Emma Bamford

The story starts out suspenseful. A naval vessel gets a distress call from Virginie. Once they reach the boat they see that Jake is injured badly and Virginie confesses, ”It’s all my fault. I killed them.” From there, Bamford goes back and fills in all of the details up to the point. The entire story flowed well and was a solid 4 stars for me I look forward to reading future works from this author.

I know it’s odd to start with all the good things of books but I want to make it apparent that this book is really good. I think Bamford did a brilliant job of painting what it would be like to sail across the ocean. She was able to use her personal experience of sailing several years and bring that knowledge to life in this book which was a nice touch. I found her writing to be beautiful and loved the vivid depictions of the island Amarante. This gave me such Gilligan Island with a twist vibe it was fantastic. All the characters are creepy yet enjoyable and I will be reading more from this author.… (meer)

This was a fun, quick read with interesting characters. Jake and Virginie, newly married, decide to begin their new life sailing from Malaysia to a remote island, Amarante. They hook up with two other couples while on the island along with a single man and his dog. It's a beautiful island with a charm neither Jake or Virginie could have imagined. However, because they are very far from anything (humans and resources), there are "Island Rules", which include everyone pitching in to retrieve firewood and food. And there is one restricted area where fishing is prohibited. After a couple weeks, everyone has become better acquainted, but there's also tension brewing. After Jake and Virginie's boat engine fails, compromising their water supply, Jake is consumed with resolving the problem even though he doesn't have the tools to fix it, and he stubbornly refuses everyone's help. Meanwhile, Virginie tries to do his share of the chores along with her own but the others resent Jake's lack of effort and his attitude. Virginie finally convinces Jake to stop working on the engine just long enough to go catch some fish. But after hours of no luck, Virginie decides to check out the "no fishing" zone and soon they're pulling in one fish after another. Everyone is relieved that Jake has finally made a contribution and they celebrate with drinks and a delicious fish dinner. But when tongues loosen after too much alcohol, angry words are shouted and accusations made. The following morning, someone dies and suddenly the island isn't a paradise anymore. I'm not giving away spoilers so you'll have to read the book to learn the rest. I enjoyed all the detail given regarding the geography and history of the island. I really felt like I was on the boat with Jake and Virginie and what a great sailing adventure it was!… (meer)