The Fisherman’s Gift by Julia R Kelly
This is a novel of hope and second chances. Dorothy is the school teacher in a Scottish fishing village. She is trying to work on being kinder and more helpful to the people of the village. When she first arrived, she wasn’t welcomed with open arms and her tough exterior didn’t help things. Dorothy is carrying sorrow due to the drowning of her son Moses and is trying to move on. When a child washes ashore who looks remarkably like her son Moses, Dorothy doesn’t know how to handle this. She is asked to care for the boy and as much as she wants to decline, she decides it’s best to show that she can be relied on. From this point on in the novel we watch as Dorothy’s life changes for the better. This is a heartwarming book and I really enjoyed it. Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the arc.

The Fisherman's Gift
By Julia R. Kelly

This story is in turn sad, hopeful – heartbreaking. Dorothy Aitkins is a young Scottish woman who comes to the coastal town of Skerry where life is hard and the people have known each other all their lives. Dorothy is very reserved; thus she has a hard time fitting in.

Eventually she draws the attention of Joseph, a handsome and sought-after fisherman. Dorothy finds herself attracted to him, but because the word in the community says he is to marry another, she turns away and marries William. While William is a kind man, they are not compatible in the bedroom. One night, feeling lost, Dorothy walks to the Skerry Sands. There she meets Joseph, and in a weak moment, they have sex. The product of that night is a son named Moses, who all believe is William's son. Joseph's love for Dorothy is unrequited, but she continues to reject him.

When Moses is six, he hears the fairy children in the waves calling him to come out and play. In spite of the storm all around, he follows their voices, never to be seen again. Needless to say Dorothy is shattered.

Now, 20 years later, another child washes up on the Sand during a storm. Joseph rescues him and he is given to Dorothy to raise until his parents can be found. The story has come full circle bringing up all the past. How will this child affect the villagers? How will he affect Dorothy and Joseph?

This is rather a somber book. The lives of that time and place were not easy and the loss of children never leaves. But there is, in the end, hope that things will improve, that not all is lost. It is not a happy read – but is surely realistic.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Dorothy has been living a half (or less) life for many years. Raised by an overbearing mother, she escapes to a Scottish village by the sea to become the village schoolteacher, only to fall in love with a man she believes to belong to someone else. She drifts into a marriage that has affection but no real love and finds solace in her son, Moses. But when Moses disappears, she is inconsolable.

Years later, a boy is found on the beach just as a harsh winter takes hold. Discovered by Joseph, the man she really loved, the boy seems to bear an uncanny resemblance to Moses. As reality and fantasy mingle, Dorothy is increasingly drawn into her past and slowly realizes she must make peace with the events and people who shaped her life.

This novel was unexpectedly beautiful. Most of it is heartbreakingly sad, but Dorothy finally finds, if not happiness, at lease peace. And Joseph is chef's kiss. Now I want to escape to a Scottish village by the sea, but without the tragedy. #TheFishermansGift #NetGalley

Thank you @simbooks @netgalley and @juliakelly2 for this eARC!

When a young boy washes up on shore, he bears an uncanny resemblance to Dorothy’s son, who was lost to the sea over a decade ago. His arrival unravels secrets that the community has been keeping.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Fisherman’s Gift, but I was blown away by Kelly’s debut novel! I could vividly picture the beautiful, harsh Scottish fishing village of Skerry built on the cliffs, and it was fun learning some Scottish lingo (manse - ministers home; kirk - church). There’s an underlying current of mystery from the start, each character clearly dealing with their own heartache and pain, with a slight magical element to the storyline.

The main characters, Dorothy and Joseph, frustrated me with their miscommunication. I just wanted them to say what they felt! But I couldn’t stop rooting for them and I had to remind myself it was 1900 and maybe people weren’t as direct back then 🤪

A hauntingly beautiful story that I’m still thinking about! Is this one on your radar?

Usually when I pick up a book about missing children and frantic mothers, it falls in my preferred genre of domestic suspense. But in her debut novel, The Fisherman’s Gift, Julia R. Kelly proves that a common plot can be the basis of a story in any genre.

Closer to literary fiction than suspense or fantasy, The Fisherman’s Gift takes place in an isolated Scottish fishing village in 1900. After a storm, a young boy washes onto the beach, unable to speak and resembling Dorothy’s son, who disappeared on the same beach years ago. After Dorothy agrees to take in the boy until his parents can be located, strange coincidences begin to happen.

With the language and rhythms of a fairy tale, the novel moves between past and present as readers see how Dorothy first came to the village and was ostracized by the women there; her doomed flirtation with the fisherman Joseph; her troubled marriage and motherhood. The book is not a fantasy about a child who somehow comes back to the scene of his disappearance. The spine of the story is Dorothy’s isolation as she struggles to fit into a village where she’s judged for being more educated than the populace. At the same time, Kelly gives us the perspective of some of the women doing the judging. Theirs are tough lives, with marriage the only option and a bad match a lifetime mistake. The story’s prose is poetic, and the descriptions of the storm-beaten wintry landscape are vivid.

The Fisherman’s Gift is not a good choice if you’re looking for suspense or fantasy. But if you enjoyed A Light Between Oceans or you appreciate the small stories in the lives of Elizabeth Strout’s characters, you’ll find this novel compelling.

Julia R. Kelly's THE FISHERMAN'S GIFT is a wonderfully wrought story, set in a remote village in Scotland where teacher Dorothy agrees to take in a mysterious boy washed up on shore who bears a remarkable resemblance to her long-lost son. The story is twisty with unexpected twists and turns keeping me up way too late reading, enjoying my time in that small village where the past and present collide and create something entirely new and unexpected. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

The Fisherman's Gift is the story of a small Scottish sea-side town which has mysteries and secrets entwined in their culture. The Schoolteacher is an outsider who never really fits in, and the story follows her life. This was a slow paced read with a lot of character development, twists and turns in the mystery. I very much enjoyed reading this book and would read more from this author.

“The sea gives and the sea takes away…What was forgotten, returns, when the sea is ready.”

It was beyond belief that a barely alive little boy, wearing one boot, washed ashore during a violent storm that “steals from the little fishing village…it takes roof tiles and sheep; it fells trees and splinters two boats against the rocks.” The year is 1900, the village, Skerry Sands in Scotland. Two decades ago, Dorothy’s six year old son, Moses, was swept out to sea. All that was recovered was one boot sandwiched between two weather beaten rocks. In seamless prose, alternating between “then” and “now” , a mystery child emerging from the sea jump would help create a path to understanding and forgiveness.

A young Dorothy Aitken arrived at Skerry Sands to work as a schoolmistress. Prim, proper and socially awkward, she did not click with the gossipy women who would cook, knit and pass time at Mrs. Brown’s Grocery Store. Dorothy’s education cast her in a different light from those who intended to hook a suitor, marry and raise a family. The village’s most desirable bachelor was a young fisherman named Joseph. How dare he pass over the other candidates and try to court Dorothy?

Dorothy’s college instruction taught her “order and discipline…for the teacher, the classroom and the children” Additionally Mother said-”Keep your distance from the gossips, you have a position to uphold.” So, Joseph’s interest in Dorothy was rebuked. Choices would be made…mistakes would cost dearly. Dorothy married a safe, kind man. Agnes, who tried to entice Joseph, would settle for a hard, drinking man. Joseph would never marry.

A night of passion…never to be repeated. Dorothy gave birth to Moses, a child born with a caul. Superstition about changelings and stolen children circulated through the gossip mill. At age six, Moses was suddenly swept away during a brutal storm. The entire village combed the beach area and the sea but all that was found was one leather boot. Paralyzing grief engulfed Dorothy. Several others felt they were responsible…but…now the waves brought a strange child to their shore. A child with an uncanny likeness to Moses and about the same age when he disappeared. Had the changeling returned?

“Dorothy had heard…stories many times since coming to Skerry. The sea’s greed, the danger of storms, the women putting out stone lanterns to guide their men home.” The mystery child, unable to communicate, seemed to act as a conduit to open lines of communication enabling villagers to share memories, hardships and grief while promoting healing. Highly recommended.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is absolutely riveting, drawing you in to an atmosphere of an icy cold small village, Skerry, in 1900 Scotland. Dorothy leaves Edinburgh to teach in a small town, escaping her strict, cold mother. Experiencing heartbreak, Dorothy loses a child to a drowning in the sea. When a small boy is found close to drowning years later, by Joseph, a man she once loved, Dorothy offers to care for the boy. The relationships Dorothy has with the locals was never warm, and murmurs of what happened that night swirl with the town’s gossip. The story and characters will reel you in, and the emotional impact of the book will hit hard. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This story, set in the 1900’s in the Scottish village of Skerry is so sad, yet well written. It is told from the viewpoint of several characters and switches between then and now. After a slow start, I was able to get into the rhythm of the book. The portrayal of life in this small fishing village was quite good and the characters well portrayed. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

The Fisherman‘s Gift by Julia R Kelly, Dorothy is the main character of the book we learned she is a widow and due to losing her son five years previous is childless but when the book starts a very old friend and the fisherman finds a young boy who not only looks like Dorothy son but is also missing the same shoe Dorothy has hidden away in her bureau. after he is found, Dorothy takes assessment of her life and thinks back to when she was young arriving to be the teacher on scary sands Island in Scotland with all her hopes and dreams. throughout the book we learn of her complicated relationship with Joseph the fisherman and we also see her do what lots of moms do and that’s find a peace with how we mothered our children. Unless you’re a narcissist if you’re mom you probably felt the age old guilt most moms do and in this book I think the author did an awesome job portraying Dorothy as a typical mom with the regrets and a feeling of loss for all she didn’t do for her beloved little Moses. despite being an outcast in the town they allow her to take care of the little boy. in the beginning she thought he was just like Moses but the more she gets to know him and care for him the more she sees their differences. I love this book I also want to mention Agnes who I thought was such a good character and could’ve had her own book. if you love well thought out stories about grief motherhood missed opportunities and so much more than you absolutely love this book by an author I had never heard of but OMG I want to read more of her books soon. I am usually not a fan of books without a big reveal a murder or an epic happening but I must be honest and say I loved this book it felt like someone was holding my hand explaining a new way to think of mothers gossip and loss. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #JuliaR.Kelly, #TheFisherman‘sGift,,#Simon&Sch#Simon&Schuster,uster,

Historical fiction set in a Scottish fishing village. Atmospheric and often bleak. Lives are hard and the mistakes and misunderstandings to which humans are prone make life even harder. But sometimes a catalyst comes along that can change so many things. I thought both the characters and the setting were very well done.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

The Fisherman’s Gift is a wonderful story. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale and will look forward to more great reads from Julia R. Kelly.

𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧, 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙯𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙩.

1900, a Scottish fishing village is the setting for a love story of unbearable loss. A young boy has washed ashore, the child could be a mirror image of Dorothy’s son, tragically swallowed up by that very sea, during a howling storm, his body never returned. Upon seeing Joseph carrying the unknown child’s limp form, it is as if he is the ghost of Moses, her son. The entire village cannot help but discuss the uncanny resemblance, but the reminders haunt no one more than Dorothy and Joseph. Dorothy does not want to remember what came before; her heart cannot take it.

Dorothy had to bury the past to survive, having lost so much, including her husband, William. No one has felt the burn of gossip more than Dorothy nor felt the claws of judgement over their every choice. There are those who care nothing for her suffering, almost feel she deserves her terrible lot in life. An outsider from the start when she first arrived to begin her job as the new schoolmistress, the other women thought her a snob from day one. There was a time, no matter how hard life was, and how unwelcoming the locals were, she and the quiet fisherman Joseph shared something special. But she made a different choice, married William and sealed her fate, the consequences leading to the loss of true love, and later, the senseless death of her son.

Joseph blames Dorothy for all the dreams that dissipated in his life, the love that slipped through his fingers, harbors resentment, even chooses to cross the street to avoid her now, but with the mystery of the child being washed ashore, fate isn’t done with either of them. Dorothy lives each day with an anchor of sorrow deep in her soul, she has taken on the mantle of blame since that tragedy, feeling punished by fate for being a terrible, careless mother. There is nothing anyone can do to make her feel lower than she does. Both Joseph and Dorothy must confront that horrific night, and each moment between them that led to it. The Minister convinces Dorothy to care for the boy until they can find out where he came from and who he is, who else better than someone who once was a mother, and a schoolteacher? His presence opens the wound left behind from Moses’s death, it is bittersweet, time spent with him breathing life back into memories of her own child, his presence like a gift, a dream, a second chance at motherhood. There is much to uncover, secrets they are harboring from each other, and shockingly, from themselves in their fog of grief. Dorothy has been blind, even in her marriage to William, and punishes herself while he has stayed away so long. What will become of the child under Dorothy’s roof? What will become of Dorothy?

Could the child help them heal or his sweet presence another tragedy waiting to befall the entire village?

This is a heartbreaking, engaging story with unexpected twists. It is about love, grief, loss, and the wreckage caused by people full of envy and jealousy. Yes, read it.

Published March 18, 2025

Simon & Schuster

Set in a Scottish fishing village, this story is heartbreaking, but yet hopeful. Romance, a lost child, new hope, reality and dreams. I read it slowly to absorb the feel of the Scottish village and the melancholy of the characters.

When a young boy washes in from the sea, Dorothy Gray must face past memories of love, loss and secrets that have haunted her for years. The small Scottish village of Skerry Sands watches as the fisherman, Joseph, carries the boy to the minister's home - not knowing if the child will live or die. In a timeline of "then" and "now" we become acquainted with the stories of Dorothy and Joseph and their relationship, as well as the characters of the village who help to make the story. Their story includes some historical fiction along with the Fairie stories that Scotland is well known for, and what helps to make the little village thrive. This was a very enjoyable read, filled with the story-telling that captures the heart, and the secrets that capture the mind. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #TheFishermansGift #NetGalley

I think my expectations were too high on this one. I enjoyed the storyline, the history, the heartbreak and heartwarming aspects of this book. I felt that much of the book moved slowly, and I wish the pace picked up earlier. The book is written in the past and present, from multiple perspectives. I felt that this was done seamlessly, the story weaving smoothly between characters and timelines. The story takes place in a Scottish Village in the early 1900s. A schoolteacher comes to the Island where she struggles to be adjusted. She starts a brief love affair, her young son is lost to sea, and her story is anything but easy. When years later a young boy is rescued from the sea, Dorothy finds herself struggling to differentiate past and present. Secrets are uncovered and pain is uncovered. I thought that the development was well done and beautifully written. I just wanted a little more drama and oomph. 
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

In this melancholy and atmospheric novel set in a small fishing village in Scotland in 1900 even the weather and the town become living breathing characters. In spite of the story starting off slowly, seesawing between Then and Now, I was soon drawn in by the poetic descriptions of the sea, sand, rocks, and cliffs. I also became attached to Dorothy and Joseph and their desperate and tumultuous lives.

Though this tale is heartbreaking at times, I feel that it is a beautifully written debut novel and deftly demonstrates how silence, secrets, and lies can bring so much pain into people's lives, but also how redemption and learning to let go is always possible.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.

Quick and Dirty
-small Scottish seaside village
-grief/loss story
-multiple POVs in the community
-powerful and unforgettable

I usually don’t read books months before publication, but something compelled me to read this in December. The cover and description were bleak, perfect for the short winter days. Little did I know it would end up being one of my favorite reads of the year, rounding out my top 14 reads of 2024. Stark yet unbelievably beautiful; that’s how I would describe this masterpiece by Kelly. When a young boy washes ashore, near lifeless and unknown, a village turns to Dorothy to take him in while authorities search for his parents. Having lost her son to the sea years ago, Dorothy soon bonds with the boy in unexpected ways. In her grief, she conjures up a story for the ages, believing this young lad is somehow her own, returned to her by the sea. As the days pass, the truth about both boys unfolds.

I am not a mother, so I wasn’t expecting to FEEL everything this book made me feel. It sometimes moved me to tears, leaving me desperate to know how the story ended. I felt completely immersed in the plot, as if I were one of the villagers in this harsh, at times unforgiving landscape. Seeing life through the eyes of all the players helped to heighten the mystery and create much-needed tension among the characters. Alternating between flashbacks and current events, the storylines of the two boys parallel masterfully, leaving the reader wondering if it could really be Dorothy’s son back from the depths.

A HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL AND EMOTIONAL STORY OF GRIEF, SHAME, SECRETS AND LOST LOVES!

The year is 1900 when lovely, young Dorothy, a new teacher arrives in the small fishing village of Skerry, Scotland with bright hopes and dreams to begin a happy new life full of promise so different from her past.

Now, fifteen to twenty years later villagers see Joseph carrying an unconscious small boy soaked head to foot and wearing only one boot who he found washed up on the wet, sandy beach. Shock and whispers carry through the air speaking of the similarities between Dorothy's young son who was taken by the sea many years before. Dorothy will be the boy's caregiver over the brutal winter as there is no way in or out of the village due to blizzards and frozen ice afterward making any transportation or post service communication impossible. Dorothy grows attached to the strange child who reminds her so much of her own lost boy and her reality becomes blurred and challenged when she begins to to believe that the sea gave back this child to her as a gift to replace the one it took and she sometimes believes he is the same child. Meanwhile gossip continues throughout the village as usual because there is an uncanny resemblance to Dorothy's child which finally brings out secreted deeds and lies that some of the community carried from the past that may have led to the death of Dorothy's only beloved child.

This lovely and heartbreaking novel will stay with me for a very long time if not forever! I absolutely cannot believe this was the author 'JULIA R. KELLY'S' debut novel which was written so beautifully with magnificent and atmospheric storytelling of Skerry, Scotland where I completely lost myself within the pages and I truly didn't want the book to come to an end. It has been quite while since I have felt so much emotion while reading a story and I would find myself sometimes smiling although most of the time my eyes would be welling up with so many tears while feeling a painful ache in my chest experiencing the pain that the characters would be feeling (marvelous)! The author captured the authenticity of all the characters' personalities and feelings plus the isolation of the small community where I felt that I was actually there.somehow in this fishing village observing how everything played out. This was a wonderfully, rich reading experience which was due to the hauntingly, descriptive writing of 'JULIA R. KELLY'!

I highly, highly recommend this beautiful novel and I certainly hope there will many more books to be written by this talented author!

I want to thank the publisher "Simon & Schuster" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital copy and any thoughts or opinions are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 5++ MESMERIZING AND HAUNTING 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!