16 Lighthouse Road

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better....
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better....
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Good read, but leaves you wanting more!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Lots of Potential, Yet a Good Story
Review: 16 Lighthouse Road is the story of the citizens of Cedar Cove, Washington. Cecilia and Ian Randall are a young, married couple having problems. They are in court seeking a divorce. Here we are introduced to Olivia, the judge. She doesn't grant them their divorce. Jack Griffin, the new editor of the local paper is in court that day writing an article for the paper. An article that will get people talking. There is also Charlotte, Olivia's mother. She is a busybody to say the least. Yet a very charming character. We also meet Grace and her husband Dan who seem to have a good marriage but then he just disappears. 16 Lighthouse Road was a good book except it jumped around to too many characters. It would have been better if it would have just focused on a few characters, like Cecilia and Ian, Olivia and Jack for instance. Instead the reader is introduced to many of the townspeople and it begins to get a little overwhelming. The storylines were good they just didn't get to develop because there were too many. I really like Ms. Macombers books but this book just seemed to focus on too many people and didn't build a good solid story around any two characters. The story of Cecilia and Ian was good but again it would be nice if more time had been spent on them. The storyline with Grace and her husband was excellent. I would liked to have seen one whole book dedicated to their story. Ms. Macombers other books, such as the Texas series and Buffalo Valley series, are better in that one book is dedicated primarily to one or two sets of characters and their stories. The other townspeople are in the story but they don't play such a big part like these in Cedar Cove. This book had a lot of potential but didn't expand on it. The characters were all people one could like and were again everyday people that everyone can relate to. There were just too many of them. Still, this was still a good book and passed away the hours in an entertaining way.

Rating:
Summary: Sub-par read
Review:

16 Lighthouse Road starts slow, jumps around a lot and there are too many characters introduced, setting up the rest of the series. I 'abandoned ship' on this book towards the end when there was an explosion on the aircraft carrier - the same thing happened in Macomber's 'Navy Wife' book. I probably won't finish this series because Grace and Dan weren't interesting enough to make me want to find out where he went anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Sub-par read
Review:

I 'abandoned ship' on this book towards the end when there was an explosion on the aircraft carrier - the same thing happened in one of Macomber's 'Navy' books. I probably won't finish this series because Grace and Dan weren't interesting enough to make me want to find out where he went anyway.

Rating:
Summary: My kind of town
Review: Cedar Cove is filled with people just like you and your next door neighbors, people easily identified with. Debbie Macomber introduces you to many of the town's residents and uses her talent as a writer to involve you, the reader, in their lives.
Her characters are richly developed and easy captivate your interest. Good rainy afternoon read.
Beverly J Scott author of "Righteous Revenge."

Rating:
Summary: Is This The First of a New Series?
Review: Debbie Macomber is a good writer and I've read quite a few of her books. This one has way too many characters to keep track of. Although I didn't dislike this book, I finished it feeling vaguely unsatisfied. It seemed like there were many loose ends to be tied up. From reading the other reviews, I am not alone in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful escape!
Review: Escape to a small town through the heart of Debbie Macomber -- believe me, you won't want to put this book down! The characters are richly drawn and you will find yourself swept away in their stories. The main characters -- Olivia, Charlotte, Grace, Cecelia, and Justine -- are reminiscent of people you know, people you love... and if you are anything like me, you'll find yourself rationing the number of pages you read at a time, just to draw out the pleasure. Macomber has alluded to the act that "16 Lighthouse Road" will be the first in the series -- and I hope it's a series that never ends!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: I can't wait for the 2nd book! Can't wait to see what happens!!