This book started out very slowly for me. I felt the writing was stiff and it wasn’t very interesting. But I also couldn’t put it down because I wanted to know about the lighthouse and it’s relevance to Amy’s story. Reading further, I was just confused as the story really didn’t make much sense. As the story progressed, I was intrigued to find out what was happening both to Amy and Ryan. It’s such a powerful love story not only between two people but also the love between parents and their children and the strength of love to make forever connections despite the tragedies that can occur. I dot know if it will be the same for everyone, but the book was very spiritual for me. It’s well worth reading

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me this debut novel to review. I was instantly intrigued by the cover and synopsis was pleasantly surprised by the elements of magical realism. What we encounter throughout this novel is a story of grief, love and a twist or two. I do very much feel as though this should be classified as YA as unfortunately it was a little angsty for me.

I enjoyed this book so much. It was so many types of books in one read. It had romance, mystery and family dynamics and a mystical quality in the book. I had a hard time putting it down as it kept drawing you in. Amy had just lost her mother in a car accident and was having a hard time coping with it. Her father, a law officer, had a case out of town and took her with him to get her away. She meets Ryan who has his own skeletons and the plot develops from there. Every page is another bit of information to the wonderful ending.

I read this a while ago and forgot to review. On the one hand the book did pull me in with the setting and the initial sotry line. Then it kind of lost me with the fantasy elements. Who was dead who was alive. Just not my style of book.

This book was a delight to read. It was emotional, heartfelt, and explored how love conquers the unknown, even when faced with adversity.

The depiction of grief was moving, creating a character-driven story that explores the depths of human nature to find out how we can manage an understanding of life and death.

Beautifully written.

I was drawn to this book for the mystery aspect of the story, but it was not the main theme of the book. I enjoyed the book to some extent, but I found some parts a bit too clichè for me. I believe many will enjoy this book very much, but I think I wasn't its ideal target reader.

I would recommend this book for whoever enjoys YA with some paranormal elements.

Thank you to Netgalley and Beacon Press Limited for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story about the binds to our family and friends, in life or death, in reality or imagination and how they hold us through dealing with loss. The coastal scenery and the lighthouse add a touch of mystery and melancholy to the unfolding events.
I first listened to the audiobook then read the book. I liked them equally. I would have preferred the magical side of the story be introduced earlier and a faster pace in the first half.
Still, I found myself immersed in the story of Amy and Ryan.

A good debut I do recommend for magical realism amateurs!

(Via NetGalley)

This is a story about belonging, finding yourself. There is fantasy, magic and it is very much a YA book (which isn't a bad thing). It is a story of family, loss, relationships and romance,

It is easy to read and the writing is quite simple but I must say it didn't draw me in and mesmerise me like I wanted it too. It didn't always flow as well as I had hoped but it was a book I think many a young adult would enjoy but for me it fell a little flat!

This book took me by surprise. I was thinking it would be more like a psychological thriller and it was not that. I enjoyed reading this book. It was clean and easy to get into. I liked the characters and I felt like it was an easy book to read. It flowed well and due to the fact that there is a magical realism/paranormal aspect that is not always easy to accomplish.

It does have some trigger warnings for grief. This is a book that centers primarily around grief and how our two main characters deal with the loss of loved ones. That being said, it brought in a paranormal aspect that was a bit weird for me. I did not expect it and because I do not read a lot of books like this it was really kind of strange. However, the way it was written it was easy to understand and follow and it was definitely interesting. In fact, it ended up being a book that once I got started reading it I just wanted to finish it to see how it turned out. I didn't want to stop and pick it up later.

A brief description is that we follow Amy Tucker who is dealing with the grief of losing her mom. Her dad is a detective but she had never really had a close relationship with him so she was really struggling. Her Dad invites her to come along on a business trip to a little town called Seabrook. Once they get there things take a turn for the worse, Amy in her grief makes some decisions that were not the best but from there the story takes off. We are introduced to Ryan, he is also struggling with some family drama and the two become fast friends. The ending was predictable but also it was a great ending. I feel like it was wrapped up nicely.

The lighthouse in Seabrook had been dormant for the past thirty years. Now it's lit up, sparking gossip in town. Amy Tucker was planning on spending the night in town and moving on when she meets Ryan. They spend the weekend together, growing closer; as they do, the lighthouse grows brighter. Amy discovers something about Ryan that's startling, and she decides to enter the lighthouse to uncover the truth.

Amy's mother had just died when the book opened, and she doesn't get along with her father much. With a leave of absence from college, she's out of sorts and drifting. Ryan, on the other hand, is helping his father with the family ranch, and his father fears he's holding Ryan back from a better future. The two meet by accident, both at low points in their lives, and connect. Circumstances seem to push them together constantly, and there are little things that don't quite add up. Despite that, Amy and Ryan get along really well and have a connection that leads to them bonding over their grief and the difficulties of living in the wake of loss.

The oddities and elements of the fantastic are explained in the final third of the book. It's sad and really pulls at me as I read through it. With the information that we have, I feel like there are multiple denouements to the story: Ryan's future, Amy's future, and then the one presented in the epilogue. This book has a lot of loss and grief, with the ultimate message that while the living keeps on going, that doesn't mean you lose the connection with those you love.

I was attracted to this book wanting to explore the mystery surrounding the town and lighthouse.
The storyline fell short for me, I found the emotional connections a bit unbelievable and the characters didn’t quite gel.
I followed along to find out how the story unfolds, I wasn’t as ‘gripped’ as I’d hoped unfortunately.

Thanks to Beacon Press and the author for the opportunity to give an honest review.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked the concept of the book to start with, but unfortunately for me it became unbelievable. The main character does not react in the way a teenager would if her father suddenly went missing. The whole being in a snow globe idea just did not feel real. I did read the book till the end as I felt I owed it to the author to finish it, but I think maybe a younger audience would have been more invested in the story line and been more open to the fantasy side of the story.

Amy Tucker is only visiting Seabrook with her father for one night, when she met the son of a ranch owner, Ryan.
Then, she started spending time with him while something strange is also happening on Seabrook that spooked the community; the town's lighthouse suddenly light up.
As they grow closer baring their souls, Amy discover something that makes her question everything she knew about Ryan. To know the truth, Amy will need to go the mysterious lighthouse and uncover the secret that will change their lives forever.

This book is not what I expected but I ended up liking it more than I thought I would.

The plot is well crafted, well written and well paced. I love the message in this story regarding grief, love and acceptance.
Great world building and well develop characters certainly makes this book hard to put down.
The explanation about how the world works is also easy to understand making it even more easier to get suck into this small town story.

The mystery aspect will grow throughout the story. At first, it was only the little things that will leave you confuse but then it will make you feel captivated and curious to know what happen in this mysterious town. I had a couple of theories while reading this book but, the big reveal still manage to surprise me!

Only one thing in this book that I didn't agree with is the dialogue between the characters in this story. Sometimes, it didn't feel natural and feels unrealistic.
But other than that, this was a really great book.

Overall, for a debut novel this is highly enjoyable and entertaining. It is heart warming and heart breaking all at the same time.
The last few chapters have my emotions in a roller coasters. A very interesting read and with great messages for the readers to enjoy.
I'm really looking forward to other works from this author!

Actual rating: 4.5⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, Christopher Parker and Beacon Press Limited for giving me this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Note: Will be posted on my instagram on December 16th.

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-copy of this October release. It is a young adult magical realism book about a small town and how a local teens death may not be what it seems.

We follow a young girl named Amy who is grieving the recent death of her mother. She and her dad are not getting along and her dad is a cop. He gets an assignment that takes him to the small town of Seabrook to notify the family, that they are closing the case because they don't have the resources to search for a runaway. Amy's dad Kevin ends up taking her along to give them a change of scenery.

The first night in the hotel, Amy decides to take some of her dad's sleeping pills to help her sleep and she ends p falling asleep in the bath tub. Here enters Ryan, a local boy who is having the worst time in life. He has been a caregiver to his dad for years who suffered a stroke and he has to run the family ranch and take care of the horses. Ryan is not telling his dad all that is wrong because he does not want to risk him having another stroke because it could be fatal.

Ryan is at the hotel and he sees puddles of water coming from Amy's room and he goes into the bathroom and sees her unconscious. She eventually wakes up and screams at him. Then she goes to bed and wakes up the next morning and has the urge to apologize to him.

I ended up giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars because half of the book was romance and I was wanting more of the paranormal magical feeling. During the romance we do get the creepy story of the Lighthouse and how it is supposedly haunted by the old lighthouse keeper. When it did get to the good parts, I was a little bored with the normal problems and the insta love. The insta love was not my cup of tea and I did not enjoy it.

I will be on the lookout for more books by this author because the writing style I liked and the 3 POV's flowed really well together and was not disjointed.

The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker.
I found this to be too much of a YA story and could not get interested. Had to DNF very early on.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this advanced reader copy.

It's been a while since I read magical realism, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the book. The town of Seabrook emulates a mysterious nature that is only intensified by the unusual occurrences surrounding the lighthouse. I found myself rooting for the romance between Amy and Ryan the whole time. The combination of mystery, romance, and magical realism made this book so hard to put down. I greatly enjoyed this book and Christopher Parker's writing style.

Lots of twists and turns and even though some of the story was magical, I just followed right along and enjoyed the ride. Amy, Ryan, Kevin and especially Little Dipper. Well done, Mr. Parker, well done.

Sad About Ryan!

This book is a surprising mixture of the real world and one beyond that which we typically experience. I didn’t re-read the book’s description before I started it, so I was stunned at the direction the book took. I was so sorry to see how it turned out for Ryan… another surprise. I kept hoping the outcome would change for him. I thought he and Amy would have made a great couple! Even though this book is magical realism—with some aspects necessarily mysterious—I felt the author left too many questions unanswered in the end. The book takes place in Oregon, mostly on the mid-to-southern coast. I live in southern Oregon and visit the coast often. I found myself wondering if the author had ever been to the Oregon coasts, or even Oregon, as what the author wrote didn’t really reflect the Oregon I know. Frankly, for its lack of Oregon specificity, it could have taken place in any coastal town. All in all, though, the book kept my interest and kept me wondering.

Parker's debut novel, THE LIGHTHOUSE, opens with an eighteen-year-old girl grieving the loss of her mother and barely keeping her shaky relationship with her father afloat. But upon a visit to a mysterious town and a chance encounter with a boy named Ryan, the lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur.

To be fair, I went into this book knowing little about the story at all, and maybe if I had actually read the summary I would've known a bit more what to expect. This book hovers somewhere between paranormal and magical realism, but it's definitely more YA than adult.

Honestly, though? While I appreciate the book's gorgeous cover (okay, I admit it: the main reason I read the book was because of the cover 😅) and the twists, I had a lot of problems with this book. I think it really boils down to two things: the writing and the themes.

For one, I didn't feel connected to the characters because of how they were depicted. Amy, the eighteen-year-old main character, felt childish and whiny, at least to me. She felt very reactive and really didn't know what was going on half the time. And there were certain parts where the dialogue between her and other characters lacked realism, like nothing someone would actually say.

And secondly. The themes. *cough* It annoys me when books have such amazing potential to tackle some thoughtful themes, but because of the pacing and writing style, it doesn't fully have impact, y'know? I think that's what happened in this book. The themes felt very half-developed and were only introduced about halfway through the novel. While I did LOVE the killer twist, I felt like it could have come a little earlier and been a little more clearer.

However. I was surprised by how clean the book was (you never know with contemporary fiction nowadays ... 🙄). The romance was barely touched on, which some readers might be annoyed by, but I appreciated it as romance in fiction isn't really my thing.

Overall, I think THE LIGHTHOUSE is a gem in need of a good polishing. While I personally found the writing and themes distracting, I'm sure others would be able to pull something from this book. It just ... y'know, wasn't my thing. 😛

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THIS BOOK INCLUDES:

- 👀Somewhat-creepy undertones
- 💖Clean(ish) romance
- 🌊Seaside settings
- 😭Themes of grief & moving on
- 🤯A twist you won't see coming
- 🔍Mysteries & detectives

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CONTENT WARNINGS: profanity (d**n, s**t), usage of God's name in vain, death, grief depiction, creepiness, a few kisses

Something strange is happening in Seabrook. The town's lighthouse — dormant for over thirty years and famously haunted — has inexplicably started shining, and its mysterious glow is sparking feverish gossip throughout the spooked community.
Amy Tucker reluctantly goes on a work trip with her father, who is a police detective. She meets Ryan a local boy who is dealing with foreclosure of his family's ranch after his father had a stroke. Amy and Ryan have a misunderstanding when he attempts to help her. She goes to his horse ranch to apologize and ends up spending the day with him riding horses and going to a local fair. Throughout the day they share their heartbreaks with each other- Amy's losing her Mother a month ago and Ryan dealing with the foreclosure of his ranch which is just days away. Although the story had some tough issues to be dealt with this book had a light-heartedness to it. There is healing, closure, and new beginnings that make this a good feel book. When the plot twists were revealed, I did not anticipate there being magical realism elements and a mystery surrounding the lighthouse. I immediately was swept into the story and really enjoyed this book. I read very little of the premise which I think made the experience of the book even better. This is a departure from what I typically read and it was definitely a nice change. I have been in a weird reading mood and this was one I did not struggle getting interested in at all.

Thank you @NetGalley and Beacon Press Limited for a digital ARC of the Lighthouse.