A Smile in a Whisper by Jacquelyn Middleton
Publisher: Kirkwall Books
Publication Date: August 10, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Book Review
Evie Sutherland, a hardworking woman on Scotland’s Orkney Islands, embraces numerous roles, from managing her family’s shop to researching genealogy and writing romance novels. However, love has always been a challenge due to her struggles with Crohn’s disease and past heartbreak. Nikolai Balfour, a former teen star on British TV, now struggles with regrets, empty relationships, and guilt over leaving Evie. When fate brings them back together during a TV series shoot in Orkney, they must confront their past and buried secrets, and rediscover first love. A Smile in a Whisper is a poignant tale of first love, second chances, and the lasting impact of treasured summer memories, unfolding through alternating past and present timelines.
This book has a special place in my heart because the main character struggles with Crohn’s disease, something she and I have in common. Earlier this year, after many years of struggling with my health, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. It was a bittersweet discovery because while Crohn’s is chronic and affects every aspect of my life, there are treatments for it.
Evie’s struggles with Crohn’s were all too relatable to me. I found myself constantly highlighting passages, feeling so seen. From constantly weighing every food decision to the fear that symptoms will deter plans, Middleton expertly navigates life with this often miserable chronic illness.
While I loved the chronic illness representation, I loved the romance even more! Second chance, childhood friends to lovers is my favorite trope, and this one did not disappoint.
While it has similar themes to other books in the trope, it has a refreshingly unique story set in a gorgeous and unique location. I loved getting to travel to Orkney. I was completely unaware of this magical archipelago, and now it has a special place on my list of must-visit locations!
If you are a fan of childhood friends to lovers romances, A Smile in a Whisper should not be missed!
Thank you to Jacquelyn Middleton, Netgalley, and GreysPromo for the advanced copy! All opinions are my own.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Evie Sutherland throws herself into everything. Like many on Scotland’s picturesque Orkney Islands, she works several jobs: managing her family’s shop, researching genealogy for tourists, and writing historical romance novels. Evie aces most challenges—except love. With a childhood diagnosis of Crohn’s disease and a disastrous dating history, Evie has convinced herself that guys won’t date the “sick girl” and the blame falls on the shoulders of her first love, a famous boy from London who spent his summers on her island.
To the outside world, Nikolai Balfour lives a charmed life. Starring in a popular British TV series as a teen, young Nick stole fans’ hearts from the Isle of Wight to Shetland. However, that was a lifetime ago, and the years since have been filled with “Didn’t you used to be…” moments, career wrong-turns, and empty relationships. Now finding success behind the cameras, Nick is still racked with regret and guilt over how things ended with the Orcadian girl he’d loved and left behind.
But when a television series filming in Orkney blows Nick back into Evie’s quiet life, they’re forced to face their heartbreaking past and revisit old secrets that should never have been kept.
Unfolding in alternating past and present timelines, A Smile in a Whisper is a touching story of first love and second chances, and the enduring summer memories that shape us.
About the Author
Jacquelyn Middleton is an award-winning author of love stories for hopeful romantics–‘hopeful’ because her novels are always full of optimism and a ‘happy ever after’ is important now more than ever before. But life is messy, relationships are messy, and her books aren’t afraid to go there, too. If you enjoy character and relationship-driven stories about people dealing with the triumphs and disasters we all face, Jacquelyn’s books are for you.
In 2019, she was named BEST CANADIAN AUTHOR at the Toronto Romance Writers ‘Northern Hearts’ Awards for UNTIL THE LAST STAR FADES. She is also the author of LONDON BELONGS TO ME, LONDON, CAN YOU WAIT?, SAY HELLO, KISS GOODBYE, and THE CERTAINTY OF CHANCE.
An own voices author, Jacquelyn has dealt with anxiety, panic attacks, and depression all her life, and is dedicated to depicting mental health challenges realistically and empathetically in her novels.
Jacquelyn’s books have been featured by The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Daily News, USA Today, Cosmo, Redbook, and the Huffington Post.
She lives in Toronto with her British husband and Japanese Spitz dog.
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Erin Evelyn Reads 