First thought when I started reading Lost Lake was that this was going to be another sweet romance story, boy was I wrong. There was sweet romance but there was so much more. Lost Lake became a story of remembering past and moving into the future. Starting with Kate becoming awake after living in a haze after losing her husband and concluding with Eby figuring out what her future could be.

Devin is an amazing character that is quirky and wonderful. She is the person in the book that each and every other character was able to relate to. Even the characters that thought they had no friends were friends with Devin. She is the character that changed the lives of every person she came into contact with.

Eby is the character that starts the book on its journey. The story started with Eby and George on their honeymoon and getting lost in various towns. Their honeymoon was all they dreamed of, until it was cut short. Upon returning home, their life path takes a different turn, a turn for the good and they purchase Lost Lake Cottages. These cottages manage to attract a wide variety of visitors and touch the souls of the people who stay there and the people who just visit from town. I loved this couple. You could tell that they were the perfect couple, willing to do anything possible to make the other person happy.

Kate won my heart. The fact that her story start with her waking up and getting back to her life after having such tragedy made her a hero right away. Then when she let Devin live her life, dressing as she wants, playing freely, and generally being a free willed child totally won me over. As Kate struggled to take back her life, I enjoyed watching her get stronger and stronger. Once she figured out the right path to take I was able to take a deep breath and know that she would be happy and successful again.

This is a story that is about starting over, understanding the past, and doing whatever you can to be happy. I am new to Sarah Addison Allen, but will certainly be finding more of her works to enjoy.

There is something so enjoyable about Sarah Addison Allen's storytelling. Her characters are almost always whimsical, romantic, lost. In this story, Kate lost her husband and her mother-in-law is taking charge of her life, calling all the shots, including all decisions for Kate's young daughter. As her things are being packed up she stumbles on an old postcard from Lost Lake, and on a whim, Kate and her daughter go in search of that old camp by the lake. When she and Devin arrive, Eby has just about given up hope of saving Lost Lake, and is considering selling it. Lost Lake had a long history of saving souls, Eby's and her husbands, many long-time summer visitors and now her great-niece Kate and her young daughter.

This is a feel good story with an old mystery to solve and a cast of characters once lost, finding themselves again at Lost Lake.

I kind of really loved this book. It was a beautiful, tragic story with some magic and imagination thrown in. It was delightful. I don't know what I was expecting but I wasn't expecting to fall in love with it! I couldn't put it down! It gripped my heart and refused to let go. There's a dual story being told until the stories intertwine at Lost Lake. There's some tragedy, some grief, and then an awakening. I absolutely love precocious little Devin! I loved everything about this book and I will be picking up more SAA!