Family court judge Olivia Lockhart leaves Cedar Cove buzzing when she denies the divorce petition of Cecilia and Ian Randall. Her decision captures the attention of Jack Griffith, the new editor of the Cedar Cove Chronicle. The divorced Olivia enjoys the attention from Jack, but she's not too keen on the secrets he seems to be hiding.
Olivia's best friend, Grace Sherman, finds her life turned upside down when her husband of thirty-five years disappears without a trace. Charlotte, Olivia's mother, helps a stroke victim at the local hospital. The relationship between Olivia and her daughter, Justine, remains strained. Their family fell apart after her twin brother drowned when they were only thirteen. Jordan's death led to Olivia and Stan's separation and eventually divorce; and they were too busy dealing with their own grief to realize how much Justine was hurting. It certainly doesn't help that Justine is dating Warren Saget, a man of questionable character who is old enough to be her father.
Cedar Cove may be small, but it's certainly never dull.
I got caught up in Cedar Cove thanks to the Hallmark Channel television series based upon the books. 16 Lighthouse Road is the first book in the series that introduces Olivia Lockhart and her family and friends to readers. I can see how this series became popular and turned into a television series--which just got picked up for a second season--as the books have a somewhat soap opera feel to them. Drama and romance span the book's 400 pages.
Since I already love the TV series, I enjoyed 16 Lighthouse Road. The sheer amount of characters introduced in this novel can lead to a bit of confusion, but the small community feel to the story is nice. Cecilia and Ian Randall and their friends seem to be specific to this book, which is another neat thing about the series. Though many of the characters carry over to subsequent books (I've read a future one set during Christmas) there always seems to be new characters that are only in one of the books. For me, it's also enjoyable to pick up on the discrepancies between the show and the books: characters found in the books that aren't part of the show and differences in the storylines. The Cedar Cove books are romance novels, so in the books there is the occasional sex scene that doesn't occur on the show.
I'm definitely interested in visiting Cedar Cove again. There are more than 10 books in this series, so I have a lot of catching up to do.
Series: Cedar Cove
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Mira (January 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778328600
ISBN-13: 978-0778328605
I borrowed this book from my local library. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
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