Author: M.L. Stedman
Pages: 345
Published: 2013 (first published 2012)
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal
Description: After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them. (from Goodreads)
Thoughts: Took me awhile to get into the book, so that may colour my opinion a little bit. I felt that the book to be a bit labourious at times, which was why it probably took me almost a year to get through the book. But overall, it was a pretty decent book and once I was able to get a rhythm with the book, I enjoyed the story and could feel the emotions of the characters didn't want the book to end.
That being said, I felt that the ending to be a bit rushed and that the author spent too much time on Janus Rock at times. It would have been helpful to get a sense of what year was in while reading the book (don't have my copy of the book at the time of when I am posting this review).
Bottom line: If you have enjoyed other historical fiction books like The Baker's Daughter or In the Shadow of the Banyan Tree or The Sandcastle Girls, you probably will enjoy this book as well. Recommended.
Rating: 3.5/5
Pages for 2014: 14,422
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