"The Light Before Day" by Suzanne Woods Fisher

The Light Before Day (Oct. 2, 2018) by Suzanne Woods Fisher.*

Their grandmother was wealthily unhappy in life, and she was also ridiculously wealthy. In her will, she listed twins Henry and Mehitabel “Hitty” Macy as her heirs. Knowing how critical Lillian Coffin was of them in life, they are befuddled as to why she’d name them heirs of her vast estate and significant holdings. But, oh wait, there are parameters that must be met, otherwise the inheritance all goes to their duplicitous relative, Tristram Macy. All Henry and Hitty have to do is keep the fortune on Nantucket Island (simple enough), move immediately into the Grand House (a cold manor with all the warmth of a glacier) and marry a Friend (Quaker) in which one “Sees the Look” within six years, by what would have been Lillian’s 80^th birthday. Six years seems like plenty of time until you consider that the persons you expect the brother and sister to end up with are neither of them part of the Society of Friends.

            Henry is a bookish, thoughtful thinker. He cannot be rushed into making decisions and will struggle if expected to come to a hasty conclusion. But he moves forward with the idea of starting his own newspaper. As editor, he wants to be an objective observer no matter his subjective thoughts. He also acknowledges the pressure of marrying a Friend in good standing.

            Hitty is actually quite astute, even though she doesn’t realize it, lacking the bookishness of her brother or the inventor mind of Isaac Barnard. While reading has always been a sore spot for her, her opinion on too much wealth is wise, and she has a caring heart, especially toward Isaac’s daughter, Bitsy.

            While I’m not much of a history buff, even I can tell that Woods Fisher exerted a tremendous amount of research for this historical romance. And, not having read stories with Quaker characters, I found the novel to be fascinating. Although I did not love the story, I appreciated the grandeur of it: the Nantucket of old to a Nantucket having to literally rise from the ashes, characters from history becoming fascinating historical characters that you want to root for and support, and the dark corners of self-doubt and pressure flooding with the light of determination and hope. I found this story to have strength of plot and a well-rounded array of characters, both main and supporting.

            Note: There is one character I don’t particularly care for. I won’t name names. All I’ll say is, if someone ever says to me, “Thee looks quite fetching sprinkled in sugar,” I will likely laugh so hard that boogers will fly out of my nose. And no one wants that.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”