Book Review - The Island Getaway by Lucy Diamond

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Title: The Island Getaway

Author: Lucy Diamond

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Quercus

Publication Date: 30th January 2025

Rating: 5 Stars

The dream holiday just got complicated . . .

On the sun-drenched island of Kefalonia, the new arrivals at The Ionian Escape hotel are hoping for a break from everyday life. But some of them are bringing a lot of baggage . . .

Disgraced TV star Miranda Vallance feels like the worst person in the world. Her sister won't speak to her and her job's on the line. She's desperate to put things right, but how?

Eighty-two-year-old Evelyn Chambers has come to fulfil a promise to the love of her life. If she can steel herself to go through with it, that is . . .

And when celebrity chef Frank Neale checks in, rumours swirl around the hotel. But is it his wife, Leonora, who has more of a reason to escape to Greece?

The Island Getaway is a big-hearted novel from the queen of bestselling fiction, celebrating second chances, true love and the life-affirming joy of unlikely friendships.

I've been enchanted by the idea of visiting Kefalonia ever since I first saw it on a travel programme on TV and although I've made it to other Greek Islands this one has still escaped me, so I was utterly delighted to be transported to to this enchanting island through the pages of this book. 

And this is  a story that is all about the staff and guests at the Ionian Escape hotel, whose lives interlink far more than you may initially imagine.

Each chapter focuses on a different character, with Miranda and Evelyn being two of the main ones in addition to Nelly (and I loved how we were introduced to her), and Claudia who is one of the hotel managers. 

But we also get chapters from the barman, receptionist, Dmiri the big boss and more, and it all puts together a picture of an idyllic place that I was sad to learn was a fictional hotel. Sounds like it would have been somewhere I would have liked to stay myself. 

There is excellent character development and the book grabbed me from the opening chapters and wouldn't let me go. I whizzed through it in two evenings pretty much, and it was an excellent reminder to me as to how much I love this author and why I'm puzzled as to why I haven't' read a few of her most recent novels.  

I was enchanted by everything and thoroughly enjoyed this lovely sunny book, despite it snowing outside (at time of reading).  Definitely a book I would expect to see poolside on my next holidays as its so good! 

Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.