Book recommendation: The Light Between Oceans

I loved this book. It's the best novel I've read in a long time.

{summary}

Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia after four years serving in the war, and takes a job as a light house keeper on an isolated island. He marries the young and vibrant Isabel and they live together on the remote island, keeping the light. They try to start a family, but Isabel loses three babies; her last, stillborn. As they are yet reeling from the grief of their stillborn child, a boat is washed upon the island rocks, carrying a man who has died, and an infant who lives.

Tom wants to report the incident immediately, but Isabel desperately wants to care for the baby. The decisions they make on the day the baby arrives, and the months and years following- impact Tom, Isabel, their marriage, and- they later discover- someone on the mainland who is praying for the safe return of those in the boat.

***

This was such a well-written and compelling story. So much so that I was reading through my tears in the final pages.

My first thought when I finished the last word was: "What ELSE has this author written?"- because I was ready to gobble up all of M.L. Stedman's other books.  But alas: this was her first novel.

One NOT to miss, though.