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  • The Last Summer

  • Wild Isle, Book 1
  • By: Karen Swan
  • Narrated by: Katie Leung
  • Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (134 ratings)

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The Last Summer

By: Karen Swan
Narrated by: Katie Leung
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Summary

'The Last Summer is meticulously researched and beautifully told . . . a wonderfully satisfying read' Santa Montefiore

The Sunday Times Bestselling Historical Fiction

Summer on St Kilda – a wild, remote Scottish island. In the 1930s, t
wo strangers from drastically different worlds meet . . .

Wild-spirited Effie Gillies has lived all her life on the small island of St Kilda. But when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young visitor around the isle, falling in love for the first time – until a storm hits and her world falls apart.

Three months later, St Kilda lays silent as the islanders are evacuated for a better life on the mainland. With her friends and family scattered, Effie is surprised to be offered a position working on the Earl’s estate. Sholto is back in her life but their differences now seem insurmountable, even as the simmering tension between them grows . . .

Then, when a shocking discovery is made back on St Kilda, all her dreams for this bright new life are threatened by the dark secrets Effie and her friends thought they had left behind.

Opposites attract in this epic and spellbinding novel, which transports us from the untamed beauty of St Kilda to the glamour and intrigues of high society in the 1930s.

The Last Summer is the first book in the Wild Isle series by Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan, inspired by the true history of St Kilda and its small island community. It is followed by The Stolen Hours.


'The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second instalment' Cathy Bramley

'Powerful writing and a wonderful premise make this a novel you’ll simultaneously want to savour and race through. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!' Jill Mansell

'A delicious romantic tale of wild 1930s Scotland . . . perfect for everyone dreaming of summer' Rachel Hore

©2022 Karen Swan (P)2022 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
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What listeners say about The Last Summer

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully recounted

The first in 'the wild' series. Other worldly and full of intrigue, Karen Swan is on form and Katie Leung keeps in rhythm with the author. The precipitous finale is worth the waiting of the next step into the second book!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Such a good read!

Really interesting, well written and great story! Really recommend… can’t wait for the next book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it

I throughly enjoyed this book, the storyline was gripping and it was completely brought to life by the narrator. I have been plugged into my headphones for the last 3 days.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous story

loved it, loved the story and the narrator thoroughly enjoyable and enthralling to listen

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Such a good book

I found this book so addictive. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read / heard. I just hope the next novel explains what happens in the end due to the cliffhanger ending.
The book is really well written and feels quite real plus the narration is excellent.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great book

The last summer by Karen swan. Enjoyed this book and I’m starting the second in the series straight after.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story.

I loved the story but found the narration very mono tone otherwise iI would have given it five stars.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing

I loved this - such a captivating story, wonderfully narrated. Can’t wait for the next one in the series!

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  • Overall
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Very involving and enjoyable

Excellent story and reading. gripping but also relaxing. Really interesting to learn about life on St Kilda.

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A great story.

I loved this story. It brought so many visions to the fore. Her fierce spirit was born out of hardship.

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