neen_mai's review
5.0
5 full stars for skillful story telling and character development. I cried, which rarely happened to me with other books. Looking forward to Stedman's future work.
kailadan's review
5.0
Wonderful story! This book really made me think and question my morals. I kept changing my thoughts with each page I read, arguing with myself. Great well-developed characters and discussion of the many angles of this story. Beautiful ending even if it's not the one I hoped to read.
mjp_reads's review
4.0
Great book, but very emotional! My heart was so torn between the feelings of all the characters!
hayley_becks's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sllimika's review
4.0
I cried and couldn't put it down because I needed to know what happened next. Nice ⛱ read.
rbehrent's review
challenging
emotional
sad
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
4.0
carrix2's review
5.0
Beautifully written and heart-wrenchingly lovely! This is the story of a WWI veteran in Australia who commits his life to tending a lighthouse on a secluded, isolated island. He and his wife live a quiet, independent existence, burdened only by multiple miscarriages and no children. When a small boat washes ashore, holding a dead man and a tiny healthy baby, they are faced with the decision of their life - was this God's way of giving them what they couldn't give themselves? The wife, Isabelle, pours her heart and soul into caring for the child. But the man, Tom, continues to be haunted by the decision. What if she has a mother, a family, someone who misses and loves her? Over the years, his conscience cannot be contained and the illusion of family they have constructed comes crashing down. There is no "bad guy" as everyone has a valid claim to the little girl. Everyone's heartache is felt immensely and powerfully.
It's a hard one to get through for anyone who has lost a child, either before or after birth. But an incredible journey of love and loss and acceptance.
It's a hard one to get through for anyone who has lost a child, either before or after birth. But an incredible journey of love and loss and acceptance.
elisedavis's review
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A really well written book about decisions and having to live with consequences both good and bad. If you’re not a fan of plots full of lies then this book isn’t for you. I loved Tom and felt like he was the star of the book.
julieanncordero's review
5.0
I loved this book. I feel like it wrapped up well and was a heart-wrenching story.
andreagraves's review
3.0
I ::mostly:: liked this book. The main character, Isabel, just bugged me throughout this book due to her entitlement issues, and her selfishness. I loved Tom, and could see why he made the decisions he did. Isabel means well, but just drove me crazy.
I struggled getting into this book. At 50% I was not sure I would finish it due to the huge moral dilemma going on. The pacing was slow, yet it was obvious that something big was coming since there was still half a book left. I kept forcing myself to read it. At about 65% I saw hope that I would maybe finish this book, lol.... I think if this book had 25% cut out in the editing it would have helped: including the over description of the gory miscarriage scenes, we get it, we don't need nauseating detail on that, especially ::three:: times... I get that it was awful, I've been there myself (3 times, in fact), but it was just too descriptive for my taste.
I find it interesting that the only characters the author chooses to make likable in this book were men... For the most part, the women in this book bothered me, and I could not find myself attaching to these characters. I guess it was realistic about how they would be if this story were real, but Isabel and Hannah just annoyed me. I do feel for Isabel with the tragedies she went through, but the way she chose to handle them is what bothered me most... her entitlement, and her selfishness were the deal breaker for me. I also felt for Hannah, obviously, she had the biggest excuse to be in the condition she was in and make the decisions she did, she was somewhat likable, and I admired her perseverance for finding out what really happened. I guess she had been through so much, it effected her being realistic about how to transition Lucy. Obviously there were no self help books back then, and no good medical advise of how to handle this, but it was still just uncomfortable and hard reading anything about her. Prolly what the author wanted on that, if so, mission accomplished...
Tom and Hannah's father were very cool characters to me, and I appreciated the back story on the Hannah's father, even though he was a difficult person earlier on in his daughter's life,
I liked how he related to Lucy.
I loved the time period and place where this book took place. I also loved the lighthouse and hearing details about what it took to run it and the sacrifice it required. I also like the island and the lighthouse that the author created, she did a very good job painting the picture of that island. Too bad it was fictional, it made me want to visit, or in the very least, google a picture of it. :)
Overall, I liked the ending, a lot, but the author, M.L. Stedman, sure made me work too hard to get to it.
I do think this book will be very interesting to discuss at one of my book groups...
I struggled getting into this book. At 50% I was not sure I would finish it due to the huge moral dilemma going on. The pacing was slow, yet it was obvious that something big was coming since there was still half a book left. I kept forcing myself to read it. At about 65% I saw hope that I would maybe finish this book, lol.... I think if this book had 25% cut out in the editing it would have helped: including the over description of the gory miscarriage scenes, we get it, we don't need nauseating detail on that, especially ::three:: times... I get that it was awful, I've been there myself (3 times, in fact), but it was just too descriptive for my taste.
I find it interesting that the only characters the author chooses to make likable in this book were men... For the most part, the women in this book bothered me, and I could not find myself attaching to these characters. I guess it was realistic about how they would be if this story were real, but Isabel and Hannah just annoyed me. I do feel for Isabel with the tragedies she went through, but the way she chose to handle them is what bothered me most... her entitlement, and her selfishness were the deal breaker for me. I also felt for Hannah, obviously, she had the biggest excuse to be in the condition she was in and make the decisions she did, she was somewhat likable, and I admired her perseverance for finding out what really happened. I guess she had been through so much, it effected her being realistic about how to transition Lucy. Obviously there were no self help books back then, and no good medical advise of how to handle this, but it was still just uncomfortable and hard reading anything about her. Prolly what the author wanted on that, if so, mission accomplished...
Tom and Hannah's father were very cool characters to me, and I appreciated the back story on the Hannah's father, even though he was a difficult person earlier on in his daughter's life,
I liked how he related to Lucy.
I loved the time period and place where this book took place. I also loved the lighthouse and hearing details about what it took to run it and the sacrifice it required. I also like the island and the lighthouse that the author created, she did a very good job painting the picture of that island. Too bad it was fictional, it made me want to visit, or in the very least, google a picture of it. :)
Overall, I liked the ending, a lot, but the author, M.L. Stedman, sure made me work too hard to get to it.
I do think this book will be very interesting to discuss at one of my book groups...