Review: The Lake Season by Hannah McKinnon

The Lake Season by Hannah McKinnon

Expected Publication: June 2, 2015

Publisher: Atria Books

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Iris Standish has always been the responsible sister: the one who studied hard, settled down, and always made the right choices—even when they came at the expense of her passions. Meanwhile, her sister Leah dropped out of college to “find herself” by hiking through Yellowstone and switches jobs nearly as often as she switches lovers, leaving Iris to pick up the pieces in her wake.

But now Iris’s life is coming apart at the seams, and when Leah calls her back to their childhood home with a desperate cry for help, she is thrust headfirst into preparations for her sister’s wedding to a man their New Hampshire clan has never met…with her own marriage and family on the brink. Still, despite the rush of dress fittings, floral arrangements, and rehearsal dinners, Iris is learning to put herself first. And amid a backdrop of late-night swims and a soul-restoring barn renovation comes Cooper Woods, a high school crush who beckons with the promise of a new start.

While Leah faces a past that has finally caught up to her, Iris prepares to say goodbye to a future that is suddenly far from certain. As 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.

My Thoughts

The Lake Season is the story of Iris whose husband tells her he wants a divorce and is seeing someone. Needing a break from everything and everyone she decides to go back home to help her younger sister prepare for her upcoming wedding. Iris has always been the good one she has always done what is asked of her so when her life is falling down around her she for once in her life does what she wants. So when she meets up with an old high school crush Cooper she decides to enjoy her time at her parents’ farm and her time with him. Over time they become close and fall in love both not knowing if it will last longer than just the summer. However not everything is fun and care free Iris is worried about her sister Leah who is dealing with problems that Iris has no idea about.

Leah was Iris’s polar opposite. She was popular, everyone loved her and she was care free yet Iris noticed something different about her sister from the get go. She was having emotional mood swings and then she also noticed how everyone seemed to handle her with kid gloves. Everyone told her it was just wedding jitters but Iris knew it was something much more than that. I won’t spoil anything but I will say it definitely wasn’t jitters. Leah’s problems were much more serious and once she tells the truth only then can she heal.

While I enjoyed both stories I loved Iris’s story the most. I just felt she came into her own. She always thought of others first but in that summer she for once put herself first and learned who she was, who she wanted to be and most importantly how she wanted the next phase of her life to be. The Lake Season is about hope, finding your true self and inner peace. Allowing yourself to take care of your needs and being truly happy. This is a must have for any beach bag this summer.