bailsofbooks's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
aperkey's review
4.0
This isn’t so much a book review and more of what I thought of it.
This book is so much different than all of her other published work. Many of her novels have some form of southern magic within the characters and with the food mentioned throughout the novel. Lost lake is so different than many of her other works. There was no food magic that I have grown to love. Lost Lake also didn’t have the only by chance love stories that normally have me fully engrossed that normally happens. The ending was a tad bit rushed but not so much that it fully turns you off from the book or the author. Will I continue to read her work? Of course but this is by far my least favorite. I have read every single book by her with exception of 1 novel(not including the one she will release in a couple months).
This book is so much different than all of her other published work. Many of her novels have some form of southern magic within the characters and with the food mentioned throughout the novel. Lost lake is so different than many of her other works. There was no food magic that I have grown to love. Lost Lake also didn’t have the only by chance love stories that normally have me fully engrossed that normally happens. The ending was a tad bit rushed but not so much that it fully turns you off from the book or the author. Will I continue to read her work? Of course but this is by far my least favorite. I have read every single book by her with exception of 1 novel(not including the one she will release in a couple months).
nbrickman's review
4.0
Not my favorite of hers, but I still found it charming and enjoyed the characters.
lolomc's review against another edition
4.0
Loss, grievance, love, childhood remembrance, imagination and best of all magic! I love to read a story that brings out that thought of ….”but what if it is real.” With an alligator sending a little girl on adventure, charms that allow one to “live” a charmed life and a ghost haunting your deepest sorrows. This book was such a joy to read. I felt as if I was vacationing on lake and wanting to keep all the magic and memories and summer adventures alive with it. This was my first book by this author and I am excited to see what else her other books entail.
andreagraves's review
2.0
Of all of Sarah Addison Allen's books, this was my least favorite. There are some spoilers below...
What I loved about this book:
- the fantastic lead in and great foundation built in the beginning of the book.
- there were some really cool characters.
- the multi-generational background on the family characters.
- the magical environment.
What I didn't love about this book:
- there were a lot of characters with too many similar hardships that started making
me want to keep tally marks for many characters had lost their husbands.
- too many individual POV's (which normally I love being in the head of different characters, but
there were too many POV's to keep me caring for the characters) that weakened the plot.
- not enough character development. Many of the characters would just start getting interesting,
and then we would hear their POV only one other time in the entire book.
- the magical charm was mostly there, but fell flat for me with the alligator plot.
- the overall pacing and plot development felt very slow. I didn't find it hard to
stop reading, I had to force myself to keep reading in multiple places in this book. Usually,
I can't put books by this author down.
- time passed too slowly, the majority of the book takes place over the time period of a week. The
storyline would have had much more depth if more time passed - like at least a month.
- the book ended before it felt done. It felt like lots of things were building, having
foreshadowing, then they were just cut off and the book abruptly ended. I found myself
thinking, "That's it?" and feeling disappointed.
What would've made this book better (for me):
- I could've done with 3-4 less characters and focused on developing the other really outstanding
characters further.
- further develop the character relationships between Kate & Wes, Kate & Eby. Things kept
building to imply more was coming, and then on the brink of it, the book abruptly ends.
- have the storyline not abruptly end once the plot line is fully revealed, let the characters
digest the plot for more than one day and give them time to react, not just end the book.
- possibly give several characters a spin off book and further develop them such as Lisette
& Jack, and possibly a sequel with Kate & Wes.
- I felt like there was a possible cool plot twist with Selma using her last charm to benefit others,
that it had been revealed to Bulladeen, but never revealed to the reader. That disappointed me
a lot.
- instead of ::assuming:: Wes & Kate get together, Eby gets to travel, Devin thrives at Lost Lake,
Selma has an "interesting" wedding/marriage and hopefully gets to find "real" love eventually, and
Cricket can give Kate more respect and be further appreciated by Kate & Devin once that occurs, etc.,
I would've really enjoyed reading about it from the author. The ending didn't feel wrapped up and tied
together and left me feeling disappointed.
On a side note, I was very sorry to hear this author had cancer and I'm thankful she had such
a wonderful support system to help her through it. I still highly recommend this author and her other
books I've been a fan of for years.
What I loved about this book:
- the fantastic lead in and great foundation built in the beginning of the book.
- there were some really cool characters.
- the multi-generational background on the family characters.
- the magical environment.
What I didn't love about this book:
- there were a lot of characters with too many similar hardships that started making
me want to keep tally marks for many characters had lost their husbands.
- too many individual POV's (which normally I love being in the head of different characters, but
there were too many POV's to keep me caring for the characters) that weakened the plot.
- not enough character development. Many of the characters would just start getting interesting,
and then we would hear their POV only one other time in the entire book.
- the magical charm was mostly there, but fell flat for me with the alligator plot.
- the overall pacing and plot development felt very slow. I didn't find it hard to
stop reading, I had to force myself to keep reading in multiple places in this book. Usually,
I can't put books by this author down.
- time passed too slowly, the majority of the book takes place over the time period of a week. The
storyline would have had much more depth if more time passed - like at least a month.
- the book ended before it felt done. It felt like lots of things were building, having
foreshadowing, then they were just cut off and the book abruptly ended. I found myself
thinking, "That's it?" and feeling disappointed.
What would've made this book better (for me):
- I could've done with 3-4 less characters and focused on developing the other really outstanding
characters further.
- further develop the character relationships between Kate & Wes, Kate & Eby. Things kept
building to imply more was coming, and then on the brink of it, the book abruptly ends.
- have the storyline not abruptly end once the plot line is fully revealed, let the characters
digest the plot for more than one day and give them time to react, not just end the book.
- possibly give several characters a spin off book and further develop them such as Lisette
& Jack, and possibly a sequel with Kate & Wes.
- I felt like there was a possible cool plot twist with Selma using her last charm to benefit others,
that it had been revealed to Bulladeen, but never revealed to the reader. That disappointed me
a lot.
- instead of ::assuming:: Wes & Kate get together, Eby gets to travel, Devin thrives at Lost Lake,
Selma has an "interesting" wedding/marriage and hopefully gets to find "real" love eventually, and
Cricket can give Kate more respect and be further appreciated by Kate & Devin once that occurs, etc.,
I would've really enjoyed reading about it from the author. The ending didn't feel wrapped up and tied
together and left me feeling disappointed.
On a side note, I was very sorry to hear this author had cancer and I'm thankful she had such
a wonderful support system to help her through it. I still highly recommend this author and her other
books I've been a fan of for years.
saguaros's review
3.0
Sarah Addison Allen is my "comfort food" author and this was the only one of her novels I hadn't read yet. I didn't like it as much as the others--I think there were too many POVs and not enough focus. But it still made me smile, and I really enjoyed the setting a lot.
hoosgracie's review
5.0
A lovely, magical book about a summer at a lake. While the focus is on Kate and Eby, the supporting cast is just as important. Includes great characterization, lush language, and the magic of childhood. Loved it.
jenwestpfahl's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a fun light read. One of those books where you see where it’s headed from almost the beginning but you enjoy getting there.
atlantabelle's review
5.0
I received this book from netgalley in return for my honest review.
Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors so I was super excited to see she had a new book out. I have loved all her books and this one didn't disappoint. It's a story of family lost & found, of new love & Old love with a little of the fantastical thrown in. I cannot recommend this book enough. I really loved it!
Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors so I was super excited to see she had a new book out. I have loved all her books and this one didn't disappoint. It's a story of family lost & found, of new love & Old love with a little of the fantastical thrown in. I cannot recommend this book enough. I really loved it!
octoberdream's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced