Where Have All the Boys Gone? by Jenny Colgan (Review by Erin Brooks)

Rating: 3.5 stars

“Where have all the boys gone?” This is the question Katie and her friends are asking while lamenting the lack of quality dates when they come across an article that states women in London outnumber men by 25,000. So when Katie gets a new PR client in a Scottish town where men outnumber women 16 to 1, she and her friend Louise leave the city for the remote Scottish countryside. What is ensues is a formulaic but ultimately heartwarming tale of love, forgiveness, and a town that bands together to try to achieve the impossible.

Jenny Colgan does an excellent job in creating a setting that really transports you. I felt for a little while that I really was in Scotland. However, I felt that her characters fell flat. Many seemed more like stereotypes than real people, but realistic inner dialogue kept me reading. I appreciated the realistic approach towards romance, or attempted romance, and the aftermath.

I didn’t realize until after I was most of the way through the book that this is not a new book by Jenny Colgan. It is a rerelease and was originally published in 2005. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was able to be more forgiving of the characters because I’ve read some of her more recent work and I can now see how she has grown as an author. Ultimately, this was a fun read and I will keep a copy around in case I decide to reread it. Pick up this book if you are in the mood for a romance and looking to armchair travel to Scotland but don’t feel like committing to the tomes that make up the Outlander series. Be sure to check out Jenny Colgan’s other books as well.