Surprised myself at how much I enjoyed this novel, considering that the recommendation came from my 16 year old daughter, who never reads and has never been interested in reading. When she devoured the whole trilogy in 2 weeks, I decided I needed to check this out for myself and discover why. I eagerly anticipate having some free time to be able to read the next two novels in the series.

Written from the point of view of a 17 year old child, AnnaLisa Grant managed to capture and nuance the emotions and thought processes of a girl of this age; from her guilt about the accident that claimed her parent’s lives, to her perception of her grandparents feelings about her. These feelings are on par with someone who has been through awful tragedy in those tender formative years; they are all feelings that I have experienced personally from the loss of my father at a young age.

I am completely blown away, not just from the emotion conveyed, but from the superb story line, the complex twisting plot, and the breathless anticipation of a beautiful love story. AnnaLisa Grant, thank you for such an amazing story and for grasping not only my daughter’s attention but mine as well! 5 stars!
Michele
Dauntless Indies ( )

The Lake was one of those reads that I am still trying to figure out. When I first began the read it was interesting and held all of my attention. A young woman who had early on in life suffered the loss of her parents and moved in with her grandparents. She received a lot of respect and attention from her grandfather and yet the grandmother was a bit different. At the loss of their deaths her life was once again turned upside down. She had been her grandfather’s caretaker for the last five years which consumed her whole life, but she really didn’t mind at all. With his passing she moved to her aunt and uncle’s to once again start over. She then falls in love. The first half of the book kept me engrossed, and then it started to slow down like so slow in a car you would have gotten a ticket. Several chapters seem to repeat the same conversations, situations and happenings. It seemed to take forever to weed through the repeatedness. It almost felt like the author was having a hard time or maybe was trying to increase the length. Not a bad read but one that the YA group might enjoy far more so than the adult gender. ( )

This book was a little slow to start out. I followed it through and then was thoroughly disappointed in the ending. I understand that the author intends to draw readers back for sequels, but I like at least a little closure when I finish reading a book and with this one, I received none. I enjoyed the relationships between Layla and her Uncle and Aunt, they deserved that kinship. The romance between Layla and Will was a little bland for today's standards. I would have liked to have seen more background into Will's perspective and why he treated Layla the way he did and why he felt the way he felt towards his father. Maybe in sequels??? Good book for young ladies to read. ( )