but it's a fragile balance that depends on some finely kept secrets.
It's 2016 and the perfect craftsman is making inroads into her personal space.
Moth is courting danger in Turkey. Asha is determined to uncover the truth
and Kit wants to bring the fractured family together for Christmas.
Reading the diaries of her ancestors shines a light on the past
but makes Isabelle fear she will lose herself in the keeping of Riverdell.
Kit has avoided his mother's diaries and gnawing disappointment
with a relentless schedule and a gorgeous new boyfriend,
but now there's this broken-hearted friend to piece back together
and a few wounds of his own to avoid as they hang out the fairy lights.
As Isabelle and Moth wonder if they can solve each other's problems,
Rose is writing out the bitter depths of her hidden longings
in the search to find herself. But with Christmas looming,
will Moth and Isabelle find the courage to choose the future they really want?
THE LIGHTS OF RIVERDELL by Marianne Rosen @mariannerosen.writer
PUBLISHED: 2022
GENRE: Adult Fiction, Modern Family Saga
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ahhhh why did this book have to end!
Huge thanks, first and foremost, to Marianne for gifting me a reader's copy! I'm so invested in the Threlfall family at this point, I jumped at the opportunity to read and review book three.
Although this was gifted, this is my honest review, and frankly The Lights of Riverdell was easily my favourite book so far of this ever evolving family saga. The author continues to give me whip lash with her characters' decisions and revelations, and as Isabelle, Moth and Kit's stories develop, I'm amazed to still be finding new qualities in them to love and despise all at once. Their complexity makes them so desperately human and therefore so relatable, despite their eccentricities (totally talking about Kit). I never know what to expect, and each turn of the page brings new shocks!
Isabelle is slowly gaining the confidence to make important decisions for her own happiness. Moth is on a journey of self discovery to try and separate the man he's becoming from the boy who endured so much trauma. And Kit is striving to achieve the perfect life...or does it only appear perfect to those he wishes to see it...
And as always, Riverdell is the mothership, calling out to them to come home. But home isn't always where you think your place is. Home is where your heart is.
This book, like its predecessors, continually pushes boundaries, and refuses to shy away from topics of importance. On this note, I was thoroughly hooked by the parallel timeline told through the reading of Rose's old diaries. These were so candid and therefore so revealing to her mindset as a woman questioning not only her sexuality, but gender roles, and the way women are perceived. The LGBTQ+ representation throughout the series simply has to be talked about and applauded! It's unique, fluid, and modern. I hope it sparks discussion from everyone who reads it.
I have my suspicions about what happened after Rose's diary entries ended and were entrusted to the care of Elsa and Kate at Riverdell, along with her son Kit - but the contents of the mysterious parcel eludes me. I'll be waiting with baited breath for book four.
Book three climaxed in Kit-worthy style on New Year's Eve, laying the groundwork for a very interesting next instalment...
Please leave me a comment below if you've read this modern family saga, or if you intend to. I'd be flattered beyond words if you read it on my recommendation. Tell me your favourite character. I know mine has changed with each novel. Isabelle is surprisingly taking the lead at the end of this book.
If you haven't read this any of the brilliant Riverdell Saga, you can find my reviews for Book One: The Doors of Riverdell and Book Two: The Halls of Riverdell linked here.
Happy reading!
Zuzu
