Colgan takes us back to Mure, Scotland in the 5th (!!!) book of the cafe by the sea series. This time, Joel and Flora are FINALLY planning their wedding, but they aren’t on the same page about what it should look like.

Meanwhile, Olivia, Jan’s famous sister wants to throw an over-the-top wedding on the Rock that is making Flora just a wee jealous, while creating tons of drama around the island.

We see Jan become almost unhinged with jealousy, Lorna still nursing her secret passion, and Fintan trying to get over his recent loss too.

Please let us get a sixth book in this series!!! For more books by Jenny Colgan, we’ve got a list of all of her books ranked for your enjoyment.

Good Story The isle of Muir is such a wonderful place - almost from a different era. Sheep and whales and old hotels make for a charming setting. Flora and Joel are planning a very small wedding and Olivia and Anthony are planning a huge wedding. Both weddings seem to be gettnig out of hand. Then you have Saif and Lorna, who almost nobody knows they are together. The characters of this story were so realistic. There was lots of drama, misunderstandings, plus a sweet baby Douglas who is in no hurry to walk. this is a place where a village helps to raise a child and also put their two cents in about whatever is going on. A delightful story

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntariily leaving a review

This is the fifth book in the Summer Seaside Kitchen series, and in my opinion, the best book so far. The characters feel like old friends at this point, and new characters add further excitement to the storylines. The main characters Joel and Flora are planning their wedding, but have very different ideas of what they would like. At the same time, a local woman who has achieved success as a model is returning to the island for a very elaborate wedding, held at the hotel where Flora is the manager, on the same weekend as Flora’s wedding. The struggles of not having enough money for an extravagant wedding are well portrayed, as is the pressures and closeness of small-town life. My favorite storyline is this series features Lorna, Flora’s best friend and the local schoolteacher, and Saif, a Syrian immigrant with two young sons. The agony of leaving your country and having your family ripped apart is clearly and well written, as is the path to moving on. I cannot Wait to read the sixth book and find out what happens with these characters next!! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Jenny Colgan transports her readers back to the (fictional) island of Mure, off the coast of Scotland, in her 5th book set here. The island comes to life with all the quirky and loveable characters we have come to care about. This time it’s for a wedding or two! A beautiful place for a wedding. I’m ready to visit

Jenny Colgan returns her readers to Mure, that tiny island so far north of Scotland, it is a world of its own. An Island Wedding is the fifth in the Mure series and I hope not the last. The main characters can be both interesting and infuriating, with so many miscommunications that sometimes I just shook my head and thought, “Come on, already!”  Flora Mackenzie is the lead character but the book contains several intertwined storylines, most ironed out in the end. There are actually two weddings in the works, one over-the-top and the other disappointingly small. Flora is a nice young woman, juggling a relationship, motherhood and a career, but she is too passive for her own good. Other characters include Lorna, Flora’s best friend, who is desperately in love with a man she can’t have; Joel, Flora’s scarred fiancé; Saif, the former refugee town doctor who is raising his two sons alone; and Jan, who is so rude and unlikable that it’s hard to get past her nastiness and remember the good work she does on behalf of underprivileged boys. The book also includes two major characters who are part of the crazy, ridiculously over-the-top second wedding. The festivities surrounding this wedding are so truly overblown that it is like Ms Colgan challenged herself to think of the most ridiculous bridal shower and wedding and include them in this book. It does not help Jan’s ill humor that the bride is her sister, apparently the most beautiful island girl ever, though she now lives in a different world and seems to be totally out of touch with reality.

I found the book entertaining but too long and the miscommunications or just lack of communication between various characters to be frustrating. I also did not care for the ending, which is a bit of a cliffhanger. Hence, I hope there will be a follow-up book in the near future. Three stars.

This is the 4th book in the Mure series and my first. The book gives a lot of background in the beginning. But I think it's important to read them in order. I wasn't attached to any of the characters or the story. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it.

To say I’m a fan of Jenny Colgan’s Mure series would be an understatement. Have I lost endless time on Google, trying to find the island that inspired Mure? Maybe. Have I mentally cast an entire limited series in my mind? Perhaps. Have I imagined moving to this fictional island and befriending its fictional inhabitants? I don’t want to talk about it, okay?!

Once again, Jenny Colgan knocks it out of the park (appropriately, since I may or may not have spent most of a baseball game reading this one. Shhh).

New to Mure? Or perhaps it has just been a bit since you visited? Never fear– Colgan includes a quick, funny synopsis at the beginning. Considering I’ve read quite a bit since the last Mure release, I was grateful for the speedy catch-up to remind me what loose threads remained.

Flora and Joel are in the midst of planning their wedding when Jan’s famous Instagram influencer sister announces she wants to get married on Mure, despite having not been back in ages. The Rock hosting a big fancy wedding would certainly help the recently opened hotel’s finances, and so Flora agrees. But influencer life is more complicated than she anticipated, as is juggling family life, the hotel, and the Seaside Kitchen. Meanwhile, Lorna and Saif are still secretly meeting, and maybe even daring to dream of the future a bit.

As always, Colgan’s characters are so thoroughly developed they feel like long-lost best friends to the reader. They’re just flawed enough to be realistic, without being so irksome that you’re tempted to throw the book across the room. They’re faced with hard choices, and make reasonable mistakes along the way, but the strong community continues to bind them together.


The setting is a character unto itself, with the quirky island of Mure as a gorgeous backdrop to the cast of spunky characters. From six year old Agot’s insistent demands to sweet little Ash and brave Ibrahim and solid, steady Saif, the secondary characters feel just as real as the primary players. The overall effect is a completely lovely read…almost.

Although Colgan can make me laugh out loud, surprising myself and everyone around me, she can also make me randomly burst into tears. So brace yourselves for that, and make sure to have tissues ready.

I struggle to write this review a bit, because when the book concludes, I didn’t have that warm, fuzzy feeling I so often have at the end of a Jenny Colgan novel. This one feels a bit more real, a bit more raw. I’m still in the feels over it, to be honest. There are particular plot threads that are certain to stay with the reader long after returning from their (albeit mental) visit to Mure.

Breaking News: Apparently this is the FINAL book in the Mure series!?!? I truly didn’t realize, and now I’m even more heartbroken than before. All the tissues, friends. You need all the tissues. Also…I need to have a chat with Ms. Colgan about the future of Mure. There are some things I NEED to know, and I need to know them now, please and thank you. *Sniffles* Also, I retract my statement about not wanting to throw the book across the room. I’m a bit there, now that I know it’s the end.

An Island Wedding will be available June 21, 2022. Thank you to author Jenny Colgan, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy such that I could share my honest review.

Wedding season has arrived on the little Scottish island of Mure. Flora’s fiance only wants a small, intimate wedding with just their closest friends and family. Former island sweetheart, Olivia, returns to the island planning for her wedding of the century. Both weddings are scheduled for the same weekend.

An Island Wedding is the fifth book in Jenny Colgan’s Mure series. While it could be read as a stand-alone, I would highly recommend reading the rest of the series for background information and character development. The author does give a brief recap of all the important events leading up to this book.

Miscommunication! Miscommunication everywhere! Waiting for some of these couples to work out their issues was almost painful. I’m assuming that this is the last book in this series. It seemed like the author was trying to wrap up storylines from previous books. There are almost too many side plots to keep track of. There are a lot of characters in this book and while Flora and Olivia are primary, some of the side characters have such large roles in the plot that they probably needed their own books.

I have read many of Jenny Colgan’s books in the past and have always enjoyed her style of writing. While An Island Wedding was not my favorite, I will continue to read her books in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager!

An Island Wedding is the fifth title in the series that began with The Cafe by the Sea. Each of the books is set on the small island community of Mure, a spot that feels pretty idyllic.

Readers who have followed the folks who live on Mure will surely be happy to find that there is a new book. While the stories are best read in order, Ms. Colgan thoughtfully provides an introduction to the characters and places, so this book could be read and enjoyed by new readers too.

I was happy to again spend time with Flora, her baby, her fiance, her family and her friends. It was nice to revisit the hotel and see what was happening there. I also enjoyed the plot about Saif, a refugee doctor who has found a new beginning for himself and his children on Mure.

There are wedding plans here, daily life and a few surprises. How will Flora and Joel’s wedding, one that they planned to be “micro” compare with that of Olivia who has returned to Mure for an extravaganza? Will love triumph? Relax and enjoy as you find out. Enjoy a (virtual) vacation in Mure, that magical island between Scotland and Norway as the pages are turned in this light read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this title. All opinions are my own.

Jenny Colgan never disappoints!
An Island Wedding is a new book in her series about the little Northern Scottish island of Mure.
(Mure is a fictitious island along the lines of the Orkneys)

In this book, Flora and Joel are finally going to tie the knot (after the birth of their son, Douglas).
The perfect day will be midsummer (solstice) just as the days are longest.
However, the Instagram famous sister of Jan (Outward Adventures) has chosen the same day!

So much hilarity and misunderstanding ensues before all goes right again.
I don't want to give away any of the plot points, but it's always a pleasure to read Jenny Colgans writing.
She describes the setting so beautifully that you can swear you're wearing tartan and hearing bagpipes.
Her books are a delightful break from some of the heavier, harder things one sometimes needs to read.

I recommend this book highly, it would make a great summer read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am a BIG fan of Jenny Colgan, so I was thrilled to get early access to her new book An Island Wedding. It had been awhile since I had read the other books in this series and she did a great job with backstory to remind me what had occurred, without retelling the stories. One of the things Colgan does so well is draw the tension between characters so tight that the reader thinks there will be no way to resolve the conflict. In most cases there is a satisfactory reconciliation, but at times the conflict continues into the next volume in the series. Flora is the primary character from the beginning of the series, but many other characters have stand alone plots and identities. I will not go into too much detail on story line because if you have not read the first books in this series you should certainly read them before reading An Island Wedding, although it would probably be just fine as a stand alone. This book checked all the boxes for me.

Received an advanced copy from the publisher.

The longer a Jenny Colgan series goes on, the more it feels like just reading update vignettes on the characters I know. It's a pleasant time, but feels very fleeting and not very meaty. The Mure books have suffered the worst from this law of diminishing returns, of all the series of hers I have read.

Flora and Joel's storyline is annoying because OH MY GOSH JUST TALK TO YOUR FIANCE ABOUT THE WEDDING. Lorna and Saif continue to be a slow-moving tragedy that Jenny just won't let have a HEA. The sister drama was hard to connect with because I didn't feel like I got to know the characters enough, but by the end I was really finding it engaging.

I'll probably keep reading these books because they are pleasant reads, but check with me again after the next installment.

An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan is her fifth book in her popular Mure series but can be read as a stand-alone book. In fact, the author includes a brief synopsis of the series in her introduction, which was very helpful. So, although you can read An Island Wedding as a stand-alone, you’ll want to read the entire series as these characters are so much fun, and the setting is gorgeous and a place I’d love to visit someday, even if it’s fictional!

Flora MacKenzie and her fiancé Joel are planning a small intimate wedding for just their closest friends at their hotel on the Island of Mure. But, keeping the number of guests to a manageable number means excluding some of the residents of the island of Mure, and that means trouble for Flora.

Also, a former resident of the island, Oliva Macdonald has decided to have an over-the-top, spectacle of a wedding the very same weekend as Flora’s wedding. Oliva brings her wedding planning entourage to the island and nothing will be the same for Flora.

An Island Wedding is a sweet story about the closeness of small-town life, as well as some of the difficulties. The island of Mure is full of quirky and interesting characters that make for a fun read. Flora and Joel are an adorable couple who are very supportive of each other as they navigate all the issues of planning a wedding on a tiny island where everyone knows everyone.

The setting on the tiny island of Mure is so much fun. The island and village are well described and it’s just such a nice escape to visit the island and interact with all these fun characters.

I recommend An Island Wedding to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5 Stars. I have loved this series and was so happy to read the next book from Jenny Colgan. While it was so comforting to be back on Mure with Flora, Lorna, Joel, & the rest of the people we've grown to love, I found it a little hard to connect with this book like the others and it felt like the problems they've had with communication are still a problem and you just want to scream at them to learn how to communicate! Ha!

However, the last 40 pages really drew me in and I found myself crying with how the author moved the stories of people we've grown to love. I don't want to spoil anything - but if you've loved the previous books in this series, you definitely should continue the series by picking this one up.

Thank you NetGalley & Avon/Harper Voyager for the advance copy!

🌊Warm, wonderful and a bit heartbreaking😢

4-4.5 🌟 stars
This story had all the emotions: love, joy, fear, envy, sorrow and hopeless resignation. I thought the inclusion of a number of subplots for lead character Flora's friends and not so friendly neighbors kept the story exciting, with a surprise around every corner. The overarching sense of small community sticking together gave it a positive vibe. And with strong characters like young, determined Agot and snooty chef Gaspard to add some humor, this story has lots of good things going for it.

But, oh, the unresolved cliffhanger for Flora's close friend was so, so sad -- brought on my tears. It was a sign that no matter how blissfully happy in isolation, the bigger world with its troubles and impossible choices creeps in. For me this part of the book was the most compelling and I will remain hopeful that Colgan comes up with a satisfying continuation and resolution in a future novel.

My one issue with this book: too many run-on sentences. At least one went on for several pages. They just confused and lost me. Description of a scene or feeling is fine, but it does not all have to fit in one endless sentence!

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyage publishers and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

What a delightful, sad, careful, and caring return to Mure! I have loved the inhabitants of this island in the previous installments, and their charms remain here. Typical villains alongside unlikely allies keep the plot moving along, and while many of the problems could be much more easily resolved if Joel and Flora had a few uncomfortable conversations, one can forget about that in the magic of the setting.

Sometimes series are hard to sustain, but Jenny Colgan is doing a great job with the Mure series. There are many familiar characters, but Colgan manages to find new insights with each book. In this 5th book, Flora McKenzie is finally ready to marry Joel, but the road to the altar is not smooth and easy. This would make a great beach read.

Always a pleasure to read about Mure and the top of the world. This story continues to follow Flora's family and how things are going running the Rock. As the title intimates it is all about weddings.

A great read full of love, hope, forgiveness and hopefully a great big happy ever after!
Would so love to see another book in this series! I will be going back and reading the first 4 books before this one.

An Island Wedding is the fifth book in the Mure series and focuses on the upcoming wedding of Flora and Joel. Of course this wedding story could not happen without hiccups, and there are many throughout this book. I enjoyed this book and liked how it not only focused on the main characters, but several supporting characters added a great deal to this book. Loved the Mure island setting, and overall found this to be another good Colgan book. Jenny Colgan fans, along with romance and women's fiction readers will enjoy An Island Wedding.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager; this is my honest and voluntary review.