Eiland in de zon

by Katie Fforde, Hanneke van Soest (translator)

Wanneer de vader van Cass haar vraagt om een zeldzame ­rotstekening te zoeken en te fotograferen op het Caribische eiland Dominica, lijkt Cass dat een prima idee. Het is een prachtig, zonovergoten eiland en ze doet haar vader graag een plezier. De ervaren journalist Ranulph biedt aan om Cass te helpen met haar zoektocht.

Maar als het prachtige eiland wordt getroffen door een zware orkaan besteden Cass en Ranulph hun tijd aan het helpen van de lokale gemeenschap. Ondertussen leert Cass veel over zichzelf en over Ranulph. Ze weet dat ze niet verliefd op hem moet worden – hij is immers gewoon aardig en behulpzaam voor iedereen. Het is onmogelijk dat hij ook maar een beetje in háár geïnteresseerd zou kunnen zijn. Toch?

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Book Club, Holiday, Audiobook

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2024

About the author

Catherine Rose Gordon-Cumming was born 27 September 1952 in England, UK, the daughter of Shirley Barbara Laub and Michael Willoughby Gordon-Cumming. Her grandfather was Sir William Gordon-Cumming. Her sister is fellow writer Jane Gordon-Cumming. Katie married Desmond Fforde, cousin of the also writer Jasper Fforde. She has three children: Guy, Francis and Briony and didn't start writing until after the birth of her third child. She has previously worked both as a cleaning lady and in a health food cafe.

Published since 1995, her romance novels are set in modern-day England. She is the founder of the "Katie Fforde Bursary" for writers who have yet to secure a publishing contract. Katie was elected the twenty-fifteenth Chairman (2009-2011) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. She is delighted to have been chosen as Chair of the Romantic Novelists' Association and says, "Catherine Jones was a wonderful chair and she's a very tough act to follow. However, I've been a member of the RNA for more years than I can actually remember and will have its very best interests at the core of everything I do."

Katie lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England with her husband, some of her three children and many pets. Recently her old hobbies of ironing and housework have given way to singing, Flamenco dancing and husky racing. She claims this keeps her fit. The writers she likes herself is also in the romantic genre, like Kate Saunders.

Reviews

[GemsLiteraryGems · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having really enjoyed Highland Fling, I was looking forward to this one. The descriptions of Dominica and life after a hurricane are great and give the place a character of its own, but unfortunately the plot just felt rushed. One minute she’s in Scotland and the next she’s racing off to Dominica with very little reason. Then she’s suddenly in love, with very little build up. It was very “oh he’s quite attractive” and then a page later “I love him why will he not notice me?”. It’s almost as if a massive chunk was edited out in favour of describing the island!

Anyway, it’s a light read and nice and easy going. Just don’t start here if the author is new to you, she’s written much better characters and plots!

Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in return for an honest review.

[MetLineReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great descriptions of Dominica and its people but otherwise a little lacklustre …
Interesting story and could have had a real draw but unfortunately the characters were a little flat

Not up to her usual standards- haven’t read a KF for a while but felt a little flat

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Katie Fforde’s books and I knew I was going to be in for a treat with this one, largely set on the beautiful island of Dominica in the Caribbean.

Cass’ parents are divorced, and her father is living on a remote Scottish Island. When she goes to visit, he asks her to go to Dominica, recently ravaged by a hurricane, and try and photograph some stone carvings on the island for a book his friend Bastian is putting together. Cass’ father is a famous photographer but can’t go himself, so he trusts his daughter with the only copy of the very fragile map to the carvings, and his Leica camera. Not wanting her to go alone, he sends her with his friend and neighbour Ranaulph (Ran) to look after her and help with the aftermath of the hurricane. Cass is soon infatuated with the dashing Ran, but he is much older and she fears he sees her as a child.  There is another visitor on the Island – Austin , who is equally determined to prove that the rock carvings do not exist, and will stop at nothing to discredit Cass and Bastian.

There is mystery, intrigue, romance and danger all set against the beautiful backdrop of Dominica – and I loved it so much I was reading far into the night as I couldn’t put it down. It was even more special when I read the afterward from Katie Fforde and found that she has family on Dominica and several of the characters are based on members of her family. I loved it.

[Judith van Wijk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this, but you could see the end coming on page 1. Nothing wrong with that, sometimes you need an easy read.

[RozV · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t do it to yourself. So much of the story doesn’t make sense. At no point are the characters’ reactions normal or sensible. It’s hard to follow the contrived logic they make for their decisions. Save yourself the time and read one of Fforde’s earlier works.

[Ritu Bhathal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Fforde's writing, and Island in the Sun was no different.
A young woman with a passion and talent that she is unable to publicise to her family ends up in a situation where her talent is what can save a situation.
Cass visits her father on the remote Scottish Isle where he lives. While there, he requests that she complete a special photography mission for her on the island of Dominica.
She ends up travelling there with Ranaulph, a friend of her father's. Though he is a bit older than her, she feels a connection.
While over there, they encounter disaster, which overshadows her reason for going there, and in the end, she uses her hidden talent to save the day.
She meets some interesting characters along the way, some of whom impact her life for good.
I'm not going to recount the story here, for it doesn't end there. Plenty happens to keep a reader captivated. Will she find love? Will she be able to admit to her passion?
The descriptions of the beautiful island made me want to visit straight away, despite the hurricanes that can hit!
Another captivating Katie Fforde story, and made all the more interesting knowing her connection to Dominica.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for an ARC.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely summer light read with a great setting and good character development. Highly recommended for an escapist read.

[noorii · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cass is the daughter of a well-known photographer. She loves sketching but is expected to be a teacher.
Ranulph is a journalist who wants to write a book about Cass’s dad.

We follow the journey of Cass and Ranulph as her dad sends her on a mission to the island of Dominica.
 
I could not get into the book at all. I dropped this 25% in because everything felt like it was in slow motion. I don’t know if it’s the writing style, but I was bored to almost death. I couldn’t connect with the characters or develop any impression of them.
 

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for this ARC.

Read from: Jan 06, 2024 - Jan 06, 2024

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't for me but I got through it

[CM Cooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read

I long for the next Katie Fford book to come out and devour it as quickly as I can. I have loved everyone of her books. But I’m afraid I just didn’t enjoy this one. The characters seemed a bit stilted and I kept expecting something to happen. And whilst it was lovely to hear about Domenica and the flora and jungle. And I know how scary hurricanes can be. But I didn’t get any of the warm cosy feeling I’m used to getting, normally I hate her books to end and want the people to stay in my world. This one just didn’t do it for me, sorry

[Carol Standish-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this book. I have read many Katie Forde books previously. I tried to get I. To the story line. And failed. The story felt very dated and implausible. Cass, only biological child of a renowned photographer is invited to visit her father on a remote Scottish island. He wants her to go and find some ancient rock painting in Dominica. Just before she goes a hurricane hits Dominica. Causing all kinds of problems. So being the stellar father h3 is, he still wants Cass to go. This is where I started to roll my eyes…. So of she goes with a hottie in tow called Ranulph. I got a third of the way through the book and decided to stop reading. So again I say, I tried and failed to enjoy the story or the characters.

[Nicole Ginn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably my favourite genre of books, are those with a great plot, romance and destinations so vivid and descriptive, they make you believe that you are really there. Upon reading the blurb for Island in the Sun, I thought this book was going to deliver exactly that, so I had very high hopes for the story. I have never read a book by Katie Fforde, so wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

This book was mostly set between a remote Scottish Island and the island of Dominica. Cass was being sent to Dominica to do a photography project and personal favour for her dad, a well-known photographer. Cass was travelling with Ranulph, who was searching for the rare stone carvings that her father wanted her to photograph. In the run up to her trip, a hurricane hit the Island, so this caused them to change their plans slightly, in order to help the Islander's get back on their feet. Cass had seemed pretty lost and stuck-in-a-rut at the beginning of the book. This trip to Dominica would leave her on a journey of self-discovery. Woven alongside this are stories of friendships, history, romance and danger.


It has the premise to be everything that I look for in a good book, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I felt distance from all of the characters and couldn't get engaged into them nor found them particularly likeable. I think this was partly as it was written in a 'third party' point of view, which I find harder to enjoy. I knew that Cass was described as being young, her dad was in his 70's and Ranulph was a slightly older man, with a head of white hair. This didn't narrow down the ages of Cass and Ranulph, so I spent the majority of the book trying to work it out. I knew from Cass' job that she must be at least 18, but it was a shock to find out near the end of the book that Cass was 25 (and Ranulph mid-late 30's), as Cass seemed to have the emotional maturity and self-doubt of a teenager. It was frustrating at times and left me wanting to shake some common sense into her! She went from fancying Ranulph at first sight, to being in love with him a few pages later- yet seemingly too scared to even ask him at any point, whether or not he was seeing anybody.


In my opinion, the plot seemed to be too far-fetched at times. It left me wondering why they put up with a certain character, given all the trouble and stress he was causing everybody. I was surprised that they didn't even consider calling the police on him during a couple of occasions, given the severity of the situations! Cass' family seemed to be cold-hearted and Cass seemed to be scared to tell them what she wanted from her own life/career. Some of the other characters popped up at times, but then didn't really seem to bring much (if anything), to the plot. There were a few bits which seemed laughable or repetitive too, such as the amount of times Cass had seemed surprised that the Atlantic Ocean that she saw in Scotland was the same as the one surrounding parts of Dominica! It felt that they were there just to pad out unnecessary pages of what seemed to be an overly long book, considering the relatively basic plot. The end seemed to be rushed, and again, unrealistic.

I wanted to love this book, but I'm afraid that it just wasn't for me. For the positives, I did like the descriptions of the places, plus learning a brief history about Dominica and it's people. I could tell that Katie Fforde had done a lot of research. This is why I upped my rating from 1* to a 2* review.

Thanks to Netgalley, Katie Fforde and the publisher, for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley

[Catherine Tempany · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adventurous romance set (mainly) on the beautiful island of Dominica. It’s not hard to fathom out exactly what will happen, but it’s an enjoyable journey nonetheless.

The romance element moved a bit too quickly for my liking, going from nothing to complete infatuation in a chapter. But overall, a nice holiday read. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

[Elaine M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice easy read which is perfect for a summer holiday.
Cass finds her way to Dominica in the most random way, but finds herself, her talents & the love of her life.
I really enjoyed this book, it was easy, gripping & I was desperate to see what happened next!
I particularly liked the authors note at the end - the petroglyph & facts about Dominica are real, which made it all the better!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was through sheer will power that I finished this book. I had to check the description to be certain that I hadn't signed up to read a children's book with it's basic plot, pantomime villain, bad decisions, faulty logic, immature characters and insta love....

[Bronwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

sooo much wrong with this book, mainly only read it cos it was one of the only ones downloaded on my kindle lol

writing wasn’t good, lots of repetition and just badly done. why tf was the main character expected to cook for a guest in a house she’d never been to before??? madness

[Maddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually terrible.

[Susanne Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I felt I could identify with Cass and I really got to see her grow and mature throughout the book. Ranulph was a great character, I liked how he stepped back and let Cass choose her own path and tried to support her. Being slightly older I would have expected him to be able to talk to Cass more openly about his feelings so there wasn’t that miss-understanding but then it wouldn’t have been such great reading.

The descriptions of the Dominican were awesome and the descriptions of the hurricane and how the island pulls together were totally amazing and still made the whole place seem appealing. The descriptions of Cass’s dad’s home on the Scottish Island was also amazing and I really felt I was there. The pictures that Cass drew were described in such detail, how she could doubt her ability beggars belief but her talent is amazing and gets noticed.

Katie Fford always writes a great moving story about love and friendship and self discovery and inner strength. This is a great read and the perfect read for a winters weekend.

[Alayne Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always guaranteed a great read from Katie and this one drew me in immediately. It was such an easy and sweet read and I curled up on the sofa and lost myself in it. Highly recommend any of her books. Perfect escapism.

[Linda Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Island in the Sun is perfect summer reading, just right to put in your suitcase if you’re going away or for reading in the garden or on the sofa if you’re not! My full thoughts are on the My Weekly website.

[Eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I will admit this was fun to read but never have I read a book where I felt the need to break the fourth wall and give the camera quite so many disparaging looks.

For the parts I liked first:
-The storyline (apart from being a little contrived at the start) was pretty decent. I liked the archaeology vibes and I liked the drama of it all.
-The side characters. All of the Dominican characters were fantastic.
-Cass' drawing. I thought it was fun and I like when characters do a craft that can't actually be shown in the book because I can just imagine that it's really amazing.
-The fact that this book clearly didn't have any notions about anything and was just content to be what it was.
-The setting of Dominica was nice it made me wanna go visit.
-All the plot with the American guy who's name escapes me. Like it was some Eastenders-level drama but I was very much here for it.

And then the stuff that... not so much. Also this is all kind of spoilery.

I felt like this was billed as a romance, but Cass doesn't really spend very much time with Ranulph. I don't know him, I don't care about him. She meets him on page 2 and is immediately obsessed. Later on she drops that she's been in love with him since then (page 2!) but the way that's told to us is pretty strange, as if that's been an acknowledged fact the whole time. The plot with the petroglyph and Cass, like, finding herself or whatever, was much more compelling than the so-called 'romance'. Also I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hate miscommunication tropes! The man literally slept with you and whispered sweet nothings to you or whatever please stop inventing narratives where he's somehow engaged??

Cass was so unbelievably bland and often a little annoying. Maybe the point is that I am supposed to be able to put myself in her blank outline, but honestly it was just frustrating that I was supposed to root for a character so dull as Cass, short for Cassiopeia (and no she won't let you forget that). On the island after the hurricane she does a handful of drives on day one and then from my understanding then does nothing else but draw? She does have a constant internal monologue where she thinks she should be helping more but like... yeah. You should be helping more. Maybe I'm being too harsh on her. But then again, no. Her Huge problem at the opening of the book is that she has to tell her dad she likes drawing more than photography. Like?? Okay I get that he's a photographer but also there's no way it's that deep. Somehow this is a central plot concern for way too long. I finished this paragraph but I had to go back because I'd forgotten that when she arrives in Scotland like the first thing she does in the morning is go for a naked swim in the sea?? In Scotland?? Bring your swimsuit dude you acknowledge they can see you from the road. In fact, you know for a fact that Ranulph saw you on two occasions but no it's all 'giggle giggle I wonder if he saw me how exciti-oh I mean embarassing'. stfu.

Ranulph was also an insanely dull character. I've never been less interested in a love interest. He's apparently good looking enough for insta-love and he also has every skill and experience you could possibly imagine. "Oh I helped build roofs once so now I know how to do that." "I go climbing a lot so I can save this kid from a landslide." "I once glanced at a manual so now I know how to fix radios." Like Jesus Katie give the man at least one weakness. Do you know what's more attractive than a man who can perfectly do Literally any random task you throw at him? A well-rounded one with even marginally more personality than a cardboard Superman cut out. He's also weird about Dominica like dude we get it you did your year abroad there and it was like life changing or something but you don't 'get' Dominica like no one else possibly could you're not the Dominica whisperer.

There's lots plot-wise I could critique but it's late and I wanna sleep but just know there are so many strange choices in the plot as well.

Love when Cass gets back to the UK and her life magically falls into place without any effort on her part.

Off topic but a point in her favour is that she totally didn't have a choice about getting in that car with Mr Texas man like no one should have been beating her up for that he was threatening your man the good guy writer who's name also escapes me.

Back to the topic of complaining. My favourite part of this book were all the awkward bits of text where it read as if this had been serialised and I might have forgotten what happened last week. Except it was like a page before. I can't even think of many examples but it happened so often. My favourite was when he asks if she's hungry and she's like 'no I'm not hungry because lunch wasn't very long ago and I ate a lot at lunch which wasn't very long ago so I'm not hungry' and I'm like, 'yes. I know. we were there. You were both there too. Like, we all know you ate a lot at lunch and that it wasn't long ago.'

Also ain't no way she's just happily moving to Scotland to live disconnected from everyone else with this rando who knows her dad.

[Kay Carver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is like the Katie Fforde books of old, which I have felt had been missing in recent books.
I really enjoyed reading about Dominica.
An easy lovely summer read

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy every Katie Fforde book that I read and this was no exception!
A light fun read with a happy ending, just what we've come to expect and love!!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Katie Fforde book with an infuriatingly pathetic lead female…but a nice easy read nonetheless!

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cass is asked by her father to go to Dominca for a photographic mission.
She can't get out of it and is nervous as the island has recently been hit by a hurricane causing much damage to the island and its people.
She travels with Ranulph a close friend of her father's who is also helping to search for some rare ancient stone carvings that her father needs photographs of to help his friend Bastian write a book on the ancient people who inhabited the island.
Cass has to be brave to cope with these new challenges and along the way she finds herself falling deeply in love with Ranulph but with an old flame from his past making a reappearance she is unsure of herself and whether he could ever feel the same way for her.
This was such a lovely story, I always enjoy Katie's novels and was thrilled when this was up for an ARC copy as I've never read a bad story by her.
Fantastic author and I throughly enjoyed this feel good tale set in far flung, exotic locations steeped in history.
A great read.

[Nic Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy, fast paced read.

It’s a chilled romance with a happy ending, interesting characters set against a beautiful backdrop. I really enjoyed that it included a bit of a different take on a beautiful country, focusing on natural disaster and the chaos that follows one.

I liked Cass although she read as very young to me. You really got to see her take on challenges and come into her own. I just kept wishing she would be able to see her own worth which got a bit frustrating at times.

For me, the plot moved to quickly at times and I felt more time could have been spent on the build up. For instance, the relationship was quite insta-love, some of the twists lacked a bit of suspense and there was a lot of miscommunication between characters which I found frustrating.

It was a good read, I enjoyed it but probably not one I’ll revisit

[Beverley Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Island in the Sun - Katie Fforde

Cass’ father asks her to go to Dominica which has been recently ravaged by a hurricane. He wants Cass to try and take some photos of lost stone carvings for a book his friend Bastian is putting together. Cass' father lends her his beloved old camera to take photos with. When the camera is lost Cass decides to follow her passion and draw the carvings and flowers on the island instead. Cass does not go to Domenica alone but with her fathers friend Ranulph whom she falls madly in love with. She encounters the ruthless Austin on the island who is also after the lost carvings and who will stop at nothing to discredit Bastia and Cass.

Cass shows her mettle whilst on the island helping after the earthquake and when another storm happens. But despite Ranulph showing some signs that he likes her she thinks he feels she is too young. Throw in the arrival of an old flame of Ranulph's Becca and confusion abounds.

I have read every Katie Fforde book from her first and generally love them all. Unfortunately I was not as enamoured of this one as many of her others. For me the story was not detailed enough and Cass came over as childish and immature whereas she should have just whacked Austin over the head (horrid character) to sort him out and had a good conversation with Ranulph about her feelings. But that would not have made a good novel I suppose!

If you are new to Katie Fforde start with her early ones not this one. If you have read many Katie Fforde you will be fine with this as a quick romantic read.

Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy for an honest review.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get excited every, single time that Katie Fforde writes a new novel. In my opinion, she has consistently told involving stories that have heart. She is a go to author for me when I want to read a book that is “nice” and will leave me feeling satisified.

In this newest novel, Ms. Fforde goes a bit afield, to the island of Dominica. Cass is asked to go there by her photographer father when she visits him in Scotland. When Cass and Rannulph leave him with a petroglyph related mission, a hurricane has hit their destination island. The two make it to host Bastian’s where Cass delivers a map to him. Will Bastian find the petroglyph and will he win a contest in which the truly loathsome Austin is also a competitor? Will all be well…of course it will, this is Fforde country.

What I liked: the descriptions of the storms and the island of Dominica. many of the subsidiary characters. the chance to believe in a love story.

What I liked less: the plot seemed to lack in complexity. Cass could be naïve at times.

Verdict: Fans of Fforde will want to read this book. New readers of the author, if you don’t like this one, try some other books by the author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for this title. All opinions are my own.

[Ciclochick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't my number one genre, but I do like to pepper my reading list with the occasional romance for all its clicheness, predictability, inevitable happy-ever-after ending and if I'm honest, the cheesiness of it all!

This ticks all those boxes, it's true. We have the girl (Cass), we have the (older) man (Ranulph), a lovely sunny (bit prone to hurricanes) island (Dominica), there's the ex, and then there are the misunderstandings. All the right ingredients and although the dish comes out cooked, it's all a bit bland, lacking in spice.

Cass is annoying to the point you want to slap her and tell her to grow up and get over herself. The rest of the characters are all a bit like cardboard cut-outs with no substance or emotion. The Dominican setting is authentic (which the author explains at the end) and almost makes you want to put the island on your must-see list, so job well done there.

But I did enjoy the author's writing, and I was invested enough to see it through to the end. It's an above-average-edited book, which is refreshing, although the author or the editor got in a bit of pickle with step-siblings and half-siblings…probably best to clarify themselves on that one.

Not a 'wow, amazing' book, but a decent enough read.

[Karin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Haat haat haat