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

Product Information

This book is special in that it is almost two books in one. The first part involves the inhabitants still living on St Kilda, and the second gives us a glimpse of the unique positions these women (and men) experience when they are forced to vacate their home and find a new life for themselves on the mainland. Society, culture, relationships, and the structure of classes are all an awakening and a jolt for sure. Some changes are positive, some are different and difficult. Relationships that were simple on the island are now complex, complicated, and sometimes changed and broken. There is love, loss, friendship, family, changes, mystery, and it is all drawn out beautifully by the author and it all sounds lovely by the impressive narrator and her stunning accent. It really adds to the novel. This is the first book in a series featuring three young women from the island. This book centres around Effie, a ‘tomboy’ who as the only child of her unable-to-work father, does the work of men on the island. She’s excellent at it, probably close to the best on the island, which does cause some resentment and also garners her some attention from those that she definitely wishes would rather not see her. When all the men are off on another island tending the sheep, Effie is tasked with showing an Earl and his son around, demonstrating the things the locals do such as scaling the cliffs attached to ropes. The Earl is a keen bird watcher and collector and Effie is incredibly knowledgeable and is able to share that with the Earl, who admires her. She also connects with his son – despite them being from two very different worlds. When Effie and the rest of the locals are evacuated, the Earl offers her a job curating his collection. But Effie is in a completely different setting now and she’s hurt when the Earl’s son, Lord Sholto, treats her differently. Life is hard for the villagers on the island but it's the only life 18 year old Effie Gillies has known. Effie is wild and determined she has had to work as hard as the men to help support her ailing father. When the residents of St Kilda ask to be evacuated from their remote island home in the summer of 1930, it’s in search of a better life on the mainland rather than the scratch existence on their mountain in the sea.

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

Member Reviews

They meet again a few months later when Effie accepts a job offer from the Earl of Dumfries. Now, Effie has the opportunity to see Sholto in the society which he is part of. The status differences are now more obvious, and their story seems impossible, even before it really begins. Santa Montefiore, author of An Italian Girl in Brooklyn This sweeping love story gripped us from the start, so we can’t wait for the next in the series. Best historical romance of 2022

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. Into this world comes a yacht carrying a father and son who wish to study the birdlife. Effie is tasked with showing them around and the attraction between her and the son soon becomes apparent. But they are from worlds apart. He is heir to the Earl of Dumfries, and she runs around barefooted in her brother’s clothes.A gripping new series . . . beautifully told by one of our most prolific and talented writers’ - Santa Montefiore on The Last Summer 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 Should I Tell You? It is 1930 and the remote settlement of St Kilda 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides will shortly be evacuated. The population has declined to 36, 13 of them children, and a harsh winter has left them short of fleeces and bird oil to pay their rent to the island’s owner Sir Reginald MacLeod. But 18-year-old, Effie Gillies, has no desire to leave her home. A tomboy, she has had to take over a man’s role after the death of her brother. Her climbing skills, down the cliff face, impress the tourists and her knowledge of the bird species which populate the island is second to none. When Mathieson, the factor, employed by Sir Reginald to collect their dues and supply their needs, arrives by boat, he often brings a present for Effie of a book about birds but this time he is also accompanied by Sir Reginald’s friend the Earl of Dumfries and his son Lord Sholto. The two visitors wish to see the island and collect eggs for the Earl’s collection. They are friendly and treat Effie with great respect. She feels an immediate attraction to Sholto and he seems to feel the same, but there cannot be any future relationship.

Effie is a great heroine. Karen Swan explains in her author note that she is not based on any one real person from St Kilda but that instead she has combined common names from the island for her protagonist, something she will do again in the rest of the series. Effie was a hard worker and a true support for her father. She knew so much about birds and was just as able as the men to scale the cliffs and catch the birds which would keep them fed. It was so frustrating for her, and for me as a reader, to see how sometimes her skills were overlooked simply because she was a woman. Unfortunately, these questions were not answered in this book. Though disappointing, it ensures the reader will look for the books to come in this series. Overall, this was a very interesting read.

Summary

The book tells the story through the eyes of Effie Gillies, a beautiful but wild teenager whose strength and will captures the attention of Lord Sholto. The Lord, along with his father, the Earl of Dumfries, visit the island to relax, just before the evacuation. She becomes their guide, her knowledge and understanding of birds capturing the earl's attention and admiration. It is his son, however, who finds her more than a source of information, and his attention becomes irresistible to Effie. The two fall in love, but circumstances force them to separate.