The Lighthouse: five friends reunite as secrets and pasts are revealed

The Lighthouse is the first book in the Five Island Cove series by Jesse Newton. After the death of a childhood mentor, five best friends reluctantly reunite in their small coastal hometown of Five Island Cove. Surprises await them as they discover love, strength and secrets buried at the lighthouse. When Joel Shields dies from a long illness, Robin Grover calls on her four childhood best friends to come back to Five Island Cove. Alice Keller comes instantly as she seeks to escape the prison that her Hamptons mansion has become. Eloise Hall comes as she is at loose ends for the summer. What she doesn’t expect is to run into her high school crush and find a flame that wasn’t there before. However, Kelli Thompson and AJ Proctor are more resistant. When secrets are uncovered in Joel’s files, the four friends find themselves confronting their pasts and their own personal secrets. Can these five women learn what really matters? 

The Lighthouse started off strong and wavered as the story progressed. The opening chapter definitely hooked me as I was intrigued by what happened to drive four of the five friends from the island. However, as each friend is introduced, the story becomes too overwhelming. There were way too many characters being introduced with too much history thrown out. I found myself not caring about the characters and their struggles and their possible redemption and revelations. As I struggled to read, I turned to the reviews to see if other readers had my same issues. One review caught my eye as the reviewer classified this book as a romance. While one of the characters has a romantic storyline, there is just too much going on to classify it as a romance. I would classify this book as more women’s fiction than a romance. Overall, I did not enjoy The Lighthouse. I will not be continuing with this series. 

The Lighthouse is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook