Scan barcode
jotyler2021's review against another edition
3.0
The book was good, but not great. The only reason I say this is because the main characters, Sonnet and Zach, are rarely together until the end of the book, so you don't really get a feel for their relationship. The whole book is mostly focused on Sonnet and her mother. I guess that there was just too much going on in the story to really focus on one thing. Hopefully the next book in the series will focus much more on the main couple like the rest of the books in the series do.
dmantonya's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book!! It was a love story, a sad story about breast cancer, and a birth. It also was about someone trying to please their parents when that wasn't really what their true dreams were. It was also taking a stand for their beliefs no mater what.
susanscribs's review against another edition
3.0
Nice to visit some of the characters from previous Lakeshore novels, but the relationship between Sonnet and her mother, Nina, was much more powerful and poignant than the allegedly central romance between Sonnet and Zach. Much better than the trainwreck that was Marrying Daisy Bellamy, though.
fromjesstoyou's review against another edition
3.0
Check out my review and two teasers on my blog during and after my blog tour stop on September 3, 2012 -- http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2012/09/blog-tour-made-grade-return-to-willow.html
finallywakingup's review against another edition
2.0
2.5, I found this a bit all over the place and strange that Sonnet was suddenly not as good and judging people as she had been when she was a teenager. Also you could see the plot points coming from miles away and waiting for them to arrived became a little dull at times.
Will still check in to see what happens next at Willow Lake as I've read so many now I am curious.
Will still check in to see what happens next at Willow Lake as I've read so many now I am curious.
roselaina's review against another edition
4.0
(Review originally posted here at Fictionally Inclined. For more recent reviews, check out my new locale: The Book Barbies)
I went into Return to Willow Lake with a bit of hesitation. I had never read anything by Susan Wiggs before, and this book had a cover that made me think of those books that are cheesy in a way that is only acceptable if accompanied by lots of Christmas carols and mistletoe. I am very glad I gave Return to Willow Lake a chance, though, because it was so much better than I was expecting.
For starters, one thing I loved about this book was that the main two characters were not your typical leads. Sonnet was biracial - half African American, half Italian - and Zach was very pale with long, blond hair nearly as light as his skin. They had been very close friends throughout childhood and high school, and although they'd lived in separate cities for years, they were still share-the-big-news-first, visit-whenever-I'm-in-town friends. Until Sonnet's step-sister, Daisy's wedding at the beginning of the book. They had not seen each other for quite a while, and a romantic encounter caused Sonnet to freak and cut Zach out of her life for the next few months.
Then Sonnet received the news about her mother and moved home. As Zach was nearly a part of the family and her new job involved working with him (filming a reality show featuring Jezebel, a teenage hip-hop star), Sonnet and Zach's friendship began to recover. Except now there were feelings Sonnet did not know how to deal with.
One great thing about this book was how wonderfully the love story fit with the whole story. The romance moved at a great pace and never felt secondary, but it also did not overshadow Sonnet's relationship with her mother, which, as that was Sonnet's reason for turning away some amazing opportunities and moving back home, was rather important. I loved watching them interact. Nina was very wise and kind, and it broke my heart to watch her go through her struggles. Because Zach was so close to the family as well as working with Sonnet, the three plots - the family life, the job, the romance - all coalesced into one beautiful story.
There was some drama, which obviously had to happen. However, nothing was blown out of proportion or stretched to melodramatic lengths just to draw the book out longer, which would have been very easy to do with some of the conflict. I very much appreciate Wiggs and her ability to write a sweet, touching story without making me overdose on cheese. I will definitely be looking up more of her books, and I recommend this one, which is officially out today!
I went into Return to Willow Lake with a bit of hesitation. I had never read anything by Susan Wiggs before, and this book had a cover that made me think of those books that are cheesy in a way that is only acceptable if accompanied by lots of Christmas carols and mistletoe. I am very glad I gave Return to Willow Lake a chance, though, because it was so much better than I was expecting.
For starters, one thing I loved about this book was that the main two characters were not your typical leads. Sonnet was biracial - half African American, half Italian - and Zach was very pale with long, blond hair nearly as light as his skin. They had been very close friends throughout childhood and high school, and although they'd lived in separate cities for years, they were still share-the-big-news-first, visit-whenever-I'm-in-town friends. Until Sonnet's step-sister, Daisy's wedding at the beginning of the book. They had not seen each other for quite a while, and a romantic encounter caused Sonnet to freak and cut Zach out of her life for the next few months.
Then Sonnet received the news about her mother and moved home. As Zach was nearly a part of the family and her new job involved working with him (filming a reality show featuring Jezebel, a teenage hip-hop star), Sonnet and Zach's friendship began to recover. Except now there were feelings Sonnet did not know how to deal with.
One great thing about this book was how wonderfully the love story fit with the whole story. The romance moved at a great pace and never felt secondary, but it also did not overshadow Sonnet's relationship with her mother, which, as that was Sonnet's reason for turning away some amazing opportunities and moving back home, was rather important. I loved watching them interact. Nina was very wise and kind, and it broke my heart to watch her go through her struggles. Because Zach was so close to the family as well as working with Sonnet, the three plots - the family life, the job, the romance - all coalesced into one beautiful story.
There was some drama, which obviously had to happen. However, nothing was blown out of proportion or stretched to melodramatic lengths just to draw the book out longer, which would have been very easy to do with some of the conflict. I very much appreciate Wiggs and her ability to write a sweet, touching story without making me overdose on cheese. I will definitely be looking up more of her books, and I recommend this one, which is officially out today!
More...