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A review by 00leah00
The Other Side of Forestlands Lake by Carolyn Elizabeth
5.0
“The Other Side of Forestlands Lake” is a paranormal mystery with a dash of romance. There was also a bit of humor thrown in that helped balance some of the spooky.
Willa Dunn and Lee Chandler are childhood best friends that spend their summers together at a lake house community. The community happens to be across the lake from a summer camp where a girl has gone missing. A year later, when they’re 15, their relationship is just starting to move into a romantic one when a tragedy occurs and they are forced to go their separate ways.
25 years later, Willa, a YA author of paranormal books, is looking for a writer’s retreat with her angsty teenage sister, Nicole. She heads back to the lake house thinking it would be a good place to bond with her sister and to finish her fifth novel.
Lee now lives on the campgrounds year-round with her 17-year-old daughter, Maggie. She’s never forgotten Willa, or the tragedy that forced them to never see each other again.
However, almost as soon as Willa and Nicole arrive in town weird things start happening. This is when the paranormal/mystery part of the book starts happening. There is a ghost on the lake that’s been around for 25 years. And while Willa writes about paranormal activity, she’s not prepared to see and deal with it on her own. Willa and Lee are reunited and along with Nicole and Maggie they must figure out what is happening with the ghost. Willa and Lee are also dealing with their feelings from long ago that have never gone away.
I am a bona fide scaredy cat and as someone who is not into paranormal stories, I have to say this was well done. It was just spooky enough that I kept the lights on while reading but not scary enough that I couldn’t get through it or had to stop. I was on the edge of my seat and couldn’t put my kindle down while reading. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end.
I really enjoyed the entire cast of characters Elizabeth uses. There is a whole town of colorful individuals and everyone has an important part to the story.
This is my first book by Carolyn Elizabeth but it definitely won’t be my last. This is also the second book I’ve read that has a paranormal twist to it. I’m usually more into the contemporary romance but this in no way disappointed me. There was enough of the romance that I was satisfied as a romance reader.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of well written paranormal mysteries.
Willa Dunn and Lee Chandler are childhood best friends that spend their summers together at a lake house community. The community happens to be across the lake from a summer camp where a girl has gone missing. A year later, when they’re 15, their relationship is just starting to move into a romantic one when a tragedy occurs and they are forced to go their separate ways.
25 years later, Willa, a YA author of paranormal books, is looking for a writer’s retreat with her angsty teenage sister, Nicole. She heads back to the lake house thinking it would be a good place to bond with her sister and to finish her fifth novel.
Lee now lives on the campgrounds year-round with her 17-year-old daughter, Maggie. She’s never forgotten Willa, or the tragedy that forced them to never see each other again.
However, almost as soon as Willa and Nicole arrive in town weird things start happening. This is when the paranormal/mystery part of the book starts happening. There is a ghost on the lake that’s been around for 25 years. And while Willa writes about paranormal activity, she’s not prepared to see and deal with it on her own. Willa and Lee are reunited and along with Nicole and Maggie they must figure out what is happening with the ghost. Willa and Lee are also dealing with their feelings from long ago that have never gone away.
I am a bona fide scaredy cat and as someone who is not into paranormal stories, I have to say this was well done. It was just spooky enough that I kept the lights on while reading but not scary enough that I couldn’t get through it or had to stop. I was on the edge of my seat and couldn’t put my kindle down while reading. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end.
I really enjoyed the entire cast of characters Elizabeth uses. There is a whole town of colorful individuals and everyone has an important part to the story.
This is my first book by Carolyn Elizabeth but it definitely won’t be my last. This is also the second book I’ve read that has a paranormal twist to it. I’m usually more into the contemporary romance but this in no way disappointed me. There was enough of the romance that I was satisfied as a romance reader.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of well written paranormal mysteries.