The LightKeeper's Ball
~ 4.5 stars ~
Author: Colleen Coble
Title: The Lightkeeper's Ball
Series: Mercy Falls (Book #3)
Genre: FICTION/ Christian/ Romance
Audience: Young Adult/Adult
Synopsis:
Olivia seems to have it all, but her heart yearns for more.
Olivia Stewart's family is one of the Four Hundred-the highest echelon of society in 1910. When her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Olivia leaves their New York City home for Mercy Falls, California, to determine what befell Eleanor. She suspects Harrison Bennett, the man Eleanor planned to marry. But the more Olivia gets to know him, the more she doubts his guilt-and the more she is drawn to him herself.
When several attempts are made on her life, Olivia turns to Harrison for help. He takes her on a ride in his aeroplane, but then crashes, and they're forced to spend two days alone together. With her reputation hanging by a thread, Harrison offers to marry her to make the situation right. As a charity ball to rebuild the Mercy Falls lighthouse draws near, she realizes she wants more than a sham engagement-she wants Harrison in her life forever. But her enemy plans to shatter the happiness she is ready to grasp. If Olivia dares to drop her masquerade, she just might see the path to true happiness.
Olivia Stewart's family is one of the Four Hundred-the highest echelon of society in 1910. When her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Olivia leaves their New York City home for Mercy Falls, California, to determine what befell Eleanor. She suspects Harrison Bennett, the man Eleanor planned to marry. But the more Olivia gets to know him, the more she doubts his guilt-and the more she is drawn to him herself.
When several attempts are made on her life, Olivia turns to Harrison for help. He takes her on a ride in his aeroplane, but then crashes, and they're forced to spend two days alone together. With her reputation hanging by a thread, Harrison offers to marry her to make the situation right. As a charity ball to rebuild the Mercy Falls lighthouse draws near, she realizes she wants more than a sham engagement-she wants Harrison in her life forever. But her enemy plans to shatter the happiness she is ready to grasp. If Olivia dares to drop her masquerade, she just might see the path to true happiness.
Review:
Oh my, where to start? Well, I really loved how both Addie and Katie from books #1 & #2 played significant roles in the final book of the trilogy. This book could be read as a stand-alone but it's an extra bonus if you have read the other two books prior.
I loved Olivia's character. She was very stubborn, and also confused about life itself and who to trust. She had been brought up in such a rigid society where people only cared about the outer appearance and was surprised when she was told that God wanted to have a personal relationship with her. Back home, church was just a social gathering. I liked the chance I had to see her draw nearer to the Lord and see her character develop in general. Olivia was also a skeptic, which I relate to. As she investigates her sister's death she makes up her mind right away that Harrison is the murderer or at least had some hand in her sister's death. *spoiler alert* It took her a while to realize that he was genuine and didn't have any hand in her Elanor's death and after that she started to slowly fall for him. It didn't take long before she realized her heart had been taken captive.
Harrison is very likeable right from the start. I surmised him to be a city slicker but I was proven wrong. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty and I loved how he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot and making aeroplanes the new main source of transportation. As I mentioned in the previous book review, seeing the characters engrossed in turn-of-the-century ideas or inventions always excites me. Even though his father was against it, Harrison didn't let his family's love for money consume him. Harrison is a total gentleman, and I feel like if you could earn his trust, he would do any- thing to protect you. By the way, he fell for Olivia very quickly, and it was nice to see a male character who was sincere and honest in his feelings with being overly charming or flattering.
And the thriller in this! There was so much mystery, and of course yet again *spoilers* people that I thought were in on the scheme weren't the main villains and the seemingly "good" characters were the ones plotting evil. Coble gave away little tidbits of mystery one at a time, which made you want to keep reading to find out what the next clue was.
I felt like while there was still a moderate amount of faith in it, there was less faith than in the other novels, just because of Olivia's personal relationship with God I think. The most faith-filled out of the three is undoubtedly The Lightkeeper's Daughter. But all that aside this book was yet another keeper. Once again it's ties with Addie and Katie from the other two novels is a bonus, as we get to see just what the lady's and their families are up to by the third book.
I couldn't stop reading it until I found out the truth and was on pins and needles to see how Olivia and Harrison's romance would blossom. If you love romance and mystery - with faith mingled in - then this is the book for you!
Happy reading and don't forget to hit that "Follow" button for more!
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