Book Review: The Lake of Dreams

The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards is a very interesting story. Given to me by a friend, I was very excited to read it. Though it took me a while to get into it, I'm glad I made the effort to discover a sweet and sentimental story of self-discovery.

The story follows Lucy Jarret, a woman in her early thirties who is a bit of a mess. After her high-school graduation and her father's tragic death, Lucy runs to college and her career that takes her all over the world. But when news of her mother being in a minor accident reaches her on the other side of the world, she knows she should go back. When Lucy returns to her home town, The Lake of Dreams, she finds it full of haunting memories, and turns out, not all of them are hers. 

Up late one night in the family home, she wanders up to the attic and discovers a collection of strange objects. At first she believes they are remnants of the lives of her family members long past, but upon closer inspection she realizes that she has uncovered a dark secret, a dark stain on her family history. Lucy is driven to uncover the truths that these objects hold. It leads her to not only learn about her ancestors' past but much about her own.

As intriguing as the story is, I found the book a little difficult to get into. Mainly because Lucy was a tough character to wrap my head around. There are a lot of similarities between myself and Lucy. Our parents are the same age, we both live far from home, and we are both trying get our footing in the professional world. The only major difference is, she's ten years older than I am. That threw me. I didn't understand her stunted emotional development. Her relationships with her family and her boyfriend are on a precipice, and she just can't seem to land a job. It took me a really long time to relate to a character that was such a mess at that point in her life. It took me longer than I would have liked to really understand her. But once I did, the story and her journey became clearer. And the discoveries she makes about her family's past are shocking, sad, and inspirational. 

I'm going to keep the review short, because the mystery and discovery is really what it's all about. So I'll leave you with this recommendation. 
The best way to describe The Lake of Dreams is cozy. It's a book for a rainy, snowy, or lazy day. So I highly suggest you curl up with this one.

Title: The Lake of Dreams

Author: Kim Edwards

Genre: Drama

Recommendation: Yes

Best Reader Audience: Mature Female Readers

Final Rating: Three out of Five mugs of hot chocolate 

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