THE NIGHT MARK by TIFFANY REISZ

“I will love you and take care of you for the rest of your life.”
“Don’t you mean your life?”
“I meant what I said.”

The Night Mark was an exquisitely beautiful, magical and hypnotic story, and its one we willingly gave ourselves over to. We were intrigued by the mysterious shadow that surrounded the story, captivated by the inhabitants of Bride Island, past and present, and completely swept away by the romance of the story. Love doesn’t beat to the tick of a clock and time has no place when true love takes residence in the heart as we experienced in this a beautiful and sweeping love story that transcended life, death and time.

“Nothing in the world more foolish than dying when a girl like you is in love with him.”

We do enjoy a good bit of mystery with an otherworldly feel, when it’s combined with a heartfelt time travel romance brought to life by this incredible author, it’s bound to be a winner and The Night Mark certainly was that. As tears were shed, we were again reminded why we hold Tiffany Reisz in such high esteem and why we regard her as the consummate storyteller. They say the devil is in the detail and Tiffany Reisz instinctively and cleverly knows how to really transport the reader into her story, so we become a part of the characters journey. From her complex characters, to her wonderful use of analogies and her beautiful descriptive words, nothing is superfluous; every word she writes beguiles the reader.

“Hope is something God gives us. Hope is…….Hope is a bright light on a dark night. If your hope is guiding you into this shore, then this is where you should drop your anchor.”

The Night Mark is set in 2015 and 1921, with the first part story providing a delicious slow build, allowing for wonderful in depth character development, ensuring we became truly connected with each and every person and their increasing significance to the story that was unfolding.

Drowning in grief after the loss of the love of her life four years earlier, and in a current loveless marriage, Faye accepts an assignment to photograph and chronicle the history for the Lowcountry Preservation Society’s annual calendar, entitled “Journey through Time”. Stuck in limbo, unable to move on from her grief, this assignment provides Faye with an escape she is looking for from her current husband, and, as it turns out, she receives so much more.  What Faye encountered had us believing in fate, miracles, love and second chances.

“To think I spent my whole life believing time only went in one direction…Thought it was a river. Turns out it’s an ocean. Waves come in. Waves go out. Sometimes those waves take us with them.”

The Night Mark delivered the emotion, the passion, the suspense and that precision timed wit we so love from Tiffany Reisz, and again, we found ourselves admiring and loving another one of her heroines. Faye was bold, strong, beautiful and intelligent yet she possessed a softness and vulnerability that made her so easily relatable.

“Once someone loves you that much, loves you more than you deserve, you can’t go back to being loved the normal way.”

The Night Mark was an epic, fascinating and richly detailed love story that was as hauntingly beautiful as it was incredibly romantic. As witty as it was heartbreaking, and delivered with a seamless fluidity and dramatic effect that had us physically clutching our hearts as they raced, broke and soared. Tiffany Reisz wove her way in to our imagination, and let it fly with an entrancing, enthralling and emotionally charged love story that will no doubt be at the of our top favourite reads list for 2017.

“You can’t fight time. And you shouldn’t even if you could. That is a losing battle.”