I thought this was a very enjoyable read. It had all of the elements that interest me and it was a great escape. I thought the plot was good and the writing entranced me. The thought of an abandoned apartment in Paris was fascinating.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The second in a series and the book is connected to book one, but doesn't really need to be read in a row. A character from the first book is in this second, but the stories felt self contained.

Two storylines, one in 2010 and one in the 1930s, one that starts in California and one that starts in Paris, but both make their way to Germany and a castle where both women's lives will be forever changed.

Anna is sent to Germany to the home of her ailing grandfather to retrieve something. There she will find more than the intended purpose of her trip. In 1930, Isabelle makes a visit to this castle and falls in love with a man, but their paths will diverge and her life will go in a different direction.

I loved how the author had both Anna and Isabelle discover the house at the same time and the back and forth in that chapter might have been my favorite in a story where there are two timelines - it was just genius! It happened throughout the book, but for me it stood out in this chapter and I loved it.

There were some moments where the story slowed down a bit and the pacing felt a little sluggish, but at a certain point the story picked up and it was a race to the end!

I can't wait to read book three and see this trilogy be complete.

This is the third time I've attempted to read Carey's work and while I thoroughly respect both her vision and fan base, I have to concede her style and my tastes are poorly suited. Carey's tone is too sweet and simplistic for me and I simply couldn't get past that reality to enjoy the course of the story.

I am a huge historical fiction fan, especially WWII historical fiction.  I am also a big fan of books that deal with past family secret mysteries (think Kate Morton).  So when I read the book description for The House by the Lake and found that it was a fusion of the two, I was all for it.

I love books that are inspired by real people/events.  The House by the Lake was inspired by Marthe de Florian and the discovery of her apartment in 2010.  Marthe de Florian was a famous French courtesan around the time of WWI.  In 2010, her abandoned apartment in Paris was discovered.  It had been untouched for decades and contained many paintings, furniture, and belongings.  I really like how the author drew inspiration from Marthe de Florian, and built her story around her.  The House by the Lake follows Marthe’s granddaughter, Issabelle, but Marthe is apart of the story as she is the one who raises Issabelle.

Despite this book including elements that I typically love, this book did not work for me, which is a shame because the concept and storyline COULD have made for a great read.  I would very much like to preface this review with the fact that I am in the minority here.  This book has a 3.9 star rating on Goodreads with almost 15,000 ratings.  While this book was not my particular cup of tea, obviously there are many people who enjoyed the book, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.  Basically, I felt like the author had a wonderful concept for a story here, but the execution came up short.

The House by the Lake alternates between past and present, where the characters in the present storyline are trying to figure out the mysteries of the past.  While I love this method, I also feel it is risky because it can be hard to pull off.  In every book I read with this format, I almost always find myself drawn to one story over the other.  This one was no different.  I found myself being indifferent to Anna and her quest to reveal the secrets of the house by the lake.  There was so much potential in this part of the story, but Anna & her story felt very flat.  In comparison, Isabelle’s story was a tad more interesting, but again flat & emotionless.  When I read a WWII historical fiction, I want it to evoke strong emotions: fear, anger, sorrow, hope…. Something!  Unfortunately this book failed in bringing about any strong emotions in me while reading.

The romance in this book, in both past and present storylines, was bland and unbelievable.  Max & Isabelle is an instalove situation in that their relationship develops very quickly.  They actually spend the majority of the book apart, but in the scenes when they are together, I didn’t feel any type of romance or passion.  As far as Anna & Wil are concerned, their relationship felt very awkward and forced.  There was no chemistry.

Most of all, the climax was rushed and didn’t evoke the feelings it should have.  This was a HUGE plot twist that I didn’t ever see coming & should have made me feel a particular emotion, but it didn’t…   This isn’t to say that I was upset with how everything panned out, actually I thought it was fitting, but that it felt lackluster.

In summary, despite the overall plotline of The House by the Lake being quite good,  I couldn’t connect to any of the characters, the romance was unbelievable, it lacked emotion, and the climax felt very rushed.

*Big thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Could not put it down. Excellent. Liked the characters and story flow. Family secrets make for intense feelings, conversation, and emotions. Liked the past history and current time to help explain the journey to the truth. Recommend reading!

Ella has a delicate hand with everything she writes. She excels at nuance and dialogue, and her stories are always fascinating. I feel like I'm leaving a friend when I finish one of her novels, and The House by the Lake is no exception.