From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelley Noble comes a heartrending and uplifting novel about friendship, love, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for our dreams.What was supposed to be an idyllic wedding leads to an unexpected journey of self-discovery… When Lillo Gray pulls up to Kennebunkport’s most exclusive hotel wearing a borrowed dress and driving a borrowed VW van, … borrowed dress and driving a borrowed VW van, she knows she’s made a big mistake. She’s not even sure why Jessica Parker invited her to her posh wedding. They haven’t seen each other since they were unhappy fourteen-year-old girls at fat camp. And now they’re from two completely different worlds. There’s no way Lillo fits in the rarefied circles Jessica travels in.
Jess isn’t sure she’s ready to go through with this wedding, but she’s been too busy making everyone else happy to think about what she wants. But when she and her two closest friends, Allie and Diana, along with Lillo, discover her fiancé with his pants down in the hotel parking lot, she’s humiliated…and slightly relieved. In a rush to escape her crumbling life, Jess, Allie, and Diana pile into Lillo’s beat-up old van and head up the coast to Lighthouse Island. Once there, she hopes to figure out the next chapter in her life.
Nursing broken hearts and broken dreams, four lost women embark on a journey to find their way back into happiness with new love, friendship, and the healing power of Lighthouse Beach.
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Dollycas’s Thoughts
Lillo Gray arrives at the fancy wedding of a childhood friend Jess in a borrowed old VW van and a dress she borrowed from another friend. She knows she shouldn’t have come, she is never going to fit in with these people. She is totally surprised when the bride welcomes her with open arms and drags her off to meet 2 more friends avoiding the festivities planned by her parents.
When they meet Allie and Diana for a few drinks Lillo learns that Jess really doesn’t want to get married and that she is just doing it to make her parents happy. When the group returns to the hotel they see the groom in the parking lot in a very comprising position. Broken and humiliated Jess has had enough. The girls quickly hatch a plan to save their friend. A girl’s road trip! The pack a few things and climb into the VW and take off up the coast. Back to the place where Lillo and Jess met, somewhere they hope no one will find them, Lighthouse Beach.
Books like this one give me a glorious “Calgon take me away” escape.
This story is about four women and Lighthouse Beach and those that inhabit or visit it. They thought taking Jess there she would rediscover the strong woman she was in college but it did so much more. The discovered something about themselves and their visit changed the lives of others too.
Lighthouse Beach is a small coastal town that has basically been forgotten since the lighthouse was retired. The former tourist town is just hanging on. People have to travel to larger towns and work two or three jobs just to survive. This leaves some children mostly unsupervised and free to cause trouble. The residents try to help each other out but the needed resources just aren’t available. There is a visiting group of doctor’s and handyman that comes to town periodically. This group becomes part of the fabric of Lighthouse Beach. A fabric that stretches to welcome Allie and Diana and welcome back Jess almost effortlessly.
This story takes place over the course of a week. It seems longer because so much happens. The pacing is perfect. It is a very hard book to put down. The characters lives unfold comfortably allowing the readers to become completely engaged and feel for them. While there is a romantic undertone this story is so much more. Friendship, support, understanding, bring these characters together. Little by little secrets are revealed, wounds are opened and soothed. A true community spirit can be felt.
Ms. Noble has written a story I won’t soon forget. She hasn’t tied things up all nicely with a bow at the end either leaving the reader to wonder a bit about the future at Lighthouse Beach and the people we met there. A breath of fresh air, energizing, hopeful story that I really and truly enjoyed. It was most certainly a Perfect Escape!
This is the first book by Shelley Noble I’ve read and I absolutely loved it. My only complaint was that at times it felt like there were too many characters with too much going on. It’s a wonderful weekend read.
When an invitation lands in her mailbox for her long lost friends wedding Lillo Gray wasn’t quite sure what to think of it, they haven’t spoken since they were teens and to hear from her like this out of blue is quite peculiar. They met at fat camp when they were fourteen, and made an instant connection, bonded over things and became inseparable for the duration of the summer. But then time passed and they moved on with their lives, and drifted far apart.
Jess is dressed and ready to walk down the aisle, marry her fiance and start the next chapter in her life… but minutes before that is supposed to happen she discovers her fiance in a compromising position with a waitress in the parking lot. Now she knows the doubts she has been fighting the last few weeks held some weight, she should have listened to her gut, and her heart, and stopped this sham of a wedding before it came to this point. But that would have disappointed her parents, and that’s unacceptable…
After the devastating discovery, Jess, and her friends Allie and Diana jump into Lillo’s old van and hit the open road to Lighthouse Island for a little life reboot vacation…. not realizing this little vacation of theirs holds the keys to futures they never expected for themselves, as well as lots of fun and healing they all desperately need.
Lighthouse Beach is a poignant tale that will tug on your heartstrings, leave you inspired, and renew your faith in the power of friendship! From the moment I started this one I found myself identifying with these ladies, developing a deep understanding of where they were at and where they wanted to end up, it was such a wonderful journey to be a part of, and quite inspiring too. I sure hope the author plans to revisit Lighthouse Beach and give us another peek at these wonderful characters, I would love to see how they are doing and where they all end up! If you are looking for a heartfelt and humorous tale to dive into this summer I highly recommend you add this one to your list, it sure to take you on an truly pleasurable literary escape!
I requested an advanced copy of this title and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
A good summer read
Fell in love with most of the characters…enjoyed the story line – it had a few twists. Wanted it to continue!
Characters are realistic and lovable. You want to cheer them on. And the little town by the sea does change all their lives
Loved how the characters supported each other.
Interesting trying to figure out the backstory of each of the characters. A little slow in the middle, but once it picked up I couldn’t put it down.
I so enjoyed the characters and their interaction. Real women, with real problems and needs. Just very special.
Good beach read
Really enjoyed it. Read it fast.
I love beach reads that make me happy.
I so enjoyed Lighthouse Beach. It takes off a little slowly, meaning that I wasn’t instantly engaged by the characters, but when that moment happened, I found the book keeping me up later than usual and filling my downtime with the interesting stories of the lives of the four women living together and the community citizens they engaged with.
Mac, the nextdoor neighbor, is a book unto herself! She is the glue that keeps the tiny island together and the rock that others depend on.What an excellent neighbor she’d make in real life!
Kudos, author!
What a great story of friends, dysfunctional families, new relationships, and everything that life can just throw at you. There are laughs and tears in this book and that’s the best kind! I would highly recommend it to everyone! Thank you Shelley for writing such a great book!
A good read for the beach!
This book was so poorly written, it nearly killed me to finish reading it. I kept hoping it would improve but no such luck.
A great read. Easy to get lost in the story. It has its twist and turns. Escape to Lighthouse Beach where you are never the same.
Fun summer read!
good read.alittle slow at times, but good.
Memorable characters. Unraveling each person’s story . I wasn’t able to predict how the week at Lighthouse Beach would change each of them. Good picture of a small town struggling to stay alive. The “happy” ending for all the characters may have been a bit too neat. Enjoyable read.