Reviews

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

cdjdhj's review against another edition

5.0

Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia from WWI damaged and alone. He takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on remote Janus, an island off the coast of Eastern Australia. When Tom meets and then marries Isabel, bringing her to Janus, he dares to believe that the two of them can be happy forever alone together there. Then fate intervenes and three pregnancies leave the couple still childless and Isabel in deep despair. When fate intervenes again and they find an infant girl alive in a small boat with a dead man, Isabel believes that God has given her a child after all. Tom reluctantly allows his wife to keep the child, who they name Lucy, knowing within his heart that the baby's mother is somewhere waiting for the return of her little girl. The years go by, the child grows, and both Tom and Isabel love and parent her tenderly, believing that just maybe this little family can exist together forever in the lighthouse centered world of Janus. Eventually however, the truth of the situation is brought to light, the deception is revealed and the child's real mother comes forward to claim her, devastating Tom, Isabel and Lucy and destroying their family.

This is a beautifully written and compelling novel of love, loss and loyalty. It confronts the issues of right and wrong and deception and truth with human characters who are complex and neither all good, nor all bad - very much like us all. Author M.L. Stedman paints each character in such a way that the reader empathizes with each one and wonders "what would I do in that situation."

This book is unforgettable. It is tender, yet riveting at it takes the reader to the unexpected yet satisfying ending where we learn true lessons about love, family, repentance, forgiveness and moving on. Highly recommended. Five Stars *****

jacqueline234's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jcaballero0725's review against another edition

2.0

The book was okay. Very slow and a little difficult to like the characters for me. Not my favorite.

ghost_cat99's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Miscarriage

mimimilaa's review against another edition

4.0

At the beginning of this book, I felt like it was a huge let-down. I wanted so badly to love the book but I just couldn't connect. I felt no emotions toward Isabel and her troubles that she was having with her miscarriages. However, I did appreciate the depth of the background story in the beginning. That being said, the way this book is written, it's supposed to go slow. You're supposed to take your time and just enjoy the journey throughout the story, which I quickly learned. This wasn't going to be a quick read, it would be longer and that was okay.
At times, I was very conflicted. I was rooting so hard for Isabel and Tom (this was after I connected with them, which occurred during the chapter describing Isabel's stillbirth), but I also felt extremely guilty for this because of poor Hannah. I felt like she deserved to know and I really respected Tom for the way he went about dealing with his guilt. Even though ultimately, it was a fatal flaw for his family, he knew what the right thing to do was and that, I think, is respectable. I really resented Isabel for a lot of the book, especially when I thought was going to betray Tom, but I am very glad that she didn't; I think the difference in their maturity was very evident, though.
The ending was my favorite part. Throughout the whole novel I was sure that I was going to rate this 3-3.5, but the ending really made the book better for me. I was crying and I just thought that it was beautiful, especially that she remembered them. Definitely an interesting story to teach about familial love.

naiadyn_19_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

rhibeetle17's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

missyjohnson's review against another edition

3.0

liked it until the last one-third. then I felt that there was a bit of suspension of belief. I could not reconcile how Hannah made the decision that she made nor why. maybe if I thought about it more but I really don't want to.

tashaseegmiller's review against another edition

4.0

Hearing the premise of this book intrigued me. The story lead me on a journey through years, changing who I was rooting for and why, with twists and great emotional connection with so many characters. This is a really well written book and I really just adored. Will read Stedman again.

nataliestonemclean's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25