If you have read all of Sarah Addison Allen’s previous works and LOVE HER and LOVE them then you might want to consider not reading Lost Lake. Or at least reading it with the understanding that it’s not quite the same. The magical element(s) are there, but it is not so magical as the others. Some of the reviews I read indicate there was NO magic. Or they pointed out one bit of magical storyline and completely missed the other. All very interesting — people tend to think of magic, particular Addison-Allen’s brand of magic as light, fluffy, shimmery, happy, good things…. people should look again and think a little harder, shouldn’t they?
In some ways I liked this book more than her other books (which puts me in the minority from what I can tell from the few reviews I surfed.) There’s a lot of sadness in this book, even when the characters are happy — or when they were happy, the sadness just kind of leaks out all over the place. I liked that.
The characters and location are well written and described, as usual. I’d like to go visit Lost Lake but only if those characters are there, too.
Addison-Allen’s books are no not light, fluffy and happy. Ha!
I’ve been hesitant to read this one. I’ve gotten a bit tired of her “formula”. I don’t mean the magical stuff, but the twist in the last few chapters that I’ve been able to see coming. Because I knew it was coming I wasn’t able to sit down and get really comfortable while reading her last few books. They are less fun when you know a twist is coming.