16 Lighthouse Road

I think I've mis-shelved this book. It doesn't really belong on "Heaving Bosoms" , but I refuse to start a "Fluttering Bosoms", so what can you do. I'm reading this Cedar Cove series because my family is doing it sort of as a group reading, and I'd like to stay in the loop with the family conversations. So I'm listening to them on audio, and Sandra Burr is her usual very competent self, bringing more life to the narration than I certainly could. The setting is the Anywhere USA town that every family sitcom from mid-century America was set in. Including those same values and mores. There's little or no crime, deviance, or depravity of any kind. Even the "bad" characters are, at worst, a little selfish and mean-spirited. Oh, and the one show more rich guy who's rumored to engage in shady business practices, has (gasp) divorced several wives, and dates women young enough to be his daughter. He's the only villain, as he wants to marry the young woman in spite of the fact that he can't get it up, locking her into a sexless and passionless and, even worse, BABYLESS marriage, but is happy to facilitate her engaging in extramarital affairs . They strongly value getting married, having babies, and interfering in each other's personal business. They do not seem to value birth control, rational adult communication, or an individual's right to self determination. Work and career are only a setting in which to carry out their personal dramas. The judge's mother routinely barges into her office to carry out personal conversations which for some reason can't wait until 5pm. My chief amusement in listening to this audiobook was continuously telling the characters what I thought of them and in imagining each annoying character getting just desserts for their refusal to communicate and interfering busybodiness - the judge disbarred, her mother occupying that jail cell with "Big Bertha" for theft and HIPAA violations, etc. show less

I think I've mis-shelved this book. It doesn't really belong on "Heaving Bosoms" , but I refuse to start a "Fluttering Bosoms", so what can you do. I'm reading this Cedar Cove series because my family is doing it sort of as a group reading, and I'd like to stay in the loop with the family conversations. So I'm listening to them on audio, and Sandra Burr is her usual very competent self, bringing more life to the narration than I certainly could. The setting is the Anywhere USA town that every family sitcom from mid-century America was set in. Including those same values and mores. There's little or no crime, deviance, or depravity of any kind. Even the "bad" characters are, at worst, a little selfish and mean-spirited. Oh, and the one show more rich guy who's rumored to engage in shady business practices, has (gasp) divorced several wives, and dates women young enough to be his daughter. He's the only villain, as he wants to marry the young woman in spite of the fact that he can't get it up, locking her into a sexless and passionless and, even worse, BABYLESS marriage, but is happy to facilitate her engaging in extramarital affairs . They strongly value getting married, having babies, and interfering in each other's personal business. They do not seem to value birth control, rational adult communication, or an individual's right to self determination. Work and career are only a setting in which to carry out their personal dramas. The judge's mother routinely barges into her office to carry out personal conversations which for some reason can't wait until 5pm. My chief amusement in listening to this audiobook was continuously telling the characters what I thought of them and in imagining each annoying character getting just desserts for their refusal to communicate and interfering busybodiness - the judge disbarred, her mother occupying that jail cell with "Big Bertha" for theft and HIPAA violations, etc. show less

Wow. I forgot how back in the day Debbie Macomber would have love scenes in her books. It's been a while so it actually shocked me for a second. This is the first book in the Cedar Cove series that I haven't read in years. I still have a bunch of these on my shelves at home, but since I was traveling and got stuck in Boston, decided to re-read the first three since I had some free time.

"16 Lighthouse Road" stars a whole cast of characters, but focuses mostly on two couples, couple number one is Judge Olivia Lockhart and journalist Jack Griffin. Couple number two is Ian and Cecilia Randall. We also get some third person POVs from Olivia's daughter Justine, her mother Charlotte, and her best friend Grace.

I liked that Macomber tackles show more real issues in this book (Cecilia and Ian are divorcing after the death of their newborn daughter, Jack is a recovering alcoholic).

The kick off to book #1 is that Olivia makes a controversial decision concerning the divorce of Ian and Cecilia which causes Jack Griffin to write about her. With Olivia not sure if she likes the newspaper man, she can't help but be intrigued and flattered by him. These two honestly reminded me a bit of Spencer and Tracy with their dialogue. Olivia has a lot of heartache in her past. She had to bury a son and due to his death it caused the breakup of her own marriage.

Cecilia I found a bit too complacent. Her marriage to Ian was done on the spur of the moment and I didn't think they belonged together at first. But Macomber has them writing emails (which are shown in this book) and you can see that Ian still loves his wife and wishes he had been there for her when they lost their child.

We do get some hot love scenes (guess who) and I was pleasantly surprised by them. I started to dislike the later books which always had people just rushing off to get married without having sex first, sorry, that reads as so unrealistic to me in contemporary romance novels.

The town of Cedar Cove is a fan favorite, and I can see why Macomber returned back her with her Rose Harbor series. I used to have fun imagining all of the places discussed in this book and where everyone lived.

Though we don't focus on some of the character on the periphery in this one, Macomber gives you enough taste of them to get a feel for these characters.

These books also always introduce who is going to be the focus of the next book and this one easily slides into Grace's story "204 Rosewood Lane". show less

Wow. I forgot how back in the day Debbie Macomber would have love scenes in her books. It's been a while so it actually shocked me for a second. This is the first book in the Cedar Cove series that I haven't read in years. I still have a bunch of these on my shelves at home, but since I was traveling and got stuck in Boston, decided to re-read the first three since I had some free time.

"16 Lighthouse Road" stars a whole cast of characters, but focuses mostly on two couples, couple number one is Judge Olivia Lockhart and journalist Jack Griffin. Couple number two is Ian and Cecilia Randall. We also get some third person POVs from Olivia's daughter Justine, her mother Charlotte, and her best friend Grace.

I liked that Macomber tackles show more real issues in this book (Cecilia and Ian are divorcing after the death of their newborn daughter, Jack is a recovering alcoholic).

The kick off to book #1 is that Olivia makes a controversial decision concerning the divorce of Ian and Cecilia which causes Jack Griffin to write about her. With Olivia not sure if she likes the newspaper man, she can't help but be intrigued and flattered by him. These two honestly reminded me a bit of Spencer and Tracy with their dialogue. Olivia has a lot of heartache in her past. She had to bury a son and due to his death it caused the breakup of her own marriage.

Cecilia I found a bit too complacent. Her marriage to Ian was done on the spur of the moment and I didn't think they belonged together at first. But Macomber has them writing emails (which are shown in this book) and you can see that Ian still loves his wife and wishes he had been there for her when they lost their child.

We do get some hot love scenes (guess who) and I was pleasantly surprised by them. I started to dislike the later books which always had people just rushing off to get married without having sex first, sorry, that reads as so unrealistic to me in contemporary romance novels.

The town of Cedar Cove is a fan favorite, and I can see why Macomber returned back her with her Rose Harbor series. I used to have fun imagining all of the places discussed in this book and where everyone lived.

Though we don't focus on some of the character on the periphery in this one, Macomber gives you enough taste of them to get a feel for these characters.

These books also always introduce who is going to be the focus of the next book and this one easily slides into Grace's story "204 Rosewood Lane". show less

Book on CD read by Sandra Burr

Olivia Lockhart is at the center of this ensemble piece, the first in the Cedar Cove series. Olivia is a family court judge. Her own marriage ended in divorce some years back and she has a tenuous relationship with her daughter, Justine (who is dating an older and very unsuitable man). Olivia’s mother, Charlotte, likes to visit the judge’s courtroom and when she weighs in on a divorce case Olivia decides to deny the divorce petition. Her court decision captures the attention of a new editor of the local paper, Jack Griffin. The story line also includes the drama in Olivia’s best friend’s marriage and the difficulties being faced by the young couple whose divorce she denies.

I’d heard about Debbie show more Macomber many times over the years, but had read only one of her books before. A new TV miniseries is about to start based on this book and the rest of the series, so this one captured my attention. Also, it satisfied a couple of challenges both in Shelfari and Good Reads groups for beach reads, contemporary reads, and reading outside my comfort zone (romance).

I certainly understand why her works are popular: we have likeable characters with serious flaws (and/or blind spots), some very real situations that readers can easily relate to, and a few mildly steamy scenes to grab our interest. However, I found this simply too melodramatic for my reading tastes. I was listening to the CDs and kept commenting, “oh, please!” and/or rolling my eyes. Several plot lines are left hanging, a device that reminds one of the “Perils of Pauline” serials used to keep movie audiences coming back week after week to find out what happens next.

Sandra Burr’s reading on the audio wasn’t to my liking either. Her “deep” man’s voice was just plain irritating (or maybe that was the point because several of these men WERE irritating). Also, her pacing was somewhat slow. show less

I needed something a bit cozy to read after having a bit of real life tragedy rain on me & this fit the bill perfectly. I did catch the first episode of Cedar Cove on Hallmark Channel & knew that I needed to read the series. It's light & has just enough heart to pull me in & make me smile. It's nice to drop in on a small town & spend time with people who are living their lives without too much darkness & angst (I read plenty of that as it is). This was a nice change of pace & I also have to admit that I liked Justine a lot more in the book than I did on the show. I was much more able to empathize with her in this story & I look forward to reading more about her. I also liked finding out about Olivia's youngest son, Jordan. I don't show more recall him being mentioned on the episode of the show that I watched. I picked up a couple more of the Cedar Cove books at the library, so I can definitely say, I'll continue with the series. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a light weekend read or just the thing when you just want a soft place to land. show less

"16 Lighthouse Road" is the first book in Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series and it focuses on the lives of several people living there. Cecelia and Ian Randall married when Cecelia became pregnant, but their baby died while Navy man Ian was at sea. Now they want to divorce because Cecelia can't forgive Ian for not being there when she needed him the most. Judge Olivia Lockhart catches newspaper editor Jack Griffin's attention when she is reluctant to grant the divorce until the Randall's try to work things out. Olivia is attracted to Jack, but is concerned about her daughter Justine who is dating a much older man. Olivia's friend Grace Sherman is having problems with her husband Dan - after thirty-five years of marriage he has walked show more out and disappeared without any explanation. Finally, there is Olivia's mother, Charlotte Jefferson, who befriended an elderly man shortly before he died and is trying to track down his family to return the few possessions he left behind.

I really enjoyed "16 Lighthouse Road" and bought the rest of the books in the series as soon as I finished reading it. Debbie Macomber's writing can be awkward at times and the book often sounds like a soap opera. She can be melodramatic to a fault, saying one character will never be a grandfather because his son is sterile - has she never heard of adoption? But despite her writing flaws, Macomber is a great storyteller and she creates characters that readers will care about. The book doesn't focus on any one character but tells each character's story equally. Some of the stories, such as Ian and Cecelia's come to a close, but others, such as Grace and Dan's are left open. This can be frustrating and feel like a cheat to readers who want everything tied up neatly at the end, but Macomber had me caring enough about the characters to make me want to read the other books in the series to find out what happens to them. That's the mark of a truly gifted storyteller.

"16 Lighthouse Road" is a well-done soap opera in book form. show less