On Mystic Lake: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – April 4, 2000

I loved this story ! it was easy to follow, relatable, and touching! It would be a great beach or vacation read. It made me laugh and,also, brought tears to my eyes!

This was a very easy read and enjoyable if you're looking for simplicity and not a lot of twists and turns. Just a little too predictable.

Loved this book! It was a great story with realistic characters that keeps you reading. I would have liked to have a more complete ending. My only real complaint is with the Kindle layout. There were probably page breaks in the paper book in between sections of the story which did not occur in this publication. This could be confusing at times as you jumped from one day to the next without any warning.

This is a great book by Kristin Hannah. The story pulls you in right away. Her descriptions are awesome!!

3 Stars, good story, not great. Based on the first part of the book, I thought it was going to be really cheesy and shallow — I was wrong. I got tired of the Malibu and Beverly Hills lifestyle with Cadillacs, Waterford and Baccarat crystal, silk blouses and Louis Vuitton luggage. But it was representative a rich lawyer’s family living in Malibu. Once Annie got to Mystic Lake, after learning her husband wanted a divorce, the story got more interesting, and the characters had more depth. I was moved by the storyline of Annie, Nick and Izzie all losing their mothers at a young age and how the author dealt with those profound losses. Annie’s compassion and understanding of Izzy was simply beautiful. The author also explored grief, children of alcoholics, homelessness, alcoholism and losing one’s identity after 20 years of marriage. I loved the daughter Natalie. She was very aware of the flaws in her parent’s marriage. I found the ending a little too hard to believe. SPOILER ALERT. Who drives from Malibu to Stanford with a newborn baby with no toothbrush, change of clothes or baby supplies? And, then decides to turn left/north on the #5 instead of going back home? A little too far fetched for me.There was an issue in the Kindle edition with transitions between events the text. I would be in one paragraph and suddenly, the next paragraph was in a totally different time, place or from a different point of view. It was rather confusing. The book was published in 1999 so the conversion from a paper to an electronic edition should have been better. It is a small detail. Overall, a good story, somewhat predicable but definitely a triumph in dealing with life issues.

My Overall ThoughtsThis was the first book by Kristin Hannah that I have ever read. I’ve heard many great things about her over the years, just never got around to reading any of her books personally. I think On Mystic Lake was the perfect book to start with because it was definitely a great read, but it didn’t set the bar to exceedingly high. I don’t know about other readers, but I don’t want the first book I read by an author to be the absolute best one they’ve ever written because then all their other books just don’t seem as good and may cause me to lose interest. If that makes any sense. That being said, the book still exceeded my expectations!Please bear in mind as you read this review that I read this book about a month ago so I’m trying to refresh myself using my tweets and other things to bring back the emotions.On another side note, it’s been super hard to write this review without any spoilers.ProsDuring the first part of this book, I didn’t feel a strong connection to any of the characters– which is unusual for me because I typically get very attached to characters fairly quickly. However once the second part of the book started I sympathized with Annie so much it was unreal. The predicament she found herself in really struck a nerve with me and I felt my heart breaking for her. In the second part of the book, readers are also introduced to Nick and Izzy whom I fell attached to super quickly. They are the type of characters that you just can’t help loving. Along with this attachment to some characters came a strong dislike for others–the husband. I may be a little biased, but Blake is the typical man.I REALLY, REALLY LOVE the premise of this book. Mostly because I’ve found myself having to overcome this same struggle. Losing yourself in someone else (a relationship/marriage) and having to rediscover what makes you YOU after that part is ripped away from you. It’s amazing to watch (read) Annie blossom into her own person and find out things about herself that she never knew. I really like the person she turns out to be.However, in the end Annie does rip my heart out. The emotion that Kristin Hannah was able to draw out of me is truly amazing. I was so invested in this book and I just knew how it was going to end. BOY WAS I WRONG!!ConsThere weren’t many downsides to this book that I could point out. The major one for me was that I was extremely dissatisfied with the ending of the novel. Not only because of the decisions Annie made, but because I was left with way too many questions and unresolved feelings. I definitely felt like there should have been a sequel to it and there’s not–which is very disappointing.One More ThingSo I couldn’t figure out if this would be considered a pro or a con. I thought long and hard about it and decided to give it it’s own heading.Annie’s decisions. In the end, these were my biggest frustrations and it’s so hard to talk about without giving any details of the book away. My biggest thing is that Annie made so much progress on finding herself and what makes her HER and it just didn’t stick. I completely did NOT agree with her decisions. But the great thing about it was that it was thought provoking. I found myself thinking were the decisions she made realistic? To be honest, I would like to say they weren’t realistic at all– that people don’t actually make those same decisions. And that’s where I had to stop myself. I came to the realization that those same decisions are made every day by women in her same situation and its unfortunate because I felt like Annie definitely made the wrong decision. BUT, who am I to say or to judge?The book was seriously AMAZING! Check it out and share your thoughts with me!

Every book I read of Kristin Hannah‘s is perfection. Her writing skills are beyond words. She pulls you into her book like nobody else. Can. This was a beautiful love story!

I have read dozens of her books and there’s not been one I didn’t enjoy. Her talent at developing storylines and characters is among the best.