Gillian's Island

A Romantic Misadventure

De: Cara Malone

Narrado por: Nym Kingsley

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…

Scarlet Day, the magnetic lead singer of the all-female alt-rock band The Scarlet Begonias, is on the cusp of fame. Their first album just launched and they’ve landed a dream gig – performing on a luxury sapphic cruise to the Galapagos. To top it all off, during their first set on deck, she makes a connection with a mesmerizing woman in the crowd.

Robin Barry is a solo traveler on a couples cruise, which has the potential to be painfully awkward. A veterinary researcher intent on focusing on the wildlife rather than the women, her plans change abruptly when she meets the sultry starlet. Couples massages, indulgent meals and island-side adventures turn the cruise into a once-in-a-lifetime tropical fling – until fate announces it has other plans.

A cataclysmic storm forces the passengers to abandon ship, stranding them on an uninhabited island with few supplies and no means of calling for help. With tensions rising and food dwindling, Scarlet and Robin are at odds about what to do next. Can their blossoming romance weather the storm, or will it fade along with the hope of rescue?

From bestselling author Cara Malone comes Gillian’s Island, a story of two women caught between the turmoil of survival on an untamed island and the unpredictable currents of the heart. Immerse yourself in the lush, sun-soaked Galapagos Islands and spend some time with fan-favorite couples from Trail Magic, the Fox County Forensics series, Lakeside Hospital and more, and fall in love all over again with a new couple too in this standalone sapphic adventure.

©2024 Cara Malone (P)2025 Cara Malone

Immersive island adventure

I really enjoyed this “romantic misadventure,” as it’s billed. Our poor main characters, Scarlet and Robin. Just when they find each other onboard the ship, it sinks. The rest of the book is about the passengers and crew surviving on an island. Even though it’s about survival, the story is still pretty low angst. There is plenty of drama, though. As much as you’ll love Scarlet and Robin, you will absolutely loathe the antagonist. Oh, how I hated her. I very much liked seeing characters from other Cara Malone series, particularly for me, Raven and Kit from Trail Magic. I loved that book. This book is narrated by Nym Kingsley. They did a terrific job.

Excellent Story with Some Sizzle

Cara Malone always does such a great job with character development, especially in developing a heel character, one that makes your blood boil in a short period of time. She does exactly that in this story. A sapphic cruise turns into a struggle for survival when the ship hits rocks during a storm and goes down. Everyone escapes on lifeboats and ends up stranded on a deserted island. It becomes a true battle of egos, trust, and trying to get rescued.

During the initial cruise, Scarlet and Robin hit it off and quickly fall for each other. When they get stranded, their relationship grows deeper as they long to get back home. There are some tender, loving moments along with some real heat. This was a really enjoyable listen. Nym Kingley did a fantastic job with the narration, giving each character a different voice, making it easy to distinguish who was talking. She added to the enjoyment of the story. Another great story from Cara.

Gillian’s Island

I loved the voice of the narrator. The best!!! Her soft demeanor goes along well with the story. I would love to listen to her in more and more stories.

Great

Gillian’s Island by Cara Malone is an excellent adventure romance. Nym Kingsley did an excellent job with the narration. The story is romantic, adventurous, fun, heartfelt and more. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A Romantic Misadventure

I went into Gillian’s Island expecting a light tropical escape, something easy on the brain with a bit of flirtation and a bit of adventure. A sapphic cruise heading for the Galapagos sounded perfect, especially with a title that winks at a very different kind of island story.

Scarlet Day, the lavender haired lead singer of The Scarlet Begonias, is fully absorbed in getting her band off the ground and not exactly cruising for romance. Robin is her opposite in temperament, a shy professor who has been nudged onto this trip by people hoping she might finally meet someone.

Their first spark is basically love at first sight. Scarlet spots Robin at the bar mid performance, Robin gets caught up in watching her on stage, and the attraction is instant. The book does not pretend otherwise, and it gives their early interactions a fun, fizzy energy.

Before things go south, the cruise sections have a nice, relaxed rhythm. Shore excursions in the Galapagos, lingering conversations, the sense of being on borrowed holiday time. It makes the later shift into survival feel sharper. The storm that hits the ship is rough and kicks them all into the real adventure as they barely make it to the lifeboats.

Once the cast washes up on the island the whole tone changes again. The romance is still there, but it slides into the background while everyone figures out food, water, and shelter. There are a few mildly spicy moments as they find some alone time, but mostly it is the kind of low-level survival grind where tempers fray and small problems feel bigger than they are.

Zoe, the cruise director, deserves a special mention as one of the easiest characters to dislike that I have run into this year. Every choice she makes is selfish, lazy, or downright awful. Stealing food, contributing nothing, complaining constantly. She fits into the story almost too well because every group under pressure ends up with someone who drags the whole mood downhill. Rooting against her became part of the entertainment.

The group dynamic slowly shifts into a soft Lord of the Flies pattern. Nothing extreme, nothing violent, no murdering people for a conch and their glasses… just factions forming and patience wearing thin. Some parts feel believable, others a little less so, but it works well enough for what the story is doing.

Nym Kingsley’s narration is pleasant throughout. She has a soft, breathy tone that suits the romantic sections nicely. The tradeoff is that there is not much variation between characters, and the tense moments sometimes come through with the same calm cadence as everything else. It is easy listening, but not always dramatic listening.

At just over six hours the story moves quickly. It gave me exactly the mix of romance, danger, and easy escapism I was after. Nothing too heavy, nothing too overwrought, just a fun island adventure with a couple worth spending time with.