Summer at Willow Lake (The Lakeshore Chronicles, #1) (Lakeside Chronicles) (MIRA Regular)

by Susan Wiggs

[Leah]

Property expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family’s old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis – a flame from her own summers at camp. But as the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can keep shocking secrets at bay. The nostalgic joy of summers past breathes new promise into a special place and people…a promise meant to last long after the season ends.

Susan Wiggs is the author of numerous books. I’m not entirely sure how many, but it must be at least 20+ if not more, although I don’t think Susan is as well known in the UK than she is in America, with only a few of her novels having been released in the UK. However, when I was offered the chance to review Summer At Willow Lake, I liked the sound of it. It had a pretty cover, an intriguing synopsis and is ‘perfect for fans of Cathy Kelly’ so I decided to give it a go. Summer At Willow Lake was actually originally released in America in 2006, and it’s only hitting the UK market now, in 2011. In fact, this is the first novel in the Lakeshore series and so far there are 7 books in the series. After finishing Summer At Willow Lake I will certainly be checking out the fellow novels in the series.

I don’t think I can necessarily pinpoint what it was that I loved so much about Summer At Willow Lake. What initially interested me in the book was the fact the novel is set at a former summer camp, Camp Kioga. The Camp holds a lot of memories for Olivia Bellamy, not only do her grandparents own the camp but she went there herself when she was a young child until she was well into her teens each summer. The book moves seamlessly from the present day all the way back to Olivia’s times at the camp back in the early-to-mid-to-late Nineties. I figured there would be more to the backstory than there was, but there was only a smattering of chapters throughout the book dedicated to the time Olivia, Connor and co. spent at Camp Kioga. They were nicely timed though, allowing us a little insight into how Olivia was as a teenager and we learn how she and Connor were outcasts, if you will, compared to all the other kids who frequented Camp Kioga.

I loved that Olivia was returning to the camp some years – 9 – later to help get it ready for her grandparents fiftieth wedding anniversary, it was clear that Olivia had unresolved issues about the camp and coming back to bring it back to its former glory allowed Olivia to overcome them. Namely Connor Davis. We don’t know much of what happened between Olivia and Connor, apart from what I mentioned above of them being outcasts and becoming friends. That’s unravelled as the story unfolds but the chemistry they had was really something else. I’ve not known two characters so perfect for each other and I loved how they sparked off each other and managed to fall back into their easy friendship despite the fact they hadn’t seen each other since their final (disastrous) night at Camp Kioga nine years previously. They carry the story beautifully and all I wanted to do was rush to the end to see if they got a happy ever after. Susan Wiggs sure can build up the romance, lemme tell you.

Apart from Olivia’s story there’s a lot more that goes on in the novel. It’s not just about Olivia and Connor. There’s a big secret back from when Olivia’s own father went to Camp Kioga – which I must admit, I guessed immediately, but I still found riveting. Julian, Connor’s younger brother, feels all out at sea and resorts to jumping off high things to feel alive and get attention and ends up having to spend the summer with Connor to save him from juvie. Olivia’s Uncle Greg has a marriage that’s falling apart so uses the summer to spend some time with his kids, Daisy and Max. I thought it was a real family affair and I found all of the stories to be incredibly real and touching. They were all as engaging as the next and all of the characters were wonderful. They’re such an ensemble cast but I found it very easy to remember who was who and what they’d done and why I was reading about them. I’ve got no idea how Susan managed to keep them all going, all the different strands, but it all worked beautifully. There’s nothing like a book that comes together perfectly.

Summer At Willow Lake is a hugely engaging story. Honestly, the novel is 544 pages long and I finished it in a day, because quite simply I didn’t want to put it down. Is it the most perfect book I’ve ever read? Probably not but it’s one of the books I’ve found hardest to put down because I wanted to reach the end. I wanted to make sure everybody was OK come the final page, I felt invested in them and I really felt for them. I’m totally looking forward to continuing on with the series, although I know the other books are more companion novels than direct sequels as they feature other characters. I do hope however that Connor and Olivia re-appear as I found them to be truly enjoyable characters. With some characters you just “know” and with Olivia and Connor I knew. I knew they were absolutely perfect for each other and they just needed to get over their individual issues and forget all that happened in the past. This might not be a traditional Chick Lit novel, I’d probably say it’s more romance than Chick Lit, but I think Chick Lit fans will find it just as engaging as I did. Despite it’s length, it never lags. In fact, I can’t believe it was so long because it felt shorter. It felt as if I’d finished it in a flash and I must admit I kind of miss the characters already. Definitely a brilliant summer read, with a wonderful setting.