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. Set on the remote island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago in the months leading up to the 1930 evacuation of the villagers to the mainland of Scotland. Swan uses real events to weave a fictitious tale of resilience. 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

Independent I so enjoyed The Last Summer by Karen Swan, which provides fascinating details about life on St Kilda prior to the evacuation of its inhabitants from the island. 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! The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I've ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second instalment' - Cathy Bramley Not only shops and trees but new rules and discrimination never known to Effy before and yes she causes chaos!Dinsdag 14 maart '23 stond voor mij in het teken van de verschijning van 'Het wilde eiland', van Karen Swan, het allereerste deel in haar gloednieuwe, gelijknamige en vooral historische reeks. Ik mocht van de uitgeverij al een exemplaar ontvangen en ik kan je zeggen: de auteur stelt wederom niet teleur! The Last Summer by Karen Swan and audiobook Narrated by Katie Leung is an excellent historical fiction that takes us into the lives of those living and leaving St Kilda during the 1930s, and I just loved it. 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.

The Last Summer is meticulously researched and beautifully told . . . a wonderfully satisfying read' – Santa Montefiore We get to know Effie as a bit of a “wild child”, living on the isolated St Kilda where there are very few/no “modern” conveniences and where physical agility and strength is needed for day-to-day survival. The spunky and strong-willed Effie catches the eye of Lord Sholto during a visit to St Kilda with his father, the Earl of Dumfries. They come from two different worlds though, so this looks to be a doomed relationship.Being so strong and independent and outspoken causes many upsets among all the islanders and wearing her dead brothers clothes she really does not conform to the expected behaviours of the women of the era. Effys enthusiasm to learn from the rare gifted books given by the Factor is kept a secret from her father and later is revealed as a dark alteria motive. I loved the author’s vivid descriptions of St Hilda which told of a very different life to the one I know. The author writes the book so I felt like I was actually there scaling the cliffs and hunting for birds alongside Effy. I was so intrigued that I spent a lot of time googling the Isle to see how it looked in real life. I doubt I’d have been able to cope with the harsh life there but it was interesting to live it through Effy. The description of the house and the community there amongst the servants was also really wonderful. I loved following Effy as she adjusted to life at the house and made new friends.

I can’t remember ever hearing about the island of St. Kilda which is sometimes the best kind of historical fiction to read. I was immediately intrigued and plan on learning more about it before the next book in the series is published. It was such an interesting time period to read about for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the story takes place in the years between two wars. The characters, of course, have no idea but the reader does. Second, the residents of St. Kilda weren’t living as their contemporaries who lived on the mainland of Scotland (can you call a country that’s part of an island “mainland”?). After losing her mother and her brother it is just her and her father, with poor health, surviving and she is desperate for her father's attention as not being his son Effy has to compete with the male islanders to provide for her father. However, her ambition and her spark creates many open doors for exploring and despite initial prejudices for her name sake, she wins the hearts of many surprising characters! I can imagine in the 1930s this spirited girl existed and I hope it's true! Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy of this book. I’ve been a long term fan of Karen Swan’s books, always enjoying the flowing prose filled with descriptive sentences that allow the readers to really immerse themselves in the setting as well as the story. Whether the setting is Spain, Rome, Norway or Canada, there is a real sense of place in her books. This time her setting is St Kilda and the Scottish mainland in the 1930s, at the time of the evacuation of the inhabitants of the island of St Kilda, whose meagre population struggles for survival in a centuries old manner, cut off from much of modern conveniences. It is told through the eyes of Effie Gillies, a wild tom boy type whose skill at all the men’s work required for their survival, including rope work along the cliffs, captures the attention of Lord Sholto when he visits with his father, the Earl of Dumfries, just before the evacuation. She becomes their guide, her knowledge and understanding of birds catching the earl’s attention and admiration. But it’s his son who finds her more than a source of information, and his attention becomes irresistible to Effie. The two are drawn together, ever closer, until circumstances forces them apart.The queen of destination books...exciting...beguiling...The first in a new series, we're already looking forward to meeting these characters again . . . * Woman and Home * When a unique visit from the mainlands Earl and his son throws Effy into being a guide for a week she easily impresses with her knowledge of the island and the bird inhabitants and obviously her amazing climbing skills! Of which will never be forgotten. Effy also has her first experience of that loving spark but sadly once again Effys actions are not well received by her father and the others! Throughout the many hours listening I was kept hooked and I didn't want this to end! Especially like it did! Literally a cliff hanger - excuse the pun! During her last summer on St Kilda, Effie had been Sholto’s guide, and their attraction had seemed irresistible. But, in the glamorous polite society of Ayrshire, it is clear they are worlds apart. When a body is discovered on the island, soon after the evacuation, a scandal erupts as Effie is implicated. Sholto knows she’s keeping secrets – but are they even her own?