An engaging, thought-provoking collection that features heartache and hope.
Grief, hope, and transformation echo across three short stories in which lighthouses serve as guides for lost souls as well as ships.
Marchi’s collection opens with a story that follows A’Neew K’Colrom, a boy who lives on a dying planet. When he was younger, his mother told him fairy tales about the Water Spinners, celestial beings who gave the oceans to the planet’s inhabitants. But now, with every water source dried up, only A’Neew’s grandfather believes that the defunct lighthouse he tends “is a sign of hope.” The townspeople view the lighthouse differently, claiming that it reminds them of what they’ve lost. Despair inspires a mob to march up the cliff to destroy the structure. Inside, the grandfather reveals his secret: He has built a rocket in the lighthouse. The next tale focuses on Lila Gardner, a grieving mother still grappling with the death of her son, who goes on a trip with her husband. Unfortunately, Lila is unable to relax once she meets a strange couple looking for their lost daughter. She quickly realizes they’re ghosts and becomes determined to figure out why they’re haunting her. Lila’s investigation steers her to a lighthouse. The last story centers on Nathan, an aging lighthouse keeper whose impending forced retirement feels more like a death knell than a reprieve. There’s still one thing he hasn’t done in his decades of service. “I’ve never saved a life,” he confesses bitterly to his wife. His chance to change this arrives when a phantom ship appears in the night. Will he be able to save the crew and vessel or is he as obsolete as the lighthouse he mans? Placed together, these stories are deeply human with distinctive characters. While the book delivers some familiar plot elements (a dying planet, ghosts, retirement woes), the writing is grounded and the emotional beats land with purpose. The high point of the collection is Lila’s story. The mystery unfolds at an enjoyable pace—plucking at readers’ heartstrings as Lila learns to let go after an intense period of mourning—offering catharsis without a tidy conclusion. The engrossing tales reflect not only people’s attitudes about lighthouses, but also their need to believe in something that will shine brightly through hardships.
An engaging, thought-provoking collection that features heartache and hope.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
