Wildflower Bay
Isla Brown, a focused hair stylist determined to get to the top, finds herself on gardening leave just as she’s in a position to show all her school bullies just how far she’s come. With the school reunion in just a few weeks time all her years of hard work and sacrifice for that moment seem to have evaporated. However, her father provides a solution: instead of feeling sorry for herself she can temporarily take over her aunt’s hair salon in Kilmannan aka Wildflower Bay. Isla soon feels like she’s stepped back in time with the salon stuck in the past, No Pret A Manger or M&S and a patchy phone reception; she is counting the days until she can return to Edinburgh. Still, in a small island community word soon spreads about the new arrival and Isla certainly rouses the interest of Finn MacArthur and his mum Ruth. Established ladies’ man Finn finds himself intrigued by prickly beauty Isla but can he convince her that island life might not be so terrible after all?
I really liked and identified with Isla and her motivation to do well. The impact of her formative years and the personal sacrifices she made in a bid to prove her worth to her childhood bullies, and herself, was credible and well-described. There was good chemistry between the main protagonists and fun in the form of Lily, a holistic lifestyle guru, and her tearaway toddler Lucien. An escape from current predicaments to live a simpler life for a time is always a comforting read and this book is a good example of it.
Rating:
