Book Review: Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

Reviewer: Samantha

lost lakeI received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

From the author of New York Times bestseller Garden Spells comes a beautiful, haunting story of old loves and new, and the power of the connections that bind us forever…

The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future.

That was half a life ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby’s past. Her husband George is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone. All that’s left is a once-charming collection of lakeside cabins succumbing to the Southern Georgia heat and damp, and an assortment of faithful misfits drawn back to Lost Lake year after year by their own unspoken dreams and desires.

It’s a lot, but not enough to keep Eby from relinquishing  Lost Lake to a developer with cash in hand, and calling this her final summer at the lake. Until one last chance at family knocks on her door.

Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve,  before she learned of loneliness, and heartbreak, and loss. Now she’s all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope too, thanks to her resilient daughter Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer… and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago.

One after another, people find their way to Lost Lake, looking for something that they weren’t sure they needed in the first place:  love, closure, a second chance, peace, a mystery solved, a heart mended.  Can they find what they need before it’s too late?

At once atmospheric and enchanting, Lost Lake shows Sarah Addison Allen at her finest, illuminating the secret longings and the everyday magic that wait to be discovered in the unlikeliest of places.

Review:

As I started reading Lost Lake and getting deeper into the story, I grew excited for the possibilities the plot would take me. A love a little sprinkling of magic in my books, and this seemed to be right up my alley with “could it be real?” moments that Lost Lake provides those who visit. While I did end up highly enjoying this book, it didn’t leave me with the impression I thought it was going to. I think the book was too quick to really get into the magic of the lake and how it touches everyone who believes in its beauty. While I was a little disappointed in that, this really is a great story that I think can be described as spell-bounding. I liked getting different POVs from characters, and especially loved Devin and her innocence and her love for her mom. A well-written book that I think you should read!

4 stars