I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was interested by Christopher Parker's premise for his debut novel, The Lighthouse. The mystery around the lighthouse in Seacrest is intriguing, and I was excited to see how things would play out. The city believes the lighthouse is haunted.

Amy is grieving the death of her mother. Kevin, her father, is a cop and is trying to reconnect with Amy, but they are distant from one another. They take a trip to Seacrest to resolve a matter of police business.

Amy meets Ryan, a young man taking care of his family ranch as his father who had suffered from a stroke. The two connect, and the story proceeds. Ryan is charming and a good=hearted young man, but he's made a terrible mistake.

Themes in this novel include: healing, facing your mistakes, building human connections, and possibly that there is a grand design in our lives.

I enjoyed the twist that came at about 60% of the book (and I thought it worked well). There were a few moments when I wanted a character to tell Amy or Ryan what was going on instead of giving the answer that everything would make sense in just a few more minutes. The ending tied everything up. I actually would have liked to have a loose thread instead of everything being quite so pat - but that is probably personal preference. I would also like to see the supernatural elements pushed farther. I would say the lighthouse is a beacon of hope by the end of the story.

This book is appropriate for a teen audience, and I feel like teens will particularly enjoy the romance.
I would recommend this book for a fun, quick read.

The Lighthouse was a surprisingly good read. Two young adults are grieving loss, and their paths cross in the town of Seabrook where there is a haunted lighthouse. The lighthouse plays a huge part in this book while Amy embarks on an unwanted journey after stealing sleeping pills from her Detective father’s overnight bag.

The Lighthouse is an interesting book. There were times I enjoyed it and other times I couldn’t wait to finish the chapter.
The story revolves around 2 young adults Amy and Ryan and how their lives intersect…

The book begins with 18yo Amy having recently lost her mother and Amy of course is very distraught. Her father(Kevin) is a detective so his work hasn’t kept him around anymore so his relationship with Amy has been rather weak for some time. You find this out immediately as her father tries to talk to Amy but her attitude is disrespectful and rude. It is so rude that I disliked Amy completely at this point in the book. The father was clearly trying to mend the relationship but Amy wasn’t even trying. The stubbornness was frankly, astounding.

Kevin’s brother, also a detective, asks Kevin to go to Seabrook to help with a case and to bring Amy to have them have a change of scene with the death of Kevin’s wife. Also, maybe help the both of them with their strenuous relationship.

In Seabrook, Ryan lives with his father on a beautiful ranch with horses. This is their business and sadly the business isn’t doing well. Ryan’s father years ago had suffered a stroke so Ryan has been taking care of him as well as the ranch. To top it all off, the ranch business has not been doing well and Ryan has not been able to keep up with the mortgage payments - tsk tsk tsk.
I understand Ryan and Amy are young adults but the immaturity these two showed throughout the book was heavy.

Eventually Ryan and Amy’s paths cross in Seabrook and this is where the majority of the book happens. Unfortunately, the real juice of the book doesn’t get started until 60% into the book. It would have been nice if it didn’t take that long to develop. I did like a couple twists in the book. I enjoyed the message the book was trying to convey. The book contained no vulgar language.
I love Lighthouses so my favorite parts of the book were obviously the Lighthouse parts. I also really like the cover artwork!

I think this book is under general adult but I think it fits more with a YA audience. Overall, my rating is about 2.5 stars only because this is my usual genre of books. For those who enjoy these books they will get more of out it.

I would like to personal thank Netgalley and Beacon Press for an early ebook copy for my honest review of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC, the opinions here are my own! I went into this book without much expectation, as I’m not familiar with the author but the storyline sounded intriguing.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book but it quickly picked up and firmly held my interest throughout the majority. This book has a touch of mystery, magic, romance and small town ambiance. The main characters (Amy & Ryan) experienced heartfelt issues that I connected with and they were both very likable. Where this story fell short for me personally, was the ending. As the mysterious start to unfold, they didn’t quite add up for me. Had the author simplified the ending slightly, while building more rational depth to tie up loose ends, I think this would have been an excellent book.

With that said, I did thoroughly enjoy the majority of this book and would recommend for YA readers.

I would give this an overall rating of 3.5 and being this is the author’s first debut I think they did a fine job with some minor critiques!

This books comes as a bit of an unexpected surprise. It's a really interesting mystery that keeps you hooked and on your toes.The cover is also gorgeous!

This was a magical book even tho it wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s a bit of a mystery that really sucked me in and made me finish the book in one day. I love this cover too! I really enjoyed this book!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Not What I Expected but…

Eighteen-year-old Amy Parker is trying to come to terms with her mother’s unexpected death. She and her father have never been close, and in the month since her mother’s death, she thinks he’s trying to micromanage her. This puts a further strain on their relationship.

Kevin Parker, a detective with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Oregon State Police also struggles with his wife’s death. Kevin’s brother Jack, also with the CID, sends him to the town of Seabrook to meet with the family of a missing person to inform them they are closing the case. Jack suggests Kevin take Amy with him, thinking the overnight trip might be good for both of them.

Once in Seabrook, strange things begin happening. The town is gearing up for its annual Lighthouse Festival. The derelict structure is the source of dispute—some believe it should be torn down, others think it should remain. Several people in the town believe the ghost of a former keeper still inhabits the place. And Amy finds herself caught in the middle.

The morning after arriving in Seabrook, she’s unable to find her father—or reach him by phone. She meets a young man, Ryan Porter, who lives on a nearby ranch with his ailing father. Amy and Ryan set about trying to discover the secret of the mysterious lighthouse.

I expected this to be more of a mystery, but it was a coming-of-age story with a blend of contemporary, a bit of magic, and a touch of romance. I loved the setting—the small town, the Porter ranch, the nearby forest, beaches, and cliffs. Amy and Ryan both had issues to overcome but they were both well-rounded and likable. And there was a mystery—just not what I expected.

I found it refreshing there was no graphic violence or excessive use of foul language (something a lot of authors often tend to do). A well-written debut novel for Christopher Parker.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Beacon Press for an advanced reader copy.

For a debut novel, Mr. Parker has done an excellent job. Although it took me a few chapters to get into the book, once the story got rolling, it became very interesting and fast moving. The two main characters, Ryan and Amy, were enjoyable and decently rounded out. I found the story, for the most part, easy to follow and understand. I had an issue with the mystery part of the story, but it made sense in the context of the story and worked. This was a fast read, which I rather enjoyed. I give this book a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.