[.ca] The Lightkeeper (ISBN 1551668807)

From Amazon.com:
When his pregnant wife dies in a shipwreck, Jesse Morgan gives up his wealth and place in Seattle society. He relegates himself to a tiny community where he dedicates his life to protecting others from the ocean. As keeper of a remote lighthouse along a dangerous coast in the Pacific Northwest, Jesse rejects all social contact so that he can brood about his loss. When the sea tosses up a beautiful pregnant woman, the lone survivor of another shipwreck, Jesse finds he has a second chance at life and love. Mary Dare is an outspoken Irish woman who takes poverty, single motherhood, and death in stride. She brings vitality, passion, and joy to Jesse's life and forces him to face his guilt and unhappiness. Mary's honesty and compassion transform Jesse, and together they find beauty in a simple life.

a very sweet book:
This is the first book I've read from this author and I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story is very well written and the characters are well developed. There is sex but its not the focus of the story. The story starts out with our hero, Jesse, finding a shipwreck survivor on the beach. Jesse is the lighthouse keeper and is a very tormented soul. He blames himself for his wife's death 12 years earlier in a shipwreck so he keeps vigil at the lighthouse to make up for it. The survivor is the heroine, Mary. She is alone and pregnant and needs Jesse's help to survive. She soon discovers that Jesse needs her just as much but it unwilling to to admit that he needs anyone or that he deserves any happiness in his life. Together they must heal each other's emotional scars and fight to stay together. This story is very tender and sad in spots and passionate and fiesty in others. I really enjoyed it and plan on reading others by this author.

Wow!:
In purchasing this book, I paid more than I typically do for a novel, but it was worth every penny! Mary, pregnant and unwed, washes ashore after a tragic boat crash. Though she considers herself "damaged goods" and has, as an Irish immigrant, suffered cruel and prejudicial attitudes, she's a very charming and lovable character, bursting with life and love and vitality. Jesse, the reclusive lighthouse keeper of Cape Disappointment, finds himself a reluctant savior to Mary when he rescues her on the shore of Cape Disappointment. Jesse's pregnant wife died 11 years ago, and he has held himself, solely, to blame ever since, abandoning a carefree life of privilege and high society for a lonely monk's existence, deprived of any joy or human contact, as, for penance, he keeps watch, nightly, over the ocean which took everything from him. Embittered, hardened, and self-loathing, Jesse's character is very deeply tortured (puts me in mind of Jane Eyre's Rochester) and fights desperately against the flame that Mary's unexpected presence in his life is rekindling within his heart while she recuperates in his home. Jesse avoids Mary, but she seeks him out; he tries to put her off with his scowls and harsh words, but she continues to draw out the kind and loving man lurking beneath the surface against his will. Slowly, her companionship, affection, and love begin to thaw the heart he has deliberately frozen and hardened over so many years, and it terrifies him. This book was so beautifully written and so very deeply touching and filled with such raw, human emotion, passion and desire, I still find myself reflecting on it, days after I've read it. I found myself rooting for Mary and Jesse from the beginning and still cheering for them in the end. Fantastic!

Wonderful reading!:
Full of torment and emotion, you grow with the characters. How can this ever have a happy ending! There are ups and downs and you cheer when Mary Dare succeeds in bringing Jesse out of his darkness. But Mary has sadness in her heart also and Jesse helps her trust again. I have not yet been disappointed in any Susan Wiggs novel. This one is worth reading and keeping.

The Lightkeeper:
I don't review many books. But this is one of the best romance books you will ever read. It makes you want to cry. The love between all of these people is amazing. It is tender and poignant. So be sure and read this one it's a keeper.

My first Susan Wiggs ... but not my last!:
I love this book - the way Mary comes to the island and changes everything and everyone she touches, how could Jesse NOT love her! A beautifully written love story.