"As I walk back to the cottage, I wonder about the Skype interview with Heather. Did they have one? They couldn't have, or Bill would have known straight away. In fact didn't he already comment that I didn't look like my cat picture?"
Imagine a case of mistaken identity / fraud - I'm still not sure which, the result of a drunken greeting at an award ceremony where you're pretending to be your best friend for a fun night out. This is how Birdy's dilemma starts, her best friend Heather has gone to Italy in pursuit of a man and left her with a name badge to attend a wine awards ceremony - harmless you'd think!
How nice also to be reading about summer on a wet, cold October night!
A few pages in, I thought 'this would make a really good film'. It's light=hearted chicklit, sweet but not too saccharine, and the characters are all really likeable which make it a perfect, quick read. Birdy will have you shaking your head in frustration at times but you do feel for her. With Heather having gone abroad to pursue a relationship, she is completely unanchored when we meet her (with literally no-where to stay), and she is subconsciously looking for an adventure and change in her life, deciding to just roll with the punches on a whim. She certainly snowballs into an unexpected situation!
I thought the themes were balanced really well, and there's more depth to the story, as both Heather and Birdy are at a bit of a loss, both in dire relationships and missing something in their lives, their strong sisterhood is what they seem to have relied upon to carry them through from childhood. There are also some bigger themes like alcoholism, and childhood neglect which give the characters in the book a bit more depth.
One of the things I loved about this book was it's portrayal of Scotland and its community feeling and people. It'll make you want to pack up city life and move there immediately! These are all people just trying to find themselves, their passion, and pride in who they are and what they do. The combination of this, and the setting of a failing hotel restaurant in Skye, and the mammoth task of faking it to make it as a sommelier make for a different, funny and engaging read.
"Maybe I don't even need a calling,' I say. 'Maybe I just need to be me for a while.''
Thank you to Penguin General UK and Netgalley for my ARC.
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