Friday, February 10, 2017

Review: The Cottage at Firefly Lake


The Cottage at Firefly Lake
By Jen Gilroy
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: January 31, 2017



Charlotte Gibbs and Sean Carmichael had a teenage romance that for all intents was destined to be a forever kind of love.  But, as we know, life doesn’t always turn out to be what we imagine. 

At 18, Charlotte Gibbs leaves Firefly Lake with no explanation.  Eighteen years later she’s returned to sell her mother’s cottage.  As a war correspondent, Charlotte experienced tragedy and witnessed death and destruction, but she’s still not prepared for the depth of emotion she experiences when she sees Sean Carmichael again.

Sean Carmichael never left Firefly Lake, and despite his intense love for Charlotte, after she left, he had to get on with his life.  So he continued the family business, got married, had a child and ultimately ended up divorced. The driving forces in his life are his son, his family and his business, but his world is about to come crashing down when he sees Charlotte and old wounds are opened and long hidden secrets are revealed.

I enjoyed this debut novel.  The hero and heroine aren’t perfect, but that’s what makes them real.  The characters have depth, the story is multi-dimensional, and there are aspects to the story that a reader cannot easily predict.   While it started out slow, the story is what I call a ‘deep’ read.   As you turn the pages you become emotionally invested in the characters and their lives. 

This is a story about second chance love.  And in a word – it’s sigh worthy.  Yup, you will sigh when you get to the very last page.  And isn’t that why we read romance?


What do you think about second chance love?  Is this a trope you like or do you have another that’s your favorite?

~Maria Lokken

8 comments:

  1. Second chance/reunion is my favorite trope, going all the way back to Mary Stewart's Wildfire at Midnight, which I reread countless times as a teen. The Cottage at Firefly Lake sounds like a book I should try.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I enjoy second chance love stories but my favorite is arranged marriage.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I enjoy second chance love stories but my favorite is arranged marriage.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love many tropes incl this one. Like the tortured hero, military hero coming back for war.
    ladbookfan813@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like second chance stories, but my favorite is marriage of convenience. Yeah, hard to pull off these days, but still... PS I love that cover.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, Maria! I too enjoy second chance love stories!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have several that I like. My favorite is friends to lovers. I also like second chances. I would give this book a chance based on the cover alone.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am a big Beauty and the Beast and a Cinderella trope fan. I do enjoy others. Second chance story lines are good. They reveal the differences or misunderstandings that drove the couple apart, show how they have changed over the years, and renew our hope that we can all get it right if given another chance.

    ReplyDelete