Customer Reviews

Lake Magic (Berkley Sensation)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jenny Beckinsale is still grieving the death of her fiancé, Steven. She is still too grief-stricken to give much attention to get their seaplane charter business, Blue Sky Air, off the ground (no pun intended) when suddenly a tall, dark, and handsome stranger, Jared Worth appears demanding that he be paid in full for his portion of the business. Jenny is shocked. Steven had never told her they had a silent partner. And she has no intention on giving up Steven's dream. If Jared has to be paid, she is going to wait until the day the money is owed, not one minute earlier. Jared vows to stay until then; but the only available lodging in the little town on the lake is a spare room in the home Jenny inherited from her grandmother.

Although there is an attraction between Jenny and Jared, neither of them have any intention of getting involved in any type of romance right now. In fact, both stubbornly resist one another. Jenny adamantly does not want to get involved with another Flyboy whose life would be given to the sky instead of her. She is determined though to show Jared she isn't just another little blonde airhead, but is able to get more clients for Blue Sky Air and make the business successful on her own.

Little by little though Jared begins to endear himself to Jenny as he befriends Jenny's 13-year-old nephew, Cody who is going through teenage angst. When the moody teen opens up to Jared, it starts melting Jenny's heart. Maybe there is more to Jared than just sexy bravado.

This is a dazzling debut by Golden Heart winner Kimberly Fisk that reads as if it were from a much more seasoned author. She has a successful writing career ahead of her if LAKE MAGIC is any indication of her talent. She compares to such bestselling authors as Kristin Hannah, Luanne Rice, and even early Jodi Picoult. . Note to publisher: While I would never want to tell a publisher how to do their business, as a former bookseller and long-time reviewer, I believe books of this caliber should be published as a trade-sized paperback rather than mass market in order to be placed on the bookshelves with women's fiction to garner the wider audience they deserve.

LAKE MAGIC is absolutely outstanding and very highly recommended. Fisks's characters are well-fleshed out and the story of the relationship between Cody and Jared brings a depth to the novel. I will be anxiously awaiting her next novel. It can't come soon enough for me!

Jenny Beckinsale and her late fiancé Steven Harmon started together The Blue Sky Air seaplane charter business three years ago but it has failed because she has no interest in anything except grieving her loss. Feeling pity as she compares her self to her siblings "Perfect Paul" and Amazing Anna" "Jinxed Jenny" wants to be left alone to wallow. Navy pilot Jared Worth arrives at the cottage of Jenny's grandmother where Jenny hides from the world demanding she either get the business running or refund him the money he lent his best friend Steven.

Jared immediately writes off Jenny as a kewpie doll who cannot run a business. She vows to prove to him she is not an airhead. Neither expected a second chance at love, but will she move past the ghost of Steven before it is too late?

Lake Magic is an entertaining contemporary romance starring two individuals who meet because of the death of someone both loved. The story line is driven by the characters whose first impressions are not favorable, but over time change to love, but both loath the feelings of betraying Steven especially Jenny. Readers will enjoy this warm second chance at love drama.

Harriet Klausner

What a magical book! Fisk, a debut author to watch in the future, managed to break my heart and heal it again within the span of just a few wonderfully written pages. The characters were well-drawn and realistically flawed and made you ache for their hearts to heal. Fabulous job!

Kimberly Fisk's LAKE MAGIC is a delightful treat. I was captivated from page one. An endearing storyline combined with a wonderful cast of characters makes this book an excellent afternoon's reading. I'm anxiously awaiting the next release by this wonderfully talented new author.

This is a fabulous debut by Kimberly Fisk and easily two of my favorite characters.

Jared and Jenny are two emotionally flawed characters who I fell in love with and despite fighting it every step of the way fell in love with each other, healing deep wounds to become everything to each other. This story had everything. Emotion, sassy dialog, suggestive bantering between the main characters that made you chuckle and made the chemistry sizzle and a to-die-for hero. What more can you ask for! Lake Magic was wonderful, full of emotion, heart wrenching at times and had an ending that left me with a warm fuzzy feeling and a big smile on my face. And I wouldn't call this a "sweet" romance. Every time I hear "sweet" I think no love scenes and that's not the case here. Kimberly did a beautiful job with the love scenes and this is from someone who loves a great love scene. The build up was perfect. I hated to say goodbye to these two characters. I cannot wait for Kimberly's next book.

I loved reading this story. Kimberly Fisk brought Jenny and Jared's stories to life and I fell in love with them, as well as the secondary characters and their stories. This is such a wonderful feel-good story about wounded souls who help each other find the good in life. Thank you, Ms. Fisk for an excellent read.

Lake Magic is a captivating first romance novel by Kimberly Fisk. Her book is an amazing story of love, conflict, and empowerment between two individuals who are unlikely compatibles. Her characters are memorable and believable -- you really feel like you know them and are lost in their world. The setting for her novel is beautiful in the northwest of Washington. The love scenes are very steamy! I couldn't put the novel down. And, I was sad to see the story end. Kimberly is a very talented writer and story teller. A charming and great read! Will look forward to future novels by this author.

I know we will be hearing a lot from Kimberly Fisk! Congrats and keep em coming! My only criticism is the secondary story with the sister and nephew seemed unfinished and kind of dangling out there......this must be the next story!

Lake Magic is a wonderful read. It's sweet and funny and charming. I LOVED it and look forward to many more super reads by this debut author.

STORY BRIEF:
Jenny comes from an overachieving wealthy family. She started a couple of businesses which failed, and her family bailed her out. She was engaged to Steven, a former Navy fighter pilot. They borrowed money to start a seaplane charter business. Jenny inherited her grandmother's house on a lake, where they have the plane. Steven is killed by a drunk driver. It's nine months later, and Jenny still wears his ring and has trouble going into his office. The charter business is in trouble.

Jared was one of Steven's fellow pilots. He loaned $100,000 to Steven for the seaplane business. Jared angered some politicians and recently resigned from the Navy over an inquiry. Now he wants his $100,000 from Jenny so he can buy a remote piece of land in Mexico and hide from humanity. She doesn't have the money. She can't get any financing from the bank, and she refuses to ask her parents for it. She's humiliated over her parents bailing her out from past failures. Technically the loan isn't due for four months, so she tells Jared he'll have to wait. Jared moves into Jenny's house and starts working in the business until he can see a way to get his money, even if it means selling the house or the plane.

Jared's mother abandoned him at age 8, and he was raised in foster homes. He doesn't believe he can ever love someone or have a normal family life.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
During most of the story Jared is drawn to Jenny's perfect playboy bunny body. I was jealous of her. I wish I had a perfect body. She's a terrible cook and irresponsible at most everything in life. There was nothing to admire other than the physical. With a push from Jared, she later starts pushing herself and does something good for the business. She's physically drawn to Jared but acts like a frightened bunny rabbit, always running away from him. Even when they start kissing and she tells him she wants him, she freaks out and runs away before continuing the encounter. For the reasons above, I didn't have much sympathy, admiration, or interest in her. She is a weak heroine, who finally becomes more normal after getting over her grief and falling in love with Jared.

Jared was gorgeous. Wherever he went, the ladies came on to him. He had commitment issues based on his past. He was smart, and he did some good things in the story. I liked him.

Overall, the story was average. I can't say I "really" liked it, but it was thoughtful and nice. Over 90% of the story is about Jenny's approach/avoidance feelings towards Jared. It is a romance, so they do get together at the end. I wanted more emotional appeal and some plot improvement. There is an interesting side story with 13 year old Cody. He occasionally stays with Jenny and Jared. I would have liked a little more story about his parents.

CAUTION SPOILER:
I was uncomfortable with one of Jared's actions. After having sex with Jenny and then hurting her, he plans to give her something out of guilt. It was not something a rational man would do. He's a military guy. He's not rich. Why would he give her all of his money? I didn't feel good about this "grand gesture," especially since her parents were so wealthy and would give her anything she wanted.

DATA:
Story length: 328 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 7. Setting: current day small lakeside town near Seattle, Washington. Copyright: 2010. Genre: contemporary romance.