By The Book

Indigo Isle by T. I. Lowe won the 2024 Christy Award for Contemporary Romance and Book of The Year. Before beginning it, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. What I got blew my mind. This book is fabulous! Read it now! 😉 See all my gushing below.

Sonny Bates left South Carolina fifteen years ago and never looked back. Now she’s a successful Hollywood location scout who travels the world, finding perfect places for movie shoots. Home is wherever she lands, and between her busy schedule and dealing with her boss’s demands, she has little time to think about the past . . . until her latest gig lands her a stone’s throw from everything she left behind.

Searching off the coast of Charleston for a secluded site to film a key scene, Sonny wanders onto a private barrier island and encounters its reclusive owner, known by locals as the Monster of Indigo Isle. What she finds is a man much more complex than the myth.

Once a successful New York attorney, Hudson Renfrow’s grief has exiled him to his island for several years. He spends his days alone, tending his fields of indigo, then making indigo dye―and he has no interest in serving the intrusive needs of a film company or yielding to Sonny’s determined curiosity. But when a hurricane makes landfall on the Carolina coast, stranding them together, an unlikely friendship forms between the two damaged souls. Soon the gruff exterior Hudson has long hidden behind crumbles―exposing the tender part of him that’s desperate for forgiveness and a second chance.

A story of hanging on and letting go, of redemption and reconciliation, and of a love that heals the deepest wounds, from the author of the breakout Southern fiction bestseller Under the Magnolias.

T. I. Lowe is an ordinary country girl who loves to tell extraordinary stories. She is the author of nearly twenty published novels, including her recent bestselling and critically acclaimed novel, Under the Magnolias, and her debut breakout, Lulu’s Café. She lives with her husband and family in coastal South Carolina. Find her at tilowe.com or on Facebook (T.I.Lowe), Instagram (tilowe), and Twitter (@TiLowe).

My Impressions:

Wow! Indigo Isle by T. I. Lowe was not what I expected. Billed as a contemporary romance set in the lowcountry, I thought this novel would have the typical tropes and themes. It does not. Main character Sonny Bates has made a few, no, a lot of mistakes in her life. And she is paying for them. Of course, some of the problems that she deals with are those inflicted by others, namely an abusive boss. Coming back to her roots after 15 years adds its own level of stress and trauma. But Sonny has an awakening that changes the course of her life’s trajectory. With some nods to fairy tale elements — a motel-owning fairy godmother and a Beast with his own set of trauma — Indigo Isle is a novel of complex family relationships, a journey of missteps and wrong turns put straight, and the powerful message of God’s grace and mercy. I loved, loved, loved this book. Sonny is a flawed character that will resonate with any reader. I was in turn frustrated with her, enraged for her, and cheering her on as she made her way back to who she could be in the future. I do have a warning for readers though — Lowe does not gloss over the abusive nature (sexual and emotional) of the relationship between Sonny and her boss. (If you are sensitive to this topic, you may want to skip this book.) I did love that secondary characters came along side her to back her up. There’s also the ending. I don’t think Lowe could have written a better epilogue if she tried. You are going to love the HEA!

Indigo Isle has it all — compelling storyline, powerful themes, and characters to love. This is my first book by Lowe, but it will not be my last!

Highly Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased the ebook from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Tags: contemporary romance fiction, T. I. Lowe