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Kiss River (Kiss River #2)

by Diane Chamberlain (Goodreads Author)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 1,080 ratings · 106 reviews

Separated by a continent from her child, Gina Higgins comes to Kiss River with little more than a desperate plan. Now, saving her daughter depends on whether she can uncover a message buried deep below the ocean's surface.

Kiss River's historic nineteenth-century lighthouse has all but fallen into the sea, taking with it the huge Fresnel lens that once served as its beacon....more

Paperback, Second reprint, 377 pages

Published November 1st 2012 by MIRA Harlequin Australia (first published 2003)

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Apr 14, 2013 Judy Collins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I loved this second book in the Kiss River series as a sequel to the much loved characters in Keeper of the Light. Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors with a wild imagination, taking readers far beyond the norm for page turners you will not want to put down -- twists, turns, and plots which keep you engaged from the beginning to the end!

Being a native of NC, always love the setting and especially the Outer Banks area and the subject of lighthouses - fascinating along with history of...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Carol rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd read nine of Diane Chamberlain's books before picking up Kiss River, and I really enjoyed all nine. They've been very entertaining blends of suspense and character development, or moral issues and character development. But Kiss River was kind of a disappointment for me.

Kiss River is first and foremost a romance novel, which is really not my thing. There is a mystery element, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. A woman, Gina, drives across the entire US to check out a lighthouse, hoping to f...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Julie Barrett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kiss River by Diane Chamberlain
I already love this book, about a lighthouse and a clue in the diary and the outer banks.
Bess's diary is written while she is a girl living in the lighthouse keeper cottage on the East Coast, Outer Banks of NC during the WW2 and the German boats are nearby blowing up US vessels and she sees them out her window.
Present day she is there and the residents of the house ask her, Ginny Higgins to stay for a night which she does and it brings back all the memories of wha...more

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Oct 24, 2010 Rhonda Rae Baker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: family, fiction, own, second-chance

I'm seriously going to collect ALL of Diane Chamberlain's novels...she is the absolute best author, one never knows what she's going to come up with next...WOW.

This story had me from the beginning and I simply couldn't put it down!

The quote before chapter one is something that my oldest daughter gave me under a collage of my five children for a Mother's Day present. "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." but Diane included the res...more I'm seriously going to collect ALL of Diane Chamberlain's novels...she is the absolute best author, one never knows what she's going to come up with next...WOW.

This story had me from the beginning and I simply couldn't put it down!

The quote before chapter one is something that my oldest daughter gave me under a collage of my five children for a Mother's Day present. "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." but Diane included the rest of it..."Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof." ~Richard Bach

Isn't that what we all want...family? I've always wanted to feel connected with someone unconditinoally and thought that having children would guarantee me that but it doesn't. Children grow up and they are individuals just like the rest of us and there is no guarantee of their love in return no matter how much a parent tries to love and nurture them. We make decisions every day...many times I was ambivalent in what to do for my children. I tried to do the best that I could with the knowledge I had at the time.

The novel isn't about rejection or anything by family, but shows that those that are your 'true' family may or may not be blood relatives. I'm shocked how many years it has taken me to figure this out. I've always wanted to be a part of some family...even thought that if I could find 'blood' relatives, they would embrace me but again this is never a guarantee. I originally wanted only three children and was ambivalent in making a decision about having more. Didn't know if I could afford them and yet somehow I knew there were more to be part of my life. A quiver full of children seemed to be the right number for me even though I had grown up with only one brother. Now, I can't imagine my life without all five of them...they are all very special and yet they're not always willing to communicate with mom. I'm also the step-mother of two other children with many in my life that call me Momma Rae because they were part of our lives while the children were growing up and some were music students of mine. They all are very special to me.

With that, every family has secrets and usually more secrets than we could ever imagine. I even allowed three apple boxes of 'notes' be taken to the dump when trying really hard to start my life over. Thinking that by allowing them to be taken away would allow water to flow under the bridge, never to be addressed again. But, our past always comes back to us. I was ambivalent and couldn't make up my mind at the time and of course have regretted my decision to let them go. I've never written in an official diary, but within those 'notes' that were thrown away were hidden messages to myself. In fear that they would be discovered, my private thoughts made public, I turned my heart and let them go. Now, I wish that I had them back...hindsight with many regrets. I'm currently working to 'remember' some of the things that were written because they could help me now find my way.

In this story, there is a diary that tells a story which is powerfully important and holds the key to someone's happiness and hope for a future. I totally understood the heartache of trying to make the right choice for family...should I or shouldn't I...then later maybe could have, should have, would have...we all deal with this.

The heart of this novel is a hunger for unconditional love, wanting family, wanting to feel like you belong somewhere. So much happens in life that we have absolutely no control over and it's important to learn to let go of the past. Let the water flow under the bridge...let things go. Know that you did the best you could do and when you find out secrets that have been kept from you, try to forgive, press forward and find your own path in life. There is healing from grief that touched my soul...I've been there on too many levels myself. I could feel everything these characters were experiencing.

Without giving you the resolution or summation of what actually happens, it's hard for me to tell you how intimate this novel was. I love these characters and want to know more. I want their story to continue. I want to be a part of their family!

Thank you Diane...as I try to share my heart here, I'm sobbing. I totally understand the genetics involved with how we turn out as adults and I agree that environment has a lot to do with it as well. When the truth comes out and skeletons are revealed, only then can we move forward with hope of a brighter future. We can find family and live a happy life as the people we were meant to be. Whole and completely free.

Another quote from the novel, “Only recently, she’d discovered that she was a pretty good liar. She’d lived her entire life valuing honesty and integrity. Suddenly, she’d become manipulative, a master at deceit. She could, when pressed, travel far outside the law.”

This struck me hard and I immediately related to this protagonist! I have lived my entire life valuing honesty and integrity, hating liars more than anything but found myself willing to lie in order to get information, even willing to cover for someone I knew was breaking the law. I have became manipulative, a master at deceit at times, in order to bring something about that I was confident was best for all. This quote was early in the first chapter and kept me on my seat the entire novel. Wanting to know what is going to happen and how in the world she was going to get the answers she needed. Mystery and suspense, twists at every turn and revalations that you would never expect. That is Diane Chamberlain. She knows how to weave the most incredible stories. You will NOT want to miss this one!!!(less)

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Sep 28, 2012 Patrick Dawson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I realized after the fact that I read this series out of order, oh well. Regardless, this book stood well enough on its own - always a good thing if a reader may not like series. The characters were strong and real and the story-line compelling and tragic. I think I fell in love with Gina from her description of the character:) The novel was moving. I felt the tragic pain for Bess and her love life. Diane Chamberlain's approach was comfortably familiar, and I am flattered that my readers say my...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Bree T rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, espionage, historical-fiction, family-saga, romance, series, women-s-fiction

Gina has come to Kiss River desperately seeking something that she believes can give her the help she needs so badly. In possession of an old diary, she drives from Washington state to Kiss River in North Carolina, all the way across the continent searching for the lighthouse there. She seeks a message there that she thinks she can use in order to get back to someone she loves dearly that has been taken from her.

When she arrives in Kiss River, she’s devastated to see that the lighthouse has been...more Gina has come to Kiss River desperately seeking something that she believes can give her the help she needs so badly. In possession of an old diary, she drives from Washington state to Kiss River in North Carolina, all the way across the continent searching for the lighthouse there. She seeks a message there that she thinks she can use in order to get back to someone she loves dearly that has been taken from her.

When she arrives in Kiss River, she’s devastated to see that the lighthouse has been damaged by an epic storm, the top shorn off and the huge Fresnel lens that once served as its guiding light now lies at the bottom of the sea. She knows that if she has any chance at all of finding the message she seeks, she needs to raise that lens off the bottom of the ocean. And to do that, she needs to convince a local man who is dead against seeing lens rising to the surface.

Clay O’Neill lives in the old lightkeepers house with his sister, trying to heal from a loss. When Lacey, his sister, invites Gina to stay with them while she attempts to raise the lens, knowing that she doesn’t have much money, Clay is torn. He wants to help her but her presence is also making him feel guilty as he battles an attraction to her. Clay also stands between Gina and the man she needs to convince to allow her to raise the lens – no one will agree unless she has the support of this influential local and he just so happens to be Clay’s father. Clay has been hearing about the lighthouse all his life, once his father’s obsession and now it seems that it’s destined to play an even bigger role in his future…and possibly his happiness.

Kiss River is a re-release of an older Diane Chamberlain novel that is loosely connected to another of her books, Keeper Of The Light. You don’t have to have read that one to read Kiss River (I hadn’t as I didn’t realise they were connected until Australian author Rachael Johns told me) but it definitely gives the background of Clay’s father and his obsession with the lighthouse and what happened between him and Clay’s mother. However that has relatively little bearing on this story, which is about Gina’s attempts to find the Fresnel lens for reasons which are mostly unknown throughout the story, except that it’s something that she believes will help her out of an impossible situation and allow her to be reunited with someone precious to her that needs Gina and her love and help even more desperately than Gina needs her. She drives all the way to Kiss River not realising that the lighthouse has been damaged in a storm and is no longer operational and that the huge lens she needs to see is somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, no one even knows if it’s intact. She immediately begins a campaign around the town, trying to get people to help her to raise it, assuring them that she doesn’t want to profit, she just wants to see it settled as a viewable piece of history.

As well as Gina’s story, we also get the story of Bess, the daughter of the lighthouse keeper in the early 1940s during the Second World War when German U-boats were sinking ships off the east American coast. Bess is 14, a bit wild and looking for trouble as she spends most of her time ogling the handsome Coast Guard boys who work on the beach. She gets caught up in some espionage and Gina found her diary when she discovered a connection she herself had with Bess and it was that diary that gave her the idea to search for the lens, believing it could help her in her quest.

To be honest, Gina’s reason for wanting to find the lens was a bit flimsy – it had a huge amount of potential to be absolutely zero help to her but I understand that perhaps this was the point. She was utterly desperate and she was willing to do just about anything (as she says to someone at some stage in the story) to get the means that she needed to be able to help someone precious to her, the most precious person in the world to her and at the beginning of the story, all she really has in the world. She hides the real reason she is actually in Kiss River and I’m not entirely sure why she does that because she faces opposition to raising the lens but when more of the truth of her story comes out, the opposition melts away. She probably would’ve got what she wanted a lot sooner if she’d just told the truth about who she was and why she wanted to raise the lens and how much it meant to her. Clay’s father wasn’t unreasonable in the end, I get the feeling that the lighthouse had caused him a lot of grief and he was of the opinion to now just let sleeping things lie. That’s where reading the previous book might’ve helped, but it wasn’t strictly necessary, it was easy enough to piece things together.

Clay and Gina’s attraction was a nice, relatively slow burn. Both of them are too preoccupied (Gina with her quest, Clay with his grief and a bit later, guilt) to really do anything about it right away but they’re always aware of each other. I feel as though this novel ended a bit abruptly and I’m interested to see if Chamberlain has written a story about Lacey, Clay’s sister. The end of this book gave quite a big reveal about a person important to her that really seemed to affect Lacey and throughout the book she seemed to be heading down a path that wasn’t dangerous yet, but had the potential to be. I would like to know if she ever got her own story, so I think I need to search through Chamberlain’s back list to have a little look.

Overall this was a nice story, a few little flaws and implausibilities kept it being truly amazing for me.(less)

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Jan 06, 2013 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Jodi Picoult

Recommended to Sam by: sent by the publisher - thank you!

When I heard this book was the sequel to Keeper of the Light, I was kind of worried. I’m one of those people who do everything to the nth degree. What would I be missing if I started at book two of this trilogy? (There’s a subsequent sequel, Her Mother’s Shadow).

I found I could rest at ease – Kiss River sums up succinctly the relevant events of the first book, but I don’t think you’d be disadvantaged if you went back and read the first book later. There’s nothing to be scratching your head about...more When I heard this book was the sequel to Keeper of the Light, I was kind of worried. I’m one of those people who do everything to the nth degree. What would I be missing if I started at book two of this trilogy? (There’s a subsequent sequel, Her Mother’s Shadow).

I found I could rest at ease – Kiss River sums up succinctly the relevant events of the first book, but I don’t think you’d be disadvantaged if you went back and read the first book later. There’s nothing to be scratching your head about because this book stands alone very well.

Kiss River tells the tale of a lighthouse that fell into the sea years ago. Now Gina has crossed the country, wanting to look at the lens. She describes herself as a keen amateur lighthouse historian, but there are a lot of holes in her story. Why isn’t she telling the truth? Gina becomes friends with Lacey and Clay who live at the lighthouse keeper’s house but there’s things she’s not telling them. There’s also a second narrative set at the lighthouse during World War II – what role does teenage Elizabeth play in Gina’s story?

I enjoyed this book, not only because I’m a fan of dual narratives with a bit of history. This book really had a gentle, caring pace and characters that I cared about. Gina’s secret was sensitively played, as was Clay’s past. I thought it was also a strong idea of Chamberlain’s to portray Lacey with some faults that aren’t usually discussed in general. As the cover states, if you enjoy Jodi Picoult, you would like this. Chamberlain is not as brutal on her character’s fates though, nor is the ending so final. The ending of Kiss River is slightly complex, but it’s actually plausible – not to mention gripping. I simply couldn’t put this book down once I began to understand how all the stories linked. There is romance, but it’s a small subplot – the focus here is having people you can depend on, no matter what. Even though this is the second book in a trilogy, there are no cliff-hangers that force you to read the second book.

The cover is somewhat misleading as I can’t recall any children of that age playing a large role. I think a picture of the broken lighthouse would have been more effective or a woman near a lighthouse…you get the idea. Another thing to keep in mind is that this was published in 2003, so the internet portrayed appears to be dial-up and none of the characters own a smart phone. Strangely, they communicate face to face!

A lovely read that will restore your faith in others.

Thank you to Harlequin Australia for the copy.(less)

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Sep 09, 2012 Korey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 23, 2008 Darby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drama-romance, 2008

I read this in one night. It was a very easy read. I enjoyed the diary entries mixed into this book. I think I liked Keeper of the Light better and liked the characters better but this was still really good plot and had me engaged and wanting to know where it was going to end up. Enjoying this series and this authors book -- definitely one I will keep reading.

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Apr 07, 2013 Minty McBunny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My xperience with Diane Chamberlain has been hit or miss. I liked the first book of hers I read, The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, I loathed the second (Before the Storm). I gave her one more chance with The Bay at Midnight which I absolutely loved. Then I moved on to Keeper of the Light, which I thought was pretty good, in a Nicholas Sparks kind of way, not great, but interesting enough that I was willing to give the sequel a try.

Really glad I did! Kiss River is so far my favorite Diane Chambe...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads, currently-owned, paper

This title is the second in Diane Chamberlain's Kiss River trilogy. I had not read the previous title, Keeper of the Light, but when I saw Kiss River at the used bookstore, being a big fan of Diane Chamberlain, I decided to pick it up.

I had no trouble diving right in and, although this is part of a trilogy, it made a great stand alone story. Ms. Chamberlain's books always get me hooked. She creates great drama with a hint of mystery and her characters are always down to earth and realistic. They...more

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Feb 26, 2013 AshleyiSee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I adore how I can always look to Diane Chamberlain for engaging, reading pleasure! I was thrilled to be welcomed back to Kiss River, the same setting for Keeper of the Light, one of my favourites by Chamberlain. The focus is on other characters but the old are never far.

I do feel this book was a bit more slow than her others, but once it 'got to the heart of the story' I couldn't put it down! Heartfelt, romantic and emotional it's nice to have a book that makes you feel things and help put your...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: proof, 2013, ebook

I received this book as an e-book proof from the publisher in advance of the reprint. I have read 'The Midwife's Confession' and 'Kiss River' is just as good. Despite being a sequel to 'Keeper of the Light' which I haven't read, I was able to read this book as a standalone and follow the story and the characters and their history without any problems. The main character of the book, 'Gina' is a new character anyway so you haven't missed anything there.

Although the characters were well written an...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Ann rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book #2 in a trilogy. First was Keeper of the Light. That was a little better than this. This one took TOO LONG to get to the point (and took me days and days to read - I just couldn't get into it) -- what was the mystery surrounding Gina's daughter? why did she NEED to raise the fallen lens? what really happened in 1942? Really, this could have been a great short story if all the above elements were discussed openly and up front. Like the first book, this was written about 10 years ago and it s...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Heather Hettinger rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book-and was OVERJOYED to find that 'Keeper of the Light' is actually a set of 3 books-each follows different characters in the story at different points in their life. This book is set about 10 years after the first. I remember when I read Keeper that I wished the story line around Clay-Annie and Alec's son-had gone somewhere...it seemed to end abruptly as he left for college. This book centers on him, his sister Lacey (a hellion teen in the first book), and a woman named...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-are, provided-by-publisher

The Keeper of the Light was first published almost twenty years ago as a stand alone but was revived in the early 2000's when Chamberlain decided to use the novel as a springboard for a trilogy, writing Kiss River and Her Mother's Shadow. This year, the series is being reissued in both print and digital formats to the delight of her fans.

Set twelve years after the events of Keeper of Light, Kiss River introduces Gina Higgins, a science teacher from Washington DC, who has has come to the Outer Ba...more
The Keeper of the Light was first published almost twenty years ago as a stand alone but was revived in the early 2000's when Chamberlain decided to use the novel as a springboard for a trilogy, writing Kiss River and Her Mother's Shadow. This year, the series is being reissued in both print and digital formats to the delight of her fans.

Set twelve years after the events of Keeper of Light, Kiss River introduces Gina Higgins, a science teacher from Washington DC, who has has come to the Outer Banks looking for the miracle she needs etched on the Fresnal lens of the town's lighthouse. She is devastated to find that the lighthouse was destroyed in a storm, the lens buried in the sea's sandy depths and desperate, begins to campaign the community to rescue it.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the story of Kiss River. Primarily, I didn't understand why Gina felt it necessary to lie about her motivation to raise the lens or hide her connection to Kiss River and thought that her deceptions undermined both her character, and the story as a whole.

Even the romance in Kiss River failed to convince me of its sincerity. Clay O'Neill, who lost his wife just eight months earlier, succumbs to Gina's charms with little more than a token protest despite his grief and her lies. To be fair he doesn't over extend himself until he learns Gina's secret, which does evoke sympathy, but it just didn't work for me.

With the core of the novel so compromised I found it difficult to involve myself in the story and would have given it up if it weren't for Bess's story as related through her journal extracts. I thought the historical aspects interesting of this storyline and Bess's personal tale touching. Bess is a fifteen in 1942, the bright, precocious daughter of Kiss River's lighthouse keeper. Her diary reveals a tumultuous year of love, betrayal and heartbreak as German U-Boats haunt the North Carolina coast.

I have enjoyed several of Chamberlain's newer titles like The Good Father and Secrets She Left Behind so perhaps the flaws in Kiss River can be attributed to it being penned not only early in her career but also under some pressure. Kiss River isn't a complete disaster, and I think the author's stalwart fans will be satisfied with it, but I thought it a weak example of Chamberlain's storytelling gifts.(less)

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Nov 30, 2012 Laurel-Rain rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gina Higgins is on a quest. She has traveled from the Pacific Northwest to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, to an old lighthouse in Kiss River.

When she arrives, she sees that the top of the lighthouse is missing, and when she meets brother and sister, Clay and Lacey O'Neill, who live in the keeper's house, she learns about the Fresnel lens, once the lighthouse beacon, that lies somewhere under water.

Her mission is to somehow raise the lens from the sea, and she works on a number of local indiv...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Gail rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not Diane Chamberlain's best work, I have to say. I liked Keeper of the Light but Kiss River was virtually a mirror image of that. Beautiful Gina (divorced) reminiscent of Olivia- Clay (widower) reminiscent of Alec. Altogether a little too twee and coincidental in parts. I did like the diaries and wanted to find out who the traitor had been, but this wasn't really enough to keep me from not caring what happened with Gina, Rani et al. I doubt will read the last in the trilogy, Her Mother's Shadow...more

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Jul 11, 2008 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: female-author, fiction

This was the second book in the Keeper of the Light trilogy. It was terrific!

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Nov 12, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book as a follow-on to Keeper of the Light. Although it is not as captivating as other Diane Chamberlain books, it is still an essential read as a progression from #1. I am really enjoying this series and looking forward to tying it all up with #3 Her Mother’s Shadow. Strong characters of family and friends, and I really enjoyed the diary entries that were woven through the story. Took me a while to ‘like’ the new main character Gina though because she was just telling so many lie...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Carl rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romantic-thriller

ONE OF MY ALL TIME BESTS

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Nov 18, 2012 TamElaine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blast-off-challenge, great-author-challenge, series, chamberlain, favourites

The first sentence of this book introduces the reader to Gina. I was a bit disappointed when the story didn't start with Olivia or Alec. But I was vibrating with anticipation when the first diary entry from the 1940s introduced Elizabeth (Mary Poor's daughter) whose story was only alluded to briefly in Keeper of the Light. I remember when I read that book I wondered why Elizabeth had run out, what Mary wasn't telling and then even why that had been added to the story at all....but I laid those q...more The first sentence of this book introduces the reader to Gina. I was a bit disappointed when the story didn't start with Olivia or Alec. But I was vibrating with anticipation when the first diary entry from the 1940s introduced Elizabeth (Mary Poor's daughter) whose story was only alluded to briefly in Keeper of the Light. I remember when I read that book I wondered why Elizabeth had run out, what Mary wasn't telling and then even why that had been added to the story at all....but I laid those questions to rest and never really thought of her again as her brief mention seemed to be a satisfactory explanation of the intensity of her relationship with Annie. And then comes the chapter with Lacey and Clay, Alec's children and during this chapter, Ms. Chamberlain snuck in an update of Alec and Olivia from the last ten years - and I was completely satisfied at that point and could focus on the new chain of events developing - the suspense of the secrets and hints being deposited within the story....the new characters.

With other series that I've read, there has been obvious questions left open at the end of one book so you know the direction the next book will take. This may in fact be the case between the 2nd book and the third (though I haven't gotten to the third yet) But between the first and second (and also with the Before the Storm sequel), the books seem to come to a satiated finish, so that if you never read on, you are still happy. Yet when you pick up that next book, it carries on, giving updates, but finds its own path, introduces you to other angles. The desire to read the next one (for me anyway) comes from a love of the characters, and from wanting to see what unique path Ms. Chamberlain is going to branch off in.....and Kiss River is definitely a unique path !!!

I want to add here too, that I avoid books about war or any books suggestive of history - I'm not sure why, I just don't find them enjoyable in the least....but I learned a little something about war times from this book that I had not knew about before....and it may have even sparked an interest for me, maybe opening my mind to other war-time books - though that interweaves real life with it...not just the war itself....I'm not THERE yet....I loved the pages of Bess' diary and through her diary I loved Bess and would love to read more about her....what kills me in this book is how horrible Mary Poor must have felt when she lost her daughter - and that she never ever learned the truth about her daughter leaving....

And I know I say this in every review of a Diane Chamberlain book, but it's worth mentioning again - her writing style is so smooth, so seamless and an absolute pleasure to read. She has an easiness with words that not all authors find. I believe I would be able to recognize and distinguish her writing from others.
(less)

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Apr 26, 2012 Marleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There's no doubt that the beauty and the magic of the Outer Banks, NC, are at the core of this story and make it work. I’ve visited there a couple of years ago and I’ll never forget the uniqueness of the Outer Banks.
The story’s nothing extraordinary, but it is entertaining enough. Especially moving toward the denouement, the reveal of the Bess’s secret as her diary is intertwined in Gina’s story. I enjoyed the bits of Bess’s diary from 1942. I never knew that there were German U-boats on the Ca...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although not as full as Diane Chamberlain's other books that I read. I really enjoyed this book as a sequel to keeper of the light, it was a good progression. I really felt like I was part of the book and liked the way the diary extracts worked in the storyline. The reason behind Gina's fascination of the lighthouse was a little far fetched but as I've never been in a situation like that who knows.

All in all I really enjoyed this book but the story was not as gripping as her other books.

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May 02, 2012 Candice rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 22, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really liked the ending of this book, but thought it really dragged to get there. Flipping between the diary which was many years in the past to the current time line threw me off a little, but all made sense at the end. The Characters are a little older from Keeper of the Light and it was good to see what is happening with them. Without giving much away, Lacey is following in her mothers footsteps, Alec has moved on, Clay and some heartbreak but is not in a very happy place, Gina is new in th...more

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Dec 20, 2010 Judy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kiss River follows the next generation of people who were introduced in The Keeper of the Light. In this story, an outsider is urgent to resurrect the glass panels from the lighthouse that were toppled into the ocean during a hurricane. It brings up old feelings for the locals and the project is stalled. Gina seems desperate to have this project proceed and it takes several chapters for the reader to find out why. Gina has come to North Carolina from Washington state during her summer break to u...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Skyy2 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not my favorite from Diane Chamberlain. I really didn't like the main characters. I couldn't really connect with any of them. Alec's character seemed to have changed between the first book and this one. He didn't seem as caring and understanding in this book. His character was not as strong as it was in the last book. Didn't really like Gina. She was pretty flaky throughout the book. No, I didn't like this one. Not sure if I should even finish the series.

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Oct 30, 2012 Miranda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook-owned, for-the-girls

I feel bad saying this, but I couldn't get into this book. I normally love Diane's books, and this one annoyed me - I got 20% in and I couldn't keep track of the various characters nor their motivations.

So I abandoned it :(

That being said, I love her other books so this book won't deter me from keeping reading this author; more just you win some and you lose some!

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Oct 01, 2011 Glynis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a disappointment. I have read a couple of Diane Chamberlain´s books and really started to feel that here I had a new author with something to give. I am sorry but this book was boring and just didn´t ring true. Perhaps because it was written in 2003 the author has improved her style but certainly cannot recommend this.

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About Diane Chamberlain

I'm the author of 22 novels published in more than eleven languages. I like to write complex stories about relationships between men and women, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and friends. Although the thematic focus of my books often revolves around family, love, compassion and forgiveness, my stories usually feature a combination of suspense, mystery and intrigue.

I live in North Car...more

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