5-STAR REVIEW: LIGHT THE WAY by LIN STEPP

The Lighthouse Sisters: Book 1
Publication Date: April 1, 2022

In this new coastal series, Lin Stepp transports her readers into the rich, colorful lives of Burke and her sisters, Lila, Gwen, and Celeste, who grew up at the Deveaux Inn and Lighthouse on a windswept island, accessible only by boat. Get ready to be introduced to the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, challenges and adventures of a Lighthouse Keeper.

Life had grown hard for Burke Deveaux at the family inn and lighthouse since her father died. She missed his warmth and still expected to see him walking into a room, his big laugh booming. Burke and her mother were gradually adjusting to the change, and Lila had come home this winter to help, but the workload was heavy. With spring coming and tourism picking up in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Burke welcomed Hal Jenkins’ request for his son Waylon to work for them. Waylon, retiring early from the Navy, knew the island and the lighthouse, having grown up nearby. Burke also knew Waylon well since they’d grown up together. He’d always been older, and she wondered how he’d see her now.

Waylon had been away from Edisto Island for over twelve years now, traveling around the world in the military, but it felt good to be home. He’d hated learning Lloyd Deveaux was gone, the warm-hearted Lighthouse Keeper he’d followed around as a boy. But he liked the idea of coming to stay at the lodge at Watch Island to help the Deveaux family with the inn, lighthouse, and nearly five-hundred acres of land the Lighthouse Station occupied. He knew Burke had picked up many of her father’s old tasks and he looked forward to seeing her again. He’d kept feelings for her clamped down for years but one look at her brought them surging back. How would he handle that with them working together?

Burke Deveaux, still mourning the death of her father, focuses on helping her mother run the family inn and lighthouse. When her childhood friend returns to Watch Island to lend a hand, it doesn’t take long before friendship morphs into something deeper. Author Lin Stepp delivers the first book in The Lighthouse Sisters series with Light the Way.

The storyline is packed with vivid details about life in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The author carefully paints the characters, providing key insights into their personalities. Burke, as the eldest of four daughters, has shouldered much of the responsibilities for their family business. She is a strong character with a solid sense of duty. Waylon’s return lights a spark within Burke, creating an interesting dynamic between the two.

The author excels in depicting life on the island, mixing in some suspense. The dialog between characters underscores the author’s ability to tell a story. As a Christian contemporary romance, the first installment of this series does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the family.

 I’m looking forward to learning more about the other sisters.

Through the highs and the lows, the reader gets a seat at the Deveaux table, where the messiness of life is explored through the grace of God. Light the Way provides an immersive experience, complete with four tasty recipes featured in the story.

Lin Stepp is a native Tennessean, businesswoman and educator. A New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon best-selling international author, Lin has twenty published novels out now, including her twelve beloved Smoky Mountain novels, all set in different Tennessee and North Carolina locations, three Mountain Home books, a novella in one of Kensington’s Christmas anthologies, and four South Carolina coastal novels, including her three Edisto Trilogy books and her first release in the new Lighthouse Sisters series. Lin and her husband J.L. also write regional guidebooks, including a published Smoky Mountain hiking guide and a TN and a SC state parks guidebook, all filled with hundreds of color photos. Stepp’s latest 2022 releases are Eight at the Lake, set in Dandridge near the Smoky Mountains, and Light the Way, set at the SC coast. Writing and adventuring are her joys and more novels set in the Smokies and at the beach are on the way, as well as more colorful regional guidebooks. Lin’s title Claire At Edisto was the 2019 Best Book Award Winner in Fiction: Romance, sponsored by American Book Fest and her novel Welcome Back a finalist in the 2017 Selah Awards. Lin enjoys speaking for events, festivals, libraries, and book clubs. And she loves reading, hiking, exploring out of doors, and keeping up with her readers. Look for her pages on Facebook and Twitter and follow her monthly blog and newsletter, too, that you will find on her website at: www.linstepp.com