PositiveThe Houston ChronicleThis graceful novel straddles the line between juicy beach read and book club fare. It all seems like it’s going somewhere bigger than it does, but in the end, a peek-behind-the-gates is enough. Everything looks good on the surface for these ladies, who careen from Starbucks to shopping to whatever charity ball someone is throwing. Underneath, there’s the anxiety of being replaced. They’re colleagues, as competitive as their husbands.
M.L. Stedman
PositiveThe San Antonio Express NewsOne well-meaning lie begets another so many times in The Light Between Oceans that right and wrong become hopelessly confused ... But for a shore leave that happens every two years and occasional supply boats, Tom and Isabel Sherbourne are utterly disconnected from the cloth of community life ... The Sherbournes deal with the kind of seclusion it should be difficult to imagine. But Stedman brings this couple and their lives nearly 100 years ago to life so vividly that it's as if you're walking the stairs of the lighthouse with them ... Following what happens is sort of like watching a particularly beautiful train wreck. You won't be able to stop reading all the way to the heartbreaking, ultimately satisfying conclusion.
