From Goodreads: It’s been ten years since Allie Beckett crossed the threshold of her family cabin at Butternut Lake, Minnesota. Now, newly widowed after the death of her husband in Afghanistan, she’s returned with her five-year-old son.
There, she reconnects with the friends she had in childhood-best girlfriend Jax, now married with three kids and one on the way, and Caroline, owner of the local coffee shop. What Allie doesn’t count on is a newcomer to Butternut Lake, Walker Ford.
Up at Butternut Lake follows these four unforgettable characters across a single summer as they struggle with love, loss, and what it means to take risks, confront fears, and embrace life, in all of its excitement and unpredictability.
Allie Beckett could never have imagined, when she ran away from her old life, that she was running into a whole new life, up at the lake…
My review: This was the perfect light read, and since this past Saturday dawned chilly and overcast, with nothing pressing on my to-do list, I parked myself on the couch and dove into the world of Butternut Lake. This book had all the ingredients of a wonderful novel: likable characters who were easy to root for, a great plot that was interesting and flowed well from beginning to end, and a sweet romance that swept me off my feet.
At times, the book seemed to drag along and there seemed to be a lot happening at once. There was the intertwining of three separate stories in one, but I didn’t feel as deeply invested in the two subplots as I did in the larger plot. I am assuming, since this is a series, either the subplots will morph into their own books or more will be revealed in future books because they seemed to be afterthoughts that didn’t seem to do much to move the story along. (I enjoyed them, but was left wanting more.)
My only other issue with the novel was the repetitiveness. This is probably due to my job, as it’s drilled into us not to repeat phrases and words too often, and there were a few words that kept popping up (imperceptibly, gentle/gently, and innocuous, to name a few) that kind of made my editor brain anxious. And the overuse of adverbs grated on me. This is a weird quirk of mine, and probably wouldn’t bother anyone who doesn’t write or edit for a living.
All in all, though, a sweet romance novel that had a surprising amount of depth and character development. A great beach or rainy day read.
My rating: 3 stars
I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions, unless otherwise stated, are my own.
I am sure reading books is a different experience now that you work in the line of work that you do. It bothers me when I notice something about a book that should have been edited out. Sounds like a cute, light read that might be good for a vacation.
You know, now that you mention it, I do remember the phrases being repeated quite a bit. And it did bother me when it happened! I don’t mind it if it’s part of a person’s vocabulary when they are speaking (like regional dialects and etc.) but when it’s a descriptor then yeah, it is frustrating.
And yes, I’m hoping the other two plots are fleshed out more in the future books, too. I am very interested to see where the author goes with them. Overall, I enjoyed the book (my review goes up next week)!
I think I might pick up this book to read on my cruise next month! The repetitive words you describe make me think of 50 Shades of Grey…I felt like that book was SO repetitive! One of the many reasons I really disliked it.
I’m glad this book was the right fit for the right day. Thanks for being a part of the tour!