Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
This was an amazing debut novel about sisters that are opposites brought together for the wedding of one of them. As they prepare for the wedding they learn more and more about each other especially as one sister is going through a divorce. It becomes a second chance romance when she starts hanging out with high school crush.

The writing was fantastic and loved the setting and timeline. The family dynamic was interesting and complex and added to the story.

This was a very good second chance romance. Filled with family, love , resentment, and fresh starts, it made for a great beach read.
Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hannah McKinnon became one of my auto buy authors after reading this book. I have read every one of her releases since, and look forward to them each year

THE LAKE SEASON - Hannah McKinnon

FAMILY INTERACTIONS - 3 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Iris is having trouble in her marriage, so when her sister mysteriously asks for her help, Iris decides to head to their childhood home and provide assistance. But when she arrives, their sibling rivalry comes to the surface again. (However, there's no real resolution for why Leah contacted Iris in the first place.)

Writing - 3 stars - This is a new-to-me author, and I enjoyed it, but it definitely took a while to get into the story. As the character started to develop their own distinctive personalities, I became more absorbed in the story and their interactions, although it was still very put-downable.

Characters - 3 stars - The characters are well-built, even if they are not particularly likeable. Iris has been caught up in her life with husband, family, and job, so she's hard to like because of her self-absorption. Even now when she's supposedly here to help her sister, she spends most of her time inside her own head, even starting to daydream romantic thoughts about a local builder. Sister Leah is a go-getter, but she has lost touch with Iris. She's the one who is perceived to have a perfect, easy life, although things are not always what they seem on the surface. Mother Millie is the opposite of nurturing, and she's very good at keeping family secrets. Builder Cooper is handsome and friendly, but he seems to be playing too big a role in the sisters' lives. All in all, none of the characters are people I'd want to hang around with (except maybe fiance Stephen), but they made an interesting group and kept my attention, despite my annoyance with each of them at various times. Iris, especially, frustrated me with her helicopter-parenting. She blew hot and cold--first thinking of herself only, then worrying about her kids, then trying to be everything for everyone, then back to her self-absorption again.

Title - 3 stars - It's not really clear what season the title refers to, although the lake is certainly an important part of the story as the place where both girls return to their childhoods.

Cover - 4 stars - Lovely cover showing a peaceful outdoor scene.

Overall - 3 stars - I have mixed feelings about this book. Although I didn't really care for any of the characters, I found them interesting and wanted to see what problems they'd encounter next. Iris and Leah have a cordial and sometimes even sisterly relationship on the surface, but they're pretty rocky underneath. Iris's jealousy of Leah goes way back, but she also reluctantly admits that Leah has charisma and is able to charm her way through life. Iris is no prize, acting judgmental and offended when she's not included in family secrets despite the fact that she has pretty much bowed out of the family relationship for the many years of her marriage. I couldn't really relate to Iris since she had been married for 19 years, but now she admits that they've never been right for each other, even while she resents Paul's insistence on a divorce. She thinks of herself as a much nicer person than her actions show. All in all, I found the story to be fairly interesting, keeping me involved throughout (although I continued to have a lot of frustrated moments with the characters and their glaringly obvious misguided actions). I think we were supposed to feel triumphant and hopeful with Iris when she finally "found herself," but I felt that she showed a lot of bad judgment in her choices, and I found that incredibly frustrating. My biggest problem was that I found it very easy to put this book aside for other reads, then it was somewhat difficult to gather the interest to pick it up again. Something about it just didn't click for me.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will. Enjoy

Really enjoyed this book. Great great beach read, but with some grit! The story between the sisters is complex, well-written and not predictable. I thought the author had great character and plot development within this story, and it was hard to put down.

This book deals with serious issues of infidelity, trustworthiness, dysfunctional families and mental illness. It questions how one can try to find happiness at the expense of those they love, divorcing with kids involved, and how to overcome inadequacy feelings and move on to recreate happiness in your life.

This story is a great vacation read!

Thanks to Netgalley & Atria Books for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great book.still keep thinking about the book months later. The setting and characters were perfect

Those who have a sister will read this book and pass it on to them; those who do not, will wish more than ever that they did.

I read one critic's review that said those who read this book will pass it on to their sister, and that those who don't have one will wish they did. As someone who has sisters, I disagree. The sisters in this book have major issues, and there was really nothing about their relationship that was attractive to me. Just felt like a lot of miscommunication and manipulation.

On the plus side, though, the writing was smooth, and the characters felt pretty developed. (I thought Cooper Woods was a little too perfect, though. Like really, unbelievably so.) The author has a gift for describing settings and characters well, and it was easy to imagine the scenes and get immersed in the story. I was kept guessing re: the ending, and have been thinking about it since I finished the book (was it the right decision? what would I have done? etc). I do wish there had been more of an epilogue, though. There were a lot of threads I would have liked to have seen tied up.