Return to the Island

Kate Hewitt

What would her life look like without her beloved island in it? Where would she go? Ellen had come back here—to the place she felt she belonged—thinking she would stay here. But was it home… or just a place to hide?

1918, Canada: The First World War is over and those who have been fighting in Europe are heading for home, forever changed. Amongst the lost, the damaged and the broken, is former nurse Ellen Copley; who finds herself returning—not to her house in Glasgow, but to her childhood home on Amherst Island.

There, she feels sure, in the warm embrace of the McCafferty family, with her beloved Aunt Rose and her cousins, she will feel safe and loved. She will be able to escape the ghosts of the past and her loss, and find peace.

But the island is a changed place too. The war has affected life the world over, and Aunt Rose is struggling to keep their small farmstead going. The family’s only hope is asking their neighbours, the Lymans, to help. But Jed Lyman is a broken man, both physically and emotionally, and his once-adoring brother Lucas is now more distant than ever.

And as Ellen fights to save the farm, she has to ask: what makes somewhere a home? And—when help comes from an unexpected place—she wonders, has the man she’s destined to love been waiting for her out there all along?

This is the third novel in the unmissable Amherst Island series following the life of Ellen Copley from her humble beginnings in Scotland to the brutal battlefields of the First World War, and ultimately her return to beautiful Amherst Island. Perfect for fans of The Oceans Between Us, The Orphan Sisters, and Rhys Bowen’s The Victory Garden.

Readers love Return to the Island:

Omg… This book was so good. I cried when the family suffered. I laughed with them in good times. I rooted for them through hard times. This book has so much happening, but for me the book was mainly about growing UP and finding out where you belong.” Goodreads Reviewer

“I could not wait to read this… and I was not disappointed!Wonderful.” Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

“I did not read the first two books… but it didn’t matter a bit, this book is fine to read as a standalone… Brought the time post-war vividly to life. All the physical and psychological issues that people had to deal with… A beautifully crafted book and a real thinker.” Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

Ellen is such a realistic character and the island an arresting setting that you just keep reading… Hewitt brings to life an engaging cast of characters and shows family both as a place of love and conflict.” Goodreads Reviewer

Wonderful… Everything may not end the way it’s expected but the endings are wonderful.” Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

“Reading this book brought the time post-war vividly to life… A beautifully crafted book and a real thinker.” NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

“A brilliant, well told love story.” Karen Loves Reading, 5 stars

“I loved it!… Captured my heart.” Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

“I loved following Ellen’s life… This book is Kate at her best.” Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

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