The Love Island Book Shop by Kate Frost

July 24, 2024

Engaging Compelling Intriguing

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romantic/Adventure

The Love Island Book Shop by Kate Frost - Author

Books had been her companion throughout her life. Brought up as virtually an only child, with parents who had clearly found the restraints of a second child constraining, reading had been her main pass time and a way to escape the loneliness. She’d had a best friend from the age of seven who had been like a sister for a large chunk of her life, but that had been unexpectedly and cruelly taken from her. Owen hadn’t been much of a support at all during the excruciatingly heartbreaking time that followed and all she really had left were once again, her many works of literature, plus her job,, where more of the same awaited, although she actually loved it…and, there was of course, Aisha. Maybe the newspaper advert was a sign, telling her that it was time for a new start somewhere she could get away from all the complications, disappointments and sadness that life in the UK had thrown at her in the recent past. After all, she imagined a much easier existence, certainly none of the difficulties that had been brought to her life since that day just after her 28th birthday, the last birthday that she had known any joy in her insular, monotonous world…..no, just her, sand, sea and her faithful friends, ‘books’, would be perfect…..

After absorbing myself in a number of books that hadn’t necessarily been my comfort zone, but I was keen to challenge myself to read, I knew that a Kate Frost novel was without doubt my next option. Her writing has such a gentle, relaxing and easy quality to it and I love that her books that I have read thus far, are set in an array of countries with a beautiful climate. Just what I need when it is a miserable UK day!

Kate’s stories are about people and the instability and unpredictability of life, with a little romance, and always set

against a wonderful backdrop of sun and sea or ice, snow and cosiness.

Freya has been through a lot in a very short space of time in her relatively young life. She comes across as an extremely strong young woman, having had to deal with so much, without

the parental nurturing that was still very much needed at her age, and even more so when it had been absent for sovery long, maybe even forever, and certainly in the face of such tragedy. It struck me how good a friend she had in Aisha to suggest the job, obviously acknowledging how events in Freya’s life had left her, even though it would mean being apart from her for a considerable amount of time. Although I suspect that the fact that her friend would be working for Aisha’s teen pop idol, had quite a lot to do with it. Realising that things are unlikely to improve for her if she stays where she is, Freya is brave and strong enough to make the change she so desperately craves.

If Freya was hoping that she wouldn’t encounter any of the problems that had plagued her at home, she hadn’t reckoned on meeting Aaron. At first he seems like the perfect boyfriend material, but quickly changes attitude when too much is revealed about him to Freya by a person who it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to assume, wouldn’t have done that to him. Was it done to deliberately scare off his new love interest, or just part of a harmless ‘family’ gathering? My money would go on the first, as she didn't seem like someone who acted in the way she should, given her association to Aaron. But, maybe her guarded attitude is influenced by past events. When the actions that Aaron takes to get rid of Freya backfire, making him angry, I felt that Aaron had long since admitted to himself, that he had been incorrect in his assumptions originally made with regards to Zahida and Zander, but he didn't want to lose face, and he therefore throws another accusation at his boss, to further sure up in his own mind, that his actions are justified. I was impressed with the way he climbed that tree though!

I found Zander a bit unsettling initially, maybe influenced by Freya’s take on him, based on all that she had seen in the media about him whilst she was growing up. The solitary candle lit dinner would have rung alarm bells to me and I wondered if he was going to try and take advantage of the situation, but in previous novels of Kate’s that I have read, that doesn’t seem to be the direction in which she would take that particular scenario. He continues to be the perfect gentleman, however, from Freya’s first meeting with Zander, he does appear to have a very different agenda with his new employee,

and to begin with, this felt as suspicious to me as it did to Freya.

It was heart warming that Freya enjoyed such a close bond with Drew. I felt that she needed that connection after what had happened back in the UK.

The ending was a wonderful way to wrap up this story, allowing the reader to catch up with characters from past chapters and give a lovely conclusion to Freya’s story where all her dreams

are realised and more!