On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
Lighthouse Beach: A Novel
Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Setting – Maine
William Morrow Paperbacks (May 29, 2018)
Paperback: 400 pages
ISBN-10: 0062675966
ISBN-13: 978-0062675965
Kindle ASIN: B0719PCC87
What was supposed to be an idyllic wedding leads to an unexpected journey of self-discovery…
When Lillo Gray pulls up to Kennebunkport’s most exclusive hotel wearing a borrowed dress and driving a borrowed VW van, she knows she’s made a big mistake. She’s not even sure why Jessica Parker invited her to her posh wedding. They haven’t seen each other since they were unhappy fourteen-year-old girls at fat camp. And now they’re from two completely different worlds. There’s no way Lillo fits in the rarefied circles Jessica travels in.
Jess isn’t sure she’s ready to go through with this wedding, but she’s been too busy making everyone else happy to think about what she wants. But when she and her two closest friends, Allie and Diana, along with Lillo, discover her fiancé with his pants down in the hotel parking lot, she’s humiliated…and slightly relieved. In a rush to escape her crumbling life, Jess, Allie, and Diana pile into Lillo’s beat-up old van and head up the coast to Lighthouse Island. Once there, she hopes to figure out the next chapter in her life.
Nursing broken hearts and broken dreams, four lost women embark on a journey to find their way back into happiness with new love, friendship, and the healing power of Lighthouse Beach.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Lillo Gray arrives at the fancy wedding of a childhood friend Jess in a borrowed old VW van and a dress she borrowed from another friend. She knows she shouldn’t have come, she is never going to fit in with these people. She is totally surprised when the bride welcomes her with open arms and drags her off to meet 2 more friends avoiding the festivities planned by her parents.
When they meet Allie and Diana for a few drinks Lillo learns that Jess really doesn’t want to get married and that she is just doing it to make her parents happy. When the group returns to the hotel they see the groom in the parking lot in a very comprising position. Broken and humiliated Jess has had enough. The girls quickly hatch a plan to save their friend. A girl’s road trip! The pack a few things and climb into the VW and take off up the coast. Back to the place where Lillo and Jess met, somewhere they hope no one will find them, Lighthouse Beach.
Books like this one give me a glorious “Calgon take me away” escape.
This story is about four women and Lighthouse Beach and those that inhabit or visit it. They thought taking Jess there she would rediscover the strong woman she was in college but it did so much more. The discovered something about themselves and their visit changed the lives of others too.
Lighthouse Beach is a small coastal town that has basically been forgotten since the lighthouse was retired. The former tourist town is just hanging on. People have to travel to larger towns and work two or three jobs just to survive. This leaves some children mostly unsupervised and free to cause trouble. The residents try to help each other out but the needed resources just aren’t available. There is a visiting group of doctor’s and handyman that comes to town periodically. This group becomes part of the fabric of Lighthouse Beach. A fabric that stretches to welcome Allie and Diana and welcome back Jess almost effortlessly.
This story takes place over the course of a week. It seems longer because so much happens. The pacing is perfect. It is a very hard book to put down. The characters lives unfold comfortably allowing the readers to become completely engaged and feel for them. While there is a romantic undertone this story is so much more. Friendship, support, understanding, bring these characters together. Little by little secrets are revealed, wounds are opened and soothed. A true community spirit can be felt.
Ms. Noble has written a story I won’t soon forget. She hasn’t tied things up all nicely with a bow at the end either leaving the reader to wonder a bit about the future at Lighthouse Beach and the people we met there. A breath of fresh air, energizing, hopeful story that I really and truly enjoyed. It was most certainly a Perfect Escape!
About The Author
SHELLEY NOBLE is the NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling Author of the women’s fiction novel BEACH COLORS
As SHELLEY FREYDONT she is the author of the CELEBRATION BAY FESTIVAL MYSTERIES 
A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. Shelley lives near the New Jersey shore where she loves to discover new beaches and indulge her passion for lighthouses and vintage carousels.
Writing as Shelley Noble
Coming June 25, 2019
Also by Shelley Noble
Coming November 5, 2019
Writing as Shelley Freydont
I am giving away my review copy of Lighthouse Beach!
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Click Here For Entry Form
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
