What I’ve Been Reading: The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman – Book Review

To say I’d been putting off reading this one for ages, because I knew it would be heart braking is such an understatement. I’ve had this sat on my shelf for five months, and I kept procrastinating and not picking it up to save my tears. Eventually I picked it up a few weeks ago, and right from the start all my preconceptions about this book, the characters and they story were right.

The story follows Tom and Izzy who live on a remote lighthouse off the west coast of Australia, Tom is a stickler for the rules from his military background, and Izzy is a free spirit who lives life wildly.

‘A boat washes up on the shore of a remote lighthouse keeper’s island. It holds a dead man and a crying baby. The only two islanders, Tom and his wife Izzy, are about to make a devastating decision. They break the rules and follow their hearts. What happens next will break your heart.’

Overview:

Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4/5

Who would I recommend this too: Any female! My 20 yr old best friends and mum/ mother-in-law equally!

Favourite Quote: “I’ve learned the hard way that to have any kind of a future you’ve got to give up hope of ever changing your past.”

Quick (No spoiler) overview: Completely heart baking, I cried on about 5 separate occasions before reaching page 100. As the characters develop, you will find yourself siding with one or the other, are you a Tom or an Izzy? What would you do in the situations they find themselves in? The story starts with themes of infertility, miscarriage and still birth which made it hard to read at points, but the rollercoaster of the story was so beautifully written and descriptive I continued.

Would I recommend?

I would absolutely recommend this to any of my female friends that are my age (late 20’s) right up to my mum or mother-in-law. I don’t feel its limited to one age group, I do however feel it is more suited to a female demographic rather than male. The only people I wouldn’t recommend this book too are those who are struggling with infertility, miscarriage or baby loss, and that’s only due to the very raw and real descriptions of Izzy’s struggles. I found these story lines heart braking, and I haven’t personally struggled with these things.

If you enjoyed Where The Crawdads Sing and Me Before You, I would absolutely add this to your TBR list.

Are there any other books like this that you would recommend to me? I’d love to find some more in the same vein as this!

Milli x

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