Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs

Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summer at Willow Lake is a fun romance novel that touches some serious themes. The story is set at Camp Kioga in the Catskills. The camp has been owned and operated by the Bellamy family for multiple generations, but it has been shut down for the past nine years. When the novel begins, Olivia Bellamy, a twenty-seven-year-old business woman who owns a company that prepares (or fluffs) homes to be put on the market, is approached by her grandmother, Jane Bellamy. Jane's plan is to hire Olivia to renovate the camp so that she and her husband, Charles, can hold their golden anniversary party there.

Olivia is good at her work, so her business is very successful. However, she's not very good at her relationships with men. Something always goes wrong. Shortly before Olivia's Nana approaches her, Olivia suffers her latest breakup. Although renovating a camp that's been shuttered for so long is a project that will be challenging, an opportunity to get out of the city for the summer is just what she needs. She agrees to handle the project.

One of the first things Olivia needs to do when she arrives at the camp is to hire a contractor. Of course, there's only one contractor in the small town and he turns out to be the person who broke her heart one summer when they were both counselors at the camp.

The plot of Summer at Willow Lake is centered around Olivia's relationship through what is happening in the present as well as flashbacks to her time as a teenager. Yet the story also branches off to touch other romances, including events that happened to Olivia's father back when he was at the camp. I liked way these other stories were woven into the main narrative.

Although the book has some very humorous sections, it also deals with some serious topics such as alcohol addiction and the effects of divorce on children.


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Dim Fairy Tales by Justin Alcala

Dim Fairy Tales by Justin Alcala
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dim Fairy Tales is the story of Sean, a half human, half sidhe (or fairy) boy with a passion for comic books. With a main character like Sean it's no surprise that this extremely creative novel reads a bit like a mix of The Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man. The story captured me. When my schedule forced me to set the book to the side, I always looked forward to picking it up again.

Justin Alcala has created a world in The Land of Change (where the sidhe exist) that is ruled by an oligarchy composed of the heads of the leaders of four royal families: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. In many ways the oligarchs have personalities that reflect the traits of their seasons. Sean has royal blood on his sidhe side, from the Autumn Monarchy, but is not treated well by his grandmother, Queen Aveline. The scenes in the Firbolg lands (where the humans exist) occur primarily in Ireland and Chicago and are also populated with strange characters.

The book is filled with battles, enchantments, hatred, love and a sense of humor that reflects the comic-book influence. Overall, it is a fun read.

I could not find any reference to Dim Fairy Tales being the first part of a series, but the ending left me wanting more. I hope a sequel is in the works.





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