Nera is the daughter of a Station Master, helping ferry souls from this life to the next and fending off the haunts that devour souls. She's never needed anything else, but suddenly her father is retiring, choosing to move on through the veil, and a human, Charlie, has found her way to the lighthouse in search of her dead sister. Now Nera must figure out how to run the station on her own and keep at bay an even more dangerous darkness on the verge of returning. This has everything I thought I wanted in a book: dead people, lesbians, music. But I found I wasn't as drawn into the story as I would've liked. Dawson's pacing felt so slow at the beginning that by the time the plot really got going I was no longer invested. The story might've just hit me at the wrong time. I'm reading it in June, along with several other queer titles, so perhaps that has something to do with my overall whelmed feelings.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World was a delightful surprise to read. Set in Chicago, the descriptions of the city and the blending of ideas from Greek myth and Judaism result in world building that is full of rich details that draw you in. The characters work through themes of grief, loss and what is means to really love and live. Although the book incorporates themes from Greek myth the book felt fresh and I was not able to predict what would happen next, making it hard to put down.

This book really wasn't for me. I could see a lot of people liking it, however I found the narration repetitive, the plot predictable and cringe, and I really just didn't agree with a lot of its oversimplified points.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this ARC. This romantasy by J. R. Dawson delivered on the atmosphere and the deep emotions. The characters in The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World live in a world of grief and uncertainty. It's a challenging concept to delve into, but at the same time, it feels closer in our world than ever before. There are some hard, emotional themes running through the story. There is also love and hope and connection.

Set in an alternative Chicago where Lake Michigan is a contemporary River Styx, Charlie stumbles upon the ferry station of the dead. Caught in the shock and mourning of her sister's death, Charlie becomes aware of ghosts and other forces around her. In her search to discover what happened to her sister after her death, she is brought into the world of ghosts and some undead, including the ferryman's daughter, with whom Charlie feels an immediate connection.

For about the first three-quarters of the story, I enjoyed the building of relationships and the descriptions of the ferry station. I really enjoyed that the main characters were Jewish and how that folded into how Judaism handles the dead, which is actually beautiful. I'm afraid I started to get lost during the climax of the story. There were a lot of elements that I didn't understand how they all fit together. However the end of the book is really lovely.

Thank you to JR Dawson and NetGalley for an advanced copy!! I was worried in the first half that I might not be able to enjoy this, but I was gripped by the end. I'm not saying the first half is bad, but its a lot like a slow burn romance. Like we all know they will fall in love but you need them to just say it. That was how I felt in the beginning.
On another note, the mix of cultures and mythologies was a delight. This has a lot of genres for everyone to enjoy. Romance (indeed), supernatural (got you there), emotional (yep), bit of historical (indeed), and just a sprinkling of suspense and mystery through it.

This book pleasantly surprised me! I enjoyed the beautiful, lyrical writing and while the plot wasn't a completely new idea, it was a fresh take.

This book was not for me. Hard to get through the writing, kept rolling my eyes at the two leading ladies. It's supposed to be adult fiction, but it feels much younger than that, and suffers because of it. The only thing that somewhat saved it were the dogs.

A wonderfully lyrical novel that quickly ensnares you as the two protagonists, in alternating POV chapters, wade through tangle upon tangle of inner and outer conflicts as they struggle to find themselves in worlds that don't seem to fit them anymore. One young woman is alive, though her father wishes she'd died instead of her sister. The other *seems* to be living, although she's never experienced the living world, instead remaining in the in-between world crated by her adoptive father--a world that straddles the borders of the living and the dead. This is a book about longing, about the choices made for us and those we make ourselves. It's about family, and how to balance all the world against what you want and your responsibilities. It's about being alive, despite the dark. And ultimately, it's a book about the strength of hope and love. You will not regret reading this. Take your time and savor it--this book is a treasure, and it will give your comfort and hope in the darkest times.

From the first sentence this book is lyrically and tragically beautiful. While grief is often understood as a painful experience, there can also be a certain beauty in it.This beauty can be found in the love and memories that grief evokes in the person who remains. This book takes that beauty and wraps it in haunting and vivid emotions like longing and uncertainty. This story will hit you hard but there is a bit of beautiful whimsy represented by the dogs. I mean dogs just make you happy. Which is a nice balance because you will feel Charlie and her fathers grief. You will understand her need to seek her sister out even after death. But most of all, after you finish this read, you will be left pensive.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World offers fully-realized characters who wrestle with themes of grief and loss in a waystation for the souls of people who have recently died. The world-building is complex and believable and the characters of Nera and Charlie each develop and grow during the course of the story.

While the premise sounded intriguing, I can’t say I expected much from this book - and so was pleasantly surprised. I have no experience with the kind of loss that one of the main characters, Charlie, went through, but thanks to the way it’s written - visceral, but so human - it’s very easy to sympathize with her. I'm also no musician, but the way music became a foundational building block of the story was a joy to behold.

I thought the Station itself was a beautiful idea, and I can definitely see the love the author has for Chicago in every line of the text. No wonder Nera developed a keen interest in it and companionship both! I’m slightly on the fence about her conclusions about her father and the way she ended up highlighting the contrast between them again and again at the end there. However, it works within the narrative, and I appreciate a story that is internally consistent but perhaps is not developing the way I would like. The star-crossed lovers/doomed love romantic subplot is of course turned up to the max, which in some stories I find unwarranted and off-putting, but here it was appropriate and not overdone.

An emotional, engaging and pensive read.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book is filled with tender queer representation, and an immense love for Chicago. Just how grief is experienced differently by each and every individual, the messaging and feeling will resonate strongly with many. Really enjoyed the roles the dogs played as shepherds to what's next. Beautiful descriptions of the inside of the lighthouse, and interesting characters within.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, but it fell short for me. Expected a bit more of a Fantasy feel to it while it delivered a slower build-up in a more general literary style.

Love doesn't die, people do.
Paraphrasing Coppola's Dracula movie tag line apparently.
Well, all righty then.

So, why is there a lighthouse at the edge of the world or, more specifically, at the edge of Chicago? Why, to guide the souls to the afterlife, of course. Naturally. The plot of this novel borrows very, very heavily from the TV show Kaos, but then puts its own, trendily sapphic spin on it.

The Juliet and Juliet romance involves two young women from very different worlds. Nera was raised among the dead, while Charlie is very much alive, although terribly unhappy and grieving her dead sister. And then Charlie realizes that perhaps she doesn't have to grieve as she can just find her sister again in the land of the dead and bring her back, and who better to help her than the woman whose father is in charge of the entire place.
But then sparks between Charlie and Nera begin to fly - very, very slowly, one might add - and it complicates everything, as sparks inevitably do.

Is this a romantasy? It seems like one. A genre I intensely detest in concept and wanted to check out in execution. To my surprise, it wasn't actually terrible. The author did a lot of interesting things with her world building, so that it works both a unique depiction of an afterlife and a love letter to Chicago.
There are a lot of fun, interesting side characters of two- and four-legged variety. And also an interesting exploration of duty and free will.
But the romance, which takes up the bulk of the novel, is very emotionally young and sort of twee. Or at the very least, overwrought and overwritten.
So it's a bit of a mixed bag, but a surprisingly readable one at that, even for someone who doesn't care for the genre. Presumably genre fans will go wild for it. Thanks Netgalley.

A beautifully written; story, heartbreakingly beautiful and sad at the same time. This book should be a must read for fans of T. J. Kluge.

Any fan of Klune will become a fan of Dawson, this story had all the feels that could be had. Great storytelling and character unfolding.

This was both devastating and beautiful. When Charlie ends up on a boat to the Ferryman, something has gone very, very wrong. But can it be fixed?

This book was highly detailed and beautifully written. It was also very heavy. Each of the souls in this story face a darkness that feels insurmountable in many differing ways. It tells the story of how each person navigates grief differently while also leaving room for hope.

A book about love, loss, and moving on, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a poetic song that gives voice to anyone who feels like they’re drowning.

Charlie sees ghosts. They’re everywhere: on the street, on the trains, still living in their old apartments. Charlie can see them, talk to them, but despite her searching, she can’t ever seem to find the only ghost that matters. Her sister, pulled from the world too early.

Nera is the daughter of the Station Master. The Station is a safe haven for those recently deceased as they come to terms with their deaths and pass beyond the Veil into whatever comes next. Nera has spent her entire life at the Station, not quite alive, but not dead either. Until one day, Charlie stumbles out of the busy Chicago streets and right into Nera’s lighthouse.

For the first time, Nera feels alive.

Told between Charlie and Nera’s alternating viewpoints, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World moves like a lilting, indulgent melody. With flowery language and an even pace, the novel tackles a variety of difficult topics from queerness to grief to overcoming fear. Each of the characters play an important role in guiding Charlie or Nera in helping them (re)discover what it means to be alive and to live a life with all its pain and beauty.

I found the premise and plotting of this novel really well done. It definitely does have Under the Whispering Door vibes with some classical mythology mixed in. The imagery is beautiful, and J.R. Dawson paints a breathtaking picture of not only the lighthouse but also the small joys of being alive. At times, the writing was almost too saccharine that it bordered on gross. There were two lavish descriptions of eating pizza that just made me never want to see a pizza again (as someone who’s not a big fan to begin with).

My biggest disappointment with this novel is that is never quite moved me into feeling anything. This book is a woven tapestry of emotion, but it never quite imparted that emotion to me. Maybe it’s just where I am in life right now, but I didn’t feel for or with the characters. I craved to feel wonder at the beauty of the world and the all-encompassing grief that both Nera and Charlie were surrounded with, but I just never did. I hope this novel speaks to someone else in that way, because books that can completely wring me of emotion are the ones I cling to the tightest.

The novel is beautiful; it’s all about music and emotion, and I think it could be everything to the right reader.

The marketer at Tor that clocked me as a Hadestown fan who loves queer fantasy and sent me an ARC of this book deserves a raise. I may not have loved this as much as I wanted to based on that description, but it stood out at the top of my TBR. The similarities to Hadestown and Under the Whispering Door are undeniable and the romance between Nera and Charlie is incredibly sweet. Grief isn't linear, and it certainly isn't easy, and the Lighthouse at the Edge of the World never pretends otherwise. It paints a bleak picture of the world that is slowly brought into color as Nera and Charlie recognize their rightful place among the living.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!