I’m beginning to think Sue Moorcroft appears more often on Linda’s Book Bag than I do, but when she writes such brilliant books, I simply have to read them! My enormous thanks to Becky Hunter for sending me a copy of Sue’s latest novel Under a Summer Skye in return for an honest review. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

Under a Summer Skye is published by Avon on 9th May and is available for pre-order through the links here.

If you’d like to read my reviews of other books by Sue Moorcroft or my interviews with her, please click here.

Under a Summer Skye

A Scottish island. A stranger from the mainland. A summer of possibilities…

Escape to the Isle of Skye this summer with the Sunday Times bestselling author, and lose yourself in the first book of the Skye Sisters Trilogy.

A chance encounter is about to change everything for Thea Wynter.

The moment she arrived on the Isle of Skye, life changed for Thea. Running from a succession of wrong turns, she comes to the island in search of blue sea, endless skies, and mountains that make the heart soar. Here, she feels at peace.

As head gardener at Rothach Hall, life is exactly how she wants it, with her days spent working in the glorious clifftop garden and her evenings in the cosy village pub.

But an encounter with a stranger from the mainland brings with it an unexpected turn – and she is left wondering whether he is friend or foe.

It seems that even on Skye, life can catch up with you, and Thea is soon faced with the past she left behind – and with it, the family she’s never met…

From old lives to new beginnings, lose yourself on the beautiful Isle of Skye with Thea as she discovers how many possibilities life can truly hold if you look hard enough.

My Review of Under a Summer Skye

Thea has made a new life for herself.

What a totally gorgeous read. I’m used to Sue Moorcroft writing interesting, entertaining and emotionally charged stories, but in Under a Summer Skye she has surpassed herself. I think it’s possibly my favourite of her books to date.

The setting is simply glorious. There’s such a painterly, poetic but not pretentious, use of language that meant I didn’t feel as if I were reading about Rothach Hall and its environs, but rather that I had been placed there physically. I thought this was a wonderful aspect of the narrative. Skye has long been on my wish list of places to visit, but through Under a Summer Skye I feel as if I’ve already been there. Add in the concept of nature and gardening as healing and restorative themes, and with them so well depicted, reading Under a Summer Skye felt as if I’d been given a breathing space from the trials of the world. It’s glorious.

As well as setting, the plot too is exceptionally entertaining. There are surprises along the way, as well as a simmering attraction between Thea and Dev, that make Under a Summer Skye truly compelling and deliciously romantic. With Thea’s sisters Ezzie and Valentina part of the story, what Sue Moorcroft does is make this book a wonderfully satisfying read, but equally she makes her readers desperate to hear more about the Skye Sisters. I can’t say much more about the storyline for fear of spoilers, but it has a sinuous quality that had me mesmerised.

I loved meeting Thea. Indeed, I loved meeting all the characters, not least because they felt so convincing. There’s a real understanding of nature and nurture making them who they are, and because they all have nuanced elements in their characters, and negative aspects in their past lives or their current situations, it makes them all the more relatable. I confess that I generally do not like dogs at all, but here even Daisy was appealing, realistic and loveable. 

The themes of Under a Summer Skye are mature, complex and handled with remarkable sensitivity. Trust is at the heart of the narrative, but Sue Moorcroft skilfully explores the nature of family and how we become who, and what, we become. I think what appeals so strongly is the thought that any of us could find ourselves in similar situations to Thea and Dev, forced to face the consequences of our actions regardless of the nature of our intentions. 

Under a Summer Skye is a fantastic story written by a brilliant story-teller. It held me entranced throughout and I absolutely loved it. 

About Sue Moorcroft

Award-winning author Sue Moorcroft writes contemporary women’s fiction with occasionally unexpected themes. She’s won a Readers’ Best Romantic Read Award and been nominated for others, including a ‘RoNA’ (Romantic Novel Award). Sue’s a Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner, a past vice chair of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and editor of its two anthologies.

She also writes short stories, serials, articles, writing ‘how to’ and is a creative writing tutor.

The daughter of two soldiers, Sue was born in Germany and went on to spend much of her childhood in Malta and Cyprus. She likes reading, Zumba, FitStep, yoga, and watching Formula 1.

For more information, follow Sue on Twitter/X @SueMoorcroft, or find her on Instagram and Facebook and visit her website.