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A review by lezreadalot
The Other Side of Forestlands Lake by Carolyn Elizabeth
4.0
“Believe me when I tell you, I have always intended for you to be the hero of my story.”
3.5 stars. Childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance, with a paranormal twist. Willa and Lee are best friends whose families spend the summers at a peaceful lakeside community, and there's a little romance brewing between them. After tragedy falls, they don't see each other for 25 years, but then they reunite, reconnect, and hopefully solve a mystery. Second chance romance is one of those hit or miss tropes for me, and I luckily found myself really liking these two and their rekindled flame. There's a tertiary POV, and for once, I do think it was absolutely needed, and it really did add a lot to the story. It's hard not to feel for Nicole, as bratty and temperamental as she was. It was completely understandable. I really liked all the side relationships, and the mysteries were actually pretty good. I wasn't as obsessed with the main romance as I was with my first book by this author, but, on a whole, it was so well plotted and executed, I still really enjoyed it. And I do really enjoy reading about women in their 40s.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Amy Deuchler; not my favourite, but still really good. This was a nice palette cleanser, and it's always cool to discover an author who dabbles in different genres.
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