The Lake Season: A Novel
The Lake Season: A Novel book cover

The Lake Season: A Novel

Paperback – June 2, 2015

Price
$16.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
384
Publisher
Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1476777641
Dimensions
5.31 x 0.96 x 8.25 inches
Weight
9.6 ounces

Description

Hannah McKinnon’s The Lake Season is a pure delight. Iris Standish is such an appealing woman, handling an overload of family calamities with good sense and good will, not to mention a few really good times. It’s a bonus that the setting on Lake Hampstead is as enticing and refreshing as McKinnon’s voice. -- Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Nantucket SistersMcKinnon’s voice is sharp and evocative… Making use of a gorgeous setting and serious themes, this novel rises above a flock of fluffier beach reads. ― Kirkus Two sisters, a glittering New England lake, and one desperate, last-chance summer set the stage for Hannah McKinnon’s emotionally affecting new novel, The Lake Season . The story features the complex Iris and her unpredictable sister Leah but its power extends well beyond the beautiful, heartbreaking bond between these two women. A memorable rumination on life, loss, and how to find a path home. -- Michelle Gable, nationally bestselling author of A Paris ApartmentFamily and secrets colliding at a lakeside wedding… [a] must-read. ― Cosmopolitan This is a beautiful tale of sisters, a heartfelt journey of truth and choices that will leave you deeply satisfied. -- Linda Francis Lee, bestselling author of The Glass Kitchen A multilayered, nuanced portrayal of modern divorce... McKinnon is a talented observer of the family dynamic, weaving disparate personalities together as they navigate relationships, self-preservation, and redemption. Fans of Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It (2002) and Maggie Shipstead’s Seating Arrangements (2012) will love this romantic yet realistic novel. ― Booklist Hannah McKinnon's lyrical debut tells the story of a pair of very different sisters, both at a crossroads in life. McKinnon's great strength lies in her ability to reveal the many ways the two women wound - and ultimately heal - each other as only sisters can. -- Sarah Pekkanen, New York Times bestselling author Fans of Debbie Macomber and those looking for a great summer read will enjoy this first foray into adult fiction by McKinnon ( Franny Parker ; The Properties of Water )...the story features engaging character development and an on-again, off-again romance that will keep readers intrigued. ― Library Journal Breezy...Summer isn’t summer without an enticing beach read, and Hannah McKinnon delivers just that. ― InStyle Magazine Charming and heartfelt! Hannah McKinnon's The Lake Season proves that you can go home again; you just can't control what you find when you get there. -- Wendy Wax, nationally bestselling authorCharming, absorbing and perfectly paced, The Lake Season is as full of warmth as summer itself. Don't blame Hannah McKinnon if this cinematic tale has you glued to a beach chair until it's finished. -- Chloe Benjamin, author of The Anatomy of DreamsSometimes funny, sometimes sad - but always bursting with compassion and sly humor. The Lake Season is a joy to read for anyone who cherishes the complexity and richness of family dynamics. Impossible not to be swept along by the characters. The perfect book to spread out with luxuriously on the beach. -- Saira Shah, ― author of The Mouse-Proof Kitchen Here is sisterhood in all its complexity, rich with tenderness, resentments and shared jokes, disappointment, admiration and profound love. 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. -- Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women LettersAn emotionally charged story about returning to yourself. -- K.A. Tucker, USA Today bestselling author Seasons of change take us home to the places and the people who shelter us. Well-told, and in turns sweet and bare, The Lake Season offers a compelling tale of family secrets, letting go, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood. -- Lisa Wingate, Nationally Bestselling Author A delicious tale of sisters and secrets. Hannah McKinnon’s writing style is as breezy as a weekend at the lake, yet her insights into the murkiness of family interactions run deep. The takeaway of this compelling read is clear: you can know someone your whole life and not know them at all. -- Mary Hogan, award winning author of Two Sisters The Lake Season is one of those rare gems of a book that’s both impossible to put down and emotionally complex. Do yourself a favor and put The Lake Season on your summer reading list : you’ll love getting to know Iris Standish and her family and Hannah McKinnon’s writing is so beautifully evocative that even the most landlocked of readers will swear s/he can smell the fresh New England summer air. -- L. Alison Heller, author of The Never Never SistersIf you enjoy a novel with a gorgeous setting and a side of dark family secrets , you will enjoy The Lake Season , which I recommend to fans of Nancy Thayer and Elin Hildebrand. ― Confessions of a Book Addict Loved this book. ― Marjay's Reading Blog A novel about sisters and second chances, The Lake Season is a delight to read - perfect for the beach. -- Books for HerA delightful read. -- An Interior JourneyThe Lake Season is totally being added to my 2015 Beach Must Read List! … moving and heartwarming. -- Steph and Chris Book ReviewMcKinnon built a beautiful and affecting setting, making it so easy to get sucked into the easygoing atmosphere of being at the lake for the summer. Readers have no choice but to feel laid back and ready for summer when reading this one. Renewal, forgiveness, and self-discovery are all wrapped up in this touching tale. I look forward to reading many more stories by McKinnon. -- Read, Run, RambleThe interactions of mother, and daughters, and sisters was thought provoking... a good book club book . -- The Book DateMcKinnon is a voice to be reckoned with in women’s fiction...for fans of Jill Shalvis, Elin Hilderbrand, and Wendy Wax, this is a perfect book for a relaxing, summer reading or book club. -- Kathy Reads Fiction A Women's Fiction "Best Bet": Conflicted family bonds, Genuine sibling roles; Uplifting ending... Illustrates that no one has the perfect life, even when it looks like it on the outside. ― Heroes and Heartbreakers [A] sparkling debut novel. ― CBS Local, Seven Best Beach Reads for Summer Hannah McKinnon can certainly tell a moving story! …Family secrets, love and intrigue in a nice little package. I highly recommend this book! ― Chick Lit Plus review The Lake Season is filled with love, heartbreak, family, and romance. Hannah McKinnon pulled me right in from the very first page and never let me go. ― Fresh Fiction "Soak up a great beach read!" ― Woman's World Magazine Hannah McKinnon is the author ofxa0nine novels, including The Lake Season , Mystic Summer , The Summer House , Sailing Lessons , The View from Here , Message in the Sand , and The Darlings . She graduated from Connecticut College and the University of South Australia. She lives in Connecticut, with her family, a flock of chickens, and two raggedy rescue dogs. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Lake Season Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Set in the weeks leading up to an idyllic New England wedding, this “enticing and refreshing” (Nancy Thayer,
  • New York Times
  • bestselling author) novel sparkles with wry wit, sweet romance, and long-kept family secrets.
  • Iris Standish has always been the responsible older sibling: the one with the steady marriage, loving family, and sensible job. But all of a sudden, as her carefully-constructed life spins out of her control, a cryptic postcard from her estranged sister Leah arrives at the perfect time: Please Come. Iris seizes her chance to escape to her childhood lakeside home, where Leah is planning her summer wedding to a man their New Hampshire clan has never met. Against a backdrop of dress fittings, floral arrangements, and rehearsal dinners, Leah hides secrets of her own. And while her sister faces a past that has finally caught up to her, Iris prepares to say good-bye to a future that is suddenly far from certain. As new love beckons and Hampstead Lake shimmers in the background, Iris must decide when to wade in cautiously and when to dive—and, ultimately, how to ferry herself to safe harbors in this enticing novel of second chances and the ties that bind.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(82)
★★★★
25%
(68)
★★★
15%
(41)
★★
7%
(19)
23%
(62)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Great Beach Read with SUBSTANCE!

Loved, loved, loved this book. If you are looking for a great beach read, with substance, this book is for you. I will not include any spoilers in this review, but the story between the two sisters is complex, well-written and not predictable. Hannah McKinnon, thoughtfully weaves character and plot development within this story, leaving you wanting to turn the pages, faster & faster. To me, this far surpasses any predictable and recycled story-lines written by Sparks or others in this genre. I highly recommend and I was not given a copy of this book for my review...in fact I purchased several copies for my friends, I loved it so much and knew they would too. Well done Ms. McKinnon!
2 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A Thought-Provoking Story About Hope, Healing and Coming Home

This is the second book I have read in as many weeks where the heart of the story revolves around sisterhood, its ups and downs and a wedding although, unlike the previous romantic comedy, this one has a slight bit of darkness at its core and is more than just a fluffy beach read.

In The Lake Season Hannah McKinnon brings us a story about the complicated relationship between the two very different Standish sisters, Iris and Leah.

Told from the viewpoint of Iris, at the beginning of the novel we see her trying to come to terms with the fact that her marriage to Paul, barren of all intimacy and communication, is over. When a postcard from Leah arrives with just two words: Please Come, she fears the worst, knowing that Leah has always been the irresponsible one and makes plans for her children to attend camp so that she can head to her childhood home to offer some support while Leah plans her wedding. However, when she gets there it’s as if Leah has forgotten that she wrote that postcard.

Keeping her own pain and emotional turmoil to herself, she goes out of her way to lend a hand and an ear, sometimes to her own detriment, and as the days progress, finds herself drawn to a friend from school, Cooper Woods.

But her family is keeping secrets from her and, if there is anything that she is going to learn over this summer it’s that life is full of challenges, relationships (no matter who they’re between) are complicated and should never be taken at face-value, that sometimes our lives don’t pan out the way we plan and that blood is definitely thicker than water. She will also learn to stand up for herself in the face of adversity and realise that no matter how hard you try to help someone, they have to want to be helped in the first place.

I only just finished reading this book at the beginning of the week but I couldn’t wait to get my thoughts onto paper. I'm most amazed that this is a debut adult novel because Hannah McKinnon’s writing is beautiful and nostalgic and penned with the confidence of a writer who is well-versed in her craft.

Life is full of imperfect relationships, not least of all the sometimes tenuous one between siblings and parents, and I think that Ms McKinnon has captured this well. From harbouring petty jealousies, the shifting love between parents and their children, the quiet desperation of a marriage in crisis, the consequences of unrequited love and trying to find happiness within ourselves, she encapsulates every angle and the layers are slowly unfolded.

With plenty of drama to keep you reading, complex characters who are not always likeable, family secrets and an idyllic setting that will warm your toes, this is a thought-provoking story about hope, healing and coming home and I can’t wait to see where Ms McKinnon takes me next.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Wonderful Summer Read

The Lake Season is a wonderfully written gem of a story. This is the book you need to pack in your suitcase when you are going to the beach or just lounging by the pool. Hannah McKinnon weaves a beautiful story of a woman, who after losing herself slowly in her marriage finds herself again. I think one of the best parts of the story is the setting itself. The story takes place on a stunning farm with a breathtaking lake on the property. Who couldn’t imagine being there and loving every second?

Iris Standish has the perfect life: a wonderful husband, three amazing children, and a beautiful house. That is until everything falls apart around her. Her husband decides after sixteen years to call it quits and get a divorce. Iris finds out afterwards that he was cheating on her with another woman. When Iris gets a perfectly timed postcard from her sister imploring her to come to their parents’ farm, where Leah is getting married in a few weeks, Iris decides this is the perfect time to get away. While she is there dealing with her grief of her broken family, she learns about herself that she has long forgotten. While she is hiding away at the farm with her family, she runs into an old classmate, Cooper Woods, who is restoring the barn. Iris finds she needs to do something besides mope and feel sorry for herself, so she starts helping Cooper restore the barn. As the weeks go on, they get closer and she finds herself remembering the person she used to be. Could this be real love? Or is this a rebound? Can she leave her family or just give up and divorce her husband after so many years for another man? While she is dealing with her feelings for Cooper and her love of her family, her sister Leah is acting very weird. What could be going on with her sister? She’s getting married in just a few short weeks so why does she seem so sad?

This is my favorite book that I have read this year so far. The setting and the way that Iris evolves during the whole story makes for a fantastic read that you just do not want to put down until the very last page. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes romance or just wonderfully written women’s fiction.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A MUST READ!!!!

First and foremost, I would like to thank Atria books and Netgalley for allowing me the honor and privilege of reading and reviewing this book. I absolutely loved this book! This is an exquisitely written portrayal of family life, with all of its ups and downs. It is filled with heartbreak, romance and love. The love of family and most of all, learning to find yourself and love who you are. It is about our strengths and our weaknesses. It is beautifully written and flows so effortlessly from beginning to end. The characters are strongly developed throughout and I felt a kinship with this family. I loved the main character Iris, especially, since she so reminded me of myself. This is about the bonds of family through good times and bad, knowing that they will always have your back, even if you don't always believe that. I look forward to reading many more books from Hannah Roberts McKinnon! The writing style is superb! This is a book that I highly recommend to anyone who likes a great read that is full of surprises. Don't miss out on this amazing book, you will regret not reading it!
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Family Secrets, Love and Intrigue in a nice little package...

Who does not love a story with a beautiful background, like the Standish Family’s Farm, and the expansive Lake Region in New Hampshire! Hannah McKinnon can certainly tell a moving story! I am certainly adding to her to my list of authors to read, although I realized I have a lot of catching up to do, but, “The Lake Season” was an awesome start!
Iris Standish has been married for 16 years and her husband, Paul has asked for a divorce. This makes everything in her life fall apart. She has three children to take care of and yet, she cannot even seem to take care of herself. I was laughing when she put all of this work in to baking “crescent cookies” for her daughter’s soccer team, only to be shunned by the other “Soccer Moms” as not being a proper choice for a snack. I had her back at that point!
Team Iris! All the way!
She decides she needed time to herself, so she heads to her family’s home in Hampstead, NH. Her family runs a farm and has a Farm stand that people from all over like to shop for their Organic Vegetables. They even sell other odds and ends...I think I would love it there. There is a lot to be said for reading a book, and actually visualizing yourself there. I wish I could go there.
At Iris’ family farm, she bumps in to an old High School friend named Cooper, only to find out that he is there working on their farm doing Historic Preservation on the buildings. I adored Cooper and her best friend, Trish.
Then we have Iris’ sister, Leah who is altogether a different person than Iris. Leah is planning her wedding to a man that she seems to not know much about. But, we know that she is often a “fly by the seat of your pants” girl.
There are family secrets, love and intrigue in a nice little package. I highly recommend this book!
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Not only The Lake Season...

I just got to finish this book and I loved it! The story was so well written and very believable and even though it was a long time ago, I personally faced having to make the same decisions as Iris.
I could relate to her struggles as they mirrored my own and in the end, she and I chose the same path. Mine worked out beautifully so I hope somewhere in "fiction land" she was as happy with her choice.
I absolutely loved the idyllic setting of the farm, the barn and lake as well. The subplot with all of the wedding preparations, the family drama that ensued kept the story interesting as did all the heartache that Iris had to deal with.
I was happy with the way it all unfolded and I leave with a contentment that it ended as I had hoped. Thank you, Hannah McKinnon!
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Families aren’t easy! Charming and heartfelt - A summer of healing, forgiveness and rediscovery!

An ideal summer beach read, and perfect for book club discussions, Hannah McKinnon’s THE LAKE SEASON, is a moving beautiful story of sisters, dark family secrets, a stunning idyllic lakefront setting in New England, a desperate last-chance summer, rediscovery and possibilities for the future.

Iris has always been the responsible sister, while her sister Leah dropped out of college, the free-spirit, hiking through Yellowstone and job hopping, leaving Iris to pick up the pieces. Everyone always liked Leah, the life of the party, and Iris boring and uptight. Now, Iris finds her life and marriage falling apart (Paul, husband and three children-Sadie, Lily, and Jack). She feels no one likes her at the moment, so why stay. Once again Leah calls her back to their childhood home for help, off she goes to help with the preparations for her sister’s wedding to a rich man the family has never met.

The air is filled with tension upon the arrival. Iris is looking forward to the time away from her own family to decide about her own life and future. However, will she put her responsibility for other aside to find her own passion? What about an unexpected romance with an old class mate Cooper Woods, while working with the barn renovations?

Leah always been the favorite daughter and seems never to take responsibility for her actions - a case of sibling rivalry? Everyone loves Leah, she's engaged; yet they have not been in touch for years. Leah seems to have it all, but something isn't quite right. Leah does not act like someone madly in love. What gives?

Families aren’t easy – they are complex and most of the time our friends know us better than our own family members. McKinnon cleverly takes all the messy-life topics and creates a compelling and heartwarming realistic story for a summer of healing, forgiveness, sisterhood, and rediscovery!

Charming and heartfelt! Add to your summer beach read collection.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Couldn’t put it down!

A beautiful story, taking place in my favorite place New Hampshire.
✓ Verified Purchase

GREAT READ

EXCELLENT.
✓ Verified Purchase

Four Stars

I really loved this book. Lots of dialogue. Easy to read. Interesting characters!!