Customer Reviews

16 Lighthouse Road [With Headphones] (Playaway Adult Fiction)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

16 Lighthouse Road is a unique compilation of stories about friends and acquaintances of Olivia Lockhart, Family Court judge, in the Pacific Northwest town of Cedar Cove, Washington. With her usual writing skill, Debbie Macomber takes chords of real life circumstances (divorce, a child's death, alcoholism, strained familial relationships, disappearing spouses, and military service separation) and entwines them with love, hope, and reconciliation. Unfortunately, all of them can't be fully developed in one 377 page paperback.

Macomber paints wonderful and evocative word pictures of the Washington landscape and the personalities of her characters. The dialogue and honest interaction of the characters draws you immediately into the storylines and keeps you reading in spite of the fragmented structure of the book.

Ian and Cecilia Randall, the young newlyweds struggling with the death of a child and separation because of his Navy career, appear in her courtroom. Jack Griffin, newly arrived editor of the Cedar Cove Chronicle, and love interest. Her busybody mother Charlotte Jefferson, who collects recipes at funeral wake. Tom Harding, stoke victim and mysterious new resident of Cedar Cove Convalescent Home, who gives a key to her mother. Grace Sherman, the best friend whose husband keeps disappearing; and Justine, her daughter, in a relationship with a man twenty years her senior. All endearing characters that capture your heart.

Switches between the stories and her believable, engaging characters will keep you turning the pages to see how each saga ends, but you do long to spend more time with them. Or, perhaps re-visit with them in a sequel. After all, we never do learn what happened to Grace's husband!

16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD satisfies the soap-opera lover in us with a charming little town peopled with problem-ridden residents. If I had not known ahead of time this was a continuing series, I would have been disappointed that so many storylines were left dangling at the end, but knowing there are more books, I am eagerly anticipating the rest of the series.

Judge Olivia Lockhart resides in the title address and we first meet her as she denies the divorce of Cecilia and Ian Randall. The young couple, obviously deeply in love, has not dealt with their grief over losing their infant daughter and has rushed headlong into divorce proceedings. The Judge herself is a divorcee who knows what it means to lose a child and still love your ex-husband. Meanwhile, the town's new newspaper editor, a man with a secret to hide, is hotly pursuing her.

The lustiest part of the story involves Olivia's daughter Justine who is dating a man old enough to be her father while having deeply sexual feelings for a high school friend she becomes reacquainted with while planning their tenth reunion.

Olivia's friend, Grace Sherman, plays a pivotal role in the book, as the deserted wife who endures grief and humiliation before deciding life on her own is really quite pleasant.

Olivia's mother, Charlotte Jefferson, provides many comedic moments as she attempts to track down the grandson of a stroke victim she befriends.

All together, an inviting look into a friendly town where problems are encountered and overcome with the help of good neighbors and good friends.

I've been reading lots of romances lately. Some have been so awful that after 50 pages, they go to the used bookshop. So it is was pleasure to find one that was so readable and enjoyable. Of course, with Debbie at the keys, this is not surprising.

While there is some fragmented areas, like the transition between characters, it didn't matter. I just could not stop. The little town of Cedar Cove is charming and the people are real people, doing things that most of us do each day. Work, workout with a friend, shop and run to the cleaners. And none of us live in a fairy tale world. These women don't either. However, Jack's friend Bob does seem to have the one stable marriage in the book. And at least Olivia and Stan have a civil relationship.

The approach to the solution for Cecilia's and Ian's marriage allows for much growth in their maturity level. Actually we see alot of growth in the book. The grandson of Tom Harding overcoming his reluctance to take his grandfather's mementos, Grace developing some independence and Justine, looking past the glitter of a superficial relationship and finding true love in someone crystal clear and wholesome.

I think that some loose ends were left at the end intentionally and that in the next book ( which is hinted at), we will probably find out what happened to Grace's husband and see Jack and Olivia weather some ups and downs. Of course, I am just guessing, but that is what I would like to see.

This one is a keeper and I will read it again.

In this new series, Ms. Macomber introduces us to a new series. The series takes place in Cedar Cove, Washington, a scenic little town where the people are interesting and their stories could be real. The series follows the people who live in the title address and the characters they interact with. In this book we meet Olivia Lockhart, who lives at 16 Lighthouse Road. Olivia is a family court judge who makes news when she denies a prenuptial agreement dissolution for a couple, Cecilia and Ian Randall, who are seeking a divorce after the tragic death of their newborn daughter. We also meet Olivia's mother, Charlotte who makes friends with a stroke victim, Olivia's daughter Justine who is in a relationship with a much older man who is also drawn to an old schoolmate. We meet Grace, Olivia's best friend, who is dealing with the disappearance of her husband and the newly arrived newspaper editor Jack Griffin. Olivia finds herself drawn to Jack and they start to see one another. As they work through their relationship, we also get an inside view to many other relationships at work through the town.

Ms. Macomber draws us into a wonderful new world where the people jump off the page at you and are extremely likeable. I enjoyed the first book to the series and enjoyed meeting all the new characters. As Ms. Macomber leaves us wanting more with the other storylines, I am quite glad to say that Ms. Macomber continues with many more books in the series, including 74 Seaside Avenue, which releases in August of 2007. I have placed this book in my "keep library" with the rest of this series and would encourage anyone who enjoys a good, contemporary, series to pick this book, and the rest of the series, up.

Deidre - Night Owl Romance Reviews

[..]

Loved this book. Am now looking for the rest of this series. Characters are believable and sympathetic. Situations realistic. I'm anxious to meet the rest of the neighborhood.

As a relative newbie to the works of Debbie Macomber, i have to say, she has yet to disappoint me. With this novel, the first in her Ceder Cove series, she has made me a devoted fan for life. I literally sat down with this book, and was unable to put it down until i was finished.

"16 Lighthouse Rd" introduces us to some incredibly memorable characters.

Olvia: Family court judge, who's torn between her feelings for the new editor of the local newspaper, and her ex.

Charlotte: Olivia's mother, who goes in search of the family of a recently decesed friend.

Grace: Olivia's best friend, who is dealing with a pregnant daughter, and the mysterious disappearence of her husband of 35 years.

Cecilia & Ian: a young married couple who struggle to deal with their demons after the death of their newborn baby

Justine, Seth & Warren: an unusual love triangle, that will definitely have you rooting for her to make the right choice.

There are many more wonderful characters here, and their interweaving storylines mesh perfectly together. All i can say is that with the Ceder Cove series, Macomber has created a wonderful family that i can't wait to visit and spend time with again.

The book was great and a can't put down, you just want to move on the the next book.

I have read all the stories in the books of the Cedar Cove Series, and I could not put any of the books down until I had finshed reading them. It is the best series I have read to date and I can hardly wait until the next one is publised. I believe that will be this coming fall and I will keep watch for it. The families in these books are so real, I can picture all of them as they move about in your stories. Please accept my congratulations on your talent Debbie.
Sincerely, Joyce

This is an excellent book. I couldn't put it down. If you prefer reading a heartwarming story about a comfortable and cozy small town rather than a big city thriller, this book is for you. Macomber does a wonderful job of defining her characters and really brining their personalities to life. Debbie Macomber is quickly climbing to the ranks of Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts.

16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

16 Lighthouse Road is a series of subplots within one book, where not one single subplot takes the lead. There are several stories found in this Macomber title. Olivia is a 50-something judge who presides over a divorce hearing and refuses to grant the divorce. The couple in question is Cecilia and Ian Randall, who have gone through their own private hell - loss of a baby which leads to their mess of a marriage.

Olivia herself is the focus of a subplot. She has been divorced for many years but has not remarried as her ex-husband has. Then, she meets Jack Griffin, newspaper editor of the local paper, and she finds herself interested. The feeling is mutual.

Another subplot is Charlotte, Olivia's mother, who is involved with many social groups including helping out at the hospital, where she meets an elderly man who cannot speak, because of a stroke.

Yet another subplot is the story of Justine, who is dating a much older man, and her mother is Olivia. She has no desire to settle down, but then starts to have conflicting emotions when she meets up again with an old high school mate, Seth.

There is nothing wrong with having several subplots in one book. The problem was that there was no main story, and the book reads like a soap opera. Debbie Macomber can write, but I have a feeling the fault here is her editor. There are repeated passages all over the book, where things could have been nicely condensed. Transitions from one scene to another are not very smooth. I would have enjoyed this book a lot better if someone had taken the time to proof read the book and do it right!

I have the second book in this series of books, 204 Rosewood Lane. I am hoping to find this book a much better edited book. There was nothing wrong with the story content of 16 Lighthouse Road. It kept my interest despite the irritating problems with the writing. Because of these problems, I will have to give the book only Three stars.