joyful. According to local superstition, it’s an omen—and a warning that Flora’s future could be as fleeting as the sea-spray…

A bracing season on the shore sets the stage for Jenny Colgan’s delightful novel that’s as funny, heartwarming, and unpredictable as love itself. (publisher)

My take:  With The Endless Beach Jenny Colgan continues the story of the close-knit village on the island of Mure. I loved catching up with the MacKenzie family and all connected to them. The theme that we all just need/want to be accepted, loved – regardless of what has come before – runs through the novel. It doesn’t matter who we are or what our circumstances are – it’s a universal need. Jenny Colgan gets it just right and left me hoping this is not my last visit to Mure and the lovely people who live there. I highly recommend reading The Cafe By The Sea to get a true introduction to the characters and setting. It will be worth it!

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The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

• Title:  The Cafe by the Sea
• Author:  Jenny Colgan
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Pages:  416
• Published:  June 2017 – William Morrow Paperbacks
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  Years ago, Flora fled the quiet Scottish island where she grew up — and she hasn’t looked back. What would she have done on Mure? It’s a place where everyone has known her all her life, where no one will let her forget the past. In bright, bustling London, she can be anonymous, ambitious… and hopelessly in love with her boss.

Yet when fate brings Flora back to the island, she’s suddenly swept once more into life with her brothers (all strapping, loud, and seemingly incapable of basic housework) and her father. Yet even amid the chaos of their reunion, Flora discovers a passion for cooking — and find herself restoring a dusty little pink-fronted shop on the harbor: a café by the sea.

But with the seasons changing, Flora must come to terms with past mistakes… and work out exactly where her future lies…

My take:  Flora might enjoy living in London, a place where no one knows her as anything but the young, bright paralegal. She likes her friends, her work is ok, and she has an enormous crush on her boss. But when she’s sent back to her island home (that’s as far north as one can get before the north pole) for work she feels the walls of everything that happened before closing in. Will she be able to mend some fences in her family that she’d torn down when she last left? Can she look at the island with new eyes while showing her boss around the place? Jenny Colgan’s story, as usual, is full of heart, lovely characters, and the possibilities that are within reach if they just take a chance. I loved Flora’s family, the island itself, and how everything played out. Recommended to fans of the author and breezy contemporary fiction.

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Summer At Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

• Title:  Summer At Little Beach Street Bakery
• Author:  Jenny Colgan
• Series:  Little Beach Street Bakery #2
• Pages:  416
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Published:  March 2016 – William Morrow Paperbacks
• Source:  Publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Description:  A thriving bakery. A lighthouse to call home. A handsome beekeeper. A pet puffin. These are the things that Polly Waterford can call her own. This is the beautiful life she leads on a tiny island off the southern coast of England.

But clouds are gathering on the horizon. A stranger threatens to ruin Polly’s business. Her beloved boyfriend seems to be leading a secret life. And the arrival of a newcomer—a bereft widow desperately searching for a fresh start—forces Polly to reconsider the choices she’s made, even as she tries to help her new friend through grief.

Unpredictable and unforgettable, this delightful novel will make you laugh, cry, and long for a lighthouse of your own. Recipes included.  (publisher)

My take:  Jenny Colgan takes readers back to Mount Polbearne. I loved seeing what was new in the lives of Polly, Huckle and all the rest. We meet a few new characters and yes, Neil the puffin is back.

Colgan’s novel lived up to my expectations. There’s love, loss, humor and drama in the lives of the residents of the tiny seaside village in Cornwall we first visited in Little Beach Street Bakery. It was great to visit and my hope is that we might someday meet up again.

Even though Colgan provides a brief catch-up of the first book I highly recommend reading it before this book because I enjoyed it so much. Fans of small town settings and characters will find a lot to love in these books.

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

• Title:  Little Beach Street Bakery
• Author:  Jenny Colgan
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Published:  March 2015 – William Morrow
• Source:  Publisher

My take:  When 30-something Polly’s life leads her to the day where the men from the bank take over her (and her boyfriend’s) house, and their business is dissolved, she is forced to start over – without the boyfriend. She finds herself living in a wreck of a flat over a vacant bakery in a tiny seaside village an hour from where her old life went wrong. There’s nowhere to go but up. Polly survives on her optimism and willingness to change. She’s a character you can’t help but cheer on as she takes her hobby of baking bread to the next level and eventually has more takers for her bread than she ever dreamed.

It’s not all easy street for Polly though. Gillian, the woman who used to be the only bakery owner on the tidal island is not pleased with her competition. She uses intimidation on Polly but to no avail. Can the two co-exist? And what about the intriguing fisherman, Tarnie. Polly is surprised by her attraction as he’s so different from her last boyfriend. Can she even look at him in that way? But there’s more – Huckle, the American beekeeper is a bit of a mystery that she would like to solve. Huckle’s friend Reuben and Kerensa, Polly’s best friend, add an over-the-top and highly entertaining aspect to the plot.

I don’t want to spoil by telling more but suffice to say that Little Beach Street Bakery could end up on my 2015 Favorite Books list. It’s the first of Jenny Colgan’s books I’ve read and I can’t wait to read another.