The Lake House: Escape with a heartwarming and feel good must read novel about friendship, family and romance! (Love Heart Lane, Book 5)

Enjoyed this fifth book in the series, some great characters - loved Dolores. Great to see past characters still supporting the newcomers. Great story for Ella and others.

I have been a fan of Christie’s work for a while now. I love the way in which she creates stories round lovely characters and her books are always uplifting. I must admit that I have a particular fondness for the ‘Love Heart Lane’ series. ‘The Lake House’ is the fifth instalment of the series and it really is a cracker; I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Lake House’ but more about that in a bit.I loved the character of Ella and I took to her from the start.  She is a straight forward, honest, lovely lass, whose world is turned upside down by somebody who isn’t what they appear to be.  I know that sounds a bit cryptic but I don’t want to say too much in case I spoil the story for anybody.  Needless to say, I felt like jumping inside the pages of the book and slapping silly the person who upsets Ella.  Ella is a bit wounded and needs time to heal so she goes to stay with one of her best friends, who lives in Love Heart Lane.  Ella sets about establishing a new life for herself.  She quickly makes new friends and it doesn’t take long for her to feel settled in the area, especially when there is a potential love interest on the horizon.I was drawn to this book by reading the synopsis alone and as soon as I started to read the story that was it.  I just knew that I would not be moving very far from the sofa because I was so wrapped up in the story.  My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me.  I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story.  I cared about the characters and what happened to them so I had to keep reading to find out what happened.  I soon seemed to gallop through the story and then all too quickly I reached the end of the story.  I had to bid a very fond farewell to the characters that live at Love Heart Lane.‘The Lake House’ is brilliantly written but then I don’t expect anything else from Christie Barlow.  She draws you into the story from the start and makes you feel as though you are at the centre of the action.  That’s how I felt at any rate.  Christie uses such vivid and realistic descriptions that her characters seem just as real as you and I.  She makes Love Heart Lane sound so idyllic that I want to move there!!  Reading one of Christie’s books is always a pleasure because her books are always uplifting and leave the reader feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.In short I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Lake House’ and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Christie’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review! #Thelakehouse #netgalleyElla's boyfriend Dr Alex James doesn't return home from work one day. Ella calls the police and finds out things were not as she thought them to be. Therefore her best friend Callie takes Ella to Heartcross for respite. Will Ella's life ever be the same again?After reading book 2 in the series "Foxglove Farm." I have been following the author on Facebook knowing I wanted to read all the books in the series of love heart Lane when they came out.This is book 5 however you would not know this when reading it and this book makes a great stand alone book, Something I think this author has got down to a fine art.Once opening the book it is a page turner. The heart cross community are loving characters, each with their own secrets and hardships, who you totally feel yourself taking into your heart. They show you their emotions and allow you to become invested into their lives.With each passing book you feel you know each character inside and out. You begin to feel you know what their next movements will be. Until BAM! a twist and turn Is thrown into the mix.This book is a great romance read and you never feel that you are missing anything from the story line allowing you to follow it through until the end with confidence that you will get a good ending. Although their are some emotional subjects included in this book such as financial issues, ghosting, relationships for money and LGBTQ+ in the 20th century amongst other things. I do not feel this takes away from the romantic feel of the book but has your heart growing fonder of the struggles which each character has faced. It really increases the mystery and twists of the book but used in a subtle and empathetic manner.However I do feel the ending was rushed slightly. I felt after Ella's hospital stay we moved forward to 2 weeks later. This missed out on seeing her further recovery alongside any emotions she may have felt post incident. We also missed out on her ups and downs of finishing the preparations for the event at The Lake House. Including that of Charlie and Delores.Furthermore I still cannot wait to read the next book.

This story brought me out of a grand funk caused by the pandemic loneliness that has prevented me from seeing family, grandchildren and friends. So nice to see a story of loss come out so right because of the inherent goodness of friends. Thank you!

Love this series and love this book

First there was betrayal. Then came a slow, painful recovery with the help of a wonderful friend. That friend sends her on a big adventure that becomes the focus of the story. It is entertaining and enjoyable.

I can see this book was written with fervor but it wasn’t what I had hoped for. The story was fine, even interesting. But, it seemed filled with too much sweetness.There was a lot of talking that felt like filler. While hard things happened, no one gets that much fun, sweetness and love added to their life without more turmoil. I know it’s a novel and the author can do as they want, but make it believable. This was pure fantasy and enough sugar to give me cavities.