Juliana (philippaj) - reviewed on 5/17/2010 + 136 more book reviews

~ MY FIRST SUSAN WIGGS BOOK; ENJOYED SUBPLOT MORE THAN MAIN ROMANCE (3 stars) ~

[Present day - Ulster County, New York]
[Summers 1944, 1945, and 1955 - Ulster County, New York; Autumn 1955 - New Haven, Connecticut]
This is my first Susan Wiggs novel and although it didn't rate very high with me, I do think she is a talented author and skilled storyteller and will read one or two more books before I decide she's not for me. My complaints are as follows:

~ THE HERO ~ Although I wanted to like Ross and felt a bond with him at the beginning, when we meet him on his last day of deployment, throughout the rest of the book he seemed to be more of a shadow than a full-fledged character. His relationship with his grandfather was heartwarming and I really wanted to feel more attached to him, but I just felt disconnected and unable to connect with him as one normally does with a romance book's hero.

~ THE HEROINE ~ Claire/Clarissa was engaging and someone whom it was easy to root for, however I was never able to completely believe her back-story. Although yes, she has to be on the run and her life is in danger, the fact that she is *always* planning an escape route everywhere she goes, hides her "escape bag" at Camp Kioga right away, etc., was a little much for me. It's not like she's on the FBI's wanted list or that the government is out to get her; the chances of her being found in some random small-town in upstate New York are slim. Sure, I understand she has to be on her guard, but I thought it was all slightly exaggerated.

~ ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP ~ I did not at all feel the chemistry or connection between Ross and Claire. As I read this book, I got the feeling that Wiggs is more of a slow-paced romantic author than the other contemporary romance authors I normally read (Rachel Gibson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Deirdre Martin, Jennifer Crusie, Nora Roberts, etc.). For me, that wasn't a problem, since one of the things I enjoy best about these books is watching the emotional/intellectual connection between the hero and heroine develop. Unfortunately, in THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY, all aspects of their relationship fell flat for me.

~ TWO STORIES IN ONE BOOK ~ This book essentially features two stories, though most of it does take place in the present day. You have the story of George Bellamy, the elderly man who is at the end of his life and has hired Claire to take care of him, and you have that of Claire and Ross, who is George's grandson. George has been estranged from his brother for fifty-five years and he's decided that before he dies, he wants to reconnect. As the book unfolds, we learn more about the estrangement, discover what drove such a wedge between George and Charles (Charles' wife, Jane), and watch two men become brothers again and meet one another's families. I found George's story more engaging and interesting than Ross and Claire's, though as other reviewers have pointed out, George's story is not romantic - if anything, it's heartbreaking!

THE LAKESHORE CHRONICLES:
Novella - "Homecoming Season" in MORE THAN WORDS anthology (October 2006), Miranda
Book 1 - SUMMER AT WILLOW LAKE (August 2006), Olivia and Connor
Book 2 - THE WINTER LODGE (February 2007), Jenny and Rourke
Book 3 - DOCKSIDE (August 2007), Greg and Nina
Book 4 - SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE (February 2008), Sophie and Noah
Book 5 - FIRESIDE (February 2009), Kimberly and Bo
Book 6 - LAKESHORE CHRISTMAS (October 2009), Eddie and Maureen
Book 7 - THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY (March 2010), Ross and Claire
Book 8 - ? (?), Daisy and ?

OTHER BOOKS BY SUSAN WIGGS:
Like I said before, although I didn't enjoy this book very much I will be giving Wiggs another chance. After looking through her backlist, I found these five books that all had high ratings with Amazon.com readers and stories that sounded appealing to me: THE DRIFTER, HALFWAY TO HEAVEN, THE CHARM SCHOOL (Calhoun Chronicles, Book 1), THE HORSEMASTER'S DAUGHTER (Calhoun Chronicles, Book 2), SUMMER AT WILLOW LAKE (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1), and THE WINTER LODGE (Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 2). Keeping my fingers crossed that I enjoy these books more than THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY!

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details