I’m so delighted today to be joining the blog tour for the latest book from the wonderful Sue Moorcroft, A Skye Full of Stars, and sharing my review. Published on 7th November by Avon Books, the second book in her The Skye Sisters trilogy, it’s now available as an ebook, in paperback and as an audiobook via Amazon in the UK, US and Canada – but the ebook is also available on all major platforms, and the paperback (with that gorgeous cover) on the shelves at your favourite supermarket, as well as available to order from your high street or on-line bookshop. Thank you, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy, provided via netgalley.
You might just have noticed that this is amazingly Sue’s 25th published book – and I’m fairly sure I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed every single one. In honour of her achievement, this blog tour will be 25 days long – with daily spotlight posts for each of her earlier books alongside the reviews of her latest. These days I don’t even try to put together my usual introductory “books I’ve loved” paragraph for her – it’d be longer than my review! – but you will find most of the reviews by typing her name into my search bar. But as I’ll be doing one of those spotlight posts on 15th November – for Just for the Holidays – I might just take the opportunity to tell you a bit more about why she’s been a personal favourite for so long.
I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, Under a Summer Skye, as much as any of her books I’ve read – the story, the setting, the individuals at the story’s core and the emotional impact were all quite exceptional (you can read my review again here). And I was very much looking forward to returning to Skye and getting to know Ezzie rather better…
Under the winter stars, anything is possible…
Ezzie Wynter can’t wait for Christmas on the beautiful Isle of Skye. Her island home sparkles at this time of year thanks to the snow-capped mountains and frosty winter walks, topped off with family gatherings with those she loves the most.
But her peaceful Christmas idyll is upended when she hears that the Larsson family – the owners of Rothach Hall – are flying in from Sweden for the festivities. As Manager of their grand Scottish manor house, Ezzie suddenly has decorations to hang, food to source and itineraries to organise.
Life only becomes more difficult when Mats Larsson turns up. The owners’ handsome, self-assured son is used to doing things his own way – and he is only another headache to add to her overflowing list.
Yet when unexpected visitors arrive looking for Ezzie, nothing else matters as she is left questioning everything she ever knew about herself. But amidst the Christmas chaos, she might also discover that, when all is lost, it’s sometimes those we least expect who come to our aid…
A beautiful, escapist festive tale to curl up with by the fire this Christmas. Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Karen Swan.
The first book in this lovely trilogy introduced us to the three Wynter sisters, with Thea as its main focus, and we learned why she and sister Ezzie walked away from their previous lives to start afresh on the island of Skye. This time it’s Ezzie in the spotlight – she’s recently become manager of Rothach Hall, working for the Swedish Larsson family.
Without the usual round of public visits, winter would usually be their quietest time – but this year the owners’ family are planning to descend en masse for Christmas. First to arrive is matriarch Grete – not quite her usual cheery self – and her oldest son Mats, no longer with his previously difficult wife but accompanied by his two young children and their nanny. The children are really delightful, but Ezzie’s never been too keen on their father, finding him rather superior and entitled – but when they spend more time together it soon becomes clear that she’s got him all wrong. In fact, there’s a real spark of attraction between them as he involves her in their family activities, even prompting her to share some of the secrets from her past – although that does backfire particularly badly.
Whatever their developing feelings for each other, they both know their lives are too different to make things work – not least the fact that their homes are in different countries. But Ezzie has other concerns making her life particularly complicated. After the delight of finding that sister Valentina has bought a holiday home on the island, planning on spending more time there, there’s a rift in their relationship that she has no idea how to repair – and things aren’t going entirely smoothly for Thea, encountering problems with her pregnancy. All three sisters were aware they were adopted, and it’s never made them any less close – but Ezzie’s life is then further rocked by the unexpected discovery of her own birth family. Ensuring that the Larssons have the happy family Christmas they’d hoped for soon becomes the least of her worries…
Are you perhaps getting the impression that you should have read the first book in the trilogy? Trust me – although I’d most definitely recommend that you do (only because it was so enjoyable…!), you’d have no problems at all picking this one up as a standalone read. And I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed every twist and turn of the story – Ezzie’s such a likeable and sympathetic lead character, really vulnerable behind her professional front, deserving of real happiness but finding it slipping from her grasp. Mats too – a good son and father, an all-round warm and lovely man, and I so hoped they’d find a way to an unlikely happy ending together.
As always, the author deals with the different issues raised by the book with her usual sureness of hand and real sensitivity – especially all the repercussions from Ezzie’s adoption and found family. At times, it’s a particularly emotional story – some of the developments made me ache inside, with no idea how things could be put right – but the author always has the safest pair of hands (along with the most wonderful ability to immerse you in her characters’ lives) and I was happy to trust her to help them all work things out.
And there was a lot more that I loved about the story. The Skye setting is absolutely stunning – there’s a particularly strong sense of place throughout, the dramatic scenery showing a different face in the depths of winter, but every bit as nurturing for the troubled mind. And, of course, I loved the fact that it was all set at Christmas – I learned such a lot about Swedish food and traditions, but also really enjoyed the added Scottish dimension. And I really must mention again that impossible romance, with its misunderstandings and barriers – it was one I was so invested in, although always only too aware that it was unlikely to work out the way I really hoped for.
This was a book I really loved – most definitely a personal favourite – with everything I enjoy about the author’s writing. I’d recommend it really highly – and I’m particularly looking forward to the final part of the trilogy, and finding out more about Valentina’s story.
Giveaway
With thanks to Sue and Rachel, I’m delighted to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a signed copy of A Skye Full of Stars, bookmark and pen (open to UK readers only).
Here’s the rafflecopter for entry:
Terms and Conditions
UK entries welcome. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
About the author
Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle UK as well as top 100 in the US, Canada and Italy. She writes two books a year for publishing giant HarperCollins and has won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, two HOLT medallions and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She’s the president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and her short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.
For more information on Sue and her books, she has an excellent website, a Facebook author page, and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
