ARC Review: Dream Lake

Dream Lake
Lisa Kleypas
Contemporary Romance
Friday Harbor/Book 3
Piatkus Books/August 7, 2012

Dream Lake takes readers once again to the exquisite setting of Friday Harbor, and tells the story of Zoӫ Hoffman, an innkeeper who has all but given up on love. She’s a gentle, romantic soul, but has been so hurt in the past that she dare not trust her heart with anyone. Especially not Alex Nolan. Alex is the most haunted of all the Nolan brothers.

He drinks to keep his demons at bay and not only has he given up on love, he has never, ever believed in it. Zoӫ and Alex are oil and water, fire and ice, sunshine and shadow.

But sometimes, it takes only a glimmer of light to chase away the dark. Dream Lake is classic Lisa Kleypas: romantic, powerful, emotional, and magical.

In the third book of Lisa Kleypas' contemporary series emotions run high as Kleypas tackles two very serious subjects - elder care and alcoholism.  Zoe Hoffman must balance her work and her love for her grandmother, whose increasing needs for care are paralleled by her declining health.  Alex Nolan has avoidance issues that he chooses to drink away.  Both Zoe and Alex face hard decisions and learn that it's okay to lean on family and good friends. 

Alex Nolan's childhood was far from idyllic.   He's the youngest of four who was left home in an abusive household while his older siblings were able to make their escape.  His adult relationships have not been much better with a soon to be ex-wife taking nearly everything Alex owns.  Alex's seemingly one redeeming quality is his work.  He is a builder and developer whose grand dreams for developing have been put on hold.  So now he is hiding out at his brother Sam's home, helping fix it up. 

I didn't think I would come to like Alex as much as I did.  He can and is a real ass at times but as the reader gets to know and understand him, much can be forgiven.  He also has this interesting relationship with a character that surprised me in how much I enjoyed not only the development of their relationship but the two viewpoints as seen through their eyes.

Zoe Hoffman has a gift for making the most delicious creations.   I loved reading about everything she cooked and baked.  Made me hungry and anxious to do some baking myself!  Along with being a goddess in the kitchen, Zoe is also a very devoted granddaughter who is now the caretaker of her ailing grandmother.  Zoe, like Alex, had a childhood that proved to be unstable when it came to adults except for her grandmother.  Zoe and her grandmother, Emma, make a home together and remain close.   Kleypas does well in showing how Zoe and her grandmother's relationship has come full circle with Zoe now the caregiver.  There were certainly sad, heartbreaking moments but overall I really liked these wonderful ladies. 

 Zoe and Alex develop a friendship along with their romance.  The friendship, like most friendships, isn't all sunshine and rainbows and neither is their romance.  But it would have felt off had they had an easy time of it considering all they had to not only overcome with their past but also with their present situations.   I really liked these two together and how Zoe gave Alex room to figure things out for himself.  Alex had alcoholism to first admit to then deal with before he could be part of a serious relationship. 

Dream Lake overlaps the same time period as Rainshadow Road.  I wouldn't say there are spoilers in Dream Lake for Rainshadow but I do think it helps if you read the series in order.  Also, Sam, Mark, Maggie and Holly all make appearances but the main focus is on Alex and Zoe, both separate and together.  Pretty well balanced all around. 

Note:  I wanted to keep this review spoiler free but I do want to mention there is a character some readers may not like.  If you want to know more, you can email me and I'll spoil you. :)

Rating: A-

Friday Harbor Series

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Rainshadow Road
Dream Lake
Crystal Cove (February 3, 2013)

Review: Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Lisa Kleypas
Contemporary Romance
Friday Harbor/Book 1
St. Martin's Press/October 2010

From the inside cover ~

ONE LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A FAMILY

One rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother, Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.

ONE SINGLE MAN NEEDS A WIFE

The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.

SOMETIMES IT TAKES A LITTLE MAGIC . . .

Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.

. . . TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE

Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home. . . .

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor is short, more like novella length. It's in hardcover which makes it a library read for me. And I wasn't able to find out for certain when the next book in the series is due out. Fantastic Fiction shows Rainshadow Road as the next book, release January 2012! Anyone know for sure? I honestly have no idea what the publishers were thinking releasing this in hardcover (more $$$ probably). I wouldn't pay for it and I consider myself a huge Lisa Kleypas fan. It is a sweet story in what seems to be the beginning of a wonderful contemporary series but at this length should have been in an anthology.

Mark Nolan has his life just how he wants it with a thriving business and a beautiful girlfriend, he thinks he has it all. Then he's thrown into fatherhood when his sister dies and names him as his niece's guardian. Mark not only needs to learn how to take care of a six year old girl, he also needs a bigger place for them to live. So he and his niece Holly move in with Sam Nolan, Mark's brother. Sam lives in an old house on the vineyard he runs. The two brothers do their best to take care of Holly but after months of trying they still can't get her to talk. Both Mark and Sam are likable characters in that they didn't know what to do with this little girl they were suddenly responsible for but they did everything they could. They didn't complain or treat Holly like it was her fault, instead they adjusted their lives for her, trying to give her as much stability as possible. Mark was named guardian so he's in charge of Holly's care and in the parent roll where Sam stays in the uncle roll. Both men have hunky hero written all over them but this time it's Mark's turn.

Maggie Collins is just what the doctor ordered to help Holly come out of her self imposed silence. Maggie seemed to know exactly what to say and do to get Holly to talk in a matter of minutes when Mark and Sam had not luck after months of trying. Maggie was just a little too perfect except for her one big flaw, her belief that she had no love left to give. She was still grieving the loss of her husband and I'm not sure why, when she was so open and approachable, did she think she couldn't love again. I get thinking that she wasn't ready but to completely write-off ever loving again seemed extreme. It would have been more believable if she had closed herself off to people but she interacted with people everyday and really enjoyed it her job.

So Maggie starts spending more time with Mark and Holly until they slowly become this little family unit. Maggie tries to keep some distance but you really can't have Holly without Mark being in the picture and to a lesser extent Sam and even grumpy Alex the third Nolan brother. The romance of Mark and Maggie is subtle. They develop a friendship first, through Holly. If the story had been longer, the romance could have had the time needed for it to develop, as it was, it felt incomplete. As if we got the pared down version and somewhere out there is the full length version.

I'm not sure how to grade this one. I liked what was there but... it was so darn short and had such potential for more. This poor reader simply doesn't understand why it was not written as a full-length novel - Kleypas certainly has the talent. The romance definitely could have been more fleshed out - near the end of the book felt like that's where the romance really began. Before that it was friendship, which is always good but I would have liked to see more of what comes after the friendship. On the other hand, it did leave me wanting Sam and even surly Alex's stories so in that respect, it worked. I can only hope their stories are novel length with more romance.

Rating: B

FYI ~ Something odd I found at Fantastic Fiction when looking for info on the next book in the series. The blurb for Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor is different than the book. I wonder why the change?