A bit different setting than other books by this author, but remains an endearing lo setting. While the book begins a little slow, it soon develops into a heartwarming read about chasing what brings you peace and letting go of the expectations of others. Enjoyable read!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. I enjoyed it, but struggled a bit. It started slow and never quite picked up for me.

The Summer Skies was so, so good. I always love Jenny’s books but this one was perfect for summer. As someone that grew up in a quiet, rural village around animals and birds… this book brought all of the feelings of home. Morag makes me want to be brave and go after my dreams…. Well done!

I really enjoy Colgan's books--from her heartwarming stories to her lovely but flawed characters. This one had a slow start with quite a bit of back story (perhaps a start to a series?) but it was so fun to be introduced to these new characters in the beautiful Scottish setting. Another funny, sweet and romantic story!

Another absorbing story by Jenny Colgan, The Summer Skies does not disappoint, and I think Morag and Gregor may be two of my favorite characters ever. The setting on Inchborn, a remote island off the coast of northern Scotland, is charmingly evocative in its wildness and the various moods of its climate. Jenny Colgan's gentle humor lightens some serious themes throughout the novel: bereavement, grief, severe anxiety, infidelity, aging, and the courage to change amongst them. Dolly the plane is almost another character in herself, and Gramps, Nalitha, Hayden, and even traveling acting troupe members Leopold and Boona all contribute to the enjoyment of the story. The changing relationships amongst the main characters develop nicely, and the family tensions and budding romance are sensitively handled as Morag finds the courage to understand and pursue what she really wants from her life. Recommended highly for lovers of women's fiction.

Overall, the story was not one that grabbed me and sucked me in. I think partly because we aren’t given much substance about the characters until late in the book. I don’t feel like I really got to know either character well, so happily ever after was a stretch for me.

I did appreciate that the story featured a woman in a male dominated profession. But being unfamiliar with Scottish names, I didn’t realize Morag was a woman until 2-3 chapters in.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed other books by this author more than I did this one.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

I have grown to be quiet find if Jenny’s books, and though this one didn’t quite live up to what I’ve come to expect from them, I’m still glad I read it.
Morag comes from a long line of pilots, so she feels right at home in the sky. That is until a closes call with another plane leaves her shaken and unable to get back in the plane, although she tells everyone that she’s fine. In the meantime m she meets Hayden, her dream man, and they make plans for their future, which includes moving to Dubai, which means she has to be able to get in a plane again, so Morag begins working on getting herself flight ready again. When her grandad falls ill she has to go back to Scotland and run the family business-small plane running routes among then islands, all is going well until a storm hits and she is forced to land on a remote island with only the introvert ornithologist Gregor to keep her company.
While this was missing the warmth and charm that is typical of Jenny’s books, I do hope this is the start of a series because I loved Gregor as a new book boyfriend and I’d loved to see Morag grow some more as a character.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The Summer Skies by Jenny Colgan did not disappoint. The grumpy sunshine pairing mad me so happy. As well as the strong female friendship. It is about like most of her books finding herself and your dreams outside of others and facing your fears. I love this author and her writing style. Will continue to read anything she writes!

Jenny Colgan is one of those writers you always know will give you a nice story. They take places in locations I love (Scotland and Cornwall). It's a great thing in an author to know you will enjoy a book!

But this one has something extra. 100% my personal prejudice, but it has airplanes! And I love airplanes! Her descriptions of the planes and love of flying pushed this book past her other ones (for me!). I know she's not a pilot but she 10000% did her research for this book and made her main character believable without obvious inaccuracies (I don't know much about Otters so there could be some!).

The location also gave her lots of inspiration as well. In a way, that is my complaint of the book. She got so carried away with the settings, whether its the island, a plane, an airport that the descriptions could become a bit much and I found myself skimming alot of it. She also neglected some character development in favor of those descriptions. The relationship progressions are 1=80 with no clue why but maybe that just describes the main character. I feel I could go to any location in the book and find my way around but if I met any of the characters, I would not know who they are.

Still, this is not a book for your senior english thesis anyways. It is a book to sit back and enjoy and it does that in spades. Takes you away to a beautiful island via an awesome airplane,

I got an ACR from NetGalley in return for a fair review and I think I've done that.

Leave it to Jenny Colgan to create a few characters, an idea of how to bring them together, by making them care about each other, plopping it down somewhere in Scotland and voila - you have several hours of enjoyable reading. She never disappoints and The Summer Skies was no exception.

One of the things that made this book so readable for me was the interesting information about flying little planes and small independent airline companies. I think I knew that the reservation lady could be the problem solver, sometimes baggage handler and the passenger calmer downer, with a few other jobs thrown in but the character who played the part to perfection was hilarious as well. Equally interesting was the description and training required after an incident in the air and the emotional and psychological impact it can have. The “seen from the sky” descriptions of the northern islands of Scotland were artful. Then we get to the prickly ornithologist who of course may not be exactly what he seems and yes there is an education on the island birds as well as a chicken named Barbara.

All good and funny and well told and a large thank you to Jenny Colgan for a really special book. Thanks as well to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a copy.

The Summer Skies is sweet and funny, a terrific choice for upbeat escapist listening and reading. The gentle storyline, flawed but relatable characters, and sweet romance were exactly what I wanted in a summer read this month. The characters, setting, and situation all contribute to a delicious, delightful reading experience.

Aviation life ✅️ Romance ✅️ Comfort-read ✅️

Jenny Colgan is my go-to author for comfortable, feel-good reads. Once again, she did not disappoint! From someone who works in the aviation industry, I adored this book; there were many aspects from it that I took to heart. When you work in aviation, it’s so easy to get caught up in the go-go-go and rush-rush-rush. The main character, Morag, experiences this and, maybe without realizing it, craves something to slow her down. I understand that wanting of normalcy, something to ground you. Sometimes it’s quite necessary in the world of flying. Jenny Colgan projects these feelings perfectly in this story. My love for aviation and all it entails made this an easy, enjoyable read for me.

“I couldn’t deny the feelings of elation and fleetness which happened every time the wheels left the ground when a land-locked vehicle shook free, defied itself, did what humans had always longed to do, yearned to do, dreamed of—heading straight for the clouds like the birds did.”

Thank you NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of “The Summer Skies” by Jenny Colgan. 💕

Jenny has another gold star with this series!! From the very first page, i was completely immersed in the book. The writing makes it like a movie, you can picture every situation and the characters became my friends. The descriptions of flying, freedom, and nature's beauty made me forget "real" life for a bit. It took a bit to get going, but once it did it soared, just like Morag!! Highly recommended!

A good, heartwarming romance novel, which features a few darker issues

The plot was good, the character arcs where written well and there was one or two twists in the story which I didn’t see coming.

I would say that the start felt quite slow to me as the first 10% of the book felt like an extended prologue, as what the blurb describes doesn’t really come into play until that 10% point. I understand that you need some element of world building before going straight into what the blurb talks about, but I felt that it was maybe slightly too long and I just wanted to get to the point in the book that the blurb described - or I think the blurb should be edited to show the decision the fmc has to make is actually present from the start.

I was also disappointed to find that the Scottish islands mentioned in the book and where the main part of the story takes place are made up and aren’t named after the real Scottish Island (as far as I am aware - please correct me if I am wrong).

I also noticed that some pieces of information seemed to be repeated throughout the book several times.

Furthermore, I thought the fmc seemed very selfish when she lied so that she could get the chance to fly passenger planes again even though she knew she was not ready. Plus her description of a passenger who was wearing fake eyelashes and had lip fillers seemed to be very demeaning and not very feminist.

So, I am a HUGE Jenny Colgan stan and was thrilled to receive this digital arc in exchange for my review! Jenny’s writing is transportive and The Summer Skies is no different. Her characters are unique, real, and minority flawed making them so relatable. For some reason, I just could not connect well with the two mains in this read so it fell slat for me. There was too much ‘conflict’ between the two mains and I found the heroine to be ungrateful or too critical. I still think readers who enjoy women’s fiction will enjoy this character driven read, but it was just wasn’t a hit for me.

Morag is an accomplished female pilot from a tiny Scottish island. She left home to pursue flying large commercial airline planes, and has a perfect boyfriend and a potential job in Dubai. But she’s suddenly terrified of flying. After an unfortunate accident with a young couple in a crop-dusting plane, Morag now gets panic attacks and has to figure out how to overcome them before the slight-training interview for the new job in Dubai. So when her grandfather asks for help flying his ancient plane hopping around the Scottish isles, she begrudgingly agrees. It gives her some time to think about whether or not the “perfect” boyfriend really is so perfect, to catch up with her best friend who serves as flight attendant, and to meet an eccentric ornithologist in a hilariously awkward meet-cute only Jenny Colgan could come up with, on a nearly empty island with a jealous sheep, delicious bread, and some chickens. Our heroine will overcome tragedy and the challenges of womanhood in a male-dominated world, and find her true self along the way.

This book contains so many of the elements that Jenny Colgan fans love about her writing: the central struggle which we know the main character will overcome with the support of her sassy best friend, the misunderstood, grumpy, Darcy-type man, and a strong female lead who finds her new place in the world and a beautiful place to call home.

I didn't want it to end and wished I could enjoy it longer, though the ending was perfect.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Thomas Nelson and Net Galley. All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the publisher or its affiliates or the author.

I love Jenny Colgan books & this was no exception! Morag is a pilot who has had a scare with another small plane that almost hit the one she was copiloting in. Sent on a leave, she returns home to help with the family business of running a tiny plane from island to island. While there she finds herself, true friendship and her way in life. I hope there is a sequel! Many thanks to NetGalley, Ms Colgan & Avon & Harper Voyager publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Flying is in her blood. Morag is the 3rd-generation pilot in a family whose one-plane transport company serves a string of tiny islands in the northernmost UK. While her grandpa flies the plane, Morag has moved away and built a career flying commercial airliners around the world. It's a minimalist existence, only fully lived in the cockpit where she follows the rules as if they were oxygen, reveling in the restrictions and never putting down roots anywhere. Until her grandpa falls ill and she must return home to carry on the transport business. After crashing on a tiny island in a bad storm, she finds refuge in the old caretaker's house and becomes an unhappy roommate with the gruff professor who is there for the season to study birds. The storm was a bad one; it knocked out power to the mainland as well. Morag and Gregor are stuck with each other for the duration, and during that time, her eyes are opened to the way she's been skirting life. At the end she must choose: return to her cardboard existence or reap the richness of her family's legacy?

This is a great story, and I think it's Colgan's best yet for her skillful use of metaphor and the rich descriptions of a pilot's experience. (My previous faves were Sunrise by the Sea and 500 Miles from You for their emotional depth.) Morag is an exquisite flyer, with passion, instinct, and skill. However, she's avoiding life, narrowing it down to a total focus on flying. When the professor shares his analog, organic world with her, she has a chance to immerse herself in an authentic life, and it's so richly drawn, you can practically taste the homemade bread.

I love Colgan's humor (the goat! the chicken!) and she's so good at depicting things metaphorically. For this book, she did a ton of research as to flying, and it's hard to believe she's not a pilot herself. Lastly, there are some magnificent scenes in the story that are worthy of a big-screen movie, so adventurous and breathtaking that I'm still savoring them. I wish I could tell you but don't want to spoil it, so you'll have to see for yourself.

I can always count on a Jenny Colgan book to be a comforting read. This was not my favorite. I had a hard time connecting with the main characters and the flying aspect, but it was still an easy breezy read.

This was a great book about self-discovery and finding peace where you least expect it. The characters were wonderfully written and the setting was gorgeous. Very entertaining!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for advanced copy, and I leave my review freely