Book 26 of 2014: Sealed With A Kiss by Rachael Lucas

When Print Point did the ‘blind date with a book’ I’d intended to just buy one. I don’t buy books that often, especially not brand new ones, but the temptation was too great and I couldn’t choose between two of the coverless books. I really liked the sound of the one which turned out to be Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean At The End Of The Lane but the other book had a label which said:

1. Island life

2. New start

3. Love

Which I guessed might mean it was a chick lit type book but I was so drawn to the idea of a book set on an island that I just had to go for it. And I’m glad I did.

Sealed With A Kiss by Rachael Lucas is a story of a woman who after splitting up with her boyfriend finds herself jobless and homeless so on a whim applies for a job to be a ‘Girl Friday’ on a small Scottish island. Obviously the way of life is completely different to what she is used to but she grows to love the place, everything except for the laird’s snotty ex-girlfriend who seems to be trying to worm her way back into his life.

It’s not the sort of book that I would have picked up to read by myself. I do quite enjoy chick lit books when I do read them, but I’ll admit to being a bit of a book snob (ironic considering I spend most of my time reading ‘children’s books’) so I don’t usually pick one up unless it’s recommended to me. Generally I find them to be quick and fluffy enough that you can just pick them up for some mindless reading.

Sealed With A Kiss filled that spot. It was a simple and light-hearted sort of book which, like romantic comedy films, I had a fairly good idea of how it was going to end before I’d even started. I ended up lending it to my mum-in-law when I’d finished it because I knew it was the sort of book she would enjoy, and then she mentioned that one of her friends down south would like it too, so it got posted halfway down the country for her to read too. It’s quite a well-travelled book now.

I spent the whole book picturing the island in the story as Bute. There were so many little references that seemed to nod in the direction of my own little island home; there were comments about the local supermarket and boarded up shops, there was a point on the island where they could look across the sea to view a ‘sleeping giant’, as well as a beach where all the seals gathered. It could have been Bute that was being described.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I reached the end of the book and discovered a list of the author’s favourite places, one of which was the Isle of Bute. I love it when I’m right.

While this book didn’t really have much in the way of twists, I could see where it was going from the very start, it was fun watching it chug along and seeing how the characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. I think I’d definitely pick up another book by Rachael Lucas and I’d especially like to read more about these characters and life on this island.