Jenny Colgan’s books are always a delight, and An Island Christmas (according to NetGalley)/Christmas on the Island (according to Goodreads) is no exception. It follows on from previous stories set on the fictional Scottish island of Mure, revisiting the characters of Flora, Joel, Saif, Lorna, Fintan, Colton and others. It’s warm but never fluffy -all the main characters have their issues and some difficult subjects are broached. Yes, there are tears before the end.

I love how diverse and inclusive Jenny’s writing, and indeed the island, is, and I do think her books rather belie their sugar-sweet marketing in many ways.

Lovely read, as ever.

I'm a Jenny Colgan fan anyway, but I really enjoyed this. It's the third in her series set on the Scottish island Mure, and she's very good at capturing the feeling of a small island community - both good things and challenges. The community includes a Syrian GP, recently reunited with his children who are having difficulty adapting to life on the island, the local headteacher and Flora - cafe owner and manager, who grew up on the island, ran away to London and has now returned. Flora's story is the central strand, but the others are equally important, especially her brother and Colton, the immensely rich IT guru who is dying of cancer.

So, there are multiple strands, some of which are dealing with hard issues (refugees, cancer, pregnancy), but the book is still fun to read. It's not gritty, but the characters are realistic and although everything is wrapped up a little more neatly than it would be in real life,there is still enough to keep you wondering what happens to some of them later on. Jenny Colgan is also really good at pulling out the funny things from every day, so it's not laugh out loud, but it is consistently entertaining.

It's an easy read, but an enjoyable one, so what more could you want really?

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was so happy to win this book as I loved the other Island books and didn't want to wait till the release date. It didn't disappoint and I read it in a day. There wasn't enough of the Flora/Joel story line but I adored it none the less. I was crying my eyes out for the last few chapters (no spoilers) Just sad now I have to wait for the next instalment. Good stuff!

I was looking forward to the next one in this series as love Scotland and hearing about the island life. It didn't disappoint me at all was well written and heartwarming and heartbreaking as well and also full of romance or can popel not see the romance and not be happy. Full of Christmas and comfort and joy and the characters are brilliant and a brilliant book from the first page.
Saif the dr is still settling into family life with his boys on the island and trying to give them the Christmas to remember but can he do this he's not happy with the school play the headmistress puts on and the next he gets a phone call to go to the mainland as they may have found his wife but when he goes he can't confirm it's her but suggests moving on with his job as he's falling in love without the headmistress but will he get the job or not and can he be happy on the island. Then you have flora who falls pregnant with her ex boss Joel but is this what he wants or not. When she starts to loose the baby as she thinks Joel soon changes his mind and iprealises he does want the baby but is it to late or not. A storm rocks the island atpnd can they all be happy and enjoy comfort and joy for Christmas or not.
A great read and recommend it very easy read to.

I honestly didn't think I was going to read a better book this year than The Endless Beach, the previous book set on Mure, but I think his is just as amazing if not even better.

Annoyingly I can't say too much about any aspects of the plot, because this is book three in a series and I would wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend you read all three of these in order, to get the full emotional impact and to really care about the characters. Hence anything I say is likely to spoil your enjoyment of the first two.

That being said just wow, I was almost in tears towards the end, and throughout I was continually compelled to read on. Flora and her family, and the island's doctor Saif will forever have a piece of my heart.

There are some huge storylines going on, so in some respects its good that its set in December as it allowed some of the lightness of the festive season to shine through and there were some smiles to be had. Equally though the December setting on Mure was perfect as the darkness of the island at this time of year was so atmospheric, and really added to the mood especially with one particular plot line.

Tripp was a rather interesting new character, I hated him at first, he has horrible views on things but the more time he spent on Mure, the more his horizons started to open and towards the end I at least liked the guy, and felt a bit sorry for him. He is related to someone on the island but that is all I am saying.

Between The Endless Beach and An Island Christmas these are without a doubt Jenny Colgan's best ever books, and if she continues to write in this more slightly grittier way with some heavier subjects in amongst the lightness, then I am incredibly excited to see what her next books are.

I'm not sure I can find the words to express just how amazing this book truly is, but rest assured it is one rather special book, and definitely one worth reading whether you are a fan of the author or new to her.

I desperately hope this isn't the last book set on Mure, but have a weird feeling it may be in which case, it is a great way to tie up a series, but I love the setting and characters so much that I really hope for more in the future.

Thank you to Sphere and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I loved this book, the latest in the Mure Island series. What a wonderful first chapter, a very original way of reintroducing characters to readers who have read the previous book and introducing them for the first time to new readers. The book continued on to describe life on a remote island in winter together with the bittersweet tales of the main characters. There were some downright hilarious moments in there too. Once again, Jenny Colgan has given her readers a great read.