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holly_keimig's review against another edition
4.0
Can't wait for another one of these! :) Loved reading about Sonnet's story.
irasandra's review against another edition
5.0
Another great story by Susan. I love the Lakeshore Chronicles. They are my absolute favorite reads.
judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Return to Willow Lake. To really grasp the full meaning of the book and its characters – feel you need to read her earlier books first. It was great to catch up with characters from her past books –ones you loved. Nina (her mom) and Greg her step dad –they run Willow Lake Inn in the Catskills Mountain area; Zach (always loved him)– her best friend since childhood (and ultimately the love of her life), and of course mentions of Bo/Kim, and Olivia/Conner, Daisy, and the setting at Camp Kioga--where it all started! Love the twists of Jezebel-reality TV, rock star, and inner city kids, with some nasty political battles with her father and Orlando.
Susan is a wonderful writer and have read most of her books – overcoming obstacles from cancer, and knowing how to find true happiness and love when sometimes it is right in front of you!
Susan is a wonderful writer and have read most of her books – overcoming obstacles from cancer, and knowing how to find true happiness and love when sometimes it is right in front of you!
jbarr5's review against another edition
5.0
Return to Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
ISBN: 9780778313847
Daisy Bellamy's wedding at Camp Kioga, finally.
Love how Susan brings you up to date on who the person was and what they did in younger years-that's what made the bell ring for me :}
Sonnet Romano is her best friend and everything went off without a hitch. She doesn't want to get married anytime soon and works at UNESCO.
Zachery Alger is there also, a videographer but just a guest at this party. Their renew their friendship after many swigs of champagne. He is saving money to pay off his fathers debt to the community.
Sonnet has to leave her boyfriend that her father set her up with, as they continue the campaign for government office, and she goes back to Avalon to be with her mom who's having a medical crises.
Zach has news from a west coast film production company that they want him for their next 16 week reality show.
He informs her of her mothers cancer and she changes all her plans to stay in Avalon to help her along with the treatments and the pregnancy. They both end up working for the same company.
Throw in the reality show and you have mayhem. Have they made the right choices????
With some hot steamy sex this is a good read.
Love the refresher on the surgeries and all the tests-been there done that, it's horrid. But good comes out of it in the end...
ISBN: 9780778313847
Daisy Bellamy's wedding at Camp Kioga, finally.
Love how Susan brings you up to date on who the person was and what they did in younger years-that's what made the bell ring for me :}
Sonnet Romano is her best friend and everything went off without a hitch. She doesn't want to get married anytime soon and works at UNESCO.
Zachery Alger is there also, a videographer but just a guest at this party. Their renew their friendship after many swigs of champagne. He is saving money to pay off his fathers debt to the community.
Sonnet has to leave her boyfriend that her father set her up with, as they continue the campaign for government office, and she goes back to Avalon to be with her mom who's having a medical crises.
Zach has news from a west coast film production company that they want him for their next 16 week reality show.
He informs her of her mothers cancer and she changes all her plans to stay in Avalon to help her along with the treatments and the pregnancy. They both end up working for the same company.
Throw in the reality show and you have mayhem. Have they made the right choices????
With some hot steamy sex this is a good read.
Love the refresher on the surgeries and all the tests-been there done that, it's horrid. But good comes out of it in the end...
kdurham2's review against another edition
4.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Sonnet grew up in a small town and couldn't wait to escape to explore the world beyond the small town. She was raised by a single mom who was pregnant at a young age, so their bond is like no other. So when her mom calls with good and bad news, she drops her entire life and returns to the small town with the history of her childhood to confront.
Sonnet grew up in a small town and couldn't wait to escape to explore the world beyond the small town. She was raised by a single mom who was pregnant at a young age, so their bond is like no other. So when her mom calls with good and bad news, she drops her entire life and returns to the small town with the history of her childhood to confront.
willowsfair's review against another edition
4.0
The characters were pretty lovable, and though this story touches on some deep, thought-provoking themes, it never gets heavy or depressing, which is hard to do and maintain credibility in the story. Recommended.
shannon_cocktailsandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
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.
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.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 STARS
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).
At Daisy Bellamy's wedding Sonnet Romano sleeps with her best friend, Zach Algers and regrets the decision ever since. Afraid that their friendship will be ruined she goes back to New York and starts dating her father's campaign manager, Orlando. Orlando is everything she should want in her ordered life and this would make her closer to her estranged father, Laurence.
When Zack tells Sonnet that her newly pregnant mother, Nina has breast cancer Sonnet makes a decision to leave her job and her life in New York and returns to Willow Lake. While being there for her mother and stepfather she gets a job on the new reality show that is being filmed at the Inn. Her return home has taught her more about herself than school and time in New York. And, maybe what she should want isn't what she should do.
The novel was a bit predictable but if you have read the other books in the Lakeshore Chronicles you will not be disappointed. The relationship between Nina and Sonnet is heartwarming and Nina's breast cancer is written with compassion. A sweet contemporary novel with a dash of romance
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).
At Daisy Bellamy's wedding Sonnet Romano sleeps with her best friend, Zach Algers and regrets the decision ever since. Afraid that their friendship will be ruined she goes back to New York and starts dating her father's campaign manager, Orlando. Orlando is everything she should want in her ordered life and this would make her closer to her estranged father, Laurence.
When Zack tells Sonnet that her newly pregnant mother, Nina has breast cancer Sonnet makes a decision to leave her job and her life in New York and returns to Willow Lake. While being there for her mother and stepfather she gets a job on the new reality show that is being filmed at the Inn. Her return home has taught her more about herself than school and time in New York. And, maybe what she should want isn't what she should do.
The novel was a bit predictable but if you have read the other books in the Lakeshore Chronicles you will not be disappointed. The relationship between Nina and Sonnet is heartwarming and Nina's breast cancer is written with compassion. A sweet contemporary novel with a dash of romance
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Return to Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs is a beautifully written and engrossing novel. At the heart of this thought-provoking and emotional story is Sonnet Romano and the various relationships in her life. To read my review in its entirety please click HERE.
cupcakegirly's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 Stars
Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for this ARC.
This was my first book by Susan Wiggs and even though it's #9 in the series, I didn't feel it was necessary to have to go back and read the other books first because there was enough explanation to catch a new reader up.
This isn't my usual genre but I thought the summary sounded interesting and so I gave it a try. As an MC, I found Sonnet to be frustrating and wishy-washy (for lack of a better term) when it came to Zach, Orlando and even her father. I understood her need to win her father's approval and acceptance which to Sonnet, meant winning his love but after awhile you need to grow a backbone.
I found the romance lacking, in fact, there was more romance between Nina and Greg than their was between Sonnet and Zach but it wasn't the kind that steams up your windows. It was the kind of romance that is found in a relationship that's withstood trials and is focused on the long haul. Not a bad thing, but I just expected more for Sonnet and it was, "meh".
I will say that what this lacked in heart racing romance, it made up for in the mother-daughter relationship. The bond between Nina and Sonnet is exceptionally strong and very emotional at times. (very) I struggled to get through the "hair" scene and was literally choke sobbing. Sonnet's willingness to put her plans on hold to help her Mom without so much as batting an eye was inspiring. Their relationship is a supportive one and only grows stronger with each new challenge. The end was left open, maybe for the next installment? All in all, this was a decent read but not necessarily the one for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for this ARC.
This was my first book by Susan Wiggs and even though it's #9 in the series, I didn't feel it was necessary to have to go back and read the other books first because there was enough explanation to catch a new reader up.
This isn't my usual genre but I thought the summary sounded interesting and so I gave it a try. As an MC, I found Sonnet to be frustrating and wishy-washy (for lack of a better term) when it came to Zach, Orlando and even her father. I understood her need to win her father's approval and acceptance which to Sonnet, meant winning his love but after awhile you need to grow a backbone.
I found the romance lacking, in fact, there was more romance between Nina and Greg than their was between Sonnet and Zach but it wasn't the kind that steams up your windows. It was the kind of romance that is found in a relationship that's withstood trials and is focused on the long haul. Not a bad thing, but I just expected more for Sonnet and it was, "meh".
I will say that what this lacked in heart racing romance, it made up for in the mother-daughter relationship. The bond between Nina and Sonnet is exceptionally strong and very emotional at times. (very) I struggled to get through the "hair" scene and was literally choke sobbing. Sonnet's willingness to put her plans on hold to help her Mom without so much as batting an eye was inspiring. Their relationship is a supportive one and only grows stronger with each new challenge. The end was left open, maybe for the next installment? All in all, this was a decent read but not necessarily the one for me.