Swan Light

A Novel

By: Phoebe Rowe

Narrated by: Francis G. Kearney, Cassie Simone

A sweeping, emotional tale of hope and perseverance, Swan Light weaves together the stories of two people separated by a century but connected by family, purpose, and one extraordinary lighthouse.

1913. Eighty-three-year-old Silvestre Swan has dedicated his life to the care of his Newfoundland lighthouse. His petition to relocate Swan Light from its precarious cliff’s edge is going unheard by town patriarch Cort Roland—that is, until a terrible storm brings an unlikely ally into Swan’s life. But is it too late for the stone lighthouse?

2014. Marine archaeologist Mari Adams’s attempts to fund her search for the notorious SS Californian are realized when she accepts a job to find the remains of Swan Light, rumored to have collapsed into the sea one hundred years ago. She teams up with salvager Julian Henry, and the pair unearth more than they bargained for in their search for the ruins. But when a group of treasure hunters threatens their mission, their hunt for the truth turns dangerous.

As past and present collide, the secrets hiding on the ocean floor begin to surface. Can Mari find the answers she is looking for—and at what price?

©2023 Phoebe Rowe (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“In this phenomenal first novel, the lighthouse at Norman Cliffs is not only a beacon to guide foundering vessels to safety, it is a comforting light in the darkness. It speaks to those who listen. While it stands, it lives.”—Historical Novels Review

“There is nothing not to love about Phoebe Rowe’s debut novel. Flawlessly researched and wholly immersive, Swan Light is a story about the importance of honoring the past. Rowe writes beautifully and takes readers on a journey to places both old and new, reminding us that sometimes the things we’re looking for are looking for us too.”—Barbara Davis, bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings

“Phoebe Rowe expertly interlaces the fascinating world of competitive shipwreck searching with a wonderful mystery about a vanished lighthouse. Two protagonists and two timelines can be tricky to pull off, but Rowe does so with aplomb in this excellent debut—I adored both the lighthouse keeper Silvestre Swan and the intrepid diver Mari Adams. I highly recommend this delightful novel.”—Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward

The Story Remains

I enjoyed the contrast between 1913 and 2014. The core of the story was pride of family and respect for a life well lived.

A very different story

The author did a good job going back and forth 100 years very clearly and linking them. It showed the hardship of lighthouse keepers and the solitary lives they live.

An OK story with two narrators

The story wasn’t overly exciting, but did move along and have some interesting moments. It’s a little different than some, as it was read by a male and a female narrator/performer. I thought the male performer was a better reader than the female one who seems to always make me remember that it was being read and not performed. Very clean without bad language or hot sex scenes.

EXCELLENT

I was glued to the storyline overall but very attached to Silvestre, Stay, and Clara most of all. They were the ones attached to the lighthouse and the fate of it. This book really touched me deeply. Lives are fleeting, and so little of them can be remembered by history even if journals are left behind!

A multi-generational love story with mystery and crime but above all love,

I loved the story and the intrigue with the connections over a hundred years. It shows the importance of each and every story thru time,

Interesting, but occasionally hard to follow

I usually love dual storylines that are complex, richly layered, and woven together across different time periods. Swan Light has that kind of premise, which I really liked! But I sometimes felt it was a bit hard to follow. Toward the end, there were a few places where I felt jerked from one time period to the other and back again a little too quickly. Plus there were so many minor characters that it was hard to keep track of them all, and occasionally the subtext was unclear. Still, I read the whole story and found that the ending was ultimately satisfying.

Swan Light

Plot. A professional diver is contacted by an old woman and hired to look for a lighthouse believed to have been swallowed by the sea a century ago. The story alternates between two timelines, one being the story in 1913 of the working lighthouse, its light keeper, and ultimate collapse - the other being the 2014 modern-day search. Skulduggery regarding gold in the hull of a shipwreck, modern-day salvage rights, and a lost land deed.

Liked. It's an unusual and intriguing story, a fun listen. Nice character development. No sex, no objectionable language. Great visuals - movie? No issues with narration or production.

Not so hot. Could have expanded on the ending. Some unanswered questions. Sequel, please.

Written by Phoebe Rowe, narrated by Francis G. Kearney and Cassie Simone, approximately 9 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released in May 2023 by Brilliance Audio.

Recommended!

Something Different

I read a lot of historical fiction but have never read a story before with a lighthouse as a main character. At times poetically written, filled with mystery. adventure, themes of loyalty, female empowerment plus a little romance. The 2 readers were just right for the different voices.

The female narrator ruined this for me

I am about to return this book because of the female narrator. She is so self conscious in her reading, with strange choices for the words and sentences she chooses to emphasize. It’s read in a cutesy tone, as if she is reading to children. At first, I didn’t like the male narrator, but I came to enjoy his voice, which reminded me a bit of Tom Bodette. I might’ve been able to get into the story if I wasn’t gritting my teeth every time I had to listen to the present day narration done by Ms. Simone. I feel for the author, this narrator ruined what seemed like it was a well written story.

Bittersweet but pulls you in

I loved the character of Swan, and was captivated by his dedication to the lighthouse. The numerous minor characters made it a little tough to keep things straight as an audio-only listen (so many family members!), but the tale was satisfying nonetheless and brought the era to life.

In response to another review about so-called “alternative lifestyles,” if you cannot get through a book with a brief mentions of a forgettable character who is married to someone of the same sex (while the rest of the book is the epitome of idealized hetero romance), well… you’re the problem. It’s you.

Narration: Both narrators did a great job overall, but I wish the narrator of Mari had done some homework on pronunciation of nautical terms, given how important they are to the story and how notoriously unintuitive their pronunciations can be. Loved Swan’s subtle accent.