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The Light Between Oceans is the marriage of historical fiction with the tearjerker movie-of-the-week. Upfront, let me say I've liked my share of these movies; Deception: A Mother's Secret still gets me teary eyed with that fire truck and the yellow paint and... *sniffle* okay, enough about that. But those stories tend to be a bit too formulaic—a formula meant to manipulate the viewers'/readers' emotions--The Light Between Oceans is guilty of the same.
The Light Between Oceans is largely well-writ ...more
The Light Between Oceans is largely well-writ ...more
Stedman's writing style is beautiful. I felt like I had been on Janus Rock with Tom and Izzy. This asks a lot of "what if" questions that normally we would never encounter. The emotions of love, bitterness, anger, and betryal are all very well played out. I did not give this 5 stars simply because it did feel a bit repetative and drawn out in the middle - there are also a few flaws or no explaination given to what could be minor plot fails. Original story and also some great conversations about
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Wonderful depiction of setting (lighthouse on a one-square-mile island with no land in sight!) but the melodrama of plot was a turn-off.
Okay, I re-thought this a bit after a really good book group discussion about the conflict and characters (for example, Isabel must choose between her husband and her child. And she makes the right choice. She must.) Still I most enjoyed the exquisite description of an interesting place, early in its development: remote coasts of Australia after WWI. And how th ...more
Okay, I re-thought this a bit after a really good book group discussion about the conflict and characters (for example, Isabel must choose between her husband and her child. And she makes the right choice. She must.) Still I most enjoyed the exquisite description of an interesting place, early in its development: remote coasts of Australia after WWI. And how th ...more
I could not put this book down the first 100 pages, in fact it was well on it's way to becoming one of my all time favorite books. However, somewhere afte that the story slowed down, and wasn't written quite as concisely as it had been. It is still a great book, and you find yourself wondering what you would have done in the position of the characters. Unfortnately the end felt rushed and not near as well written as the rest of the book and it lost a bit of credibility for me at that point.
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Being a mother of two children and endured the loss of one, this novel really tugged at some heart strings and made me grateful for what I do have. Tom reminded me of someone I once knew and I saw a lot of myself in Isabel. A mother's love is strong and unbreakable no matter the circumstances. I would be a lost soul if something happened to my children.
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The first book in a good while to keep me up past bedtime. Terribly slow to get going but I couldn’t convince my eyes to stop reading towards the end. I shed a tear for one of the main characters and their ordeal. A lot of tough choices all around and the muddled mess they came to be. Definitely makes you reflect on what you might’ve done in similar situation.
Jun 12, 2012
Stephanie Cook
marked it as to-read
Oct 18, 2012
Kelly
marked it as to-read
Dec 10, 2012
Tiffany
marked it as to-read
Dec 14, 2012
Dawn
marked it as to-read
Jan 23, 2013
Tricia
marked it as to-read
Mar 11, 2013
Tracy | FrazzledBookworm
added it
Jun 19, 2013
Chrystal
marked it as to-read
Sep 18, 2013
Quincie Ingram
marked it as to-read
Mar 01, 2016
Chantal
marked it as to-read
Aug 04, 2016
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Jan 26, 2021
Chantel
is currently reading it
Jul 16, 2022
Betsy
marked it as to-read
