*I received a free copy of The Night Mark from via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
The Night Mark on 28 March 2017Pages: 432
From the bestselling author of The Bourbon Thief comes a sweeping tale of loss and courage, where one woman discovers that her destiny is written in sand, not carved in stone.
Faye Barlow is drowning. After the death of her beloved husband, Will, she cannot escape her grief and most days can barely get out of bed. But when she's offered a job photographing South Carolina's storied coast, she accepts. Photography, after all, is the only passion she has left.
In the quaint beach town, Faye falls in love again when she sees the crumbling yet beautiful Bride Island lighthouse and becomes obsessed with the legend surrounding The Lady of the Light—the keeper's daughter who died in a mysterious drowning in 1921. Like a moth to a flame, Faye is drawn to the lighthouse for reasons she can't explain. While visiting it one night, she is struck by a rogue wave and a force impossible to resist drags Faye into the past—and into a love story that is not her own.
Fate is changeable. Broken hearts can mend. But can she love two men separated by a lifetime?
The Night Mark deals with hope – how we need hope to move forward. To get out of bed in the morning. To care for ourselves and others. To care for our planet.
The Night Mark has a magical feel to it, and a lot of that comes from Reisz’s excellent writing. It’s like a novel in a poem with a fantastical story in which realistic characters live their lives to the best of their abilities. Hope and love are strong themes, and I had to wipe away a few tears at the ending, because it was so sweet and tender, and I wanted to stay with the characters a little longer. I think what I love the most every single time I pick up a Reisz novel is that I am in a bookgasm for the duration. Her writing is very well done, there’s something more to it, that draws me in and makes me utterly a part of the story alongside the characters. Another thing I love is the characters, who are so life-like I feel like I could close my eyes, reach out and touch them. And of course, through her lyrical writing, she always brings me the feels! Every single time!
The romance aspect of The Night Mark was in the background, there, but not the most important part of the story. Love, however, was important, and so was hope. Faye had lost all hope, and I found it ironically sweet that in the past, her name was Faith. I think it’s difficult to have faith if you don’t have hope, and it appeared that Faye found that in 1921, after having abandoned all hope in 2015. Of course, there is some very pertinent quotes about religion, and I always enjoy how Reisz seamlessly include those in some of her stories, almost like an afterthought, but always right on spot. The beauty of the story lies in the writing, though. And the characters who move the story forward through their hopes, their dreams, and their actions.
The Night Mark intrigued me, it kept me wondering, and it also filled me with a kind of longing I don’t feel that often when reading a book. The way Faye dealt with her grief, her divorce, and her new lease on life touched me deeply. And how Fay happened to find herself in 1921, and the lengths to which she was willing to go to in order to stay there were astounding. Love conquers all, they say, and Faye proved that saying beautifully. The way she tried to find solutions to her problems both in the 21st and in the 20th century is partly why I loved her story so much. When she made her choice about where, or rather when she wanted to be, I felt both elated for her and sad for her all at the same time.
Carrick and Pat are very important characters in The Night Mark as well, and I have to admit I have a very soft spot for Pat. He is the town’s retired priest, and what he did for Faye to help her get things in order was nothing short of amazing. Written in third person point of view, past tense and mostly from Faye’s perspective, I was so completely immersed in the story from start to finish it was difficult to get back to the real world. As I was reading through some of my highlights to include quotes for my review, I got all teary-eyed, and I know that this story will be one of the very few that I will re-read. Reisz and her beautiful writing and life-like characters just do something to me each time I read one of her stories.
Now that she didn’t have to think of anyone’s needs but her own, she’d discovered just how little she needed.
She should have been afraid, but she wasn’t. Supposedly she’d lost “everything” in the divorce and had been left with almost nothing. Turned out almost nothing was exactly what she wanted.
But she understood the temptation to live in the past better than anyone. When people lost hope, they looked in the last place they remembered having it, and it was in the past.
Hope was other people, no matter what the philosophers said.
Lexxie was utterly enchanted by the lyrical writing and magical feel of The Night Mark. Share on XReading this book contributed to these challenges:
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
Just got the audio…so glad to see you loved it
I hope you’ll love it as much as I did, Kim! Reisz always amazes me, and I love her writing 🙂
Twitter: ailynk
I haven’t even read Bourbon Thief yet, at this rate it’s gonna be when my kids go to college…
I know the feeling, Ailyn! Yours are still so young, so I get why you have less time for reading. Hopefully, you’ll be able to squeeze in some Tiffany Reisz, because she is so good!
Twitter: ejaygirl77
Boogasm (I’ll need to borrow this sometime), lyrical writing, life-like characters…I’ve GOT to check out this book.
Great review, Lexxie!
Bookgasms are awesome – there is literally no mess! (that was such a bad pun, sorry!) And I think everyone should read this book, Jonetta 🙂
I’ve been on the fence about reading this one. I liked her gothic romance, The Headmaster, but I struggled with getting into The Bourbon Thief. Although your review convinced me I need to give it a go.
The Headmaster is the only book by her I haven’t read, I think, Angela. This one is different from The Bourbon Thief, even if it is loosely set in the same universe…
Twitter: kbaby81
Hi, Lexxie! I know, I know, I’ve been MIA. I’ve missed everyone but I haven’t gone completely off the map. I’m so glad this was a hit for you. I recently purchased 2 of Reisz’s books after having loved her fun little holiday trilogy. I also have my sights on this one so I can’t wait until release day. I love the magical and historical aspects just by reading this review, so of course I want it. Great review!!
I think we’re all really busy these days, Lekeisha, I know I am! It’s crazy how much I have to do. It’s a pleasure to see your avatar here today! I’ve missed you <3
This sounds like a really beautiful, magical read. I’m always amazed by the author’s talent when I read books like these!
-Lauren
Tiffany Reisz has such a beautiful writing style, I am always memerized by her stories, Lauren 🙂 And I think you’d enjoy her books, too!
This sounds so good, Lexxie! I can’t believe that I still haven’t read Tiffany Reisz. I will have to add this one to my TBR list.
Oh, you’ve been missing out, Carole!
don’t all of her stories kind of feature religion? I guess Its what I always heard about them. Glad you enjoyed this one though. It doesn’t sound preachy, but it seems she is good at kind of blending it seamlessly into her books.
There is usually a character who is catholic in her stories, but not in any way I’d call conventional. I rather enjoy that, actually, because she studied theology, so she knows scripture very well, her interpretation isn’t exactly the way most priests would interpret it. And she is as far from preachy that is possible! I can’t stand preachy, as I am not really religious myself (at least not the way church tries to make religion.)
I love her stories, because she seamlessly fits pieces and characters together, and her writing is SO beautiful!
Twitter: Mlsimmons
I wasn’t sure I would like this story. I’m not a big fan of historicals. I love Tiffany Reisz. I’m probably going to grab it for that reason alone. I know that she can write anything and I will love it. I am going to wait for my library to grab it.
It’s a different take on historical, Melanie, and as you said, it IS a Reisz book. I think you’ll enjoy this one!
It seems Reisz is one of those writers who can hit it out of the ballpark no matter the genre. You have me intrigued, Lex. But I’ll finish her Original Sinners series first before I let Reisz dazzle me with her prowess in other genres. The good thing is I have so much goodness to look forward to. 🙂 I’m thrilled you loved this one…it’s the one you’re being quoted for??
LOVE & {{{BIG HUGS}}}
She is one of those writers who can woo me no matter what genre she writes in, Brandee. And I think there are two reasons for that, one is that her stories are so character driven, and the second is that her writing is just gorgeous. You do have a lot of goodness to look forward to.
Yes, this is the one I’ve been quoted for.