The Lost Lover
by
Karen Swan
Publication date: 30th April 2024
Series The Wild Isle #3
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 420
RRP: $34.99 (trade paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
Review: The Lost Lover
Could my heart be any more shattered!! 💔
If you are following this series you will know each book follows one of the young women on the isle of St Kilda the year before they are evacuated.
Through extremely clever plotting Karen Swan has written three (so far) completely different stories involving the same characters and timeline but through a different point of view.
The Lost Lover, Flora's story, is another epic installment of The Wild Isle series, superbly written and heartbreaking.
We know from previous books Flora's life is set. She has a rich fiancé and when she leaves the island they will be married.
The Lost Lover starts a year earlier than the previous books and we find out how Flora and James met and fell in love. It is not as plain sailing for Flora as we were led to believe.
There was so much in this book the previous books didn't reveal and I was captivated all over again by the harshness and the beauty of St Kilda.
There are brief mentions of events in previous books however Swan is careful not to simply rehash the first two books. The Lost Lover goes further and details Flora's life off the island where her extraordinary beauty sees he welcomed into Paris high society.
The Lost Lover ends on one of Karen Swan's notorious cliff hangers making me eager for book 4.
The Wild Isle series would have to be one of the best Historical Fiction series I have read!
My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Other Karen Swan books I have read:
THE LAST SUMMER The Wild Isle #1
THE STOLEN HOURS The Wild Isle #2
I was so annoyed when I finished this book that I came looking for reviews. This book finished in such a terrible abrupt manner , it was like the author just had enough of this story and finished it of with a “whatever” attitude , a dusting of her hands and said I am done 🤦🏼♀️I really don’t care that it is part of a series and a supposed cliff hanger., it still could have been finished in a much better manner. I am a voracious reader and am so totally disappointed in both the book and the author herself . I was enjoying the book until the ending . I have read other Karen Swan books but I think this will be the last one
ReplyDeleteI think this series is not for everyone. I know some were annoyed it was a redo of the previous two books but from a different POV. I love the frustration of cliff-hangers, so the ending shattered me in a good sense. I wouldn’t stop reading her all together, maybe just not any series.
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