return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
Follow Us: 
    Reader Reviews

Read what people think about The Woman at the Light by Joanna Brady, and write your own review.

The Woman at the Light

The Woman at the Light
A Novel
by Joanna Brady
Published in USA Jul 2012,
336 pages.

Publication information




Readers' Rating: 
About BookBrowse Rankings
Share: 
Buy This Book
Page 6 of 7 There are currently 42 reviews
for The Woman at the Light
Select your view:
Order Reviews by:
Click Here To Write Your Own Review
Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Mary Lou M. (N Royalton, OH)
The Woman at the Light
This books effortlessly pulls one into the ocean breezes of Key West, you can almost feel the ocean mist at times, and smell the salty air. The main character, Emily, feels like a close personal friend who guides you along her life's path. Emily's story unfolds gradually, giving you time to appreciate her choices and meet other characters along the way. Emily's love of family and her undying love for her true-love will remain with me for a very long time. Great book for book clubs, would make an excellent discussion! Would highly recommend this novel to a wide range of people.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Malinda N. (Wheeling, WV)
The Woman at the Light
This novel was a wonderful historical fiction read. The story dealt with issues of race and love in the early 19th century. I found the love story and its consequences to be quite believable and, while the end leaves the reader happy, the story itself is not trite in that it paints a realistic picture of the realities of unsanctioned romances. Both Emily and Andrew are characters that the reader must admire and those of Dorothy and Tom, while less admirable, are realistic and likeable in their own way. If I could give one criticism to the publishers it would be about the cover of the book. As a librarian I fully realize how ridiculous it might sound to say that but the reality is that many people DO judge a book by its cover when they are browsing. The cover of this books lends one to think they are about to read a poorly written romance novel. One would not even grasp that it is a historical fiction read based upon the clothing of the woman on the jacket. When I received it in the mail I thought to myself..."what the heck did I choose"? Fortunately. I pledged to read the novel and was very glad that I did.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Dianne S. (Green Valley, AZ)
Emily the Survivor
The Woman at the Light had a great mix of US history and mystery. I was absorbed into the book from the prologue. I love stories that are told from present to past. House at Riverton and Water For Elephants come to mind. It gives the story immediately a certian mystic right off the bat.

I had great admiration for Emily as she moved from situation to situation with ease and grace. In Key West she found herself in abhorrent situation and yet she hung in there till things improved. When her life again changed, she made the best of the situation. She did she time after time throughout her interesting life.

This book is a great read for anyone that enjoys history, mystery and an outstanding heroine!

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Adelia S. (Livingston, MT)
The Woman at the Light
A great story. From the prologue I was hooked. Emily says "I recall the bitter and the sweet, the grief and the rapture--for in my life, the one cannot be chronicled without the other." And so goes the story. I will recommend this one to my book club.
.

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Sandra H. (St. Cloud, Minnesota)
The Woman at the Light
Joanna Brady’s The Woman of the Light will take many readers into a period of time and a setting with which they are not familiar: the Florida Keys from 1829 through 1884. Her descriptions of the area, of the way of life, especially for women and slaves, give us a look at life far removed from today and even from the South during the Civil War. She does this well. Unfortunately, her story lacks the depth needed to create believable and well-rounded characters. Emily Lowry is simply unbelievable. Even after all that happens to her, she remains the same as the woman we meet early in the story. Too often the cavalry comes at just the right time. What a shame, because Brady has the makings for a fascinating glimpse into history and a memorable character.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Jan T. (Leona Valley, CA)
The Woman at the Light
Wonderful! It is easy to be carried away to antebellum Key West. The story is woven around a female lighthouse keeper in the 19th century and the issues of her time. Slavery, feminism, and a forbidden love. Very rewarding book
«  prev   1 2 3 4 5 6 7   next »

Become a Member
Click Here
Editor's Choice
  •  May 21 
  •  May 20 
  •  May 18 
Helga's Diary
Helga Weiss

Helga's Diary Jacket

The remarkable diary of a young girl who survived the Holocaust—appearing in English for the first time.
Fever
Mary Beth Keane

Fever Jacket

A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the burgeoning metropolis of early twentieth century New York.
The Woman Upstairs
Claire Messud

The Woman Upstairs Jacket

The riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed, and betrayed by passion and desire for a world beyond her own.
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Movies Based on Books: Summer 2013 (May - August)
Jewish Young Adult Books That Are Not About The Holocaust
Books to Give This Mother's Day
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
Recent Reader Reviews
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight... read more
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on... read more
The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read... read more
RSS RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. Half the Sky
Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn
2. A Child Called It
Dave Pelzer
3. And the Mountains Echoed
Khaled Hosseini
4. Defending Jacob
William Landay
5. Into The Wild
Jon Krakauer
More...
Book Club Recommendations
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
by Jeanette Winterson
Paperback (Mar/13)
Eleanor & Park
by Rainbow Rowell
Hardback (Feb/13)
The House Girl
by Tara Conklin
Paperback (Oct/13)
The Painted Girls
by Cathy Marie Buchanan
Hardback (Jan/13)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
The Caretaker
by A .X. Ahmad
Four Stars            (May/13)
The Last Girl
by Jane Casey
Four Stars            (May/13)
Golden Boy
by Abigail Tarttelin
4.5 Stars            (May/13)
The Sisterhood
by Helen Bryan
Four Stars            (Apr/13)
More...
  Latest BookBrowse News
British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales. (May 20 2013)
Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
 
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Which of these Summer movies based on books would you like to see? (Info on each movie here)
The Great Gatsby
Epic
Man of Steel
World War Z
The Lone Ranger
The Wolverine
R.I.P.D.
Percy Jackson
Paranoia
The Mortal Instruments
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters
The Light Between Oceans

Online Book Club
More about
The Comfort of Lies
Join the discussion!


Win This Book!
On Sal Mal Lane


"Piercingly intelligent and shatter-your-heart profound."

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"I Y N P O T Solution, Y P O T P"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Menna van Praag
Erica Brown
Helga Weiss
Kate Morton
frame bottom
HOME Book Submissions | Advertising | Library Subscriptions | Reviewing for BookBrowse | Contact Us