The Light Between Oceans

by M L Stedman

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman has a very interesting premise, a couple who run a lighthouse find a baby and raise it as their own. I was intrigued and looked forward to reading of the consequences this act would invoke.

I enjoyed the sections of the book that described Tom and Isabel's courtship. It was sweet and gave a wonderful look at the characters at their best. In hindsight, I wonder if this was to soften the blow of the couple's self-indulgence later on. These long ago memories were a patronus to cover the unspeakable.

Lucy, the baby that Tom and Isabel discover and decide not to return because they deserve a child brings a whole new look at the saying "finder's keeper's". I will admit that the delusion they built for themselves was lovely, but in reality, it was Neverland and waited for the moment when it would fall apart.

When the day did occur, when Lucy was discovered and Tom and Isabel were charged with kidnapping I was relieved. I wasn't sure if I could take much more of Isabel's selfishness and Tom throwing good judgement to the wind to follow his wife blindly.

My biggest problem with The Light Between Oceans was that I felt like M.L. Stedman was trying to make the reader sympathetic to Tom and Isabel. This only perturbed me more and glared at the liars I knew they were. While I am not a parent, I cannot imagine this happening and raising a child as your own does not change the facts.

I preferred the part of the book that focused on Hannah, Lucy's mother. I enjoyed reading of how this situation came to be and the repercussions it caused on land. It had more dimension and moved me more than Isabel's miscarriages every could.
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Noah Taylor, the books narrator was fantastic and if nothing else I'm glad to discover a new storyteller. Sadly, I could not say this for The Light Between Oceans. The unlikability of the characters and their unjustifiable actions was too much to handle and was in desperate need of S.O.S.

This review was originally posted on First Impressions Reviews