The Lighthouse Bookshop | Sharon Gosling
Sharon Gosling’s The House Beneath the Cliffs was one of my favourite reads in 2021. So The Lighthouse Bookshop had rather a lot of high expectations to meet.
It didn’t just meet them, but completely exceeded them. It’s a heartwarming, captivating story that is just gorgeous and that I couldn’t have loved more.
It really is a wonderful tale of belonging told through the exploration of what it really means to find a home – both literally and metaphorically.
A feeling of community
Sharon Gosling has such a fluid style that her beautifully written stories mesmerise the reader. I love the way she creates a feeling of community through relatively few, brilliantly depicted characters.
Gilly, Edie and Rachel in particular span generations so that there really is someone for any reader to identify with.
Add in men who feel real and vibrant, and there’s not a person in the cast who feels extraneous or slight. I found it impossible to decide my favourite.
I especially loved the concept that romance isn’t simply the domain of youth and wisdom not the monopoly of the mature.
The Lighthouse Bookshop combines tenderness and threat, strength and vulnerability and hopes and fears through the people in the story. This is accomplished with such conviction that it is impossible to accept they are fictional.
The Lighthouse Bookshop is a transporting narrative that I found spellbinding.
Art, literature and emotional intensity
Alongside a plot that races along and yet manages to feel knowable and true, The Lighthouse Bookshop combines themes of art, literature, history and education in a perfect blend. This makes for an impressively enjoyable read.
I especially enjoyed the historical secrets underlying the plot and was as intrigued as Rachel and Toby. And what could be better than a lighthouse bookshop setting for most of the action to take place?
But add in concepts of grief, identity, belonging and taking a chance with others and with your own life, and this becomes an emotionally intense and satisfying story that stays with the reader long after the final page is turned.
Passion, humanity and understanding
Sharon Gosling imbues her words with passion, humanity and understanding, making them a joy to read.
It’s quite difficult to articulate just how much I adored The Lighthouse Bookshop. It’s the perfect read for a beach holiday or a cold winter’s afternoon, combining entertainment, emotion and enjoyment to perfection.
I want EVERYONE to read it and to love it as much as I did!
The Lighthouse Bookshop by Sharon Gosling is published by Simon & Schuster, £8.99 PB, £3.99 EB
Click here to listen to Sharon reading an extract from The Lighthouse Bookshop!
