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utahmomreads's review against another edition
3.0
I was especially excited to win an ARC of Kim Edward's newest book The Lake of Dreams from Goodreads.com because I read and loved The Memory Keeper's Daughter several years ago. I thought it was funny that one of the characters in The Lake of Dreams is reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter.
The Lake of Dreams is the story of Lucy Jarrett who returns to her hometown for a vacation after several years of working abroad, most recently Japan. While visiting her mother in the lake house where she grew up, Lucy discovers some old papers hidden in the cupboard. Fascinated by details of an old letter to her great-grandfather and the mention of family names she has never heard, Lucy studies her own family history to uncover the buried secrets--some a hundred years old and others much more recent.
Edward's writing style is detailed and engaging. She especially excels at describing locations. The Japanese village and the town beside the lake are so carefully described, I felt as if I were literally experiencing the earthquakes in Japan or a canoe ride across the lake. I enjoyed the descriptions of the stained glass windows and especially the images of Keegan's glass shop.
I found the hunt for information about Lucy's ancestors interesting--especially the history of Women's Suffrage. The story of Rose, Lucy's long lost great-great aunt, is more fascinating than Lucy's story. I wish the story had just been told from Rose's perspective. I would have liked to understand her character better.
While I did enjoy the novel, I didn't fall in love with it. Honestly, I'm having trouble figuring out why I just didn't feel that moved by the book. I never had that urgent desire to stay up all night and finish. It did seem to move along rather slowly. Also, I lacked a connection with Lucy. I was bothered that she could just sweep into town for a few weeks, demand that everyone align their orbits around her, cause major upheaval in her family and friend's lives and then leave again--changed and apparently healed. The ending felt contrived and too convenient.
Essentially, I didn't think The Lake of Dreams lived up to Edward's earlier and beautiful family tale - The Memory Keeper's Daughter.
The Lake of Dreams is the story of Lucy Jarrett who returns to her hometown for a vacation after several years of working abroad, most recently Japan. While visiting her mother in the lake house where she grew up, Lucy discovers some old papers hidden in the cupboard. Fascinated by details of an old letter to her great-grandfather and the mention of family names she has never heard, Lucy studies her own family history to uncover the buried secrets--some a hundred years old and others much more recent.
Edward's writing style is detailed and engaging. She especially excels at describing locations. The Japanese village and the town beside the lake are so carefully described, I felt as if I were literally experiencing the earthquakes in Japan or a canoe ride across the lake. I enjoyed the descriptions of the stained glass windows and especially the images of Keegan's glass shop.
I found the hunt for information about Lucy's ancestors interesting--especially the history of Women's Suffrage. The story of Rose, Lucy's long lost great-great aunt, is more fascinating than Lucy's story. I wish the story had just been told from Rose's perspective. I would have liked to understand her character better.
While I did enjoy the novel, I didn't fall in love with it. Honestly, I'm having trouble figuring out why I just didn't feel that moved by the book. I never had that urgent desire to stay up all night and finish. It did seem to move along rather slowly. Also, I lacked a connection with Lucy. I was bothered that she could just sweep into town for a few weeks, demand that everyone align their orbits around her, cause major upheaval in her family and friend's lives and then leave again--changed and apparently healed. The ending felt contrived and too convenient.
Essentially, I didn't think The Lake of Dreams lived up to Edward's earlier and beautiful family tale - The Memory Keeper's Daughter.
fanninh's review against another edition
2.0
Repetitive language and imagery, predictable plot, disappointing ending.
jen_jacob's review against another edition
3.0
It was ok, I enjoyed the plot, however I think that it could have been written in a more suspenseful manner in order to keep the reader's attention. I found myself skimming at times to get to the heart of the paragraph. What I loved about this book is the local connection. It is set in a fictional town in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State and the characters travel to Seneca Falls and Rochester. I wasn't aware that the book's setting was local, so this was a nice surprise!
holly__'s review against another edition
1.0
As much as I love descriptions and being captivated into a different place, this one had too many.. the book could have easily been under 200 pages with all the filler taken out. The premise of the story was good, but it took too long to get to the point. The best, and swiftest, part was the epilogue.
gingerellaj's review against another edition
4.0
I'd read My Memory Keeper's Daughter and really enjoyed it. After reading some of the reviews for The Lake of Dreams I almost didn't read it but I'm happy I ignored the negative reviews and read it anyway. I have always enjoyed stories about hidden family secrets and connections so the subject of this book turned out to be right up my street. It's certainly not the best book I've ever read - some parts were a little confusing - but I did definitely enjoy it and once I got into it, couldn't actually put it down.
twocollins's review against another edition
1.0
This book was not engaging, and bordered on the mundane. The characters seemed strained and unrealistic. There were so many times were there were opportunities for something interesting, exciting or unexpected to happen, but no .. no twists, no turns, all quite predictable and unrealistically resolved too quickly...
anniewill's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Kim Edwards' style of writing in this novel- much more than in "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". This is an interesting and layered story that kept me interested and engaged through the entire novel. I did feel that she wrapped everything up a bit too neatly at the end.
mschrock8's review against another edition
4.0
Again with the crying. This time over a a happy ending.
meme_too2's review against another edition
3.0
I had mixed feelings about this book. Lucy has been living with a guy in Asia, but comes home when her mother breaks her arm. She takes up with an old boyfriend through the rest of the book, until her boyfriend flies out to join her. There are no "scenes" in the book, but you just don't know who she's going to end up with and it's hard to place your loyalties. As well, the distrust within the family was sad, and frankly puzzling, until the very end, when you are really in for a shock.
I did, however, love the glass blowing scene, the stained glass descriptions, and the found letters that unfold an interesting and endearing story, even to filling in the empty holes in an old lady's life.
I did, however, love the glass blowing scene, the stained glass descriptions, and the found letters that unfold an interesting and endearing story, even to filling in the empty holes in an old lady's life.