Dream Lake

A Novel (Friday Harbor Series, Book 4)

De: Lisa Kleypas

Narrado por: Emma Wilder

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas returns to Friday Harbor with this story of two broken hearts who come together—with a little help—to make each other whole…

The youngest of the Nolan brothers, Alex still bears the scars of being raised by alcoholic parents, and when his own marriage fails—as he knew it would—he sinks deeper into a whiskey bottle. His brother Sam hopes to pull him out with a project to remodel a house for a friend of his girlfriend Lucy. And Alex has another ally—the ghost of a World War II pilot, who may be a booze-induced hallucination or may be exactly the spirit he needs to guide him.

Zoë Hoffman is no stranger to heartache—after her own parents abandoned her, the only family member who showed her love was her grandmother. Even after her husband’s betrayal, Zoe hasn’t given up on love. A chef at a local B&B, her dream is to give her grandmother, who’s suffering from dementia, the gift of restoring her beautiful home by the lake. When she meets a handsome but brooding carpenter named Alex, she sees beneath his wounded exterior to the man he could be.

As for Alex, he may be seeing a ghost, but in Zoë’s kind eyes, he’s also starting to get a vision of a future in which love might have a place after all…

©2023 Lisa Kleypas (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Intriguing premise

Male bonding, childhood trauma, female empowerment, and ghosts. what's not to like? Klepas scores again.

food & love magic

Spoilers:
This story overlaps books 1&2, back when Alex Nolan has started helping work on Rainshadow House while Mark & Sam are raising Holly. The ghost who was bound to the house is able to leave it while “attached” to Alex. But Alex is wrapped up in his separation and divorce from Darcy, and drinking to numb himself.
Then we get snippets of Mark & Molly’s wedding, along with Sam & Lucy, in between Alex talking to the ghost.
Zoë Hoffman is co-owner of the Artist’s Point Bed & Breakfast with her cousin Justine Hoffman. Her magic is in the delicious and spiritually nutritious food she creates.
Zoë’s much loved grandma Emma had a mini stroke, one of multiple mini strokes, each one taking away a tiny piece of her grandma. Zoë & Justine arrange to remodel Emma’s lake house on Dream Lake so Z can take care of E for the interim future. They convince Alex to do the work. The satisfaction of the work leads to Alex skipping alcohol one night and the ugly realization the next morning that he’s got the DT’s and is an alcoholic. Zoë and her food are life savers. Zoë and Emma move in ASAP, Alex keeps coming to finish the work, and Emma can feel the spirit attached to him. Turns out he’s Tom Findlay, Emma’s first love, and the carpenter who installed the first stained glass window at Rainshadow House.
Wilder was an excellent choice for Zoë’s story.

Love this series

I love this series and how these three brothers characters have been developed. I hated the narration in Mark’s story, I disliked the voice that was attached to Sam and his story, and although I loved the voice attached to Alex, it was ridiculous that every male character in Alex‘s story had the same voice, I have to say that audible failed on the narration of this series.

Dream Lake

This story had many different aspects of real and heavily possibilities. I enjoyed it very much!

Review

I liked the story. It kind of dragged for a while but I had to get to the end. Not crazy about the reader but I’ve heard worse.

Depressing story

Most depressing story overall. Not at all what I expected. Would not recommend unless you want a detailed explanation of Alzheimer’s

Better Kleypas- until the redundant and boring sex scenes. Leave them alone!

It was a good long introduction to the storyline with another flawed and tortured hero… but if only she could learn to write and ending and SKIP the attempts at erotica. Maybe it’s expected, but they’re repetitive and the details are written like an invasion of privacy. Heroine, like her others, is flawless- but it’s a comfort to not have to read through two train wreck lives.