Title: The House By the Lake
Author: Ella Carey
Publication Date: March 29, 2016 (Kindle Unlimited Copy)
Grade: B
The House by the Lake by Ella Carey is interesting…but feels like someone accidentally combined two files and published it without looking. There are two stories within. The main story is of Anna, the granddaughter of Max Albrecht who fled Germany after the war and never talks about that period of his life. However, as a paper about an old apartment in paris (which, is actually a real thing outside of the book) being found, unopened since the owner fled Paris when Germany took the city, Max decides he needs to find some items of his past. Anna, at first, reluctantly agrees but gets caught up in the romance of the Prussian countryside and tries to not only find the ring that Max sent her for, but find a way to help rebuild the Schloss her grandfather used to live in.
That story is interesting, and I feel like it could have been expanded, and been a novel on its own.
Story two is of Isabelle, the great love of Max’s life. It is not so interesting, as it is basically just telling about how she met Max, that she loves him, and that she basically sits around Paris waiting for him to contact her. I kind of wanted to skip over Isabelle’s story and get on with Anna’s story. Especially since we don’t really find out anything useful. At the end of the story, after Isabelle’s story ends, Anna puts all the pieces together and we find out what really happened. It happens rather quick, and I think if we had focused on Anna’s story of discovery, the pieces could have been paced better and it wouldn’t have seems so rushed.
However, I did enjoy the novel. If you enjoy historical romances, stories about discovering one’s past, or books based around Germany, I think you might enjoy this for a light read.
Sokorra Lewis 