The Invisible Husband of Frick Island
by Colleen Oakley
“Frick Island is the kind of place where you’d happily be stranded forever like Gilligan. This luminous quirky beauty deserves permanent space on your heart’s bookshelf.” —Kristy Barrett, founder of A Novel Bee
USA Today bestselling author Colleen Oakley delivers an unforgettable love story about an eccentric community, a grieving widow, and an outsider who slowly learns that sometimes faith is more important than the facts.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this charming book.
JENA’S REVIEW
The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
At first glance, the blurb and cover of “The Invisible Husband of Frick Island” sounded to me to like a light-hearted, even funny read. Turns out there are bits of quirkiness, but overall it is a tender and thoughtful story.
Frick Island in the middle of Chesapeake Bay is the creation of author Colleen Oakley, based on a somewhat similar island that really does exist in the Bay. When young novice report Anders Caldwell arrives at the island on a summer weekend to cover the annual Frick Island cake sale, he will learn more than just the facts about a dessert. He will see and feel for himself that no man is an island.
The setting of Frick Island is drawn in loving and specific detail. The caw of the seagulls, the worn out houses and shops like so many “Velveteen Rabbits”, the weathered waterman working on their trawlers at the small marina, and the changeable sea and sky set the scene perfectly. The many townsfolk are also well-presented, with their peculiar ways of seeing the world.
Anders expects to spend one dull afternoon on Frick Island, but he ends returning again and again. He is compelled to solve the mystery of pretty, young Piper Parrish and her apparent delusion. He begins to podcast about the conditions on Frick Island from the effects of global warming to the odd behavior of Piper and the townsfolk. Treated at first as a “ Come Here”, his awkward, careful manner begins to thaw the “From Here’s.”
Can Ander’s podcast help the people of Frick Island, or at least do something for Piper? Can Anders become more comfortable in his own skin? You will enjoy this sincere and charming story and you will see that life is more than the facts of “who”, “what,”where”, and “when”. Anders shows us that while it is hard to explain the “why”, love and hope can sometimes be enough when life ebbs and flows. When we push pass the things that divide us, we can move forward together.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy. And much gratitude to Berkley Publishing Group for recommending “Frick Island” to me- I truly loved this book and I highly recommend it.
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About the Author
Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of You Were There Too, Close Enough to Touch and Before I Go. Her books have been named best books by People, Us Weekly, Library Journal and Real Simple, and have been long-listed for the Southern Book Prize. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, four kids and the world’s biggest lapdog.
About the Author
