Cape Light is a small, very connected, and generally religious New England village. In this first book of 20 (so far), we are introduced to some of the inhabitants of the village--the mayor and her family, who are still somewhat reeling from a scandal in the past; the local diner owner who is very set in his ways and has designs on unseating the mayor in the next election; the reverend and his wife, whose joyful news is overshadowed by a wayward family member. Characters are established and at least one romance blooms, in this book that covers a summer in Cape Light.

Though there are a lot of characters to keep straight, I found that it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I had a few moments that needed clarity, but I followed it well enough. And for the first half of the book, I was interested in the lives and backstories of these people. In fact, I never stopped being interested in that. But what seriously detracted from it was the plight of the main character and her romantic entanglement.

Jessica Warwick, the mayor's sister, has recently moved back from not-too-far-away Boston, and she intends to return as soon as she can. She's only in town to help her ailing mother, who is starting to recover well. She has a life back in Boston, and a sort-of boyfriend. Enter Sam Morgan, whom she is immediately taken by, though she refuses to acknowledge it for a long time. But when her boyfriend conveniently gets really busy, she starts dating Sam, even while making it clear that she's moving back to Boston at the end of the summer. What follows is a ridiculously drama-filled mess that could have easily been solved in multiple ways. I don't know which of these two irritated me more--the woman who dated a guy in town while knowing that she wasn't done with the previous boyfriend yet and continued a relationship with a man who was clearly falling for her hard, despite her warning about there being no future, or the man who ignored her warning about there being no future because he held out hope that he could change her mind.

While romance novels are always pretty obvious, in that the two leads are going to end up together, I prefer those that are more in the backdrop to an interesting plot. There was little in the way of plot involving Jessica and Sam that wasn't directly related to their relationship. The situations that occurred just to make them fall in love and/or add drama to their relationship were so much more obviously contrived than I prefer. By the end, I just wanted the book to be done already, which makes me sad, because I did enjoy unraveling the lives of the others in town.

The Christianity in the book was weirdly both shallow and heavily permeating. Apparently a large amount of the village's inhabitants go to the same church, and many of them have a strong faith. Several others are seeking, and a lot of the same advice is given by different people. The series starts with 4 not-specifically-holiday books, but apparently by book 5, it continued as a Christmas series, which is what brought it to my attention at this time of year in the first place.

The writing was a bit pedestrian, but it only bothered me at times. I am going to give the series another chance, because just about every plot arc that was started in this book was left hanging, and I really do want to see what happens. Since the main thing that bothered me about this book should take a back seat in the future, I am hopeful about continuing. With proper planning, I can be ready for the first of the Christmas books by November or December. ( )

55025

What would it be like to step into a Thomas Kinkade painting and to take a stroll around the small town there to meet some of its people? It'd be much like reading Cape Light by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer.

Goodness, it's been nearly two decades since the first time I read this first novel in one of my favorite ChristFic series: easily paced contemporary fiction about the trials and joys of everyday folks.

The writing style isn't that sharp or surprising, and it's a little jarring when the point of view in a scene switches between characters with little to no warning. But the people here are believable, and their storylines are natural with substance that isn't too heavy. It's wholesome reading without a lot of schmaltz.

The ending is satisfying but doesn't tie everything up with a tidy, perfect bow. I'm looking forward to revisiting the second novel. ( )

I knew nothing about this book when I saw it at the library one day. I was looking for the first book in any series, as the one I really went in for was checked out by the time I arrived. So I’m glad I can say that I had no expectations, because that leaves no room to be let down.

To read the rest of my review, please visit:
http://www.dorolerium.com/?p=1316 ( )

I loved the Jan Karon series so I was hoping this would be as good. It's good but not nearly as good as Jan Karon's books. ( )