Customer Reviews

Firefly Beach

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In the past two years I've become a big Luanne Rice fan. Each of her books has bylines connecting it to another of her books. "Firefly Beach" ties in the charactes from the her others books, namely "Safe Harbor", "Follow the Stars Home" and "True Blue".

"Firefly Beach" sets the background information for the rest of the books she's written. It explores the life of the Renwicks, who are the focal point of Hubbard's Point and mentioned in the other stories. I actually think I enjoyed this book the most, as it most closely resembles my (lack of) love life!

This is classic Luanne; it will make you angry, happy and cry.

Caroline Renwick has been the strength that held her family together. The oldest of three daughters of a famous artist whose life was riddled by sadness and alcoholism, Caroline has been the foundation her mother could never be.

As a very young girl, a terrible tragedy has changed the direction of her life, and the person at the center of it is back on the scene. Will it spell trouble by dredging up old hate and angers not yet faced by those that have carried them for years like an old skin, uneasily shed? Will tragedy bring all of these characters closer?

This is a well written book that flows easily leaving you with likable characters that you can't help but wish the best for. I did enjoy the read though it is predictable. I already have another Rice book waiting in the eves to be read, titled BLUE MOON. Kelsana 4/29/02

This is my first book by this author. It was wonderful. The author's exposition of the various characters was unusual in its depth. I read it too quickly - didn't want the story to end. The plot device of the letters between Caroline and Joe was so romantic and so very effective. This is a very special book. Read it!

Firefly Beach is one of the best books I've read. The author is truly gifted in her ability to convey depth of emotion simply but powerfully. Looking forward to her next novel.

I am a hardcore Luanne Rice fan. Home Fires is my favorite, but Summer Light was excellent, too!

First of all, why is this book a paperback? Why was it not released as a hardback? Could it be because it was poorly edited?

Pages 15 and 16, for example, make no sense. I was on my lunch hour reading, and I must have read that passage six times! You are led to believe that it is Caroline talking, but then the narrator says she failed a test "even though Caroline had helped her with her homework." Huh???

Next paragraph says, "no matter that she was her sister". Her who???? What the heck is Luanne talking about.

Then, still thinking the person narrating is Caroline, it talks about how it feels to kill another human. In the next chapter, the reader discovers that it was Skye who killed someone. Did the reader miss something here? Was something left out? Did NO ONE proofread this book?

If you'd asked me, before Firefly Beach, I would have told you I'm an unequivocal Luanne Rice fan. I've particularly liked her beach books and the way characters from one pop up on the fringes of another. I guess that's what I was expecting here...one of her beach books. And...while it DID take place by the shore...and featured the Renwicks...the book, the characters, the story...they just never grabbed me. I really didn't care what happened to anyone. In fact, I found the whole group of characters just frustrating, and never even finished this book. Other Rice novels...Dance With Me, Beach Girls, The Perfect Summer...have kept me up all night to finish them...but this one quickly found its way, half- read, into the "drop off at the club" pile. However...that won't stop me from reading the next Rice novel on my list...True Blue...or from looking forward to Summer of Roses. Given her talent, and the enjoyment she's given me over the years, I guess I'll just have to give Luanne Rice a "bye" on this one.

I haven't been disappointed yet by any of Luanne Rice's books. Firefly Beach is no exception. Great story, great characters, great ending....

My second favourite book after "SummerLight". I felt warm, and happy after I read the book. Luanne Rice touch my soul deeply. Firefly Beach which I just finished few hours ago, brought me closely to my heart which is still pounding as I am thinking of the book. I share Caroline's view and feelings even thoughts as I am looking at my own life unveil. I am one of the three sisters,unlikely Caroline, I am the youngest but the one who is caring the burden.
I would love to read it again and again , i will own this book when the hardcover is out.

This is the first book I have read by this author. I have to say that Luanne Rice knows how to depict the tragedies of life. All good stories need conflict and sometimes tragedy is a conflict. This story was dripping with it. Page after page, each character seemed to be drowning in despair. Even the dog (an old forlorn golden retreiver who had one paw on a banna peel and the other in a grave) seemed to have emotional issues to deal with. I wondered how many times was he going to go into the forest to die. In all honesty, this author can truly write about human error and loss. She has a knack for analysing and potraying her character's thoughts and behavior. This book is well written, it was just a downer for me. I invest in a book to make myself feel better. I was glad to put this one down. This lady writes well enough though, that I will try another book and hope it isn't the pattern of all her books.

In 1969, at FIREFLY BEACH, Connor arrives at the Renwick home carrying a gun. He accuses the famous artist Hugh Renwick of stealing his wife and plans to steal something that the man loves. However, Renwick is not at home and Connor is unable to kill any of the three Renwick sisters as he had planned. Instead he kills himself. Five-year old Caroline Renwick begins exchanging letters with Connor's six-year-old son Joe, but those letters end years later when he learns his dad committed suicide rather than dying from a heart attack.

Over three decades later, Joe returns to FIREFLY BEACH to meet the Renwicks and gain closure. Instead, he finds the Renwicks needing emotional help too. He helps one sister dry out, but opens his heart to the vulnerable, caring Caroline as love blossoms between them. However, that tragedy thirty-plus years ago still nightmarishly lingers as a blockage to any permanent relationship between Caroline and Joe.

FIREFLY BEACH is a powerful look at how one tragic event impacts on innocent family members. Three decades after their father had an affair with his mother; all four now adult children and the girls' mother still are psychologically damaged. Luanne Rice escorts the audience inside the heads of her cast so the reader can feel the swirling often-dark emotions that threaten to engulf each character. Ms. Rice is among the top gurus in invoking a realistic healing power of love in her novels and this novel showcases the author at her holistic best.

Harriet Klausner