Review: The Lights by the Sea

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I became a big fan of Brooke Skie when I discovered her Leafwood Falls series last year. These romance novel prominently feature Hemingway, an opinionated bookstore cat cat who always has his paws in the story. I was excited to read The Lights by the Sea, the first book in her Northlight Cove series. The cat on the cover clued me in that this would qualify as a cat book, at least by my definition.

I was not disappointed. Protagonist Autumn Hayes buys a crumbling 1920’s movie theater on a whim, and moves from Boston to Northlight Cove, a small Maine fishing village, to restore the old property. The theater comes with Gatsby, a resident cat who mysteriously moves throughout the old building.

This is your classic small town, sunshine meets grumpy, cozy romance. The inhabitants of Northlight Cove are quirky and charming, and the small town feel of the story, while predictable, just made me happy. Autumn is an immensely likable character, and of course, there’s Gatsby. He is judgmental and opinionated and while he’s not central to the story, he plays an important role, especially as the plot moves toward its clonclusion.

I’m currently reading sequel, The Stories by the Sea, and I’m finding it equally delightful. It features Byron, a cat I fell in love with after just reading the initial two chapters. I hope Brooke Skie doesn’t end this series with only two books.

The Lights by the Sea is available from Amazon.

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