The Light on Farallon Island is a spellbinding tale that transports readers to the menacing Farallon Islands, thirty miles off the coast of San Francisco. Known to sailors as the Devil’s Teeth, these remote and treacherous islands become the backdrop for a gripping nineteenth-century story.

The novel introduces Lucy Riley, a woman fleeing a tragic past. Seeking a fresh start, Lucy becomes a teacher to the lighthouse keepers’ children on Farallon Island in 1859. However, she carries secrets—her name isn’t truly hers, and her past remains hauntingly unresolved.
As Lucy embeds herself in the island’s community, she encounters numerous dangers: deadly cliffs, shark-infested waters, and disorienting fogs. But there’s more—a dark presence lurks, disguising an encroaching threat. Amidst this forbidding landscape, Lucy must confront not only the perils of her past but also the ever-present dangers of her surroundings.

The novel weaves together historical fiction, gothic elements, and romance. Lucy’s gradual trust in the mysterious Will Sisson adds depth to the narrative. The author’s vivid descriptions evoke the island’s isolation, its windswept cliffs, and the relentless sea battering its shores.
I enjoyed the unusual backdrop of this novel and the island’s unforgiving nature. Jen Wheeler’s debut novel is intricately plotted, deeply researched, and beautifully written.

The character development is so good. I didn’t like the mention of animal killing. It was a bleak read. Not for me

Atmospheric historical novel, but incredibly slow, and needed editing. I'm excited about future projects from this author though.

This book didn't grab as much as I thought. It was definitely a slow-burner and seemed to take a very long time to draw to its conclusion. I got distracted easily whilst reading this as it didn't hold my Interest. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This story was very interesting to me, and well written. I loved the atmospheric setting and was kept guessing to the end.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a slow-burn, atmospheric historical novel. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, but there's a perfect reader for every book out there.

It didn't grip me the way I had hoped it would. I loved the setting and the details of the island. I was more engaged with the characters by the end. But there didn't seem to be any true conflict in the story. Everything felt too tidily wrapped up

I tried this as an audio book and it was very well done. I liked the narrator. The beginning was very compelling - I wanted to know more about the friend, the name and why she was went to the island. I liked her getting to know the residents, the secrets and lore. I love the spooky stories. But somewhere in the middle, it slowed down. I found the possible fire story interesting but even that mystery seemed to get derailed. I found the parts about the birds gory and gross and a bit over-the-top with detail. The story did pick back up and I found the race to ending good. It was an interesting read, I enjoyed it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Joining the community on the remote Farallon Islands, Lucy Riley starts as a teacher. She encounters a mysterious stranger and many dangers in this desolate place. Ultimately not a bad novel, though it seemed to need more fleshing out in detail and writing style...only my opinion.

In 1859, Lucy Riley takes a job on Farallon Island, it's located thirty miles from the coast of San Francisco and she will be teaching the lighthouse keepers children. Called the Devils Teeth, the remote islands landscape is rugged, the home to thousands of seagulls and once a year murre birds lay their speckled eggs amongst the rocky cliffs and outcrops.

Lucy has multiple secrets, she isn’t using her real name and the island is the perfect place for her to hide. Will Sisson has lived on the island for eight years, he’s confused when he sees Lucy for the first time and later she discovers why. He's in charge of the murre egg collection enterprise, he overseas the eggers, while working they wear special egg shirts so not to crack their fragile shells, once washed in sea water, the eggs are stored in a shed, and transported to the mainland and eaten.

Lucy lives in a cottage called Stonehouse, she enjoys her job teaching Mr. Pollard's and Mr. Clifford’s children, while the third light housekeeper Mr. Salter refuses to let his wife and daughter mix with the others and his daughter doesn't attend school.

The island is a creepy place, full of deadly cliffs, the waters are infested with sharks, the seagulls constantly attack people and Lucy thinks it might be haunted? While parts of the story are fascinating and based on real facts, the narrative is rather confusing and due to it constantly going back to Lucy's troubled past and having to piece it together.

I really liked Will Sisson and his dog Banquo, the information about how goods, people and animals were transported by ship and transferred to the island, the murre birds, whale migration, operating the lighthouse and these facts were interesting. I wish Jan Wheeler's debut novel, The Light on Farallon Island wasn't full of doom and gloom, maybe there was a hidden meaning that I missed and three stars from me.

3.5⭐️

<i> …. a spellbinding tale about the dangers a nineteenth-century woman encounters as she flees a tragic past to the menacing Farallon Islands.

Thirty miles off the coast of San Francisco lie the Farallon Islands, known to sailors as the Devil’s Teeth. Despite their fearsome reputation, their remote nature appeals to young Lucy Riley, who in 1859 seeks a new start as a teacher to the lighthouse keepers’ children.

But Lucy brings treacherous secrets with her, including a name that isn’t hers and a past she can’t escape. On the island, she meets Will Sisson, a mysterious man who seems to recognize her name—but not her face. Wary of Will at first, Lucy slowly starts to trust him.

As Lucy embeds herself in the island’s community, she discovers numerous dangers: deadly cliffs, shark-infested waters, and disorienting fogs. A dark presence of another sort, too, disguises an encroaching threat.

In this forbidding place, Lucy must find the courage to confront the perils of her past and the ever-present dangers of the world around her for the new life she’s sought to finally begin. </i>


I went into this book expecting a spooky and suspenseful mystery with an atmospheric feel. It skewed much further towards a romance with a mystery suspense element, and didn’t hold my attention as well as I would have liked. An okay story to pass the time.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an review.

An awesome debut story by Jen Wheeler, The Light on Farallon Island is an easy and engaging read about Miss Lucy Riley, the dangers and secrets from her past and the new dangers that abounds on The Devil’s Teeth, as the sailors call Farallon Island. Sharks, troublesome presences, deadly cliffs and throw fog in the mix and you’ll have and intriguing story,
Really enjoyed this book. Thank you for the opportunity to give my review.

It’s 1859 and Amelia travels to the treacherous Farallon Islands thirty miles off the coast of San Francisco. Donning the name Lucy Riley, she harbours hopes of outrunning her past and finding a fresh start as teacher to the lighthouse keepers’ children. But once on the island she begins to wonder if she’s made a mistake in coming there.
*
The premise is what attracted me to this book and, of course, the gorgeous cover design.
*
The setting was well described, providing had a clear picture of what the Farallon Islands looked like. However, for long stretches in this book nothing happened and then events would occur as though a dash of drama had been added at random.
*
I didn’t feel an attachment to the characters and the threats to Amelia didn’t feel big enough. It felt like this book was all about events that almost happened. There was the potential for a great scene near the end with rowing across to the mainland in a storm with a injured person, but this whole experience was glossed over with a lot of things miraculously working out.
*
The love affair felt too modern. I was not prepared for the sex scene, and though the main character, Amelia, is supposed to be a broadminded woman, it still didn’t feel believable.
*
I rarely write negative reviews, because it brings me no joy to do so. Normally, if I enjoy a book I don’t review it. Other people can write the negative reviews and many do a very good job at it, but it’s not for me. As it turns out, neither was this book.
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If this book sounds like something you would like, here are the details. THE LIGHT ON FARALLON ISLAND by Jen Wheeler comes out on this Thursday June 1 in ebook, paperback, and audiobook through Lake Union Publishing. Thank you to @netgalley for all of the books you bless me with and to @amazonpublishing for allowing me to read this one in exchange for an honest review.
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Have you read this book? I’d love to know what you thought, especially if your opinion is completely different from mine! I’m sure there are readers out there for this book, but again, it just wasn’t for me.

I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Historical with Speculative Elements, Gothic Fiction, Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction, Romance
Heat Level: Medium (some description)
Representation: LGBTQ characters

THE LIGHT ON FARALLON ISLAND is slightly reminiscent of books like JANE EYRE because of several elements but it focuses more tightly on the female main character, Amelia (also called Lucy).

Gothic Elements:
Byronic hero; troubled and brooding
Supernatural (ghosts, witch-like women, fortune telling)
Fire, Death, Destruction
Extreme weather
Lonely, rugged land
Women as either innocent or wicked
Family secrets
Madness

Amelia is always reading MOBY DICK.

This book also has similar themes such as:
Man vs Nature
Fate vs Freedom
Enslavement (in this case, women being under a man's control)
Religion
Sexual identity

I found the book a little slow (which happens in some literary fiction), but I finished it. The themes seemed to hover on the edge and I had to think about it after to tug them loose. There are some brutal scenes. Quite a few sex scenes clustered around the middle that could have been pared down, in my opinion.

Did I enjoy the book?
Yes—the atmospheric read was very interesting, and I loved learning more about the Farallon Islands. This book feels more like classic literature with its deep themes and historic setting.

This book isn't going to be for everyone. It's a bit cerebral. But the right audience is going to eat it up. I'd actually give it 3.5 stars.

Happy reading!

More a historical romance than anything else, this is the story of Lucy, who has fled to Farallon Island after - well, I'm not going to tell. She's working as a teacher and starting to rebuild her life when she meets Will. Is he a good guy or a bad one? This has some good atmospheric of the area but they're more or less only a back drop to a bit of drama. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I’m sorry to say I didn’t finish this book. I got 1/4 a way through it, but just couldn’t get into it. Thank you Netgalley anyhow for the chance to read this for honest review

This book was okay. It contained a lot of graphic material involving killing animals. There is also an intense scene involving a murder. I liked the ending.
I was provided a copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A tale about the dangers a nineteenth-century woman encounters as she flees a tragic past to the menacing Farallon Islands.
It is a well written novel, with punchy dialogue that rings true, and the descriptive writing brings the scenes to life.

Thirty miles off the coast of San Francisco lie the Farallon Islands, a remote nature retreat known for its deadly cliffs, shark-invested waters and disorienting fog. Lucy Riley however is drawn to the island and she seeks a fresh start away from the mainland there as a school teacher for the lighthouse keepers' children.

I'm not entirely sure how I would categorise this book. Historical fiction with a dash of mystery? Its not a thriller but there is a lurking hidden past we spend the book waiting to cause chaos and destruction. Lucy isn't who says she is, she has dark secrets she is trying to escape and she is plagued by her mother's threat that she will die by fire.

I found the island setting to be intimate. I was fully engaged in the island community, the remoteness of life. However, I feel like no character was particularly endearing. Lucy is the focus (we learn about her past in flash backs) but I still never really felt like I knew her. Maybe this a reflection that she is undercover pretending to be her dead friend?

A lot happens throughout the story, but also nothing really happens at all. Some chapters are really slow, others are a rush of activity. I felt like we were always building up to a big finale that never came. I wish we had focused more on the island, its purpose. how it impacts its residence and a little less on Lucy.

Overall, the writing style was engaging and a promising debut novel. You get community dynamics, mystery, romance and a history of the island.

I loved the setting of this story on the Farallon Islands in the late 1850's. I wish the islands were an even bigger part of the story as my interest in this title came from my love of The Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey. Beyond that, Lucy is a strong character and I felt invested in her struggles and relationships.