I just finished listening to the best audiobook. Summer on Lilac Island by Lindsay MacMillan was such a great story.

Sweet tale about family, forgiveness, love. Gigi Jenkins returns home to Macinack Island, the hometown she grew an away from ten years before. She plans to just be there for the summer but finds her mother setting her up with the town’s summer doctor. In exchange, she sets her mother, Eloise, up with the Scottish author she meets on the ferry. As the summer unfolds, Gigi, her sister Rebecca, Eloise, and Grandmother Alice learn about life and love, acceptance and grace. Beautifully narrated from multiple points of view. Can’t wait to hear what’s next from both the author and narrator.

I thoroughly enjoyed this summertime read about Gigi Jenkins' return to her hometown on Macinac Island after leaving it for dust years earlier. With POVs from many of the characters, including the Grand Hotel and the island itself, all the storylines interweaved nicely, and I never felt like I was losing track of what was happening.
This was a great read!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Harper Muse and Netgalley.

Summer on Lilac Island is a romance for three generations. A great romance for Midwesterners, as Lilac Island is really Mackinac Island (home to an island without automobiles, home to horses, bicycles and fudge).

Gigi is on the ferry to return to her childhood home and re-coup and regroup when life isn’t really working out so well for her. She meets an author on the boat ride to the ferry. Once she arrives home, she learns that her mother has set her up on a date with the towns doctor.

So Gigi agrees to go on the date only if her mother agrees to go out with the author.

I loved all the references to the island, like the multiple fudge companies and their offerings. This book brought back great memories of visiting the island with my aunt and uncle and biking around the island. The Grand Hotel really does have the world’s longest porch at 660 feet. (So probably this Michigan girl is rounding up to 5 stars because of the Michigan connection.)

The book was narrated Kira Fixx, who did a great job! (Especially loved how she did the author's voice.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for approving my request to listen to the “advance listen” copy of Summer on Lilac Island by Lindsay MacMillan in exchange for an honest review. Approximately 14 hours. Just in time for summer, publication date is July 1, 2025.

I especially loved this line in the book. Roughly, there aren’t any dull stories, only dull story tellers.

This was the perfect book for a nice long weekend. It is a good mother-daughter feel good, humorous, romp with a dash of romance. Everything you want for a summer read! The narrator was amazing and brought the fantastic setting of Lilac Island to life with charm and fun. The perfect small town setting filled with antics, mischief and a few twists with emotion at its heart. This is a lovely book for lovers of second chances, small town, summer and romance. I'll read this again, I have no doubt. Thank you NetGalley for the advance audio listen. Opinions are my own.