3.5 Stars 

One Liner: Good setting with a family drama
 

Molly Adams is shocked to learn she is a beneficiary in someone’s will. After all, she doesn’t know any Greek men, and why would he leave her an apartment in Kassiopi, Corfu? Molly arrives in the region to find out she co-inherited the apartment, as well as a tree, a boat, a truck, and a quarter of a cat. 

Christos Baros made his future with hard work and determination. He has successful gyms in Athens and wants nothing to do with his new inheritance. However, he and Molly must work together to decide the next steps. But for that, they have to figure out the past and secrets that complicate everything. 

Thrown in loving but annoying family members into the mix, and it is chaos all around! 

The story comes in Molly and Christos’s third-person POVs. 

 My Thoughts:

The main attraction for me was the inheritance of 25% of a cat. Like, how do you decide which quarter of the cat is yours? Does she get a leg and an ear, or does she feed the cat once every alternate day? Unfortunately, the cat doesn’t appear until the halfway point. 

The dual POV helped get both sides of the story. The main characters have issues to deal with, so each getting their POV brings some balance to the plot. 

What we don’t get in the blurb is the presence of a tiny but overbearing family on both sides. Though it’s just a mother and friend for the FMC and a mother and a younger sister for the MMC, they stand out more than the main leads! 

Not sure if the MMC’s mom was supposed to be the typical Greek mother, but she reminded me of OTT and stereotyped Indian moms – loving but super suffocating and hyper. Reading scenes with her gave me quite a bit of stress, though I think they were supposed to be funny. 

The pacing was pretty fast, so enough, although the story didn’t progress much, the % moved ahead steadily. This helped since people seem to go around in circles about the past. 

Still, I empathized with the main character’s concerns and vulnerabilities. Their fears were valid. I also liked the career choices. 

That said, the romance part didn’t hit the mark. There was some attraction, but I didn’t vibe with it. I can’t say I could feel their chemistry to root for them. Add all those secrets and drama to the mix, there wasn’t enough focus on the couple’s connection or the supposed something they felt for each other. 

However, the setting was great. Reading about sweaty and hot summers in Corfu when living in a tropical country didn’t help, lol. I was sweating already. Still, I enjoyed the description of the views, the sea, and the buildings. It has an old-world charm and sounds attractive. 

To summarize, A Greek Island Gift has its moments and deals with some important themes about family, relationships, secrets, etc. Read it as a family drama instead of a romance. You may like it better. 

Thank you, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley