Edie can no longer stand being in New York, there's too many memories and she can't get over that she feels she should have done something more for her best friend. Grief is a heavy load and Edie heads back to where she always felt safe, her grandmother Punk's house in Mississippi. A place where she was always loved, learned a lot about life and found her first love. With the help of Punk's friends "the 10 spot" as they are called, they get Edie out of the house to a new shop. This shop is ran by a mysterious man who seems to know just what people need. Giving Edie a journal and question game, she doesn't realize how much this will help her get through things. Edie and the 10 spot start working through these questions, and realize the depth of feelings and beliefs that these bring out. Many secrets and unknowns about each other come to light as well as lessons from other's past experiences. Meanwhile Edie has decided to settle here, and through her grief she realizes that her god mother is also experiencing what she is. Through this game, Edie has come to learn a lot about the others as well as herself and a mystery that will connect her back to her first love. This was such a good heartfelt read. I loved the scenery and the characters that were brought to life in this story. Thank you to the author and Revell Fiction for the complementary novel. This review is of my own opinion and accord.

Loved the story and the charming characters. Edie is going to stay with her grandmother, Punk, after the death of Edie's best friend. She is feeling a bit lost and needs her grandmother's love. While there, her grandmother's best friends liven things up. When Edie's god mother comes for a visit, everyone can see that she is having some difficulties. When they go to a place called the Trove, the owner gives Edie a game for them to play. A question is asked, and each person gives an answer. Some of the questions bring up happy things and some bring up sad things. As they play, some secrets come out. There are some things that can be changed, and some things just have to stay as they are, but Edie is determined to help her god mother. Can she find her god mother's lost love? Is it even possible after all these years?

How to write a review that has taken me through every gamut of human emotion...well, not EVERY, but a lot of them. Plus, I got to practice my southern accent in my head!

I've always been a little envious of those people who have a group of close friends, whether they've grown up with them or just had that connection. Edie has that in her grandmother's friends. These women are highly entertaining and had me laughing several times. Their banter is just so engaging and fun. But they also can bring out each other's deepest dreams, thoughts, and emotions.

I laughed with this story and I cried with the characters. I felt deep empathy and tremendous grief. I got goosebumps and I prayed for the characters-far more than a couple times!

If you enjoy women's fiction with a little bit of "what if?", then you definitely want to read this book.

I admit, I don’t usually read or like contemporary fiction, but The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse was an exception! I enjoyed it quite a bit.

My favourite part was the relationships between the old ladies. They were so wise, sweet, spunky, and lovable! I really enjoyed how the confessions game brought out so much depth and emotional vulnerabilities.

I also loved the atmospheric setting! The island sounded like such a breath taking place to live, and the antique shop was a nice touch to the story.

Lastly, I liked the journey the protagonist, Edie, went on. I think this book will resonate with people who have experienced the loss of a loved one as Edie had.

My only criticism is that the love interest was a little too flawlessly perfect. I understand that he wasn’t supposed to be a main part of the story, but I feel like he still could have been flesh out a bit more.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It had a few supernatural twists I wasn’t expecting, but I think it fit the story. I’d definitely recommend to christian contemporary fiction fans!

***I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review.

There is an unexplained aura that surrounds you as The Light on Horn Island begins. It’s clear that Edie is struggling with something that is so heavy that she uproots her life and runs to the place where her heart has always been, costal Mississippi with her beloved grandmother.

With the vibes of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, I felt all the emotions that come with revisiting the past, facing our true selves, and bravely facing the future. The power of truth, love, and support is so incredibly inspiring. Edie’s grandmother, Punk, and her friend group are such a breath of fresh air and bring a lightness to an otherwise heavier narrative. Being in my 40s, the future can loom dark, but these women show that you can roll with the punches no matter what age and find joy in the little things. And don’t give up…never give up.

This novel is truly the best beach read as the pace is snappy and easily kept my interest. When I did have to begrudgingly put it down, when I picked it back up, I was immediately back into that world.

There are truly no words for how much I enjoyed this novel. It fed my love of historical fiction, the weather, contemporary Christian fiction, and sweet romance, all wrapped up in a tale of friendship, sisterhood, and the inspiring power of love. The whole exhibition itself is so powerful and really brought the entire story home. Facing the horrors of the past to finally heal and move on to a brighter future is a searing vision I won’t soon forget.

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse is such a delightful story.

Set in Mississippi, Edie Gardener's loss of a beloved friend, sends her home to her grandmother, Punk. The Ten Spots surround her with love and encouragement. The sisters, Sugar, Cookie and Coco are the balm to sooth her grieving heart. With good creole food and the Gulf, Edie sets out to photograph Horn Island. But there is a mystery on the Island. A light that appears at night that no one knows where it comes from.

Cole Donovan was a summer romance that Edie had never forgotten. When she runs into him again, they recreate the teenage romance that had captured her heart. Edie meets a shopkeeper that offers her a job cataloguing photos of Hurricane Camille, she jumps at the chance. A difficult task as she interviews many of the survivors.

This is a beautifully told Southern story that will touch your heart and stay with you. The characters were deep and well defined and the storyline well written. A good clean story, very engaging.

I received a complimentary ebook copy from the publisher, through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Take all the southern charm of the sea, southern ladies, and the food and you'd have The Light on Horn Island. This was a delightful read by Valerie Fraser Luesse. My favorite part of the book was the Ten Spots group. Punk and her crew encapsulated all the different stereotypes of a southern woman. The descriptions of the food Punk and Sugar make in the novel made my mouth water. Sugar's exaggerated use the southern drawl had me chuckling. With the way Luesse wrote, I could feel the ocean breeze and the thunderstorms rolling in.

Leni seemed to be a huge driving force for Edie to come home, but I feel like that plot line was sort of incomplete. I don't remember actually reading what the illness was. Same with Charley. I would have loved to have read more about what her future looked like and the moment she and Connor found each other. That seemed sort of rushed.

This novel reminded me a little bit of the TV show Touched by an Angel. While it never explicitly states that Jason is an angel, the flash of light made sense at the end.

I enjoyed this one! I think my favorite part was getting to know the group of older ladies that Edie spent time with. Along with her warm & welcoming grandma, three spunky & eccentric ladies modeled what it looks like to live life alongside each other through the ups and downs. I loved the setting that came to life off the page: the gulf coast with all its beauty and charm, the southern dishes featured and down-right praised, and the slow pace of life.

I would’ve like to understand a bit more of Edie’s backstory; she was a relatable narrator, which would have been even stronger with a little more depth given to her past. There is a strong supernaturally speculative element that emerges. This wasn’t my favorite, but it didn’t overtake the story.

If you love southern fiction, a story about the strength found leaning on those you love, and the 90s-show “Touched by An Angel”, this was a clean character-driven story to get lost in!


😇: Christian publisher (Revell)); some spiritually supernatural elements
💋: a sweet & simple kiss
🤐 : no language
⛔️ CW: hurricane trauma, veteran ptsd referenced

Thank you to @revell for the complimentary book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

At times, this story was quite enjoyable but often, it was a bit of a slog - frustratingly predictable, flippant, even trite. All of the main characters were upper class white who pretended to be average folk, to a fault. There were a few side characters who worked hard for a living, and three servants who were likely persons of color but this was not stated. In fact, the author was a bit coy about describing them and it was this lack of detail that confirms the suspicion because she is effervescently descriptive about nearly every other character in the book.
This really leaves a bad taste in the mouth, y’all. No black characters except the three servants in a state with the highest black population in the nation; where nearly 40% of the population is black, and in the specific areas named in the book at least 30% are persons of color. (The US Census is your friend, y’all.)
Then there is the language: southernisms drip off the page, and to a fellow southerner seem pretty exaggerated. The author could definitely tone down the “Shug” speak, with the “gaw-uh-geous” and the pearl-clutching. Most of the characters, in fact, are caricatures - the grandmother, oddly nicknamed “Punk”, whose biscuits and gumbo are to die for; the tall, worldly-wise and devil-may-care Coco, and all of the male characters are “beautiful boys.”
One thing I was grateful for is that the religious references are more subtle than usual in “Christian fiction.” They don’t hit the reader over the head, and could be overlooked or even ignored and the plot wouldn’t really change. Even the obvious angel character was interesting rather than “holy.” Thank goodness.
The formatting is atrocious and absolutely must be fixed before the books is released. From the viewpoint of someone who has edited and correctly formatted ebooks - this was distracting and I can’t imagine that this would not irritate some readers.
Still, even with its flaws - and there are many - I didn’t hate this book, and didn’t want to throw it across the room. It mostly didn’t insult my intellect. The clearly researched history of Hurricane Camille added much to the value of the book and assisted in preventing the book from being a time-waster. Some of the characters were lovable (some were very forgettable). The plot was predictable but the author took care to add details that make it interesting and most of the characters were at least somewhat relatable.
Two and 3/4 stars rounded up to three because of these last points. Thanks to NetGalley and Revell for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse
5 Stars!

Reading this book felt like stepping back in time to memories with my grandparents and great grandparents - so many beautiful days gone by. It feels like sweet tea, magnolias, front porch sittin' southern storytelling that will stick with you forever. This was my first book by Valerie, and now I need to read ALL of her other books.

Set in Mississippi, Edie returns home to her beloved grandmother after the loss of her friend in New York. This setting is very warm and familiar as a southern gal in Tennessee myself. The author portrays small town southern life in such rich detail, while also honoring the wisdom of our grandparent's generation.

We see the heart of this story lie in the relationships of Edie and her grandmother, a tight-knit group of friends and family. Long buried secrets and stories come to light in this book. Her grandmother introduced her to the antique shop and many of her friends there and we see Edie reconnect with someone from her past also.

ALL of the characters in this were phenomenal. We heard their stories from Hurricane Camille in 1969 as well, which added such a layer of depth to the story and gave me a huge respect for those that have went through these hardships. The Lord was all over this story too, with the added character of Jason. He was very memorable and interesting how Valerie tied that together in the end. Warmed my heart!

One of my friends and I chatted about this story and how it was like puzzles we were trying to figure out along the way - between tracking down survivors from the hurricane and trying to figure out the light on the island - it was just great all around.

Overall, SO glad I read this book. Highly also recommend the audiobook because the narration had great southern accents too.

Thank you to Revell for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts are my own.

Content: Clean, no language, grief, attempted suicide mentioned, mental health struggles, depression mentioned once, hurricane survival stories and loss of loved ones in that discussion

In The Light on Horn Island, author Valerie Fraser Luesse has penned an inspiring tale that depicts the beauty of friendship, the virtue of grace, and the power of redemption. Set in a cozy town located on the coast of Mississippi, the story mimics the warmth of the weather and the pleasant breeze of the coast, as the novel wraps itself upon the heart of the reader like a welcoming embrace.

After experiencing a devastating loss, primary character Edie Gardner, leaves the city life in New York and returns to her grandmother’s hometown in Mississippi. There, she is surrounded by the love of her grandmother ‘Punk’, the delightful Southern cuisine, and the joy that Punk’s three best friends elicit by their amusing personalities and humorous antics. Edie finds fulfillment while healing from grief with the acquirement of a work assignment that evokes healing to a community devastated by a horrible storm thirty years prior. In addition, a previous friend reenters her life and fills it with a joy that could only come from a reunited love. All of this and more transpire that makes this uplifting tale sparkle with hope, renewal, and faith.

A cast of vibrant characters and an engaging storyline make The Light on Horn Island unforgettable. The plot is well paced, and the prose is full of life and spiritual wisdom. There is also adequate Christian faith content in the story that points to the significance of God’s grace in our lives. The touch of romance, Christian spiritual elements, and the amusing dialogues made this a thoroughly enjoyable read that I highly recommend. Undoubtedly, I look forward to reading more work by the author.

Poignant, inspiring, & a lovely group of supportive women who cheer each other on in finding love & closure. Set in the early 2000’s, The Light on Horn Island completely drew me in with its Southern charm & endearing characters. The sweet second chance romances set against the backdrop of the mysterious Horn Island were hope-filled, & induced many happy sighs.

Edie Gardner is returning home to reconnect with “The Ten Spots,” the nickname given to her grandmother & her three friends. After experiencing the tragic death of her friend in New York, she’s looking for peace & new opportunities in the small Mississippi town where she experienced first love. When she meets Jared, the mysterious owner of The Trove, her talent for photography & curation take on new meaning as she discovers stories from 1969 Hurricane Camille, which devastated the area. As she unravels the past, she also unravels old stories & heartaches from her grandmother & her friends.

Part mystery, part romance, & women’s fiction, this story was utterly addicting. I loved the unique, quirky, charming Ten Spots. As Edie is trying to find faith & meaning in her life, they’re there to help her reconnect with a past love & offer their sage advice. I loved unraveling the stories of the hurricane survivors & the mysterious Jared who provided a delightful religious angle to the story. The strange light that appears on Horn Island added another layer of mystery. I loved Cole & Edie & their second chance at love. It was fun seeing The Ten Spots making sure that they succeed this time. I also loved Charly’s story & her finally finding answers & love.

This is a beautiful story with humor, romance, faith, & delightful characters who feel so real & familiar. The author did a fantastic job bringing this small Mississippi setting to life. I loved the symbolism & vivid descriptions.

Highly recommend! This is my first book by Valerie Fraser Luesse & I can’t wait to read more. I received an advanced copy from the publisher without expectation of a review. All opinions are completely my own & voluntarily provided.

The first line in this book had my attention. Any story that begins by talking about how good pimento cheese is, has to be a good book. And it was!

The more I read of this story, the more I wanted to read. The cast of characters are unforgettable and the way they form their own little family full of laughs and disagreements warmed my heart throughout.

Each woman in this story has something heavy they are dealing with, some form of healing that needs to take place. Learning about each one’s story and how it had shaped the rest of their life had me so invested in this story. I love that the truths were revealed through playing an antique Victorian parlor game.

The setting, Mississippi and Louisiana, the food, the people, the relationships. Every single part of this story was so well done. That ending, well you better read this book to get that ending. It’s worth it!

Thank you to Revell for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

This was such a fun beach read for me. The pace was fast enough to always keep me interested, but slow enough to feel relaxing.

I loved the multigenerational feel in this book. From young to old a group of women bond in a friendship with each other. They accept and attempt to understand each other and help each other process life’s disappointments and trauma.

Edie makes a big life change and decides to stay with her grandmother on coastal Mississippi as she reflects on loss and what she wants out of life. Her grandmother’s friends help her work out and accept her grief. Her Godmother then comes to visit and Edie learns of her grief and trauma when a project Edie is working on brings old feelings and memories to the surface.

I loved the multigenerational aspect of the book. We all have so much to learn from each other. Old from young and young from old. I loved their sisterhood of love and compassion that facilitated healing.

I also liked learning about a historic hurricane and the effects it had on the people in the area. I’ve never lived in hurricane regions and it was my first glimpse into how they affect a community.

If you love second chance romance, multigenerational friendships, and Christian themes of healing from trauma, this is the book for you! It was a delight to read and I am grateful to the publisher for a copy of the book to read.

4.5 stars

“Help one, save one, lead one home.”

Well-written Southern fiction is one of those genres that I sink into like my Great-Aunt Lucy’s big, fluffy feather bed I grew up hearing stories about. The Light on Horn Island is regrettably my first read by Valerie Fraser Luesse but it will absolutely NOT be my last. Her richly-warm writing voice affectionately captured the lilt of the Deep South from the very first line – “Good pimento cheese is a reason to live. It tastes like everything just might turn out after all.” Her characters were quintessentially (and fondly) Southern but also multidimensionally so. No stale or shortsighted stereotypes here! And what a fabulous and vibrant group of characters they are! I so badly wish that every last one of them existed in real life so I could sit around Punk’s kitchen table with them. Undoubtedly, if such a miracle occurred, I would alternate between laughing out loud at particularly delightful turns of phrase, wiping away a few tears at one of their heartbreaks or regrets, and sighing in reverence at a meaningful insight that settled in my soul… much like I did while reading this novel. And I don’t even like Creole food but the descriptions of the food served and eaten by these dear women felt as ‘welcome home’-comforting as the personalities of the characters themselves.

“Coco’s like a hurricane. She doesn’t just arrive. She makes landfall.”

Speaking of ‘welcome home’… our protagonist, twenty-something Edie, has been coaxed back to her grandmother’s house to heal from the painful loss of her best friend. She has such happy memories of summers spent in Punk’s Creole cottage in this tiny Mississippi Gulf Coast town, and after meeting Punk and her friends on these pages I can totally understand why. Punk and the three sisters Coco, Sugar, and Cookie (none of which are their real names lol) are collectively a force to be reckoned with, and you’ll love the explanation for why Edie calls them the Ten Spots. To say I loved these dear ladies immediately would be an understatement, and to say that the men in this story (particularly Jason) were just as memorable as the women would also not go amiss, just in very different ways. And of course there’s Edie who provides the honeyed first person perspective for this story and anchors the various subplots and supporting characters. Her fondness for the Ten Spots and her godmother Charlotte, her big heart, and her amiable personality make her so very easy to root for and embrace.

Bottom Line: The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse impressed me from word one and settled in my soul shortly thereafter. Edie & her beloved ‘Ten Spots’ felt like dear friends just as quickly, and Luesse draws their stories out of them like an expert word weaver with heaps of grace and tender affection. Not just about Hurricane Camille and its aftermath (which was so compelling) but also a lifetime of love and loss and everything in between. A sweet second chance romance for Edie and the boy she fell in love with one summer made my ‘KissingBooks’ heart happy, and a couple of intriguing mysteries (the kind that grip your imagination with possibilities, not the kind where you solve a crime) were icing on the cake for me. Especially the subplot involving the enigmatic Jason which I didn’t expect to touch my heart like it did but nonetheless left me quite moved by the end. The Light on Horn Island is a gentle and warmly-written reminder that, even if we initially overlook the evidence of His mercy, God is always everything we need exactly when we need it. And THAT, even more than pimento cheese, is a reason to keep going through the storm!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

The Light on Horn Island is the perfect Southern Literature for a lazy summer day. The story takes the reader to the coast of Mississippi where Edie Gardner returns home to after the loss of her best friend. Her grandma “Punk” and friends are there to help her heal and her mother’s best friend also joins them needing healing of her own. Add a light mystery of an unknown light, a calming shopkeeper and a second chance romance and you have this perfect read.
I have not read Valerie Fraiser Luesse before, but she was on my list of authors to try and now I am going back to read her earlier works. The depth of the different relationships she created is usually not done as well as she did. The reader leaves this story thankful for long friends and loyal family.
I received a complimentary copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Revell Publishing, but all opinions are my own.

What can I say about a mind-altering book such as this? Sometimes it’s hardest to write a review for the best books because sometimes there are no words to sum up their greatness. From the setting to the cultural themes to the friendships, I was enraptured by The Light on Horn Island. If you like contemporary Christian fiction that looks back on history and involves a sweet romance and heartwarming friendships, this book is for you!

First of all, this book is a perfect summer beach read (but I certainly enjoyed it as a spring read). The Mississippi beach + bayou setting warmed my heart. Oh how I long to see the bayou! I loved all the cultural references in this story as well as all the food references. It was so fun to read a story where you are “swamped” in the atmosphere. Also, this story follows the aftermath of Hurricane Camille. What a powerful theme. It gives a view to hurriance survivors and the trauma that comes with a hurricane. This increased my full grasp of what hurricane victims go through and my heart is with you all.

Next, Valerie Fraser Luesse created this story with such relational themes. I loved the small-town friendships that influenced key parts of the story. I adored the sister-like friendships of the old ladies. Their comments were hilarious at times yet so sobering too! Also, the romance was so sweet and simply adorable. No complications—just simply a sweet relationship between two loving people.

Finally, Ms. Luesse executed the mystery and Christian themes of The Light on Horn Island very well. I did not see many of the plot twists coming and at least once, I slapped my hand over my mouth in shock. This mystery is unique—it’s not suspenseful as in scary but it is so riveting. The Christian themes that are tied to it were life-changing for me. It certainly widened my understanding of how God works and I was even brought to tears.

All in all, this story will be a recommendation by me forever.

Happy reading,

Bethany the Bookworm Girl

CW: mild references to drinking something strong, death (not suicide) grief, attempted suicide, mental health struggles/depression (only mentioned around one time), hurricane survival stories/trauma

This story had me from the very first line-“Good pimento cheese is a reason to live.” Yes!! I was further “all-in” when I was introduced to the quintessential group of southern women called “The Ten Spots”. Named because they have an ongoing contest to see who can score the best loot for ten dollars! This book speaks to my “gulf” heart and stomach! Southern ladies, familiar places and wonderful food!

Punk convinces her granddaughter, Edie, to come back to the coast because “there was no wound the Gulf of Mexico couldn’t salve”.

At the behest of Jason Toussaint, a recent acquaintance and shop owner, the ladies share their answers to questions in “Confessions”, a Victorian era game. Little did they know, their telling answers would lead them through secret regrets, summer loves, loss and a closer look at what happened the day Hurricane Camille hit the coast.

This storyline reminds us that God is in the business of guiding and changing hearts.

This book is suitable for teens and older with no inappropriate intimate scenes and no bad language. I received this book from the author/publisher, through Library Thing, free of charge, with no expectation of a positive review.

This novel exudes enough southern charm that I want to sit down at the table with Punk, Edie and the TenSpots and fill up on grits and shrimp, mud pie and sweet tea. You could feel the humidity of the Mississippi summer and the cooling breeze coming off the gulf.
The story takes place in 2002 and has Edie going back to Bayou de Chene to her grandmother Punk and a new job preparing photos and archiving stories about Hurricane Camille in Beloxi.
Second chance romance, grieving a loved one and encountering a mysterious light on Horn Island makes for an absorbing story, not to mention God appointed occurrences that could not be described as mere coincidence.
Ms Leusse always provides a unique and relevant story of family, faith and life lessons. If you like southern fiction, immerse yourself in this wonderful story of love lost and found and friendship that lasts for a lifetime.
* A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Revell through Interviews and Reviews via NetGalley. I was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are mine alone.*