Return to Willow Lake (The Lakeshore Chronicles, #9)

by Susan Wiggs

[Cocktails and Books]

When I started reading Return to Willow Lake I had no idea it was part of a series, I just knew that it pulled me in from page one. The book picks up at Daisy Bellamy’s wedding reception. For those of you who have already been introduced to Susan Wiggs’ you will know that Daisy has a book all to herself. The lead character in this book is her step-sister and best friend Sonnet Romano. Sonnet is back in Willow Lake for Daisy’s wedding and after the festivities reunites with her childhood best friend Zach Alger.

As the book opens, Sonnet and her mother are discussing the wedding when they see Zach from a window. Wiggs starts off letting the reader know that Zach and Sonnet have history, but not a romantic one – they were best friends when they were young and have lost touch with each other. By the end of the wedding Sonnet is drawn to Zach and they appear to be on the way to becoming more than friends. Sonnet and Zach are well matched, she is super organized and trying to reconnect with her inner self while Zach is spontaneous and self-aware. From the moment they are together in a scene, their meeting after the reception, they have great chemistry.

Sonnet is completely unsure of her feelings and it takes a series of tragedies and missteps for her to realize that Zach may be the perfect guy for her. Wiggs does a lot of explaining in this book, filling the reader in on the character’s backgrounds and motivations but it is not annoying. Her explanations add to the story and help to flesh out how these characters are growing. Sonnet's return to her childhood home isn't by choice and she has to give up a lot. Wiggs does an excellent job of painting the relationship between Sonnet and her mother, birth father and those around her. The tertiary characters added to her story and didn't distract.

Although this book is a part of a series it completely stands on its own. I did feel that I needed to read the other Willow Lake books just to catch up with the recurring characters in this installment. I loved the ending and will say that it is worth the rocky ride through Sonnet and Zach’s slice of Willow Lake.