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

Welcome Aboard: a prologue book introducing each story in the series

Welcome Aboard is the prologue book in the new Sail Away series with different contributing authors including Jessie Newton, Tammy L Grace, Kay Bratt and many more. In Welcome Aboard, the prologues from each of the eight books are presented to pique your interest for the rest of the series. Each book takes place on a cruise in which the main characters learn lessons in friendship, healing, and even a little romance. 

The Sail Away series is in the similar format as last year’s The Wishing Tree series. The difference with this series is each book is standalone. There is no interconnectedness between books. So you can read all, a few or out of order and you will be able to enjoy the story. As I read the prologues, some of the stories intrigued me to want to read the full story while others did not bring me into the story. However, the full story may be more intriguing than the prologue is presenting. I look forward to reading this series. I recommend Welcome Aboard. 

The books in the series are as follows as well as the release dates:

Book 1: Welcome Aboard – prologue book (available now)

Book 2: The Sound of the Sea by Jessie Newton (available now)

Book 3: Uncharted Waters by Tammy L. Grace (available now)

Book 4: A Not So Distant Shore by Ev Bishop (available February 15, 2023)

Book 5: Caroline, Adrift by Kay Bratt (available February 22, 2023)

Book 6: Moonlight On the Lido Deck by Violet Howe (available March 1, 2023)

Book 7: The Winning Tickets by Judith Keim (available March 8, 2023)

Book 8: Lost At Sea by Patricia Sands (available March 15, 2023)

Book 9: The Last Port of Call by Elizabeth Bromke (available March 22, 2023)

Gone Wishing: second chances and truly finding home

Gone Wishing is by Jesse Newton and is the eighth book in The Wishing Tree series. Loretta Thompson is a people person. She loves meeting new people and has a special gift that everyone feels as she is their best friend. As she helps clean the rooms at the Wishing Tree Inn, she is fascinated by the items people leave behind. Her fascination leads her across the country as she returns the lost items to their rightful owners. Now she is returning to Linden Falls but this time she has company. Sally Redwood was a genealogy center coordinator before she had her hip replacement. With no family to help her while she heals, she joins Loretta back to Linden Falls to recover. Lois Bryant lost her husband a year ago and still reeling from his sudden loss, she needs a fresh start. Despite her children’s protests, Lois packs up and heads to Linden Falls with Loretta and Sally. Back in Linden Falls, all three women tie a wish to the famous tree. 

Gone Wishing is a sweet story of second chances. Second chances at a fulfilling life and maybe even love. Readers first learn about Loretta in an earlier book as she has packed up and left, leaving Neva in a lurch. Now she’s back and we learn more about the reasons behind her wayward travels and her lack of faith in the Wishing Tree. Sally was a hard character to like as she constantly complained about the lack of good barbeque. Or at least what she would consider good barbeque. However, by the end of the book, Sally’s story is one readers will cheer for as she finds new life in her new home. Lois’s story is the one that I clung to the most. Lois takes the most risk as her children are against her move. I enjoyed that she stuck up for herself and demanded that she needs to find a new purpose. Overall, I enjoyed Gone Wishing and highly recommend it and the rest of the Wishing Tree series. 

Gone Wishing is available in paperback and eBook