Lazy Days of Summer Book Review–Becky Doughty reviews FIREFLY ISLAND by Lisa Wingate

I have to tell you, I read this review and immediately wanted to buy this book. Becky Doughty always tells things straight-up, and if she says a book is worth reading, it’s worth reading, my friends. She’s the one who put me on to Susan Meissner’s A Sound among the Trees, a book I will probably never stop raving about like a crazed fan-girl.

Most of you know Becky is one of the founders of Married…with Fiction, and my eagle-eyed crit partner as well. I cannot WAIT until this gal’s books get out there, peeps, cause I’ve read them. IN the meantime, you can get a taste of Becky’s writing style here: Elderberry Croft.

Becky’s reviewing Firefly Island today, by Lisa Wingate, Southern writer extraordinaire. Enjoy!

 FIREFLY ISLAND by Lisa Wingate

Book Review by Becky Doughty

FIREFLY ISLAND–Amazon link

From the Back of the Book:
At thirty-four, congressional staffer Mallory Hale is about to embark on an adventure completely off the map. After a whirlwind romance, she is hopelessly in love with two men–fortunately, they’re related. Daniel Everson and his little boy, Nick, are a package deal, and Mallory suddenly can’t imagine her future without them.

Mallory couldn’t be more shocked when Daniel asks her to marry him, move to Texas, and form a family with him and motherless Nick. The idea is both thrilling and terrifying.

Mallory takes a leap of faith and begins a sweet, mishap-filled journey into ranch living, Moses Lake society, and a marriage that at times reminds her of the mail-order-bride stories. But despite the wild adventure of her new life, she discovers secrets and questions beneath her rosy new life. Can she find answers on Firefly Island, a little chunk of property just off the lakeshore, where mysterious lights glisten at night?

From Me:
Firefly Island. The first thing in this story that made me smile was Mallory’s “wiser” self, trying to wrap her head–and her words–around her experiences in a way that would explain the things she’d learned in her first year of marriage, while still holding the fickle attention of her CNN audience. The second thing that made me smile was the picture, so delightfully described by Lisa, of the professional Mallory caught in the whirlwind of an unexpected gust of wind, foreshadowing her being caught in the whirlwind romance with the unexpected Daniel Everson.

The rest of the book was all Lisa wrapping her words around the story of Mallory, thrust into a plethora of ready-made roles as wife, mother, explorer, good Samaritan, detective, political advocate, and blogger-extraordinaire. Mallory is a woman whose life has taken a sudden detour, and although it’s a detour by choice, she often feels like she’s walking this new path blindfolded. People keep surprising her in this quaint little Moses Lake community – good guys who turn out to be bad and vice versa, the neediest of the residents who seemingly have everything, and the quietest often being the ones with the profoundest messages about relationships and sacrificial love. I especially loved the way Lisa portrayed the Eversons’ marriage; beautifully organic, and worth fighting for.

Something else that charmed me: Lisa ties it all together with quotes scribbled on the Wall of Wisdom at the Waterbird Bait and Grocery store, by regulars and visitors alike.

This book is a lovely, lyrical, “real-life” journal, told through the newly-opened eyes of the main character, as she shares about love, motherhood, family, friends, life changes, and the way home is more about the people with whom you live than the four walls in which you live. I highly recommend this book.

To find out more about Lisa Wingate and Firefly Island, visit her website here: Lisa Wingate.

BECKY DOUGHTY is a warrior princess, a Braveheart. Her weapon of choice is her pen and she writes heart-changing women’s fiction. Becky is represented by Ruth Samsel of the William K. Jensen Literary Agency.

Raised by godly parents who dedicated their lives in service on the mission field, Becky spent her childhood living in, and traveling through, much of the world, her passion for words never without fodder. As with most believing writers, Becky’s testimony plays a large part in not only why she writes, but also in what she writes about. She writes about living on the edge of faith, not to glamorize or glorify sin, but to offer hope, joy, and restoration in Christ Jesus.  

Becky now makes her home in the foothills of Southern California, where she lives with her husband, Kevin, and their children, on a tiny suburban farm. When Becky isn’t writing, she’s usually reading. And if she isn’t reading, she’s got her hands buried in the dirt of their huge herb and vegetable garden, or chasing chickens, or juggling too many eggs because she forgot the egg basket. Again.

You can find Becky blogging at her website, Braveheart–Tales from the Front Lines, or managing and posting on our lovely website, Married…with Fiction.


****Thank you so much for the review, Becky! Looking forward to getting my hands on this book! Any questions or thoughts for Becky? Have you read any Lisa Wingate books?****