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The Last Summer: A wild, romantic tale of opposites attract... (The Wild Isle Series Book 1) by [Karen Swan]

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Karen Swan

The Last Summer: A wild, romantic tale of opposites attract... (The Wild Isle Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Karen Swan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

1,622 ratings

Book 1 of 2: The Wild Isle

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Opposites attract in this epic and spellbinding novel, which transports us from the untamed beauty of St Kilda to the glamour and intrigues of high society in the 1930s. The Last Summer is the first book in The Wild Isle series by Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan, inspired by the true history of St Kilda and its small island community.

'The Last Summer is meticulously researched and beautifully told . . . a wonderfully satisfying read: love, passion, drama, violence, menace and peril, and characters you fall in love with . . . Happily, this is the start of a series so your longing for more will be fulfilled.' - Santa Montefiore

Summer on St Kilda – a wild, remote Scottish island.
Two strangers from drastically different worlds meet . . .

Wild-spirited Effie Gillies has lived all her life on the small island of St Kilda but when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young visitor around the isle, falling in love for the first time – until a storm hits and her world falls apart.

Three months later, St Kilda falls silent as the islanders are evacuated for a better life on the mainland. With her friends and family scattered, Effie is surprised to be offered a position working on the Earl’s estate. Sholto is back in her life but their differences now seem insurmountable, even as the simmering tension between them grows. And when a shocking discovery is made back on St Kilda, all her dreams for this bright new life are threatened by the dark secrets Effie and her friends thought they had left behind.

'The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second instalment' - Cathy Bramley, author of The Summer That Changed Us

'Powerful writing and a wonderful premise make this a novel you’ll simultaneously want to savour and race through. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!' - Jill Mansell, author of And Now You're Back

'A delicious romantic tale of wild 1930s Scotland . . . perfect for everyone dreaming of summer' - Rachel Hore, author of A Beautiful Spy

Print length

476 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Macmillan
Publication date

1 July 2022
Reading age

18 years and up
File size

2941 KB
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From the Publisher

The Last Summer, Karen Swan, Pan Macmillan, Pan

Product description

From the Publisher

I know as Karen Swan’s editor I’m uniquely biased, but The Last Summer is easily the best book she has ever written. It has all the elements that readers love about Karen’s contemporary novels: glamour, heart, setting, and glorious escapism. And these are enhanced tenfold by an author at the very top of her game turning her hand to historical fiction as if she’s always written it.

Inspired by a true story and a newspaper article Karen read about the voluntary evacuation of the Scottish island of St Kilda in the 1930s, this is an impeccably researched, lush, and epic novel full of secrets and mystery and with a Cinderella-style love story at its heart.

It is the story of Effie, a young St Kildan whose life is uprooted when she falls for the heir to the Earl of Dumfries. Their summer affair seems doomed to be fleeting given the vastly different worlds they inhabit. When their paths cross again on the mainland, will they be able to overcome the obstacles between them?

We also get to meet Effie’s friends in the book, each of whom will get a novel their own in due course as The Last Summer will be the first book in Karen’s Wild Isle series.

—Gillian Green, Editor

From the Back Cover

Eighteen year old Effie Gillies has lived all her life on St Kilda; she’s the best climber on the island, as skilled and brave as any of the men. But in matters of the heart, she’s an innocent, and when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young visitor around the isle, falling in love for the first time – until a storm hits and her world falls apart. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

I so enjoyed The Last Summer by Karen Swan, which provides fascinating details about life on St Kilda prior to the evacuation of its inhabitants from the island. Powerful writing and a wonderful premise make this a novel you’ll simultaneously want to savour and race through. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series! -- Jill Mansell

The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second installment. -- Cathy Bramley

A delicious romantic tale of wild 1930s Scotland . . . perfect for everyone dreaming of summer -- Rachel Hore

A sweeping page-turner with an engrossing love story at its heart, this is an absolute treat for historical fiction fans. Swan is a superb storyteller. I loved it. -- Eve Chase author of The Glass House

What a great adventure! The perfect way to tell the tale of the St Kilda's population in fiction form. History fans will love the fascinating St Kilda detail woven throughout this thrilling romance. Wonderful! -- Jennifer Ryan, author of The Chilbury Ladies Choir and The Kitchen Front

Wonderfully romantic and epic in feel, this beautiful historical novel is a fascinating and deliciously escapist read -- Tasmina Perry, author of Guilty Pleasures and Perfect Strangers --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Karen Swan is the Sunday Times top three bestselling author of twenty books and her novels sell all over the world. She writes two books each year – one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Previous summer titles include The Spanish Promise, The Hidden Beach and The Secret Path and for winter, Christmas at Tiffany’s, The Christmas Secret and Together by Christmas.

Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.

Her five book historical series called The Wild Isle, is based upon the dramatic evacuation of Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09BNFV99J
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan (1 July 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2941 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 476 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 2,454 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 191 in Historical Romance (Books)
- 316 in Historical Fiction (Books)
- 1,007 in Romance (Kindle Store)

Customer reviews:
1,622 ratings

About the author

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Karen Swan

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Karen Swan is the Sunday Times Top Three and international best-selling author. Her novels sell all over the world and she writes two books each year - one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.

The Last Summer is the first book in her five-book historical series called The Wild Isle Girls, set around the dramatic evacuation of the Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930. It was partly inspired by Karen’s Scottish roots: her father’s family came from Skye, moving to Fort William where Karen was christened and where many of her family still live. Her childhood memories are full of Christmases, Hogmanay and summer holidays spent in the Highlands and she was married there in 2001.

She lives in Sussex with her husband, three children and two dogs.

Visit Karen's author page on Instagram @swannywrites, Facebook, and Twitter @KarenSwan1.

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Customer reviews

5 star		55%
4 star		31%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Twitcher

5 star read totally spoilt by a zero star ending

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 June 2022

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I really enjoyed this book - until the very last line. Possibly the worst ending in the history of fiction. At first, like another reviewer, I assumed that there is a sequel. But no, this is a stand alone book but listed as book1 in a series of 1 ?.? Effie is a wonderful main character who you cant help falling in love with. Life on Kilda is beautifully described. But just when it looks like there is going to be a denouement - it ends, leaving the reader in total bewilderment. Even searching back through the book provides no real enlightenment. An otherwise great novel destroyed by a hapless finale. Readers should not be kept waiting or expected to purchase another book at a future date - who knows when? Meanwhile try reading 'The St Kilda chronicles' by Bernard Gallivan. This is a 3 part series and is a brilliant 5* read from a lesser known author. Available on Kindle Unlimited.

11 people found this helpful

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Stephanie

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 June 2022

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I received a free copy of the book as part of a readalong with Tandem Collective.

I honestly don't know how to review this book. I love Karen's writing style and the few books I've read, I've really enjoyed. I know this is her first foray into historical fiction rather than contemporary so that's always a factor in a book.
The plot and story in general, the setting was fantastical and new to me - remote Scottish island in 1930 - I loved the visuals that i got from the descriptions of St Kilda. It was truly fascinating to read about the obscure island. I would love to visit the island and see what might be left of the small community that lived there.

Mostly I find this hard to review because I really disliked the main character Effie. I found her annoying and so unwilling to compromise on anything it was incredibly frustrating to read. I was hoping that the further I read, I would start to like her more. But sadly that wasn't the case in Effie's case, she just seemed yo get more annoying and entitled.

Sholto... I didn't really like him, he was rich and blew hot and cold woth Effie... I understand why but it seemed more frustrating, maybe because it was only Effie's pov. I definitely think Sholto could have his own chapters but that might have made the book too long.

I honestly didn't like the idea of the Earl collecting eggs for display but i suppose that was the thing at the time. The Earl in general seemed decent enough and i liked what little of his wife we got to see.

I was not expecting that ending at all, I knew it was going to be a cliff hanger but i did not expect it to go the way that it did. I was so annoyed because now i really want answers but it's going to be a long wait for the next book.

5 people found this helpful

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LeKitmeister

Just dive straight in!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2022

Verified Purchase

Utterly consumed this book as quick as it consumed me! What a beautiful setting for a story, and a beautiful main character. This historical fiction set in 1930 tells the story of Effie Gillies, a young girl living on the island of St Kilda. The island is remote and unforgiving, with the inhabitants scaling cliff faces to hunt and relying on their skills to survive. Having lost her brother, Effie has learnt the skills required to carry out the ‘mens work’ in order to provide for her and her father, much to the distaste of some of the other men on the island. She ferociously defends her right to provide for her family and defies the traditional roles that the islanders usually carry out.

When the island becomes host to two high society visitors, Effie finds herself in charge of guiding their visit after her knowledge of the local wildlife becomes apparent. The Earl of Dumfries and his son Sholto are impressed by her knowledge and her skills. Over the course of the week they partake in a number of ‘adventures’ that are part of Effie’s daily life. But Effie finds for the first time that she is falling in love with Sholto, and their familiarity and friendship is frowned upon by the rest of her community. When the time comes for Sholto and the Earl to leave, Effie is heartbroken.

Three months later the islanders learn that their request to be evacuated to the mainland and found suitable accommodation and employment is granted. Upon moving to the mainland, Effie and her father receive an unexpected visitor in the form of the Earl, who offers Effie a job at his estate curating his ornithology collection. But when Effie makes the trip to the Earl’s estate, she discovers Sholto appears less than happy to see her.

This book is based around a true story, in terms of the history of St Kilda and the evacuation of its inhabitants in the 1930s but the characters and the events are fiction. I loved his book so much. It was a refreshing read, based around nature and wildness, down to earth living and simplicity. I think my favourite part of this book was Effie’s reaction to seeing her own reflection for the first time- it literally made me grin from ear to ear. I loved Effie’s views on nature, for example, that flowers are more beautiful in their natural setting than in a vase.

My only regret about this book was that I felt the ending was too fast.

I definitely recommend this book if you are seeking something different to anything else you’ll read this year. It is a beautiful story in beautiful settings, with a strong and determined female lead who proves time and time again that she is as good as her male counterparts.

4 people found this helpful

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eGJ

a fascinating read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 June 2022

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With the historic background diligently researched, this is fascinating read as well as being a romance! Readers are left hanging until Book 2 is released. I can’t wait!

7 people found this helpful

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Zoe

Brilliant read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2022

Verified Purchase

This is as absolutely gorgeous slow burn read. Split into two halves. The first is on the island. I was fascinated to learn it was based on true events. I loved the island, its descriptions, you almost felt as if you were there. It's hard to imagine such a basic life and virtually cut off from the rest of the world. Effie was such a strong character that you couldn't help but root for her.

The second half is set on the mainland where they move to the grounds of the Earl’s estate. There is a romance bubbling in the background as well as a mystery of what happened to the factor. It's very reminiscent of Downtown Abbey, a them and us, with Effie stuck in the middle.

I loved the narrator. I loved her Scottish accent and initially I thought I would struggle but she was just perfect at bringing the story to life. Overall it was such an entertaining read that I highly recommended and I hope there is more to come.

One question. Who owned the brooch?

3 people found this helpful

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L McCubbin

Captivating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2022

Verified Purchase

Not a genre I usually read, however, I was captivated by the beautifully written characters and the settings.
Once I started, I couldn’t put it down.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next instalment.

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The Last Summer: A wild, romantic tale of opposites attract... (The Wild Isle Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

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Karen Swan

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