Customer Reviews

Lakeside Cottage

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jordan Donovan Harris was a Special Forces medic who saved the President from an assassination, putting him in the public spotlight. Now he wants to get away from the people hounding him. People who don't care who he is, only that he stopped a homicide bomber in the presence of the President. Hoping for anonymity, isolation, solitude, and a chance to get his life back, he goes to his friend's cabin at the lake. Jordan doesn't expect to meet Kate or the feelings she provokes in him.

Kate Livingston, fashion writer for the weekly Seattle News, is a single mother raising a son who has behavior problems, desperately in need of a father figure. When her brother moves, Aaron's behavior worsens. Missing one too many deadlines from attending one too many parent-teacher conferences, her boss at the paper fires her. Kate goes to the family cottage at the lake, deciding to stay the whole summer in order to figure out what to do with her future.

She meets the attractive JD as he is rescuing a hurt racoon. Later, she finds out he's her neighbor. JD has no intention of getting involved with his neighbor, but finds himself being drawn to her and her son, enjoying hiking and bike riding with Aaron.

Callie enters Kate's life when she's found staying in the house. A foster care runaway, Callie earns money by cleaning houses. She discovers JD's secret and promises not to tell anyone, although she feels he should tell Kate.

Lakeside Cottage can best be described as "feel-good". I was touched when JD took Aaron under his wing. I loved how Kate and Aaron accepted Callie into their lives. I enjoyed the building romance of JD and Kate, especially how hard he fought not to be romatically or sexually involved with her, while she wanted a summer fling. This is a great book that will keep you interested from beginning to end.

Terez

Reviewed for Enchanted in Romance

Single mother and writer Kate Livingston and her little boy, Aaron, make their annual trek to the lakeside house that her family has owned for generations. This is supposed to be the first year they will spend alone in it, but that's not quite how it things go for them. An enigmatic stranger is their neighbor, and while J.D. is very attractive to Kate, she knows he is hiding something. They also take in an orphaned, teen-aged girl trying to reshape her life. If this little group can work through all their secrets and issues, they will have a patchwork family filled with love. Failure can only lead to heartache.

*** This leisurely paced novel is filled with sweetness, ambling across the summer as the characters grow. Overcoming heartache and painfilled pasts really supercedes the romantic plot. How the press can completely disrupt lives is also a focus of the story. Somehow, like the family portrayed, all the elements mesh into a cohesive whole. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.

This story had an interesting blend of drama, action and romance. I especially appreciated that the protagonists were in their late-30's and had mature ideas about responsibility towards family/children and about life's priorities, shaped by the experiences of their careers and other circumstances they've dealt with. It's admirable that the focus was on doing what was best for each of the children, and I was touched at the difference Kate made in Callie's life, and JD made in Aaron's. In the process, everyone's life was enriched and past wounds were able to heal.

Jordan Donovan Harris is a Special Forces Medic. On Xmas Eve he sees a threat to the President and saves his life. To J.D. he was just doing his job but to the country he's an American hero. The fame that results from this is overwhelming and painful. An unauthorized movie, an ex-girlfriend's tell-all TV interviews, his estranged mother surfacing, stalkers and a woman who fakes a suicide attempt to get J.D. to rescue her. Reeling from the complete invasion of his privacy he borrows a friend's lake cottage, changes his appearance (he didn't have a mullet) and uses his nickname so he can have some peace.

Kate Livingston is a single mother to a nine year old son. Having been fired from her job she also has come to her family vacation home to regroup.

The first problem I had with this book is that it was at least 100 pages too long. It was filled with repetitive information on the nature aspects, details of making dinner, Kate's obsessive thoughts, etc.

Second is with her son Aaron. Aaron has behavioral problems, misses having a father figure and is terrified of water. Kate does not have a TV. I can appreciate a parent not wanting a child to spend all their time watching mindless TV. However, there are a lot of educational programs on the Discovery, Learning and History channels, not to mention watching a particular show is sometimes part of a homework assignment. Aaron has difficulty already fitting in and his not being able to discuss a show or even an occasional tasteful cartoon with his friends just makes him that much more different. Kids can be cruel and they think he's strange.

Which brings me to third, Kate is pushy. She goes to J.D.'s house, grills him, and asks him intrusive questions, snoops into a private file, then proceeds to tell him exactly what he should do with his life, even though he tells her it's none of her business. At this point she's spent a total of about ten minutes with the guy. Then she gets miffed with him & thinks, "He'd been rude to her just because she'd been nosy." Ya think? The first time they have sex she waits until they're almost naked and then starts grilling him again!

On the other hand, I enjoyed the characters of Callie, Aaron and J.D. & enjoy Susan Wigg's writing. One of my all time favorite books, of any author, is "The Ocean Between Us" which I highly recommend.

I have never considered myself a fan of the romance genre, but that doesn't mean I have anything against romance novels per se. In fact, I read them almost voraciously during my teen years. Like every other genre, there are good writers and bad writers, good stories and clunkers.

Susan Wiggs and Lakeside Cottage stand out as prime examples of quality on both counts. Wiggs' writing is solid, and the story is engaging. Romance is, of course, at the heart of the tale, but there is so much more going on here.

Our heroine in this case is Kate Livingstone, a feature writer recently fired by her newspaper. As luck would have it, she has the chance to escape her troubles and figure out her future at her family's cottage. This is her first summer at the lake without her brother and his family, a fact that doesn't sit well at first with her troubled young son, Aaron.

Two strangers enter the scene on the first day: runaway teen California "Callie" Evans and the reclusive JD Harris. Both have secrets. Both will change Kate and Aaron's summer--and ultimately their lives.

Wiggs manages to avoid the overdone I-can't-stand-you-but-I-can't-resist-you form of romance in favour of a more natural approach. Kate and JD are a bit leery of each other at first--and both with good reason, given their romantic histories--but the conflict is underplayed.

I found it refreshing to read a romance so grounded in reality--JD's secret notwithstanding. After all, it's not every woman who falls in love with a man who saved the life of the US President. (And, no, that's not a spoiler.) JD's subsequent status as a media celebrity drives his actions throughout the book.

The subplot involving Callie is equally engaging. Her back story--including exposure to a twisted commune leader and too many years shuffled through foster care--comes to light slowly. We can feel empathy for all she's gone through. We also come to understand why she would choose to run away.

Overall, Lakeside Cottage is a well-formed story with intriguing, believable characters. You won't find too many surprises, but you will find an enjoyable read. Wiggs has written a sweet tale that manages to convey positive messages without lapsing into sugary sentiment.

I am a new fan of Susan Wiggs, after reading one of her books you want to read them all! She has wonderful descriptions of her settings, and uplifting stories.

I was introduced to Susan Wiggs book by a friend in a chat room. I've only read Lakeside Cottage and Horse Whisper's Daughter and I highly recommend them both. Susan does a wonderful job in giving us interesting "plots", and whats better than love? I highly recommend Susan's books.

This book was a perfect blend of human emotion, true love, obstacles, and yes, even sex without being graphic but yet tender and full of emotion.

I'm so happy to have discovered a new prolific writer!

LAKESIDE COTTAGE by Susan Wiggs

August 12, 2007

Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

I had read a Susan Wiggs book a few years ago and had enjoyed her writing, so was looking forward to reading LAKESIDE COTTAGE. She writes about characters I want to get to know better, who live in places that come across to me as peaceful or beautiful, places that are far different from where I live in the city. In LAKESIDE COTTAGE, the story takes place along side Crescent Lake in the state of Washington on the Olympia Peninsula. It's a beautiful place, painted by Wiggs as an ideal spot for summer vacations and families.

Every year, the Livingston's head out to their family cottage, which has been in the family for several generations. But this year is different. Only Kate and her pre-teen son Aaron are coming up this year, and Aaron isn't too thrilled. He sees it as a jail sentence, with no one to play with all summer long. Kate sees it as a getaway, to forget about her worries. She was a writer who had been let go from a job that she felt defined her, and now she didn't know what to do. She was barely making ends meet, but because of the rental properties in Seattle she inherited from her father, she was able to eke out a living and support herself and her son.

The novel, however, starts with a bang. Special Forces Medical Sergeant Jordan Donovan Harris is one of many who are guarding the President of the United States as he visits patients at Walter Reed Medical Center. It happens so quickly that no one sees it coming, but Harris notices that the patient that the President is currently talking to, a man lying on a hospital bed, is not who everyone thinks he is. As the man on the bed throws out an explosive, Harris protects the President with his body, and before he knows it, Harris has lost consciousness.

It is at the lake that Kate meets "JD" Harris, the man that has now become a celebrity to the world. Kate, who lives without a television set, does not recognize the disheveled looking man who appears to be more of a hippie than a military man. But JD is hiding from the world, and hopes that no one recognizes him. Only one person knows about him, and that's his best friend Sam, who also happens to be someone that goes way back in Kate's life. Kate's son is attracted to JD, as he is to any man that comes into Kate's life. Aaron is desperate to find a father, and she's learned that it's better not to break his heart by dating men who will eventually leave.

While LAKESIDE COTTAGE is a love story between Kate and JD, it is also a story of a boy who desperately needs a father's guiding hand as he grows into adulthood. He's got a lot of issues, acts out often, and Kate doesn't know what to do with him half the time. As Aaron and JD bond, however, she notices a miracle is taking place. Aaron responds to JD's words, and for once, a man has not walked out of her life because she has a son.

Another important story line centers on a teenage girl that Kate discovers on the first day at the lake, sleeping in their cottage. Her name is Callie, and she is one of the cleaning ladies for the summer. Kate learns that Callie is a runaway, but she doesn't want to return home and begs Kate for a place to stay while she works for her rent. Kate is touched by this girl and agrees. Callie soon becomes a regular member of the family, and she bonds with Kate and with Aaron. Callie also gets to know JD and learns his secret identity by accident. She promises not to tell a soul about this, a difficult thing to do for someone who could use the money a tabloid would pay her for this newsworthy information. In the meantime, she keeps dropping hints around Kate, pointing out whether someone could love another person if that person constantly lies to her. Callie wants JD to tell everyone the truth, as she does not understand why anyone could run from celebrity and being in the public eye.

The various sub plots come together nicely, and the reader will get to know and love these characters. I was rooting for everyone to have a happy ending. I also felt the characters were well researched, including Callie's medical condition, which is later revealed in the story. All the main characters felt real to me, and I didn't want this book to end. LAKESIDE COTTAGE is another winner by Susan Wiggs, an author that is growing on me with each novel I read.

I read this in just a few days and fell in love with all the characters. I can't say much without revealing the end but this story completely captivated me.

Kate is a likeable person with a good kid and a big heart. Callie is just a scared young girl trying to do the right thing.

JD is hot, lovable and a typical guy with no basis for dealing with his feelings. Somehow, they all mixed well and engrossed me in their lives. I hated for it to end, as I want to continue with these people's lives.