Customer Reviews

Summer at Willow Lake (The Lakeshore Chronicles)

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Read this while traveling to Virginia. What a great start for this new series Lakeshore Chronicles. The main characters are beliveable and have SUCH chemistry. The present and past narratives add much to the story. Thank you Susan for another terrific read. Anxious for the next installment.

Set in Avalon NY on Willoiw Lake and Camp Kioga Olivia Bellamy and family collide with old memories and romances, meet challenges of the past and face the future with hope while restotring a resort camp for a wedding.

This is not a fluff romance story of the summer but a many layered tale of people who are all striving to live their best life. Camp Kioga offers them a place to think and restore their hopes while encouraging one another to face the joys and possible heartaches of living a full life. The prospect of the continuation of these chronicle is gladness to this readers heart! Thank you Susan Wiggs for your insight and sophistication in writing good romance fiction.

This is the second Susan Wiggs book I have read. And I think I had the same problem with the other one. Her buildup, her storytelling, her character development is all wonderful. I was really interested in these characters, even the secondary characters but my main problem has been, 'what happens when they finally stop misunderstanding each other?'

A couple of things. One, even though you as a reader are aware of thier feelings along the way, the h/h never discuss the issues that have plagued them for years. Two, she cops out on the most intimate details (not saying I have to have 10 page sex scenes, but a little something to understand what is going on in thier heads now that they have finally, finally decided to dive in would be nice. ) Three, the resolution happens in the last 10 pages of the book.

I am a big fan of getting a glimpse of the happily ever after. It doesnt have to be years worth, but just a touching discussion would be nice. Once they resolve thier issues (usually in thier own heads), its done. Time to move on to a sequel which will barely mention these characters.

The reason I gave it 4 stars? Her writing is really good. I really care about these people - enough that I went out and bought the second book (which honestly had the same flaws) - the reason I will buy the 3rd, 4th, and whatever. I am usually disappointed with the ending but I do enjoy the journey.

This was my first introduction to Susan Wiggs and I'm not usually a reader of the romance genre. This book was offered for free for the Kindle (perhaps as a teaser for future books in the series?) and the description intrigued me (and the price was right). I found this to be an enjoyable read on a rainy weekend. Having attended camp as a kid (Camp Oweki and Camp Inisfree), I was transported back to the dining hall, the lake, hiking, swimming, canoeing, etc. This certainly helped set the stage for my enjoyment of those parts of the book --- but also to some of my dissatisfaction with the book.

Ms. Wiggs' description style was distracting. Or perhaps I was just disappointed in the things that she chose to describe ad nauseum. Some of those passages would have benefited from a tighter editor. Additionally, the slipping back and forth between the past and present was a bit disconcerting at first as it distracted me from the storyline with having to get my bearings, re-establish what was going on during that time, and I found myself doing some math to figure out the characters ages, when events occurred, etc.

As with most books in this genre, it is fairly apparent early on what the final outcome will be, and the journey is in how an author gets them to the place where we all know we're headed. I enjoyed most of the character development, but did feel distracted by many of the characters that at the time seemed to be introduced for the sole purpose of appearing in future books in the series with no resolution of their part in this story. I know that there is more to all of them that what we were given, but from visiting Ms. Wiggs web page <susanwiggs.com> it appears that only a few of the characters from Willow Lake are featured in future books (there is a list of books in choronological order available for download).

After reviewing the chronological list of books from Ms. Wiggs' web site, I see that a few of the characters carry over from this book. However, none of the ones featured are characters in which I am interested! I will probably check the next in the series out of the library rather than purchase it to read --- and even then, I think I'm only interested in Winter Lodge because of the hint at Polish recipes! ;-)

Interestingly, when I first started this review I thought that Willow Lake was a four-star book. However, after writing the review and reading what I've written, I moved it down to a 3 . . . it's not a bad book, but I'm not sure (for me) that it's a four.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time and it was the perfect book to read on my recent vacation. The story was well-paced and the characters were interesting. It was an easy, yet engrossing read. You could put it down and pick it back up and go right back into the story with no trouble.

Summer at Willow Lake is the story of Olivia Bellemy and Connor Davis. They fell in love years before as campers at Camp Kioga and meet up again when Olivia returns to the camp in order to repair it for her grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary.

Summer is also the first book in the Lakeshore Chronicles series and it sets up a lot of characters I hope will continue to show up in subsequent books.

I enjoyed Olivia Bellamy. I found her interesting and sympathetic. Despite coming from a privilege, her life was anything but. She wasn't whiny or strong to the point of being bitchy. She was just the right amount of strength and vulnerability.

I liked Connor Davis too. Even though he was portrayed as the 'bad boy', this image was more a perception due to his upbringing rather than his actions. He was an overall good guy who did the right thing but was looked at as a bad boy because of his circumstances.

I liked that he was so sweet and caring and I liked that he didn't suddenly become a millionaire and was therefore worthy of Olivia. He was worthy of her by just being him.

It was nice how the author went between present day and the times when Olivia and Conner were at the camp as well as the time Olivia's father spent at camp. It gave a great sense of history and promised that the books wouldn't only be about the people that attended camp but the camp themselves.

My only complaint is that Connor and Olivia didn't get together until nearly the end of the book and for all the build up, it wasn't very satisfying.

Overall this was an amazing book and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. My greatest hope is that it will continue the stories of some of my favorite secondary characters, like Daisy and Julian. I recommend this as a perfect summer read.

My book club picked this book and I was less then thrilled to read it when I first saw the cover, but you know what they say 'don't judge a book by it's cover' which was right in this case. It was a pretty enjoyable book - yes there are some sub-plots in the book that the conclusion is painfully obvious but there are other sub-plots that make it an interesting read and one that kept me up some nights. If you are looking for some good chick-lit I would recommend this book. It's actually good for book clubs as well - people had mixed reviews which always makes for a good discussion.

When I was a teenager I loved romance novels. I would spend hours on the beach reading Harlequin's and had an obscene number of Nora Robert's novels stacked around my room. I absolutely adored the "happily ever after," the moment where I knew everything would be ok, that life would return to normal, (like at the end of the hour on The Brady Bunch.) Since then however, I have drifted away from conventional (contemporary) romance novels. I would like to tell you my aversion was due solely to literary growth, but then I would be lying. I'm not sure if I ate too many paint chips as a child, or if my inner snob finally took hold of me in my early 20's but the OLDER I got the HARDER it got for me to stomach romance "covers." Yes... you read that correctly. I cannot, as much as I try, get past the sometimes hazy looking, almost always cheesy, bare chested, clichés that grace the covers of 70% of today's romance selections. Thankfully, owning a Kindle has cured me from this little problem. I no longer have to see the cover every time I pick up my book to read it, therefore I don't have a problem picking it up. Yes... I know I'm completely off my rocker.

Anyways, finding my new found freedom I decided to venture back into the world of the overly-dramatic-but-always-entertaining with a little bit of Susan Wiggs.

Olivia Bellamy was a very unhappy kid. As a matter of fact, she was a very unhappy kid who was forced to spend her summers at Camp Kioga. But while most kids would relish in the freedoms that camp afforded them Lolly was the complete opposite. Known as the "chubby know-it-all" she had no friends, (that is of course unless you count Conner, the tragically beautiful maintenance man's son who would only speak to her after everyone else had gone to bed.) Olivia is no longer that kid though. Dropping the weight and changing her hair was only the beginning of Lolly's new and improved life. Not only did she start a successful "staging company" in NYC but she's also about to become a Mrs. Unfortunately, (once again,) things don't go exactly as planned and before she knows it Lolly finds herself back at Camp Kioga, only this time she is running the show. What happens when an old flame turns out to be a necessary part of her new journey. Will the secrets that haunt her family's past wreck her future, and will Olivia ever accept responsibility for her own actions.

Before I dive into the negatives, I want to point out a few of "Summer at Willow Lakes" sparkly moments. For example: Wiggs does a fantastic job of giving her readers "just enough." We get just enough emotion to feel attached to the characters, just enough drama to keep us guessing, and just enough "huba huba" that it doesn't distract, but adds to the story. The overall concept of the novel is fantastic, and if not 100% original, it's at least written well enough to disguise any similarities. The only problem I had with this novel is it predictability. Not the "stories" predictability (although you would have to be a complete moron no to see what was happening) I'm referring to Wiggs need to add a million different "supporting actors" for future use, (which by the way I checked on and yes... there are about 10 more books in this series) I wanted to read a story about Olivia and Conner, and yes, I got that, but I also got character set-ups for at least 6 other books. Just when I would get excited about where the story was going I would flip the page and find myself knee deep in Daisy-the-cute-niece's story, NOT Lolly's. As a matter of fact, I got so frustrated in some parts that I found myself skipping 2 or 3 pages at a time to get back to the original plot line. Did this destroy the book? No, of course not, (this is a pretty common occurrence among romance novels) but I will say that I was annoyed enough to drop a star from its rating.

All in all, it was a pretty decent story for someone who wants more than just bed hopping in their books. If that is you, go for it... you might just find a new series to get involved in, however if you are a woman (or man...I'm not going to judge you) that likes a little more sizzle with their steak... this one is probably a little too tame for you.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: keep a few books in your car that make you look like a rocket scientist, just in case.