Shore Lights

Paradise Point #1

by Barbara Bretton

Maddy Bainbridge knew that the things that drove her crazy about her mother when she was seventeen would drive her crazier now that she is thirty-two, but Rose's invitation to re home to the Jersey Shore came at a time when Maddy had few choices. Her ex had just remarried, her four-year-old daughter had lost her smile, and her job had gone the way of a thousand other dot-com disasters.

Living under her mother's roof makes Maddy feel like a teenager again --- and a sullen, misunderstood one at that. But even more than her troubled relationship with her mother, Maddy is worried about her daughter and determined to give her something to smile about, even if it means engaging in a heated on-line auction for an old Russian samovar. Ex-firefighter Aidan O'Malley wanted that samovar for his teenage daughter, and he isn't happy at being outbid. But from a bidding war, a most unlikely --- and romantic --- connection is formed. Both wary and weary, neither Maddy nor Aidan expect to care so deeply --- and so quickly --- about each other. But amidst some surprising family secrets, their efforts to give a little girl and an elderly woman their hearts' desires may just give Maddy and Aidan a chance of finding their own ...

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Amazon, Christmas, Fiction

392 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 6, 2003

About the author

Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 40 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries.

Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette,among others, and has been interviewed by Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.

Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.

Barbara loves to spend as much time as possible in Maine with her husband, walking the rocky beaches and dreaming up plots for upcoming books.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm trying to be more cautious with my reviews. This book is a romance, but it also made me examine how mothers and daughters communicate and why relationships can be so touchy between them when the daughters grow up. It explored why it is so important to live your life instead of boxing up your heart. The secondary stories build the primary characters beautifully. There were moments where a suspension of disbelief was required, but they were forgivable in my mind. I liked how the main characters really loved their children. Themes included, death, letting go of past pain, mothers/daughter relationships, family relationships, accepting physical limitations, loving people for themselves instead of who you want them to be, how to express love to someone who only hears it when expressed in ways you are unfamiliar with giving, divorce and its generational ramifications, and growing up. All that said, it isn't a heavy book. But it had a lot more for me to think about without giving up on the hope and joy that are romance novels. When I read the back cover, I put off reading this for a few weeks. But because I have liked the author's other books, I finally picked it up. Don't be put off by what the description makes seem impossibly shallow and negative. This book made me think, but left with a sense of hope.

[Gloria ~ mzglorybe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off good, but loses something in the second half. This is Book 1 of a series about two families in Jersey, the O'Malley's and the DiFalco's.

When first a 4-year-old child starts uttering Russian words she doesn't know... then falls sick and her symptoms mimicks another characters dying grandmothers symptoms ... well, that's too much of a stretch for me.

Could have been so much more, but I gave it 2.5/3 stars because it kept me entertained through most of it. There is a loose end or two, and yes there is a book 2.

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish]

Free for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Shore-Lights-Pa...

It sounds like a great holiday read! It's the first book in the Paradise Point series.

Blurb:

There's nothing more dangerous to a woman's heart than a man who is single, straight, loves his kid, and doesn't kiss and tell . . .

Maddy Bainbridge left her Jersey Shore home town right after high school, determined to put as many miles as possible between herself and her many meddling relatives.

Now she's back in Paradise Point -- an unemployed single mother whose only option is to accept her mother Rose's offer of a job and a place to live.

But it doesn't take Maddy long to discover that the things about your mother that made you crazy at 17 make you even crazier at 32. Rose's critical comments bring out Maddy's inner teenager and by the beginning of December, the end is in sight. Maddy would stay there at the Candlelight Inn, her mother's popular B&B, through Christmas for her daughter Hannah's sake, but once the New Year rolled around …

And then fate, in the form of an online auction battle over a Russian samovar that looks like Aladdin's lamp, brings home-town hero Aidan O'Malley into her life and suddenly Maddy begins to believe anything is possible.

A child's dreams, an old woman's memories, the joys and heartaches that come with being part of a family, the thrill of new love and the deep comfort of love that stood the test of time -- it all comes together that one special holiday season when even the most battered hearts open just wide enough to let a miracle or two slip through.

[Jennifer Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartwarming tale of family and forgiveness with good, multi-dimensional characters and a great sense of place. I loved the snow scenes and nice feel of the Jersey sea coast. A bit show to start and some of the things the characters thought, did and said were contradictory. (The female protagonist can't forgive her mother for not being there when her baby was born, but she can forgive her much older husband who divorced her because she got pregnant?) There were also a couple of threads left dangling, apparently for the sake of the next book in the series. Otherwise, the book would have had 5 stars.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

She moves home again
Will mom accept her as is
Or try to change her?

Very deep story
Family issues dominate
Romance is small part

[Patrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story.I would like to give it 4.5 stars.

Since I am a Jersey girl, and this takes place in a fictional New Jersey shore town, what’s not to like? This is the story of Madelyn “Maddy” Bainbridge and Aidan O’Malley. Maddy couldn’t wait to shake the NJ dirt from her feet fast enough once she graduated from high school. She and her mother, Rose DiFalco, had a very tenuous relationship, ever since her parents had gotten divorced. As Maddy saw it, her mother was never the June Cleaver type, she was more out to prove that she could play with “big boys” as a single mother. Maddy spent her adolescent summers at her father’s farm in Oregon. Due to circumstances, Maddy finds herself unemployed, alone, and a single mother to Hannah; a precocious 4-year-old, and a poodle puppy. Rose contacts Maddy and asks her to come back to NJ to helo her with her B&B business, the Candlelight Inn. Reluctantly, Maddy agrees, and finds herself in the bosom of her family once again. Maddy has a tough time letting her 17-year-old self slip away, when faced with her mother’s comments and criticisms.

Aidan O’Malley, former firefighter, now tavern manager/cook, has had some tough times himself. He currently works for his sister-in-law at O’Malleys. He was badly injured in a fire that claimed his brother’s life. He has a 17-year-old daughter, Kelly, who is the light of his life. He just doesn’t feel that they connect anymore and he is concerned that she and her boyfriend Seth are getting too serious too soon.

Strangely enough, these lives will intersect when Kelly asks her dad to bid on an old samovar on a local auction website. Kelly thinks it looks just like the one that used to grace O’Malley’s in its heyday and had belonged to her great-grandmother. She wants to give it to her great-grandmother for Christmas, in the hopes that it will bring her happy memories. Maddy is bidding on the same item for Hannah, since she loves all things Aladdin. Maddy is hoping it will make her bright, young daughter smile again. See how an old samovar can work a little magic in the shore town of Paradise Point.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an emotionally charged novel about a thirty-year-old woman who must move back in with her mother in order to give her daughter a sense of security and family. Maddie and her mother, Rose, have not had a close relationship but Rose offers her daughter a home and a job in her extremely successful Bed & Breakfast on the jersey Shore. The secondary story line follows injured firefighter, Aidan, his sister-in-law and the family bar they run. There is an unexplained connection between Maddie's daughter, Hannah, and Aidan's dying great-grandmother, Irene; but otherwise this is a gritty family drama and romance. It left me teary-eyed.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read with a smooth story line.

A lot of missed errors in proofreads.

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read enjoyed it will be reading more from this author

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming Reflection on Love & Family

Nobody weaves heart and home together like Barbara Bretton. In Paradise Point, the Jersey shore town that time forgot, new beginnings are stirring. Both DiFalco and O'Malley clans have struggled and suffered in life and in love.

While Rose DiFalco has found success through her business, she has failed spectacularly in bridging the gap with her estranged daughter Maddy. Maddy reluctantly accepts her mothers offer to "come home" and help run their B&B. She does it to give her own daughter Hannah a chance at stability and family. While tensions remain high between the fiery DiFalcos, change like the onset of winter is in the air. What neither mother or daughter expect is how deeply they will be challenged and allowed to grow.

Meanwhile, Aidan O'Malley is struggling to maintain the family business, raise his teenage daughter and let go of the ghosts of the past. The arrival of Hannah and Maddy and the matter of a mysterious tea pot will set in motion events neither of the two clans could anticipate.

Many characters and themes are woven through Bretton's family centric romance. Love is seen through generations, decades of misunderstandings and secrets are slowly, offer painfully peeled away. This isn't your average holiday romance. Instead Bretton has gifted us with the hard truths we often avoid facing and how familial love can run deepest of all.

Filled with humor, wit and more than a little melancholy, Shore Lights is the perfect Holiday novel.

[E.L. Lindley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shore Lights by Barbara Bretton is the first novel in the Paradise Point NJ series. It’s a warm hearted romance that I really enjoyed immersing myself into.

From the onset, it’s pretty clear where the story is going to end up but that doesn’t matter a jot as it’s the journey to get there that’s the fun part. Maddy Bainbridge is a thirty something single mother, who returns to her home town of Paradise Point after fifteen years. In doing so she finds not only herself but a handsome, single father called Aidan O’Malley.

Bretton’s skill lies in the way she has created a world within a world in Paradise Point. It’s a small community where everyone knows and cares about each other. The main characters of the novel and within the town are the DiFalcos (Maddy’s family) and the O’Malleys. Conflicts are explored and resolved within the story but a strong sense of family is never far from the surface.

I really like Maddy; she is just the right combination of gutsy and vulnerable. She’s struggling not only to find her way with her own daughter but with her estranged mother as well. The miscommunications that are tearing Maddy and her mother apart are probably something that we can all relate to.

Aidan is the perfect romantic hero, he’s endured lots of heartache but manages to be an excellent father and retain his decency and kindness. I really like the way Bretton doesn’t put obstacles in the couple’s way but rather allows them to support each other through the difficulties that occur.

Bretton also does a great job of making the novel seem contemporary and relevant. The characters and dialogue is realistic, punchy and at times hilarious. She also begins Maddy and Aidan’s romance via email, where they open up to each other before they realise their true identities.

The novel is made even cosier by the fact that it is set in the run up to Christmas and Paradise Point is in the grip of a snow blizzard. That said Christmas is not such a major theme that the story can’t be enjoyed at any time of the year. Although I’m sure it would be the perfect read for the festive season.

Despite the novel being essentially a feel good read, Bretton does touch on serious issues and handles them sensitively and realistically. There is the impact that broken families have on children, how people deal with serious illness and bereavement. Most poignantly there is also old age and dealing with the realisation at the end of your life that it may not have been well lived. The only slight criticism that I have is that 70% into the story it takes a supernatural turn that didn’t really work for me. However, I know that lots of other readers will enjoy the paranormal twist.

Shore Lights is the kind of novel that you can really lose yourself in and if you like romance I think you will love this one. By the end of the story I found myself wanting to get the next ticket to Paradise Point and I will definitely be catching up with DiFalcos and O’Malleys in the rest of their series.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I didn't love it. This book follows the character of Maddie who is a single mother of a young girl, Hannah. After finding herself alone and jobless with no prospects, she decides to move back home and help her mother run her business. Her mother, Rose, runs a small B&B in a small beach town in New Jersey. Maddie and her mother have never seen eye to eye as Rose is a realist who believes you must not support or condone wishes or fantasy or magic. Maddie grew up with many of her wishes and dreams discouraged with a good deal of criticism. When Maddie returns home, she hopes to shield Hannah who already has a tough go with her father leaving. She wants her daughter to believe there is magic in the world and encourages her dreams and wishes.
Also upon returning to this small town, she runs into Aiden, an old acquaintance from high school. They both connect over an old antique that Maddie won at an auction for her daughter. It resembles Aladdin's magic lamp.
Although a romance blossoms, it is not the real meat of the story. The book mostly centers around family, love and coming to understand the choices of others. There is not only the back story of Maddie and her family but also of Aiden and his family.
I found myself bored through parts of this book as I didn't quite connect to the back story of Aiden's great grandmother Irene. What really saved this book for me was the relationship between Maddie and her mother Rose. Each had scars that needed healing that only eachother could provide. This relationship was absolutely beautiful. This is the only reason why I couldn't give it less than 3 stars.
I do recommend this book as it is beautiful.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what I have come to expect from Ms Bretton, a sweet romance with loads of family drama to sort out. I generally enjoyed the story behind this sweet romance. There are many levels to delve into.

This is more of a mature romance, not my typical fav. I like things with more action all around. Still a sweet single mom and a smexy fire-fighter single dad is a treat. There is much story here, so many wonderful supporting characters. While it is a romance there is a great deal of fiction in the story as well. It takes you on a slow ride through their lives.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by LC Kane, who is great. I love her sweet even tone, it really fits the read. Great pace keeps the story moving along. I also like that she did not try to go too deep for the men. I enjoyed her energy throughout and the emotion she was able to convey. The only negative is that it gets breathy at times, I am not a fan of hearing the narrator take large breaths, but that is more of an editing thing. I will be looking for more of her work!

Overall this was a sweet book that kept me entertained at work. I was not over the moon in love with it, but that had more to do with my mood than the storytelling. For fans of inter-generational stories, and mature couples in romance, this will be a great read. The story continues in the second book of the series, following the same leads.

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

The constant harping on how a child needs two parents in order to survive was a little tiresome. I wasn't invested at all in the Tom's relation to Maddy or Hannah's lives. Honestly, sitting at 50% (and all the way through to the end, somewhat), Maddy's relationship with Rose is strikingly familiar (except I didn't wait until graduation to leave my mother's house, and I didn't move 3,000 miles away until I was in my late 20's, and I will never, ever, ever move back in with my mother), and I had a hard time relating to how Maddy acted. I also had a hard time feeling sorry for Rose, but I know that's more my upbringing than the writing. But, at any rat, it's fiction, and while it didn't strike any positive or resounding emotional chords in me, it was an enjoyable read. The writing was good.

Also, the thing with Irene at the end... It kind of lost me. I wanted it to be more, or less, or just something profound. Maybe more details? A more specific connection? I was intrigued but not satisfied by the outcome.

[Gloriamarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am really miffed. This is not the first time I have caught this author making a despicable error and I am beginning to think she just doesn't care enough about her readers to check out the details. Or to have a professional editor attend to such things.

These are examples of samovars: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Samovar

These are examples of Middle Eastern oil lamp: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Oil_lamp

These are examples of teapots: http://www.englishteastore.com/teapot...

I spent five minutes on google and I easily verified that a samovar is not a teapot is not an oil lamp.

Authors owe it to readers to do their research.

It really is a shame because I otherwise like how Bretton writes. But I am really getting fed enough with her lack of knowledge about what she chooses to write about. It's enough to make me not read anything else by her.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The editing on this book was awful; misuse of pronouns, time/context errors, needless repetition. Also, the book was set up to be a love story, however, it seemed the author had 3 separate book/plot ideas she tried to cram into one novel. It made for one long set up to a boring book and unbelievably quick conclusion. She should have focused on only ONE of the plot arcs and saved the others for different books. Start with the love story and then in a separate book, dive into the mother/daughter relationship and/or the grandmother issues. By writing the book the way she did, it didn't have any depth and feeling.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, I could see reading other books in this series. Some of the issues cleared up a little too easily and Spoiler Alert (scroll down to see):














I could have really done without the supernatural connection between the little girl and the old lady. The book would have worked just fine without it.

[Lisa Welch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many story lines, it's hard to keep track of who's who and what's going on. I made it 34% of the way through and there is still no point, like the plot is still being set up when it should be well underway. Normally I read 2-3 books a week I have been struggling with this one for a week and a half.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a romance, but it was more a family saga than anything else.

Maddie moves back to Jersey after her ex remarries and her young daughter falls into a depression. She moves in with her mom, Rose, who runs a successful bed and breakfast. The two have always had a rocky relationship. Then there are the numerous Aunts and cousins that are all in her business. When she tries to make her daughter smile again by bidding on a lamp for Christmas that looks like Aladdin's magic lamp, she meets Fire-Guy who is also bidding on the same lap. Maddie wins the auction and Fire-Guy tries to convince her to sell it to him because it is important to his daughter. At first, their interactions are via e-mail, but then they realize they both live on the Jersey Shore and decide to meet.

Aidan O'Malley runs O'Malley's tavern and after the tragic fire that killed his brother and changed him forever, he is struggling to put the pieces together again and make his business successful. He is attracted to Maddie, but everyone meddling and life in general get in the way.

This book was a wonderful journey about life and love and family and forgiveness. A really good read.

[Maggie Shanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Christmas romance story with lots of family drama. Maddie reluctantly comes home to NJ to help her mother run her fabulous bed and breakfast but she and her mother have lots of unresolved issues. Hannah, Maddie's little girl is sad and missing her daddy. Aiden is a single dad of a Kelly a highschool senior, but his family is experiencing yet another death as his elderly grandmother slips away. I think I will continue on with the series, so I can read more about Maddie and Aiden's relationship and keep tabs on Kelly and Hannah.

[Will Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some boring times where the story seemed to drag. Yet, all in all, it moved toward an ending that was long in coming, kind of like Irene. The truly suspenseful part is finding out if Kelly is pregnant or not and that wasn't answered. The writing style kept me reading to the end. The editing is clean. Too many characters to keep them all straight. Overall, a long read that took a long time to go where?

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was captivated by this story. Of course we knew that Maddy would end up with Aidan, but it was interesting seeing how it played out. It was also a good story about the interrelationships between Mother and Daughter. I loved the story with the big family dynamics in a shore town. I cried my eyes out when Aidans grandmother was dying and I loved reading about her history and sad her grandchild would never know the complete story! I couldn’t wait to wake up to finish the story.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought I would like the story, but...

The whole thing moved a little slow. It seemed like it took the whole book to "build" the characters, and yet nothing actually happened. I ended up feeling a little cheated -as if it were all just a tease to get you to buy the next book where, hopefully, the author will actually get to the actual heart of the story!

[Barbara "Cookie" Serfaty Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shore Lights: Paradise Point ( Paradise Point NJ Book 1)

The love story of Maddy. Maddy has lost her baby's daddy to other woman, her job and how she may be lost her mind. Maddy and her daughter are turn to her home in NJ. When she return new secrets will be learn or old one found out. Great story.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot going on in this book, lots of characters – cousins, nieces, nephews and first it was hard to keep up with who waswho. Mother daughter stories, the reasons they fight and have disagreements are always complex… It made me think a lot about my relationships. The part I did not like, was Aiden’s family did not get to know Irene’s real story.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a Jersey Girl born and raised "Shore Lights" was a must read. A sweet and light story of second chances that span numerous families and generations. I wouldn't exactly classify this a Christmas themed book, but more of an early winter story.

[Nancy E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was good but if you are from South Jersey it may frustrate you. The attempt to make it seem geographically and " "culturally" authentic, was a fail.

[Vicky Connelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book, I particularly love all the meddling relatives!

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paradise Point #1 - Had It - Read It - 2003

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paradise Point

This is a great quick read. A look into a mother daughter relationship and how complicated these types of relationships.