Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsFascinating story of two nurses, 500 miles apart, who switch professional lives and fall in love
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2020
Jenny Colgan is one of my favorite writers. Her Scotland stories are captivating and unique and 500 Miles from You is no different in that respect. As in her Cafe by the Sea novels, she moves from a love story into a larger scope, which allows the reader to learn much and examine the larger world. Here, exploring the trauma and wonder involved in nursing in rural Scotland and overpopulated urban London, she brings racism and gangs into the story and it's both eye-opening and alarming whilst reinforcing that the nurses' hearts are always with the people they treat. The characters are all interesting--you'll find her secondary characters well-developed and worthy of their own stories--and provide more introspection and global scope to the world the characters inhabit. I loved the way this story progressed and that the characters fell in love on a different plain, having never physically met, separated by distance, united by trauma, and slowly revealing themselves to each other through texts and e-mail. I'm going to let a week pass and read this again. Write on, Jenny. Your loyal reader, Jo-Ann
