I loved the author’ first novel, so I thought I’d give this one a try, but I was just kind of bored through most of it. There was something about the writing in this book that didn’t really connect. The worldbuilding feels a little slapdash. As a result, when Nera and her father are in conflict over how to best do their job, or when the station is threatened, I didn’t feel interested in any of it because I still didn’t really understand how anything worked or what was going on. I felt more invested in the relationship between Charlie and Nera than I was in any of the plot – that relationship felt very genuine, as did Charlie’s grief, and as a result these elements felt more solid than the rest of the book. The end was not any better than the rest of it – there were parts I didn’t understand, parts I didn’t buy characterwise, and other parts I just didn’t care about. I was just kind of ready for it to be over. Overall it’s two and a half stars, rounded down.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson is a joyful and hopeful exploration of life and death and the grief we feel when we lose someone we love. “We are all more than grief”. That line stays with me as I read this story about a living person who finds her way into the land of death. Charlie’s grief compels her forward but as Nera interacts with her, she finds herself coming alive. She also sees just how much her father’s grief has kept him in one place.
I love the way the novel explores grief, explores memories and how we honor the dead but also move past death into the land of the living. The story is captivating as it explores loss and love of all kinds. I also appreciated that if we don’t let go, we risk holding onto that loss and pain and never letting our loved ones move on to where they belong. The ending was beautiful, especially as it shows an interpretation of what could be beyond death for us all.
If you love haunting stories of loss and death that still have a joyful and hopeful message, this fantasy The Lighthouse as the Edge of the World is perfect. The characters are complex, the story is hopeful and I love the exploration of death and life, what lies beyond death for us. This is a profound story that has a beautiful ending.

Thanks to NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a unique book. This book is a sweet romance at its core, but really deals with trauma, loss, and death. It also deals with the concept of life and how to move on from death. It's a heavy book so don't expect it to be a sweet chill romance or anything!

I do wonder why this book is set in 2005. I guess to not have the characters glued to their phones?

The characters were all very three dimensional--they made stupid mistakes but you get why they did what they did. None of the characters in this book are wholesome other than the dogs, lol.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World had a really cool concept with Nera and her father and all their dogs ferrying the dead into the next world. I loved that their was a lighthouse and that the location was on Lake Michigan. The idea of the Haunts being lost ghosts and causing issues was also an interesting thought. However, this was definitely an emotionally driven story and I didn't love that so much. Overall I think readers who appreciate an emotionally gripping and somewhat of a slow story will enjoy this one.

4.5 stars rounded up.

As someone who loves stories about ghosts, the afterlife, mythology, and queer romance, I really enjoyed this book. The world building and the mixture of lore and real history crafted a lovely setting, and I really liked the idea of the Station and its many rooms.

This was a beautiful story about life and loss and what they mean.

Two things that are pretty much guaranteed to endear a book to me are pop culture references and the power of music. I know some readers get annoyed with too many pop culture references, and they might feel that way here. But, for me, references to movies and music (among other things) provide a layer of connection to the book itself, but also, layers to the characters that make me feel as if I truly know them. Dawson skillfully weaves these layers and more into the beacon of light that is this book.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson is set mainly in Chicago in 2005 and the story seems to be a deeply personal love letter to this place and time. It made me want to travel to Chicago immediately and explore all the places the author mentions. But the book is also so much more than that. It's about sitting with grief and supporting others that are grieving. Appreciating what is in front of you, seeing magic in little things, accepting the unknown, and being open to possibilities. Dawson explores loss and love and life and light in such beautiful ways. There were times when the words themselves felt like a warm hug.

I did struggle with the length a bit. But that may be a me problem. I've had trouble with longer books lately. That would be my only complaint here. There was just so much to love in this book. Charlie and Nera’s relationship, the Jewish rep, TALKING DOGS, and I have to mention the references again. Greek mythology, LOTR, Disney movies, these things are mentioned, but I get the feeling that they are also intricately woven into the story in ways that are much more subtle, and that's probably what I love most about the book. Also, the author is queer and disabled, so a great read for DisabilityPrideMonth

Thank you Tor for the copy to read and review

When people die, the love they have lingers. On the shores of Lake Michigan is a way station for the dead. Each night, the recently deceased follow the lighthouse and the guide dogs to the Station. Once there, they can board a boat to the Veil, their final stop, or they can stay at the Station for a time and resolve their journeys. Nera is the “daughter of goodbyes.” Her father is the ferryman of the dead and she has lived her entire life at the Station, knowing that one day she will take over her father’s duties. However, the Station is changing and the lighthouse flickers. Without the constant light, the Haunts, terrifying ghosts who mourn for their unfinished life, can get closer to the station. Nera is an “in between,” a person between life and death. She has never left the Station and, besides her father who is also an “in-between,” she has never seen a live person. Until, one night, Charlie, finds her way to the station.

Charlie is looking for someone that she lost. After a traumatizing, life altering event, Charlie can now see spirits, except she can’t find the one she desperately needs to find. She followed an unfinished song to the Station, changing her and Nera’s life forever. Charlie won’t stop, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice, but Nera won’t let her go and the two of them uncover secrets and battle dark forces to find their way home.

The atmosphere and setting hits you right from the beginning of the book, as we step into Nera’s world at the Station. Her father found her as baby barely alive and all Nera knows is her in between life at the Station. She has never questioned anything about her life; she does as she is told and waits for the day she will have to take over for her father. Nera has never even really looked around the Station and isn’t even fully aware of all that is there.

Charlie is devastated by grief. With her family shattered and her life forever altered, she sets out on the journey of a lifetime. Her real life collides with Station life and Charlie and Nera find something unexpected in the midst of death, grief, and life changing secrets.

The book is set in 2005 and there is never an indication as to why the choice was made not to set it in present day. The story features magic and Greek mythology and rituals of Judaism all combined together and the combination didn’t work the best for me. Nera’s father’s story is the base that holds it all together and I was the least interested in him. The book is long and introspective and insightful from the characters’ perspectives, but instead of being lost in their words and thoughts and experiences, I was mired down by the slowness of their story. The premise of the story is one I have seen before, with its own spin on it, and I found myself not intrigued, but entangled by the density of the narrative. Most of this story didn’t work for me, but a different reader could have an entirely different experience.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 301
Genre: Ghost Fiction
Audiobook Narrator: Lindsey Dorcus and Mara Wilson
Duration: 13 hours 37 minutes
Release Date: July 29, 2025
🥳#HappyPubWeek!🎉

Nera has spent her life living on a waystation for the dead, watching her father ferry souls on Lake Michigan and through the Veil. Although she’s technically alive, living this in-between existence has Nera caught in a limbo life—not eating, not feeling, not really living. Then Charlie arrives looking for her sister. Although she’s alive, for some reason she can see the dead and Nera. She shows Nera what it’s like to truly live and love.

Watching Nera really experience life for the first time was a lot of fun. And I especially loved the dogs who helped shepherd the dead on their way. What was mostly a sleepy but beautifully written sapphic romance, was also infused with a threat by malevolent ghosts to keep us on our toes. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you, @JRDawsonWriter and @TorBooks for my free ebook.

I was unfamiliar with J.R. Dawson before The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World but the premise practically jumped out at me, so much so that I put everything else to the side to start it when I received my ARC. It was such a beautiful story and I cannot wait to read more of Dawson's work.

Nera is helping her father, a lighthouse keeper, leading souls to the afterlife, when somehow Charlie, who is very much living, lands in her boat. Mixed up in early aughts vibes, J.R. Dawson has written a contemplative consideration of life and death, and a beautiful love story to boot.

This was a haunting, atmospheric novel that explores isolation, grief, and resilience.

The story follows Nera as she helps her father in his role of "lighthouse keeper," ushering the dead to the world beyond. One night things go horribly wrong and she has a living person aboard the boat. Nera's arc is the heart of the book, and I think Dawson does a beautiful job of capturing her evolution. From the start, her emotional struggles are raw and relatable. Her journey toward healing and self-acceptance is genuinely moving.

Overall, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is an evocative and thought-provoking read. There’s emotional depth and literary charm to make it worthwhile for fans of introspective fiction.

"At the edge of Chicago, nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, there is a waystation for the dead."

This first line of the description blurb grabbed me, and reading on: sapphic urban fantasy? It's coming to terms with grief in a variety of ways (the dead, the letters of those long lost, our very human main character searching for reason and answers after living through a now all-too-common tragedy that took her sister from her family), with a very Jewish philosophy of remembrance and also, there's a lot of Really Good Dogs that talk? What a joy that was.

I didn't realize this was set around ~2005ish and I found it sort of... refreshing? Maybe because I live in 2025 and we're all sucked into our phones all the time (even researching!) and there was less not only ability but also social norm for Charlie to whip out her phone to take pictures or look up stuff while learning about this whole, ferry-for-the-dead on Lake Michigan. Likewise, the waystation and all it had to offer reminded me a lot of the sort of east Asian urban fantasy that have been so popularly translated over the last few years, or books that have been heavily inspired by them, but Lighthouse has us as readers more in the moment, grounded with Charlie's desperately grieving humanity even faced with Nera's otherworldiness and her coming to terms for the first time in her ???-years life that she, too, is human.

I also liked the relationship between the girls, and even though it was gone over pretty fast, Charlie's internal thoughts about her own demisexuality was one of the better-explained ones I've seen, and in that (well especially with all the deep flowery love language at that moment) we know how much and how deeply Nera means to her, even in the short time they've known each other - there's something about trauma that brings people closer together very quickly, after all. I also liked the interspersion of the diary entries from various sources sort of giving more depth to the world and also the payoff of "I think x is going to happen" actually happening. There's several things left unfinished but you know what... that's life, and I also didn't mind that for some reason... also I just really liked those dogs, man.

Thank you to Tor for the eARC - even like halfway through I was recommending this book to certain people I think would really like it.

This book was so heartbreaking, yet so lovely. The relationship between Charlie and Nera was incredible. Additionally, I felt the author has real love for Chicago, as the setting was very lovingly rendered.

This reminded me a lot of the game Life is Strange, although I'm not quite sure why? The story is sad and deals with a lot of heavy topics, but at the same time is imaginative and hopeful. There were aspects of it that felt too explanatory, and I didnt super mesh with the main characters but that just means it maybe wasn't for me, but im sure there are people who will adore this.

When I read the synopsis for The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World, it immediately called to me, so I was very excited to receive a copy of the book from Tor.

The book centers around Nera, a human who has been raised at a waystation by her father, the ferryman responsible for ushering the souls of Chicagos dead through to the afterlife. At the beginning of the story Nera has lost complete touch with her humanity, until a human woman (Charlie) enters the waystation looking for her sister who has passed away.

While TLATEOTW dealt with a lot of heavy topics like death, afterlife and grief, it somehow also felt like a cozy contemporary fantasy and the blossoming sapphic romance really hit the spot for me. There was a lot of serious and sad moments, but overall I found it unique and a beautiful love story.

I haven’t read Hadestown, I thought the comparison to Under the Whispering Door was a spot on comp, so if you liked UTWD, I think you’ll love The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World.

I primarily listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Lindsey Dorcus and Mara Wilson. The narration was well done, and the actors completely felt like the characters. I got lost in their narration (in the best way) and had no difficulties differentiating between their voices, whom was talking, and whom was thinking.

The dead get a lighthouse. I get emotional damage.

I don’t even know how to talk about this book without getting weirdly soft about life and death and how love doesn’t vanish just because someone you care about does. The whole time I was reading this, I was reliving my first time playing Spiritfarer even though I never thought I could have that feeling again (IYKYK). If you have played this incredible game, this was like that soft ache Spiritfarer gave you when you helped a spirit move on and you just stood there sobbing over a boat-shaped goodbye.

This book honestly steamrolled me. And then backed up and hit me again. And yet, I’m thanking it. It gave me talking dogs and haunting beauty. It gave me pizza and Chicago winters and emotional closure I wasn’t even looking for. It gave me... hope?? Rude.

Also, side note: this book really said “Let’s talk about death and dogs and feelings and trauma” and somehow didn’t feel heavy. The dogs alone are enough to crack your heart open like a glowstick. I would follow them literally anywhere. It’s going on my all-time favorites shelf, and not just because it made me cry but because it reminded me why I’m still here. And how beautiful that really is.

If you’ve ever played Spiritfarer and found yourself sobbing over a snake or a bird, this book is your next spiritual breakdown. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend. Just maybe not in public, unless you enjoy strangers watching you cry over a lighthouse and some dogs.

I finished the e-arc for The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson and this is a good read. This book is a study in grief. Charlie, our FMC has lost her sister, Sam. They were shopping, in a mall, when a gunman opened fire. Sam ran and Charlie could not find her so she hid. Sam was killed. Charlie blames herself, and so does her dad. It's unclear what her mom thinks because her mom left them shortly after the funeral. Everyone grieves differently. One day, Charlie, in the midst of her grief, follows music that sounds like an unfinished song that Sam was writing, as well as a dog, to this lighthouse. The lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan, is the waystation, where the souls of the dead come to travel beyond the veil. Lake Michigan is the stand in for the river Styx. But, the light from the lighthouse is flickering. As the light weakens, the Station Master worries it is because he is old and he needs to go beyond the veil. He has been on the job since the Chicago Fire and is ready to surrender the responsibility to his daughter Nera. Nera is alive but has always lived among the dead at the waystation and she desperately wants to experience life especially after she meets and falls for Charlie. I would be remiss not to also draw the comparison to Orpheus and Eurydice. Death is only the beginning, and even though Nera and her father have been at the waystation guiding the dead to the veil for a long time, even they do not know what lies beyond the veil. This is an intriguing story of learning to forgive yourself and letting go. I thought this story was very well done. I really liked both of our FMCs, Charlie and Nera. I kept waiting for the book to take the easy way out on some of the elements and the fear around death, and it does not. I give this book four stars. It comes out on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Thank you Net Galley and Tor Publishing for my e-arc.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a book that I’ll think about for a long time. When I picked it up, I didn’t expect to *feel* for these characters as much as I did, but I couldn’t help myself. Loss and grief are such a large part of this book, but underneath it all you’ll also find a story full of magic, myth, and a beautiful queer romance.

Nera and Charlie could not be more different, but in the end it’s death that brings them together. Nera has lived her life cloistered away from the land of the living and death is all that she knows. As the daughter of The Ferryman, death has been an everyday part of her life. They help others pass into the Void, and then welcome along the next group. Charlie’s life has been upended by the sudden and violent passing of her sister. When Sammy dies, her whole family falls apart and it’s just Charlie left with nobody to care for her. Until she stumbles into an Nera’s world she is literally surrounded by ghosts and the “ghosts” her parents have become. Nera seems to come to life herself when she meets Charlie and she starts to see the world on a different way. She begins to really see the people they’re helping and think about life and death in a different way. It really does feel like fate brings these two women together and I loved watching them fall in love.

I think one of the other reasons I loved this book so much is the setting. Dawson paints Chicago in a beautiful light, and really captures the magic of the city. I could picture these places in my head and it was so easy to feel like I was apart of the story. Dawson’s writing is beautiful, and I can’t wait to read their debut in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for a review copy.

This is a ghost story. And it is a story of life, its vibrancy and its echoes. Fantastical and bursting with magical realism, this novel’s bones are shaped around the stories of Orpheus and Eurydice and Charon and the duty of ferrying souls, while its heart beats with the the themes of loss and overwhelming grief, love (filial, sororal, sapphic and demi), hope, the importance of music in life and its power to heal, the big question of what happens to souls and the complexity of moving on. There is so much beautiful humanity in this book. Touching, and emotional, love and grief spill from the pages, breaking your heart only to mend it- multiple times over.

Dawson’s writing is engaging, a masterclass in character development and creating emotional connection to the characters. The author’s creativity shines in setting and description, and superbly builds a layered world of ghosts/souls and the living, including successfully conveying the sensations of “living” from someone who has never been alive and is experiencing it for the first time:dreaming, the need to use the bathroom, experiencing cold in the body and against the skin, and even the terror of pins and needles in a limb.

If you are familiar with Greek myth and literature, the twist/ending are predictable BUT well done, worth it and you are left satisfied.

This is a rare novel. Skilled in immersive world-building and urban fantasy against the an early 2000s Chicago while also beautifully heart wrenching. An absolute must read.


Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC. The above is my honest opinion and review.

*Received as a free ARC*
This was more cerebral and sad than I was expecting. I think in the right mindset, it could be really spectacular. As it is, I found it just okay. I did see the twist coming. Very focused on grief, which could be good or bad depending on what you're looking for.

This was a bit of a slow read due to the nature of the story with some heavier topics such as death and the afterlife. A mix of drama, romance, historical fiction, and paranormal combine in this novel. A story that will make you think with some interesting twists at the end.