Book Review: Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs

 For a change, I thought I would publish my own review. Not that I don’t appreciate the reviews Carl Brookins shares with us, but I just finished this book and liked it well enough to tell others….

Summer at Willow Lake
Susan Wiggs
Contemporary Romance
e-Book version – 2010

This is a wonderful story with many layers and many characters, but they all intertwine with ease. The history of the Bellamy family and their ties to Camp Kioga in New York is complicated, and when Olivia Bellamy goes back to the camp one summer to prepare it for her grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration, the history is revealed. Some of it is sweet and poignant, some of it difficult and threatening.

Camp Kioga was not one of Olivia’s favorite places as a child. Not until she met and fell in love with Connor Davis, but how could he be interested in a chubby teenage girl who had never even been kissed. In the years that have passed since, Olivia has reinvented herself as a trim, attractive, sophisticated woman,a nd it is that woman who meets Connor again when his construction firm is hired to help with the renovations of the camp.

Summer at Willow Lake is a saga in the true sense of the word, and I enjoyed meeting all the people who connect in some way with Olivia and the camp. It is also a romance, so the typical sexual tension is there between Olivia and Connor. What elevates this book from every other romance novel is Connor. He is almost too good to be true, which is every woman’s fantasy, yet he isn’t a swaggering hero. He is a kind, compassionate, intuitive man with a wry sense of humor.

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FTC disclaimer:  I purchased this book of my own free will to read and enjoy. The author did not twist my arm or threaten me in any way to read it and give a positive report. In fact, unless she does a search for new reviews of her book, she may not even know about this one.