Summer at Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Wiggs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Summertime begins with a Susan Wiggs Olivia Bellamy has traded her trendy Manhattan life for a summer renovating her family's crumbling holiday resort. Tempted by the hazy, nostalgic memories of summers past - childhood innocence and the romance and rivalries of her teens - it's the perfect place to flee after her broken engagement. But what began as an escape may just be a new beginning...As Olivia uncovers secrets buried thick with dust, one by one her family return, their lives as frayed at the edges as the resort. Her father and the mystery woman in the tatty black and white photograph. Uncle John, who's trying to be a father again to his teenage kids. Connor Davis, the first love she never forgot. Laughter is ringing around Willow Lake once more. This could be Olivia's summer of a lifetime!i??Perfect for fans of Cathy Kelly

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The latest contemporary from Wiggs (Table for Five) is a quiet, character-based romance set at the Catskills camp that Olivia Bellamy is renovating for her grandparents' 50th anniversary. Helping out is contractor Connor Davis, who initially doesn't recognize Olivia as the girl whose heart he broke a decade before at the very same camp. Now, both hold grudges against the other that hide their insecurities; although he's become successful and sophisticated, Connor believes Olivia's social status puts her out of his league, while Olivia remains buried in her awkward-little-fat-girl memories. The narrative switches off between present-day action and the summers Olivia and Connor spent at Camp Kioga, filling in the spaces of their relationship with each other and with their dysfunctional families. Wiggs's storytelling is heartwarming, but avoids schmaltz, and her chick-lit–ready leads seem older than their 20-some years, adding weight to their stories. Happily clutter free—no subplots to take attention away from the intelligent, appealing couple—this book, first in a series, should appeal to romance and women's fiction readers of any age. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Camp Kioga means many things to many people. For Olivia Bellamy, whose family operated the camp in the Catskills, it's all about bad memories. Although she was just as rich as the other attendees, she was never as pretty or thin or self-assured. The only thing that kept her from being completely miserable was the arrival each summer of Connor Davis. For Connor, the camp took him away from a life far different than Olivia's and showed him how life could be. Connor and Olivia finally have a relationship, which seems to scar her heart. Years later, a slimmed-down, professional Olivia is asked by her grandmother to prepare the camp for her fiftieth wedding anniversary. Connor is still in the area, and as soon as she hires him to help with the project, feelings arise on both sides. How good is perennially popular Wiggs in her new romance? Superb. Wonderfully evoked characters, a spellbinding story line, and insights into the human condition will appeal to every reader. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Mira (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778323250
• ISBN-13: 978-0778323259
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

When her recent novel, FIRESIDE, hit #1 on the New York Times, the author reportedly reacted to the news by "putting on my lipstick and sweeping the patio." Why? Because she knew that within a matter of minutes, her girlfriends would show up to pop the bubbly and help her celebrate. [Update: FIRESIDE has been chosen of one of Amazon.com's Top Ten Romances of 2009.]

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. Her books make frequent appearances on Amazon's "best of" lists. Several of her novels have been listed as Indie Next picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

249 of 254 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasure to read..., August 1, 2006

By 

S. Prince (Jamestown, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer at Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Olivia Bellamy decides to spend her summer renovating Camp Kioga, the resort camp that has been in the family for over 3 generations. Her grandparents plan to celebrate their 50th anniversary by "renewing their vows" at the camp where they had first met, but since the camp has been closed for the last nine years it needs an "extreme makeover" before it can host such a huge family event. Olivia is reluctant to accept the job at first, because she spent all of her summers growing up there, and they were not happy memories. But after being dumped by her third fiance, she is overwhelmed with the need to get out of Manhattan, and away from her disappointed parents. Returning to Camp Kioga brings back many uncomfortable memories of her childhood growing up an overweight "smart mouthed" kid, with thick glasses and no friends ... no friends except for her older cousins, and one very handsome boy who was as unhappy and lonely as she was. His name was Connor Davis, and on Olivia's very first day back at the old camp, she finds out that he is the only building contractor available in town. Even though she loved Connor growing up, Olivia is not anxious to see him again, because he broke her heart when she was eighteen, the summer before she started college. When Connor arrives at camp to give a renovation estimate, he sees a beautiful, slender blonde, hanging from a flag pole. He doesn't realize that she is his childhood friend "Lolly", because Olivia Bellamy has changed quite a lot in the last several years...

This story goes back and forth between "present day" camp renovation, and Olivia's childhood memories of camp, (and a few memories from her parents' generation), but it does not distract from the story at all. It's a really good story, and the book was a joy to read from beginning to end. This is one of Susan Wiggs' best written books, and I find it very similar in style to many of family sagas written by Nora Roberts.

86 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars There's a Good Book Hidden Inside, September 5, 2007

By 

Sunhi (East Norriton, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer at Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

First, this is more like a 2.5 than a 3 star book for me.

When I first started this story about a woman who is trying to get her life on track after her third serious relationship falls apart through no reason she can understand, I was interested. I liked the flashbacks to the camp, I liked her best friend, I liked her. I was willing to believe that this book deserved its RITA nomination. It was solidly entertaining, which is all I ever look for in my romance novels.

Somewhere along the way, I lost interest. Was it when I realized that her best friend was too awesome for her? That was a little early in the book. Was it when I began to think that her first boyfriend and new love interest was not so much a bad boy as a kind of lame man? Again, that was a little early. Was it when I realized I was following multiple love stories, solving a mystery about the main character's father, and watching a set up for future books? YEP. That's exactly where I lost interest in this whole thing.

This was my introduction to Susan Wiggs, and I found it both lackluster and slightly overwhelming. Was I supposed to care about all of the Bellamys? I know why romance novelists set up their series nowadays, and feel the need to revisit old characters from previous novels, but some days, I just want to read a standalone. I don't care about the future books or the past books. It's as hard to find a standalone romance as it is to find a single book in a fantasy series. WHY, authors, WHY? I know the answer is money, but, consider your readers.

If you like series, and you're ready to dive into them, and you love the idea of fake 'bad boys', perhaps you'll like this book. I just kept wondering why the main character didn't get together with her best friend who seemed like a way more awesome choice.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Usually a Fan, May 3, 2007

By 

Bookworm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer at Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoy Ms. Wiggs' books, but this was a disappointment. It was fairly long and I did finish it, but kept waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever did. It was hinted that Connor "did time," but that led to nothing and there was absolutely nothing noteworthy happening. It seemed like merely a prelude to another book (which it was). There was no mystery, no danger...nothing worth writing a book about. As another reviewer stated, the end was obvious from page one.