An Island Wedding

Two very different women plan their summer weddings on an idyllic island in this rocky but amusing romance from bestseller Colgan (The Christmas Bookshop). Hotel manager and cafe owner Flora MacKenzie is beloved by the small island community of Mure, Scotland. All the locals are expecting invitations to her long-awaited wedding—the only problem is she’s promised her fiancé, Joel, that they’ll keep their ceremony a quiet affair. Then Olivia Mathieson, who grew up on the island and left to become an influencer, returns to Mure to plan her own ostentatious wedding at Flora’s hotel—on the same weekend as Flora’s small ceremony. Chaos ensues as Olivia blows through the island like a charming tempest, and though Flora helplessly tries to keep up, she gets swept away by Olivia’s beguiling antics and slowly realizes that she may want more than the intimate ceremony she’d promised Joel after all. Heavy exposition in the prologue makes for a slogging beginning, and the scattered, subplot-laden narrative can grow disorienting, but the eccentric supporting cast saves the day as Mure’s outlandish locals meddle in both women’s happily ever afters—and provide plenty of laughs along the way. It’s a bumpy ride, but it will be worth it for Colgan’s many fans. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary. (June)