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June Gadsby
Robert Hale
31 May 2011/ ISBN 0709092288
Historical Romance / 1890 St Kilda
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Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
Meredith lives
with her naturalist father Dr. Josiah Jolly, illustrating his work
and fielding the wishes of her grim aunt that she should marry and
settle down. One day a letter arrives from the Royal Society, requesting
that her father depart on a year-long research trip to the remote
islands of St Kilda. Leading the team will be the illustrious Professor
Fergus Macaulay, and Meredith manages to get a place on the expedition
as well as artist. En route they endure a rough crossing and she
finds herself thrown overboard, but is rescued by a mysterious young
man. Logan resembles the professor, a man that she has come to fear
and who had visited the islands earlier. Now he is back and the
inhabitants are not keen to welcome him; what is his dark secret?
I’ve long wanted to read a book set on the fascinating and
unique St Kilda islands, and now I have. The author does a good
job of describing the place and the way the islanders live and it
makes for a grand backdrop for a story. This is a romance first
and foremost and there is certainly plenty of that, but the most
memorable parts of the tale are surely those of the islands themselves.
All the elements come together well and it is something of a page-turner,
combining romance with mystery and drama in a well realized setting.
I’ve read other books by this author and have not been disappointed
yet. If you like your romances to contain more than just a love
story then this ought to suit.
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