From Publishers Weekly
Bretton's newest contemporary romance (after A Soft Place to Fall) is an engrossing tale of hope, promise, heartache and misplaced dreams. Maddy Bainbridge and her headstrong mother, Rose, have never gotten along, but when Maddy's Seattle-based dot-com crashes and her husband divorces her, she has no choice but to return home to Paradise Point, N.J., with her four-year-old daughter Hannah. It's three weeks before Christmas, and Maddy is determined to make a go of it with her mom while attempting to put a little happiness back in her daughter's life by giving her an Aladdin-style `magic lamp' (actually a teapot) she's found on the Internet. The only problem is that someone is aggressively trying to outbid her. Her adversary, she soon learns, is ex-firefighter Aidan O'Malley, owner of O'Malley's Bar and Grill across town. He's trying to win the teapot for his daughter, Kelly, who believes it to be the one that graced the walls of O'Malley's 50 years earlier. When Maddy scores the winning bid, the sale becomes the catalyst that brings generations of families together, suggesting the teapot may have magic powers after all. While this Christmas tale may seem out of place among the summer season's beach offerings, its uplifting message and smooth storytelling make it a pleasant read any time of year. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Even though she realizes that you can't go home again, financial necessity forces divorcee Maddy to pack up her four-year-old daughter, Hannah, and leave Seattle for Paradise Point, New Jersey, where she moves into her mother's bed-and-breakfast. Desperate to do something that will cheer up her morose child, Maddy sees a samovar resembling Aladdin's lamp on the Internet and begins bidding as "JerseyGirl." Aidan's teenage daughter, Kelly, believing the Russian teapot will make her ailing great-grandmother happy, gives him strict instructions to be the successful bidder. "FireGuy" gives it his best shot but loses to "JerseyGirl." Frantic, he sends e-mail after e-mail to her, upping the profit margin each time, but the mystery woman holds firm. After Maddy and Aidan meet by chance, they realize they have more in common than the samovar, but both have unresolved family issues, and the teapot becomes a symbol of their efforts to resolve them. Bretton's warm, wonderful book presents complex familial and romantic relationships, sympathetic characters, and an underlying poignancy and will please fans of Kathryn Shay and Deborah Smith. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Meryl Sawyer
No one tells a story like Barbara Bretton.

Midwest Book Review
Soul warming...powerful relationship drama.

Detroit Free Press
Beautifully told, with characters who touch the heart.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips
The region of the heart is her territory and no one travels it better.

Book Description
While Maddy Bainbridge didn't want to go back home to the Jersey shore, her mother's invitation came at a time when Maddy had few choices. But her effort to give her own little girl her heart's desire may just give Maddy a chance of finding her own...

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
In more than 40 books over a 20-year career, Barbara Bretton has captured hearts with her appealing blend of poignant realism and romantic dreams, and Shore Lights continues this winning tradition. As a child, Maddy Bainbridge blamed her mom for her parents' divorce. Once grown, Maddy left their small town on the Jersey Shore to make a new home for herself -- far, far away. Now, jobless after the crash of her dot-com career in Seattle and wounded by a recent breakup, Maddy is desperate to offer her young daughter stability and family -- even if it means returning home to work at her mother's upscale bed-and-breakfast. When Maddy meets single dad Aidan O'Malley in a bidding war over an antique samovar on an online auction site, the attraction is immediate. Unfortunately, while Maddy needs this "enchanted lamp" to brighten her daughter's Christmas, Aidan's teenage daughter wants it to replace something her ailing great grandmother treasured long ago. The ensuing dispute results in a delightfully romantic homecoming. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Barbara Bretton shines a light into the hearts of mothers and daughters... and delivers her most compelling novel to date.

While Maddy Bainbridge didn't want to go back home to the Jersey shore, her mother's invitation came at a time when Maddy had few choices. But her effort to give her own little girl her heart's desire may just give Maddy a chance of finding her own.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly