On Mystic Lake

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful romance
Review: Living in the Pacific Northwest, Kristen Hannah's On Mystic Lake truly made me appreciate the beauty of the northwest. Sure, it rains cats and dogs, but on a beautiful sunny day it can't be beat.

On the day that her daughter leaves for London Annie's husband of 20 years tells her he loves another woman and wants a divorce. Annie is devestated. After spending the past 20 years being "the perfect wife" and "the perfect mother" she doesn't know what to do with her life. So she goes home to Mystic, Washington, a small logging community near the Olympic penninsula.

When Annie returns she meets up again with her old friend (who married her best friend from high school). His wife commited suicide 8 months earlier and he and his 6 year old daughter are having a hard time coping. With nothing else to do, Annie offers to help him with his daughter.

Slowly Annie and Nick fall in love, but Annie is still married. After a few months Annie's husband decides he made a mistake and wants her back, but Annie isn't ready to go back.

This is a wonderful book about love, friendship, motherhood and finding yourself. This book is highly recommended and next time you find yourself in the beautiful Pacific Northwest remember that it doesn't rain every day, only 300 days a year.

Rating:
Summary: An absolutely beautiful love story
Review: On 11/11, I endured the funeral of a very dear friend. As I approached the church, I noticed the sun breaking through the clouds, beaming down rays of light to shine down on the building where she lay inside, awaiting the eulogy to be given for her final goodbye. I thought my heart would break and I would never stop crying, even though I finally did. After the funeral, I stopped by my favorite bookstore and purchased four novels, two of which were written by Kristin Hannah. That evening, I made the mistake of starting to read ON MYSTIC LAKE. Because my eyelids were still swollen from the many tears I'd cried at the funeral and during the day, and my eyeballs felt like sandpaper was swiping over them every time I blinked, I thought it best to put the book down and finish reading it later. The next morning I found myself picking the novel up again. After I started to read. I couldn't stop until I'd read the rest of story, nor did I stop crying. I have to believe that Kristin Hannah has the finest talent to write the sweetest of love stories that I've ever had the pleasure to read in this novel. I have another one of her novels, but I don't dare start it right away. I need a break from the tears. KH had no trouble from the very beginning to capture of my attention. I felt every moment of Annie's heartache, as the description of the author's plot and characters was most excellent. If you want a genuine, heartfelt/heartbreaking/happy-ending love story, do this one. Just make sure you have a box of Kleen-x sitting close by. You'll need it.

Rating:
Summary: --Predictable, but good story--
Review: This book begins when Annie and Blake Colwater take their daughter to the airport. The teenager plans to spend several months studying in London. On the drive home, Blake surprises Annie by asking for a divorce. Annie is shocked and totally falls apart. She leaves California and retreats to her hometown of Mystic, Washington. In Mystic, she meets up with her old boyfriend Nick, and immediately rekindles a romance. Nick has problems of his own and is haunted by his wife's death. Izzie, his six year old daughter is so upset by the loss of her mother that she no longer has the ability to speak. There are several different subplots going on and the author manages to juggle them quite well. The dilemma of the child Izzie was by far the most interesting and creative part of the book.

In a lot of ways this was quite an ambitious story, and Kristin Hannah gave an excellent account of the emotions that her characters experienced. She also wrote beautiful descriptive passages about the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula. However, Annie the main character was a little frustrating to read about. She was just too perfect. She's attractive, smart, thin, rich. talented, a great mother and a really nice person! Wow! I also had a difficult time believing that a wife would not have a clue to the fact that the man she was married to for 20 years had consistently been unfaithful to her for ages. Come on Annie, a man can't be working late every night! Perhaps that was Annie's flaw, she was so wrapped up in her daughter and in creating a perfect home that she ignored the signs of a husband who had little loyalty or real interest in his family.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely terrific!
Review: You don't know what you're missing if you've never read a book by Kristin Hannah, and _On Mystic Lake_ is one of the absolute best books ever written. The characters come alive and endear themselves to your heart. Annie is down to earth and easy to read about. Izzie, the little girl who needs to find her way into the world again is precious and Nick is the type of character whom you wish you could jump into the book and give a hug to. _On Mystic Lake_ is by no means "lite reading". The main character, Annie, is getting a divorce from her husband who claims to love another woman. Trying to come to grips with her failing marriage, Annie returns home to Mystic to spend some time with her father. There she meets up with her first love, Nick, who chose her best friend over her, breaking Annie's heart. It turns out that Nick's wife (Annie's old best friend) has died leaving Nick and his daughter Izzie devestated. When the three first get together, it's sort of like the blind leading the blind. They are all so hurt that it is hard to see who needs more help. But, Annie brings healing to Izzie's soul, the little girl mends Annie's heart, and a love rekindles between Nick and Annie. Still, things are not that easy, and a conflict makes the world harder in Mystic. Kristin Hannah is an amazingly gifted author and her talent shines in _On Mystic Lake_. Her descriptive writing will take you to another place- a little logging town in Washington where mist floats above the ground and life moves at a slower pace. This is a beautiful book about three healing souls who learn that bad things do happen but you can get around them. I'd recomend _On Mystic Lake_ to anyone who enjoys putting down a book with a sense that the world is a wonderful place and they can do something to make it better.