The story is told in a dual timeline and deals with the relationship between sisters.
This is very well written and covers difficult topics
A good read

The narrative written by Noelle Harrison is thought provoking and tackles difficult subjects. A story about sisters, love, loss, guilt, grief, cancer, domestic violence, secrets, justice. Enjoyed the dual timeline.

The Island Girls is an engrossing novel by Noelle Harrison, a poignant and beautiful story about sisterhood, loss and courage.

At the heart of the novel is Emer, a young nurse who moves to the wild and remote island of Vinalhaven to nurse her patient, Susannah. When Emer discovers a bundle of letters in a rainbow quilt in Susannah's bedroom, the truth of Kate's secret and tragic past begins to unravel. Emer, determined to learn more, uncovers a heartbreaking story and puts her own safety in danger.

Set in a bewitching sea-scented island, the story paints a vivid picture of the bond between sisters, even from far apart. The tale is full of raw emotions and vivid descriptions of a unique, sometimes-forbidding island life. Noelle Harrison skillfully transports readers to this stunning setting, creating a captivating story with flawed, endearing characters.

The Island Girls is an enchanting and powerful story that fans of Lisa Wingate, Anita Shreve and The Light Between Oceans will appreciate. A story about grief and redemption, it will certainly leave an indelible mark in the reader's heart.

Irish nurse Emer loses her sister Orla to cancer, she’s consumed by grief and Emer feels guilty and is desperate to leave her job at Massachusetts General Hospital. She finds a new position looking after Susannah Olsen, who lives on Vinalhaven Island, off the coast of Maine and her patient is a real loner. The two women get off to a shaky start, Susannah doesn’t want anyone taking care of her and despite the fact that her niece Lynsey employed Emer to be her companion and palliative care nurse.

The two women have something in common, they have both lost a sister they loved dearly and Susannah is reluctant to talk about Kate. Emer discovers Kate died in suspicious circumstances in the 1960’s, her husband Mathew Young disappeared and has never been seen since. When Emer finds a bundle of old letters, Susannah starts telling her about her childhood and how her mother favored her younger sister, Susannah's plans of going to to college and Kate’s troubled marriage.

The dual time line story looks at the relationship and bond between sisters, how they would do anything for each other, in Susannah’s case she put her life on hold and she doesn’t want Emer to do the same.

I received a copy of The Island Girls from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. The narrative written by Noelle Harrison is thought provoking and tackles difficult subjects. A story about sisters, love, loss, guilt, grief, cancer, domestic violence, secrets, justice and four stars from me. I have read, The Boatman’s Wife by Ms. Harrison, both books have Irish characters, links to lobster fishing and the remote islands off the coast of Maine, and four stars from me.

Not my favourite netgalley read if I’m honest. I found it enjoyable but pretty slow at the start, I preferred the second half of the book. Could have been a case of not being in the right mindframe when I read it though! The writing was great and I did feel emotional at some parts. Thankyou for the free arc!

I was not able to get interested in this book and I did not finish it. The characters and the plot were not able to catch or keep my attention

After coming back and rereading the synopsis, I no longer believe I would enjoy this book to it’s full potential.

New author to me and I loved the way Noelle Harrison writes. The Island Girls was a lovely read about three sets of sisters who all experience tragedy have their lives overlap and sometimes mirror one another in this poignant story of love and loss. This book was a touching story and you will need tissues with this one.

I highly recommend this new book by Noelle.

Big Thank you to Noelle Harrison, Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Island Girls which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily

This story is about a bond between sisters. I had high hopes for this one after reading the synopsis, but it just fell flat for me, and I didn't know if I was going to be able to finish it or not. It just started off so very slow. I also felt that the characters were very one dimensional, and I didn't "get to know them" very well.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion

This is a book on family drama, grief and tragedy. Its about a nurse who escapes to an island after the death of her sister to take care of an elderly lady who also lost her sister to tragic events. It was okay. I liked reading it for the most part but at times it could be a bit dry for me. Overall it was a good, quick read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I felt that this story started off a little slow. I took a break at about 10% and came back to it a week or two later. Once I finally got in to it I was hooked! Some great characters, tragic stories and plot twists that keep you interested until the very end. Wonderful job!

This story is full of loss, grief, secrets, and the bond between sisters. It was a very enjoyable read and it’s’ presence will stay with me a long time.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Island Girls is a beautifully written story about love and loss. Emer has taken a job on the remote Island of Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine five weeks after her sister died from cancer. As she builds a relationship with her patient Susannah, she sees similarities in their lives. Both had close relationships with their sisters, and both lost them in tragic circumstances.
While helping Susannah type up old letters sent between her and her sister Kate, Emer learns of Susannah’s bravery and sacrifices while coming to terms with her own loss and guilt.
This is a tear jerker of a book that shows inner strength can be found in the darkest timeS, and love conquers all.

After the death of her sister to cancer Emer feels that she needs to leave Boston and takes a job nursing an old lady, Susannah, on the remote island of Vinalhaven. Susannah grew up on Vinalhaven and as a child couldn't wait to leave, her sister Kate was the opposite and couldn't wait to marry Matthew her childhood sweetheart, but Susannah hated Matthew and would she be proved right to do so? Although Susannah didn't want Emer there in the first place she gradually thaws and after Emer finds some hidden letters that Susannah wrote to Kate she starts to piece the past together, can Susannah's story finally be laid to rest or are there people on the island who want to prevent that happening!

A good story working well in the two timelines, there are some good characters and the story has enough intrigue to keep you attention

Emer is a young nurse who escapes to an island when her sister dies. She is caring for Suzanne who has been a recluse for years since her sister died. While is age difference is great, their lives are very similar. Emer finds a bundle of letters in her room and this opens a dialog between the two women. The local population isn't happy that Suzanne is starting to talk about the past and threats against the two of them are very real. A good story with a strong ending. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the second of Harrison’s novels that I have read, I reviewed The Gravity of Love a few years ago and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to get stuck into another of her novels.

This novel follows two narratives, the story of Emer in present day who is giving palliative care to Susannah, not long after losing her own sister to cancer. We also follow the second narrative of Susannah herself when she was young, and her battle to move away from her close-knit and conservative island community.

This novel is described as ‘heartbreaking’ and I was a bit concerned that this would be much too heavy for me to cope with in the current situation, but overall although the novel contains many sad moments, it is a novel full of hope and love.

This novel does touch on some heavy subjects so I have attached some trigger warnings at the beginning of my review.

I rated this novel 3.5/5 stars, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the split narrative and the writing style was descriptive and imaginative. I also enjoyed both voices, I preferred Susannah and her storyline, although it was the darker of the two. The author’s use of letters throughout the novel also helped to give the narrative depth and stopped the novel from ever becoming dry.

I do think that some of the characters, especially the male characters could’ve been more developed, which did stop me from getting full engrossed into the story.

Overall I enjoyed this novel, and despite the heavy subject matter, the novel was a quick and light read which I enjoyed, and would recommend as a good beach/holiday read (if we ever get on holiday!).

3.5 stars

I LOVE Maine so I was eager to dive into this book about my favorite state!

This book follows two women who have found themselves together at the end of one's life on a remote island in Maine. The older woman, Susannah's story is told in flashbacks to her childhood growing up in the home she is in at the end of her life. Her nurse, Emer's story is told in more recent flashbacks to how she wound up taking care of a stranger in Maine so far from her home in Ireland.

The premise and most of the novel was captivating but I feel the ending fell flat and there's one side story I won't spoil that I don't feel adds anything to the story at all.

Overall I did enjoy the story and my time in Maine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Susannah and Kate grow up on a small island. Susannah has a passion for learning and is determined to go to college whereas Kate is happy with a traditional life as a wife and mother, never leaving the island.
In the present day, Emer is mourning the loss of her sister Orla and takes a job caring for elderly Susannah as she approaches the end of her life.
The Island GIrls is a deeply moving story of love and sacrifice. I felt so frustrated, angry even, at Susannah's mother and sister for not supporting her more or listening to her viewpoint. Their blinkered perspective ruins Susannah's happiness. As a parent and sister myself, I can't imagine trying to hold them back despite how scary the world may seem.
I was completely swept up in the lives of the characters and the use of letters and the dual timeline narrative to show us the past and present is effective in making both time periods come to life. I also felt frustration with Emer for wallowing in her grief and guilt, throwing away a chance at happiness. It is always a sign of a good book when it inspires such an emotional response!
Some of the topics raisied by the book are quite hard hitting including domestic abuse. But the strength of female solidarity shines through and the subordination of women by a patriarchal society is challenged by individuals. It is incredible to think that society viewed women in that way as recently as the 1950s but then Emer in the modern day is still manipulated by a man.
There are twists in the book that I did not expect and made Susannah's sacrifice even more poignant at the end. I felt that the ending was a little abrupt although all of the different threads were concluded.
The Island Girls is beautifull written and it is easy to get lost in the world of Susannah and Emer, feeling their pain but also sharing their hopes.

This book intertwines the stories of Emer (and her late sister Orla) and Susannah (and her late sister Kate). Emer is hired to care for Susannah through her final days. At first, Susannah is resistant but soon finds she has a lot in common with her young nurse and they become friendly.
This wasn't a book that made a deep impact on me. There were some things that I did not like. There is an entire page remembering Kate but she is called Orla. The frequent back and forth between the two sets of characters and time periods was a bit confusing. There are several references to the fact that Susannah favors one of her nieces over the other. However, it was never clearly revealed why; you are just left to wonder. I need closure! I can't seem to determine a central "theme" or "message" from this book. It wasn't until about the middle of the book that I really found myself interested in the story. The mystery of Kate is finally revealed but there were so many other questions left unanswered. Maybe there will be a follow up centering around Lynsey.

This is the first book I have read by this author but I can assure you it won’t be the last. If I could only use one word to describe this book it would be “WOW”!! This book had me all up in my feels over and over. For personal reasons that I won’t get into during a book review, I could relate to the characters in this book so so well. Grief, guilt and regret. I felt ever emotion these characters felt along the way. Thank you for writing such an amazing book. I had trouble putting it down and did not want I to end.