Jenny Colgan has penned a series of novels that take place on the fictional Scottish island of Mure. So delightful are her descriptions of the remote setting and the colorful inhabitants that we long to visit there and see the whales in the ocean, feel the cold breezes, and marvel at the buildings that line the street along the coast. In AN ISLAND WEDDING, we revisit this magical place --- which is based on the real islands of Orkney and Shetland --- and reacquaint ourselves with many of the characters who have been featured in previous entries.

"As is typical of Colgan's novels, there are no big twists or mysteries to be solved. Rather, the book is about relationships, how we communicate and show our feelings for each other.... It's beautiful, touching and certainly a perfect summer read."

In this story, Flora MacKenzie is planning her wedding to Joel, a lawyer who is not from the island and therefore has always felt like a bit of an outsider. Flora runs Mure’s lovely hotel, the Rock, which is now owned by her brother. She also has an almost one-year-old son with Joel. When a former island resident, Olivia Mathieson, returns as she plans her extremely posh wedding to the scion of an incredibly wealthy family, Flora's plans for a simple, small wedding of her own are effectively frustrated.

There is drama connected to Olivia's return as her sister Jan, a hateful character, does everything in her power to make Flora look bad. Joel works with Jan, and her constant sniping at Flora and Olivia's fancy wedding threatens to undermine Flora's relationship with Joel. Olivia is determined to have a wedding that will go viral on social media, and her plans sound truly amazing. In the meantime, we also revisit immigrant doctor/father Saif, who is the "official" island physician, and Lorna, who runs the small school. They seem to be star-crossed lovers and must hide their relationship from most of the residents.

As is typical of Colgan's novels, there are no big twists or mysteries to be solved. Rather, the book is about relationships, how we communicate and show our feelings for each other. It's about love and respect, and honoring the wishes of others. It's about finding courage and being brave enough to act in the face of fear. Ultimately, it's about realizing that home is where the heart is, and knowing that where we belong is where our family lives --- geographically and spiritually.

And while we are seeing the many characters in this novel unravel the tangled threads of their lives, we also get to witness how they live on this remote, wild island situated between Norway and Scotland, near the Arctic Circle and in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It's beautiful, touching and certainly a perfect summer read.