The Night Mark is definitely a departure from the types of books I’ve read from Tiffany Reisz before, but it is an absolutely captivating story about learning to live again and holding onto hope when you’re lucky enough to find it.

About ‘The Night Mark’

Faye Barlow is drowning. After the death of her beloved husband, Will, she cannot escape her grief and most days can barely get out of bed. But when she’s offered a job photographing South Carolina’s storied coast, she accepts. Photography, after all, is the only passion she has left.

In the quaint beach town, Faye falls in love again when she sees the crumbling yet beautiful Bride Island lighthouse and becomes obsessed with the legend surrounding The Lady of the Light — the keeper’s daughter who died in a mysterious drowning in 1921. Like a moth to a flame, Faye is drawn to the lighthouse for reasons she can’t explain. While visiting it one night, she is struck by a rogue wave and a force impossible to resist drags Faye into the past—and into a love story that is not her own.

Fate is changeable. Broken hearts can mend. But can she love two men separated by a lifetime?

‘The Night Mark’ book review

When I read the synopsis for The Night Mark I was definitely intrigued. I am not a lover of historical romance, and I haven’t read a lot of time travel books in my time either. Nonetheless, I remained captivated by the idea. Yes, I’ve heard of Outlander and I know the role that time travel plays in that romance, but this just seemed different, and I couldn’t have been more accurate.

The Night Mark is a second chance romance, but not for a couple that missed their chance, or for childhood best friends that never took their shot to make out. It’s a book that gives its heroine, Faye Barlow, a second chance at putting romance back in her life. When you first crack The Night Mark and learn what Faye has survived, you can’t help but want her to find a way to come alive again. Surviving is not living, and Faye’s story teaches that lesson in the most effective way.

In The Night Mark, you learn about the best year of Faye’s life, and how it altered her way of seeing the world forever. You see how quickly life can change and steal the things that you think are keeping you alive. It is simultaneously a warning and a beacon of hope. I found myself thinking hard about the things that I put my heart and soul into and how I would feel if they were suddenly ripped away. I also found myself thinking about how I would pull myself up if the worst were to ever happen.

The Night Mark is every bit the lighthouse it romanticizes. It warns those approaching of dangers nearby, but also shines as a hopeful beacon for those reaching for land, for their footing, or just for something solid to grab onto. I am so glad that this book and I found each other. I needed a beautiful heartfelt story like this one in my life, and I didn’t even know it.

Throughout this story, I found myself tearing up as Faye recounts the tragedies that have stolen her verve for life. I laughed as she found a friend in a retired priest who loves to paint and flirt. I held my breath as she dove into the unknown, and I gasped as she surfaced in the future she wanted for herself. This story reminded me that what is right for one person may not be right for another, and that is okay in every way. We are all our own vessels looking for land, and we might just need the right night mark to show us where we are.

The Night Mark by Tiffany Reisz is available now. Grab your copy today on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or find it at an indie bookstore near you!