Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen: A Review

I became a fan of Sarah Addison Allen when I read Garden Spells a few months ago as part of a book club I'm in. I love the way she brings a touch of magic to her stories without being obvious or over the top with it. Her characters are people you genuinely love and you find yourself wanting to continue reading about them even after the story ends. Lost Lake was still a good Sarah Addison Allen book but it didn't live up to my expectations after reading Garden Spells. Before I say why, here's the description from Goodreads.

What Goodreads Says Now a New York Times bestseller.

From beloved bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen comes her long-awaited new novel, Los Lake, about heartbroken people finding hope at a magical place in Georgia.

Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake, can she bring the cottages - and her heart - back to life?

Sometimes lost loves aren't really lost. They're right where you left them, waiting for you to find them again.

What I Say Lost Lake had a lot of qualities that I enjoyed. I loved the small touches of magic and I love the interesting the few interesting, unique characters. I especially loved the snippets of Eby's time and Lisette's time in Paris. However, I didn't find myself connect to the main character, Kate, like I wanted to and I found the story way too predictable. She'd been through this really tough time in her life but instead of finding empathy for her, I kind of felt annoyed by her. The one person I was actually rooting for was her daughter, Devin, who wore fairy wings and pranced around in ridiculous outfits. Sadly, she's the one who was the most rational and down to earth!

Easy-going books are great to read. Garden Spells was a light read but I never felt bored with it. I was always intrigued, especially with that magic tree. I'm a Nicholas Sparks fan so I'm used to endings that I can probably guess but it doesn't mean I want it practically handed to me from page one. Lost Lake is a good book and I did enjoy it but it wasn't one of my favorites. I'd recommend it if you're a Sarah Addison Allen fan and it's definitely not going to keep me from her other books. Eventually I'll make it through every. single. one.