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The Island of Palm Trees
What’s the price of inspiration?
Tom Jennings is about to find out.
With dreams of writing his first novel, Tom travels to the Scarlett Grove Hotel in Roquetas De Mar. His writing progresses steadily, aided by the interesting and unusual people he meets beneath the Spanish Sun. People unlike anyone he’s ever met before.
A young thief hiding from her haunted past.
A grieving mother mourning the loss of her child.
An abusive husband fuelled by alcohol and rage.
A lonely woman desperate to keep hold of her families business.
A spoilt millionaire who’s never been told no.
An ego-driven drug dealer who controls the town.
With blood spilt and more danger looming just ahead, Tom forgets about his novel entirely. Now the only thing that matters is escaping with his life.
Tom Jennings is about to find out.
With dreams of writing his first novel, Tom travels to the Scarlett Grove Hotel in Roquetas De Mar. His writing progresses steadily, aided by the interesting and unusual people he meets beneath the Spanish Sun. People unlike anyone he’s ever met before.
A young thief hiding from her haunted past.
A grieving mother mourning the loss of her child.
An abusive husband fuelled by alcohol and rage.
A lonely woman desperate to keep hold of her families business.
A spoilt millionaire who’s never been told no.
An ego-driven drug dealer who controls the town.
With blood spilt and more danger looming just ahead, Tom forgets about his novel entirely. Now the only thing that matters is escaping with his life.
402 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2021
4 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 7, 2021
I really enjoyed this book! It had a lot of characters that I struggled to keep up with initially but I read this book in a day and got up to speed quite quickly! It felt similar to The Mash House which I read recently and had different characters and stories to tell!
I enjoyed discovering how everyone was linked to each other and how their stories connected with each others! I also felt that I understood the location of the place, having spent a lot of time in the Malaga area myself.
I liked the characters, I liked the drama, I liked the suspense and I was surprised by the ending and the final unfolding of events! A lot of likes for this book, worth a read 😊
Thank you so much to @instabooktours and @islandofpalmtrees for this gifted copy in exchange for my review on the #islandofpalmtrees #booktour 💗
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I enjoyed discovering how everyone was linked to each other and how their stories connected with each others! I also felt that I understood the location of the place, having spent a lot of time in the Malaga area myself.
I liked the characters, I liked the drama, I liked the suspense and I was surprised by the ending and the final unfolding of events! A lot of likes for this book, worth a read 😊
Thank you so much to @instabooktours and @islandofpalmtrees for this gifted copy in exchange for my review on the #islandofpalmtrees #booktour 💗
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October 6, 2021
Thank you to the author and Insta Book Tours for the gifted copy as part of a blog tour. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Aspiring writer Tom Jennings gets more than he bargained for when he travels to southern Spain in search of life experience to help his writing. At the Scarlett Grove he gets more than he bargained for in a tale of murder, intrigue, young live and new adventures.
The story switches perspectives between a few people in and around the Scarlett Grove, all of whom have their own reasons for fleeing to the sun. The manager selling off her family’s hotel, the new owner trying to prove himself to a faithless father, the couple whose marriage was broken by tragedy and is now marred by violence, and the mysterious young woman who pulls Tom into an unexpected adventure.
As a debut novel there’s lots of potential here. I think a stronger edit could have smoothed out the rough edges and helped the author to create something quite special. But, if you make allowances for the lack of that kind of support theres still the bones of an enjoyable story here.
The hotel setting reminded me of The Night Manager. Less international intrigue, but the things someone will ask hotel staff to do and the sense of the secrets they keep behind a face of professional discretion gave me similar vibes. Tom’s character arc from quite naïve to someone willing to take risks and put himself in danger to do the right thing had almost a World According to Garp feel about it.
I’d definitely recommend giving this a try.
Aspiring writer Tom Jennings gets more than he bargained for when he travels to southern Spain in search of life experience to help his writing. At the Scarlett Grove he gets more than he bargained for in a tale of murder, intrigue, young live and new adventures.
The story switches perspectives between a few people in and around the Scarlett Grove, all of whom have their own reasons for fleeing to the sun. The manager selling off her family’s hotel, the new owner trying to prove himself to a faithless father, the couple whose marriage was broken by tragedy and is now marred by violence, and the mysterious young woman who pulls Tom into an unexpected adventure.
As a debut novel there’s lots of potential here. I think a stronger edit could have smoothed out the rough edges and helped the author to create something quite special. But, if you make allowances for the lack of that kind of support theres still the bones of an enjoyable story here.
The hotel setting reminded me of The Night Manager. Less international intrigue, but the things someone will ask hotel staff to do and the sense of the secrets they keep behind a face of professional discretion gave me similar vibes. Tom’s character arc from quite naïve to someone willing to take risks and put himself in danger to do the right thing had almost a World According to Garp feel about it.
I’d definitely recommend giving this a try.
October 3, 2021
Wow.
Tha k you so much to @instabooktours for ssending me this book...being a biggish book, I put it off for ages but I'm just frigging stupid because oh my gosh, I absolutely loved and ended up wanting to make it last longer!
Blurb
A young author looking for inspiration
A thief hiding multiples secrets
A big time drug dealer looking for more
A no nonsense hotel manager clinging to her family's life work
A billionaire playboy heir with all the swag and no sense
A mother dealing with the loss of her child
What brings these people together? Trouble is brewing on The Island of Palm Trees.
*
I'm not going to say much about the actual plot or the characters themselves because actually I really enjoyed getting to know them through the build up of each characters plot line and I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
*
What I will say is I am so so surprised this is a debut novel. Seriously. There's a lot of characters here that needed a sufficient amount of developing for the reader to be able to fully invest, but it was done so cleverly and perfectly and not once was I sat there thinking, I don't know enough about this character or this plot line. The author has been a genuine puppet master, pulling the strings with such ease that I was into every part of the story with the same intrigue. And the ending came together so perfectly and wasn't even predictable!
*
Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend this one!
Tha k you so much to @instabooktours for ssending me this book...being a biggish book, I put it off for ages but I'm just frigging stupid because oh my gosh, I absolutely loved and ended up wanting to make it last longer!
Blurb
A young author looking for inspiration
A thief hiding multiples secrets
A big time drug dealer looking for more
A no nonsense hotel manager clinging to her family's life work
A billionaire playboy heir with all the swag and no sense
A mother dealing with the loss of her child
What brings these people together? Trouble is brewing on The Island of Palm Trees.
*
I'm not going to say much about the actual plot or the characters themselves because actually I really enjoyed getting to know them through the build up of each characters plot line and I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
*
What I will say is I am so so surprised this is a debut novel. Seriously. There's a lot of characters here that needed a sufficient amount of developing for the reader to be able to fully invest, but it was done so cleverly and perfectly and not once was I sat there thinking, I don't know enough about this character or this plot line. The author has been a genuine puppet master, pulling the strings with such ease that I was into every part of the story with the same intrigue. And the ending came together so perfectly and wasn't even predictable!
*
Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend this one!
October 3, 2021
Most people come to the Scarlett Grove Hotel in Roquetas De Mar to enjoy a luxury hotel, sun, sea and sand.
But the characters in Michael Walsh-Rose’s novel, “The Island of Palm Trees” all have a different reason. Aspiring writer Tom wants to escape the boredom of living at home and the memories of his father, and find inspiration for his novel; Sarah is trapped in an abusive marriage with partner Richard, and is mourning the loss of a child; Gabriella is desperate to salvage her family business; and Joy is hiding from a past she can’t seem to escape.
As Tom gets sucked into each of the characters’ dangerous worlds, he may not only fail to come away from the island with a novel - he may lose his life.
What a great debut novel! I really enjoyed reading this one. I don’t know how much the author followed his protagonist’s theory that you should ‘write what you know’, but I found Tom to be a believable and likeable main character. The author has a quirky and direct style of writing that really appealed to me. I have huge admiration for independent authors, and I hope this book is the first of many from Walsh-Rose.
But the characters in Michael Walsh-Rose’s novel, “The Island of Palm Trees” all have a different reason. Aspiring writer Tom wants to escape the boredom of living at home and the memories of his father, and find inspiration for his novel; Sarah is trapped in an abusive marriage with partner Richard, and is mourning the loss of a child; Gabriella is desperate to salvage her family business; and Joy is hiding from a past she can’t seem to escape.
As Tom gets sucked into each of the characters’ dangerous worlds, he may not only fail to come away from the island with a novel - he may lose his life.
What a great debut novel! I really enjoyed reading this one. I don’t know how much the author followed his protagonist’s theory that you should ‘write what you know’, but I found Tom to be a believable and likeable main character. The author has a quirky and direct style of writing that really appealed to me. I have huge admiration for independent authors, and I hope this book is the first of many from Walsh-Rose.
September 26, 2021
I thought this was a really strong debut novel. After a little bit of a slow start to set the scene I was hooked once Tom arrived in Roquetas De Mar and the action really picked up.
The way Michael developed the characters was excellent, giving details of their backgrounds as well as their current situations gave you a really good idea of what they were like and they were such an intriguing bunch. None of them were overly likeable, some were downright vile and I thought Tom and Joy had one of the most dysfunctional relationships I've ever read about 😂
The very end fell a little bit flat for me but the couple of chapters prior to this certainly gave me the drama I was after. I suppose I was expecting the dramatics to continue to the very end.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and devoured it over a couple of days as once you get into it you will find it hard to put down!
The way Michael developed the characters was excellent, giving details of their backgrounds as well as their current situations gave you a really good idea of what they were like and they were such an intriguing bunch. None of them were overly likeable, some were downright vile and I thought Tom and Joy had one of the most dysfunctional relationships I've ever read about 😂
The very end fell a little bit flat for me but the couple of chapters prior to this certainly gave me the drama I was after. I suppose I was expecting the dramatics to continue to the very end.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and devoured it over a couple of days as once you get into it you will find it hard to put down!
September 30, 2021
Really enjoyed this debut novel about a young author who escapes to what sounded like a paradise to get some inspiration for his writing. But he finds himself in the middle of complicated relationship and in the middle of a crime.
I was gripped from the first page and I could not put it down. A major plus point for this book is the solid plot and character driven story.
Brilliant read with many twists and turns. Fast paced and you will not be disappointed. I can not wait to read more of the author's work. Definitely recommend this.
I was gripped from the first page and I could not put it down. A major plus point for this book is the solid plot and character driven story.
Brilliant read with many twists and turns. Fast paced and you will not be disappointed. I can not wait to read more of the author's work. Definitely recommend this.
September 15, 2021
An interesting and gripping read with characters that you can relate to, great character descriptions that really make you invested in what happens to them and a fab storyline which is really driven by the characters. I definitely think you become addicted to the characters stories and need to know what's happening which makes the book really hard to put down.
Lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending. I really enjoyed it.
Lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending. I really enjoyed it.
July 9, 2021
An exceptional read full of engaging characters and unexpected twists. Would highly recommend. The perfect summer read.
August 30, 2021
Review to follow
September 23, 2021
Review to be posted on blog tour date
October 30, 2025
Fantastic book. Action-packed storyline which had me engaged throughout. Would definitely recommend giving this a read!
October 7, 2021
Well written story that takes place over a couple of weeks in a hotel resort. We meet a set of interesting if somewhat unlikeable characters who are either staying at the resort or are working at it who all interact or are involved with each other.
A pacy story that keeps building up to one dramatic final evening where revenge, murder, suicide and more all take place. A very good debut novel. The writing is clean, to the point and weaves a good plot line.
A pacy story that keeps building up to one dramatic final evening where revenge, murder, suicide and more all take place. A very good debut novel. The writing is clean, to the point and weaves a good plot line.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews