Review: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Published August 23rd 2016 by Scribner

The years-long New York Times bestseller and Goodreads Best Historical Novel that is “irresistible…seductive…with a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page” (O, The Oprah Magazine)—soon to be a major motion picture from Spielberg’s Dreamworks starring Michael Fassbender, Rachel Weisz, and Alicia Vikander, and directed by Derek Cianfrance.

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

“Elegantly rendered…heart-wrenching…beautifully drawn” (USA TODAY), The Light Between Oceans is a gorgeous debut novel, not soon to be forgotten. 

My Thoughts

This book was both emotional and unputdownable! The Light Between Oceans had me hooked and I could not let go. I was on a mission to finish this story before seeing the movie, and luckily I was able to do so because it’s not in my nature to see a movie without reading the book first… if I can help it.

Having experienced both the book and the movie, I have to say how amazing the author was able to tell this gripping story, and how meticulous the movie was adapted to the book. I truly enjoyed both.

In The Light Between Oceans, Tom Sherbourne embarks on a new journey after serving in World War I. He takes a station as a lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock and after a short time, falls in love and marries the lively Isabel. After a few years of marriage and several miscarriages, Isabel and Tom are heartbroken, but all that changes when a small boat washes up on their island with a newborn baby and a dead man. From that moment, their choices create devastating consequences.

Tom was an absolutely worthy character. From the moment he entered the scene, it was clear what a kind, meticulous and heavyhearted soul he was. I completely adored him. Isabel was the perfect, slightly wild balance to Tom’s steady nature, and together they portrayed a love I never doubted.

Throughout the book, I never lost sight of the impending doom that was to come as a consequence to keeping Lucy as their own daughter. As the story unfolded, I scrambled to think of an outcome that would accommodate all parties… but that was impossible.

The movie did an amazing job of bringing this story to life. Despite not having Tom’s full backstory outlined in the movie due to time constraints, I feel the audience was still able to appreciate why Tom made certain decisions.

Overall, if you’re looking for a story with heart and power, not to mention a beautiful Australian backdrop, The Light Between Oceans is sure to please. This novel will rank in my top five this year.

4 Suns

Movie Release and Book Review: The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

I guess you can call me an inconsistent fan of Nicholas Sparks where I have a love/hate relationship with his books. I either really like them or have the urge to toss them out the window. However, I'm always one of the first in line to catch his books translated to film. So, when I heard his more recent novel, The Longest Ride will be hitting the big screen, I immediately picked up the book so I can enjoy the movie when it releases!

Well, The Longest Ride movie release is next week - April 10, 2015, so I thought I'd share a bit about the book, my review, and the movie trailer. Enjoy!

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Published September 17th 2013 by Grand Central Publishing

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

My Thoughts

I’ve had a long reading relationship with Nicholas Sparks, and the best way I can describe it is unpredictable. Going into his each of his books, I never doubt he has a good story to tell. However, that story is not always for me. It unusually ends in one of two ways… I either hate it or love it. My most recent experiences have fallen a bit short, so going into The Longest Ride it’s no surprise that I was skeptical. With the movie being right around the corner, and the trailers seeming to be appealing, as I’ve said before, I can’t in good-book faith see the movie without reading the book first.

Thankfully, The Longest Ride was absolutely perfect! Probably my first, hopefully not my last, 5 star rating for Sparks. This novel is definitely my favorite by Sparks and I canNOT wait to see the movie.

The Longest Ride shares two parallel stories that I’ll only touch upon briefly because I don’t want to give anything away.

The first story is of Ira Levinson, who is a ninety-one year old widower that has careened off a snowy embankment and is stranded waiting for help. As the hours and cold set in, the outlook is bleak and daunting. However, it’s during Ira’s most desperate moments that his wife Ruth that passed away nine years ago appears to him and together they reminisce about the life they shared together prior to her passing.

The second story occurs miles away between a cowboy, bull-rider named Luke and a college student named Sophia. They meet at a rodeo and soon strike up an unbreakable bond and heartfelt romance that’s not without its fair share of struggles and hardships.

As these story-lines progress, we get to know these two couples and all the while ponder how Sparks will merge their lives. Well, let me end by saying this, the crossroads for their stories was an amazing moment, and the twist at the end had me smiling, guffawing and pining to see the movie.

The Longest Ride is one of Sparks rare moments where I didn’t have the urge to fling the book out the window. Loved it!

5 Suns

Movie Tie-in Edition

Movie Trailer

If you see the film, let us know what you thought!

Review & Movie Release: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

Published August 26th 2014 by Grand Central Publishing (first published September 14th 2010)

"Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She'd believed in it once, too, back when she was eighteen."

In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew -- about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear -- was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

My Thoughts

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Nicholas Sparks book, and I can always count on this author for two things. First, he’s definitely going to share an emotional story, full of angsty love, steady drama and like-able characters. And second, it’s inevitable that he’s going to either kill off a main character or end the story in a way that leaves you screaming “Are you kidding me?!?”

Well in The Best of Me, Sparks delivered as usual. I don’t think I’m being spoilery, but rather sparklery when I say that the love is angsty and the wrong character dies. I should have known... Yet I was still slightly surprised Sparks pulled the trigger. No pun intended. So why did I read it? Well I want to see the movie and in true nerd fashion, I can’t watch it without reading the book first.

In The Best of Me, we get to meet Amanda and Dawson when they fall in love their senior year of 1984. In a time and place where family dictates who and how to love, Amanda and Dawson share a true romance, but are forced to go separate ways because of family expectations and loving someone so much that it’s best you set them free. After over twenty years of no contact, they come together to bury their old friend Tuck and because of him, they spend a weekend rekindling the love they once shared. However, Amanda has a husband and family, and she can’t quite fathom doing the selfish thing and pursuing her true love at the expense of her family’s happiness.

First, I have to admit that I really liked the novel. It’s no doubt that Sparks is a good storyteller. He has an interesting way of weaving multiple storylines into a book without overwhelming the reader. As the story progressed, I felt the momentum speed up and the storylines quickly coming to a convergence, which was exciting.

As far as the characters go, despite never getting to know Amanda’s kids and husband until the final hours of the novel, I still appreciated her desire to put them first. She was a relatable and likeable character that was hard not to fall for. Dawson is your typical too-good-to-be-true handsome catch and I’m quite surprised at how his life unfolded over the years. This character sacrificed quite a bit for a love that never would come to fruition. I felt true sympathy for him and his lot in life.

Overall, there were elements of the story I would like to see change, as with any Sparks novel. I often wonder why he feels compelled to be trigger happy with some of the best characters he develops. However, despite his heartbreaking tendencies, I still enjoyed this story and I can’t wait to see this in film.

4 Suns

The Best of Me

IN THEATERS OCTOBER 17, 2014!

Starring Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Luke Bracey, and Liana Liberator

Fifty Shades of Grey Movie Trailer & Countdown Clock!!

For those of you who haven't had a chance to view the FIRST Fifty Shades of Grey trailer that came out today, check out the clip below. 

Also for your convenience, Waves of Fiction is helping you countdown the days with our Countdown Clock on our right sidebar. Check it out!