The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker is a book dealing with two young people and their struggles with life and grief, while finding common ground and a developing love between them. This is Mr. Parker's debut novel.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, I thought the characters were likable and interesting, and the setting was quite atmospheric, and one that I wish I could visit myself. What I wasn't expecting, however, was the swing into the super natural and fantasy world at about the 40% mark. Magical realism isn't a bad thing, but I will admit that fantasy just isn't my thing at all. I kept going and I enjoyed the story. I found the super natural story line to be quite creative and interesting, but I still had trouble getting through it, as it's just not my kind of book. Once I got to what I thought was the end, the story backtracked to 24 hours prior to keep going and unravel more details. At that point, I just didn't care anymore. I finished the book, but I had to force myself to do so.

I read this book on audio, and for the most part, the narrator did an okay job, but I didn't like his voice portrayal of the young girl featured in the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Christopher Parker, and Beacon Press for an advanced reader copy of this audio book in exchange for my honest review. #netgally #beaconpress #goodreads

This was not romance, nor a usual fantasy and it was different from my usual reads. This book was like a journey through your life. It started easy and everything went smooth up until the middle. After that, things began to get weird in a realistic way, like the taxi disappearing (or that's what Amy, the main character, thought), her dad not calling back and being gone for days since they arrived at the hotel, lack of signal. Towards the end of the novel, there was a moment where you think "Wait, what?!" and there is actually a little romance, but the main focus of the story is accepting your fate/past in order to move on, just as Ryan (the other main character) couldn't do and he/his spirit created his own version of reality in which things happened the way he wanted.
I was not really moved by the story while reading, but after I finished it, I felt like something inside me broke and it touched a sensible string to my heart, having gone through something similar and before I knew, I started crying. It made me realise how important it is to have someone by your side when dealing with the loss of a loved one, either it's a friend, one of your parents or a significant other. For me, this book was an eye-opener, reflective, emotional and deep.

The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker.
I found this to be too much of a YA story and could not get interested. Had to DNF very early on. Did not. care for the narrator either.

Such an enjoyable read which I wasn’t expecting! I was glued to the story and devoured it. Will be looking out for more books from this author.

The Lighthouse was a great story with a very interesting and unique twist. The narrator did a great job and the characters really came to life. It took a very predictable premise and turned it upside down and I would definitely go re-listen!

A mixed read for me, but I have to wonder how I would have felt had I read instead of listening. I love anything that has a lighthouse in it and strange happenings surrounding one is an added bonus. I liked the characters liked the idea behind the story and thought the town was quaint. It had horses in it, another plus.

What I didn't like was the overly dramatic scenes, and the dialogue was sometimes over the top and actually sounded corny at times. The narrator was Braden Wright and straight men's voices were fine, but the women's voices were awkward, strange. Still, it was entertaining if unbelievable, but then do we really know what happens when we leave this world? Could there be other timelines, zones where the impossible becomes possible? Who can say?

ARC from Netgalley.

Amy is grieving her mom's death. She and her dad have a strained relationship. As a way to change things up and maybe break the ice, her uncle suggests that she go along with her dad on a police assignment in the country to inform a family member that their missing person's case is being closed. Amy spends time by herself, and winds up taking a handful of her dad's sleeping pills. She nearly drowns in the tub, but is rescued by a local young man (Ryan) who owns a ranch. She yells at him because she is groggy and thinks he is a lurker, rather than a good Samaritan. Once she realizes the truth she takes a taxi to his ranch to apologize and winds up spending the whole day with him. Strange things start happening, and it is soon clear that things are not as they seem. Ryan is the missing person. And he's dead!

The story was engaging. I liked the characters. The "death snowglobe" premise rubbed me the wrong way, though.

The narrator did a great job overall, but needs to work on his "little girl" voice. Chloe sounded more like an Asian woman than a child.

The AUDIOBOOK Narrator: Braden Wright
I had already read & reviewed the ebook when I received this audiobook version, so this is my updated review. I actually added a star because the audio book was very enjoyable and narrated extremely well! The narrator's voice was soothing, expressive, clear and made the story come to life! His voice reminds me very much of the main actor from Netflix's "YOU" , Penn Badgley (similar accent, emphasis, tone, depth and very enticing to listen to!)

NOTE: I'm not sure if it is because it was a NetGalley version, but even though my audio book played in the correct order, when I went to the table of contents for chapters, they were all numbered incorrectly and mixed-up.

The STORY:
The Lighthouse details the grief and sorrow of an 18 year old Portland college student, Amy Tucker and her father, Kevin, who works for the state police, after the sudden, accidental death of their beloved wife and mother. After a rough time coping, Kevin takes Amy on a road trip out of town for a couple days to the small coastal town of Seabrook, thinking they both could use a distraction from their lives and a chance to bond, while he also completes some police business. Seabrook is picturesque perfect and the detailed descriptions made me wish I could visit! It reminded me of the pretty, quiet town Seaside, FL (where The Truman Show was filmed). The town centers its focus on a mysterious Lighthouse, which may or may not be haunted by a ghost, and which is honored yearly at the town's festival. After exploring the town, Amy fatefully meets Ryan, a local, whose father own's a horse ranch that Ryan has been responsible for since his father had a stroke. Together, Amy and Ryan both find a person in each other that they can be themselves with and be temporarily relieved from the stress and trauma they are each dealing with, through laughter, adventure and the beginning stirrings of love. Just as they begin to believe they could have a future together, despite the short time they have known each other and the looming end of Amy's short visit, reality collides with their visions of their futures to completely transform what they understand of their lives and the potentials for their futures, for themselves and their families,

The story was intriguing and maintained my interest as I loved the detailed, descriptive of Seabrook and the back stories of the people and the Lighthouse. The dialogue was sweet and simple, reminding me of a retro 50s stereotype, with perhaps skewing towards more YA readers in high school or college. The story revealed twists that I had a feeling were coming as the story contained elements that reminded me of the book The Shack and the movie Inception. The story also heavily relied on imagining the "afterlife" and asserting that "all things, even bad things, happen for a reason", neither of which I personally believe or find comforting, so readers who do hold these beliefs might have a more positive response to those elements in the book. The Lighthouse is an enjoyable, sweet/sad story of how a young woman and her father cope after loss, but not quite the mystery I had envisioned.

So this is this is a thing in exists
Yeah I know not my thing really know when I read the blurb on NetGalley I thought this sounds amazing

Every chapter that I got into it it got less and less good for me personally

I don’t know it’s just very generic and very boring and very typical

And I just I put it down for half a month. I picked it back up but

Yeah two stars

As always thank you to Not Galli for sending me this review copy all opinions are my own

This was an emotional roller coaster that I wish I could read again for the first time. A beautiful and insightful story!

A melodramatic romance made more enjoyable by the inclusion of some magical realism.

The story focuses on two young people, one a young man who lost his mother as a child and is now trying to take care of his father and their family ranch after his father's stroke rendered him unable to do it on his own, and the other a woman just turned 18 who is grieving her mother's recent death and agrees to accompany her father, a detective, as he travels to a small town for a case he is working on. The town's lighthouse, which has been defunct and uninhabited for years, starts to light up inexplicably, and from there many other odd happenings lead us to understand that we are in some kind of altered reality.

The romance between the two young people seemed predictable to me from the beginning but the story actually turned out to have quite a few surprises in store. I almost stopped reading, but then when I realized magic was afoot, I was surprised and intrigued, and am glad I kept going, as the surprise turns the plot takes made the whole book worth reading.

I listened to the audiobook, which was enjoyable. Despite its focus on grief and loss, the book is pleasant without getting too deep and moves in a direction few readers will see coming.

I am grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I did not mean to request this one. The audiobook reader wasn't awful. But it was weird that it was a grown man who was reading when a lot of the book is through a young girl's eyes. And I was really pulling for more paranormal stuff early on.

He never really talks about Lighthouse until chapter 17. It took so long to get the novel up off the ground. The writing isn't unique enough for me to want to continue. I didn't care for any characters and the story just wasn't there for me. I would have liked more gut-wrenching events and a quicker pace. Wish I could say something good about it.

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy of this book and also the gift box.

This was a unique story. I went in thinking it would be totally different and it was an engaging story about a young girl who loses her mother and ends up visiting a mysterious town on vacation after that. I was pleasantly surprised.

The story was engaging and made for a quick listen. I really didn’t like the echo sound on the audio but got used to it.

Actual rating: 3.75⭐

This is the story of Amy when she went to Seabrook together with her father. This is young adult with a touch of magical realism on it. The story explores the topic of grief and how the characters are affected by it and how different people try to cope with it.

It started like your typical 'we went to another place and are trying to explore' kind of scenario. While exploring, Amy met Ryan, a local who is the son of a ranch owner. This started their interaction as Ryan showed Amy the nature/tourist spots on Seabrook.

Both Amy and Ryan are experiencing difficulties in their life. I very much sympathize with Ryan's predicament. The narrator was able to portray Ryan's struggles and his love for his father.

Somewhere in the middle, a plot twist happened that totally surprised me. It was very unexpected and it was a nice surprise. But I think that part has a few plot holes on it. It was more telling than showing. Like this is possible because I said so. Something like that.

I enjoyed listening to the story though there were some parts that were slow and frustrating. I kinda thought this was MG at first but realized it was actually YA.

It was an okay read.

*Thanks to the publisher for making this audiobook available for review via Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest thoughts and opinions of the book.*

Amy and her father decide to take a road trip to Seabrook shortly after the death of Amy's mother. Her father, a police officer, has official business and thinks the change of scenery will help with their grief. The quaint town is full of lovely views and people. Amy and a local young man named Ryan cross paths in an unlikely way and develop a fledgling friendship. When Amy is unable to contact her father for more than a day, she notices that strange occurrences are happening in Seabrook. Unnerved and scared, Amy must determine what is happening in Seabrook. And what it has to do with the lighthouse.

This book was advertised as magic realism, but it's more spiritual than magic. It deals with death, the afterlife, and things in between.

I didn't love this book. It was ok, kind of slow. It felt very passive and even the "action" didn't feel very exciting. I wanted to know what the mystery was, but overall it wasn't that engaging. It wasn't really for me, but it wasn't bad, either. It was well written, but the characters were just not realistic.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and the reader was pleasant.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

Sad About Ryan!

Audiobook Review:
This book is a surprising mixture of the real world and one beyond that which we typically experience. I didn’t re-read the book’s description before I started it, so I was stunned at the direction the book took. I was so sorry to see how it turned out for Ryan… another surprise. I kept hoping the outcome would change for him. I thought he and Amy would have made a great couple! Even though this book is magical realism—with some aspects necessarily mysterious—I felt the author left too many questions unanswered in the end. The book takes place in Oregon, mostly on the mid-to-southern coast. I live in southern Oregon and visit the coast often. I found myself wondering if the author had ever been to the Oregon coasts, or even Oregon, as what the author wrote didn’t really reflect the Oregon I know. Frankly, for its lack of Oregon specificity, it could have taken place in any coastal town. I wasn’t particularly wild about the narrator. The book is mostly from a woman’s perspective, so I think a female narrator would have been more appropriate. This narrator did an excellent job with the father’s voice and a decent one with Ryan’s. Amy’s vocal styling left me a little cold, but the little girl’s “voice” was just wrong. All in all, though, the book kept my interest and kept me wondering.

OMG this book was an emotional rollercoaster. When I picked up this book I expected a cute fairy tale book, let’s just say it isn’t. It does feel like a fairy tale, but it was darker than I thought. The book had me interested and I loved the characters were amazing. The plot twists were absolutely amazing and I did not see them coming

It took me a few days(more than a few) to write this review because i didn't know what to write or how i felt about what i listened.
The book- the story- was interesting and it had an unique feeling,but i admit that there were a few things that made the story a little weird.
But-despite those weird moments- i admit that i enjoyed the story and i liked the characters,even if i wished for another ending.
Full of ups and downs,this book was full of surprises and many many twists.
When i started to listen i didn't expect the story to change so much-well,i didn't expect Amy to do those things or Ryan's life ..(Yikes ..) to be like that,so i listented and listened until i didn't know what to expect.And it was a surprise,one big surprise..The end?Well..Not exactly how i expected it to be. But...

Read the book,try it and see,maybe the story will be exactly what you are looking for.

The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker is a lovely story about grief and second chances centering around two young adults and their fathers. I recommend it for both adult and YA readers.

The narrator of this audiobook is excellent. His voice is clear and comforting, and it was easy to discern which character was speaking.

I am a library paraprofessional and received an advance audiobook copy from #NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker, narrated by Braden Wright.
The Lighthouse was an interesting premise that drew me in very quickly. Christopher Parker creates a magical world that ties seamlessly to the real world. The characters are realistic, three-dimensional., and easy for the reader to like. The setting added to the mystery, and Parker does a great job with descriptions that help the reader see the scene. The zombie-like characters were a bit over the top, and I feel unnecessary to the story. The ending seemed a bit too fairytale-like for my tastes. The narrator, Braden Wright, is the perfect voice for Ryan and the male characters, but I didn't care for his female voices. This book is listed as adult fiction, but it would appeal more to a YA reader.