Reviews

A heartfelt story about the power of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness. The Ladies of the Lake had so many Anne of Green Gables moments. I really liked the homage to that story. This book was written through the eyes of Addie and Dorothy--two bosom friends from the moment they met when Addie was 12 and sent to a ladies academy in Connecticut upon the death of her parents. I loved their group of four girls and how they bonded through their time at the academy. The Raven episode with the mean girl was so Anne Shirley it cracked me up.

It was sad to see how the prejudices at the cusp of WW1 regarding German Americans played heavily into the story. And I had never even heard of a Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917. What a HORRIBLE tragic event. I'm going to be exploring that futher on my own.

The book comes full circle over a course of 50'ish years and it was just a solid story. I didn't love it as much as other books by this author, but it was still a solid and interesting story.

4 stars.

I was given an ARC copy by the publisher. All of these opinons are 100% me!

macmower's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

palisca's review against another edition

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5.0

Ladies of the Lake
By Cathy Gohlke
Tyndale Publishers
Pub date July 11, 2023

This is a beautiful story of friendship,

nextchapterbookmobile's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

missy_reads's review against another edition

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4.5

4.5/5 Friendship was the main theme of this story, and it made me think of a high school friendship foursome in my own life that has recently been rekindled. So gratifying to know there are people you can reconnect with after many years and just feel the years melt away.

hheartbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

This back and forth, what is happening/happened vibe, reminded me of a Kate Morton novel, but with faith and an overarching theme of redemption. It was a beautiful story. I will say that the first half of the book moved slowly, and I could easily have done without 2 hours worth of the aduiobook and still felt the story moving along. I saw the first major plot twist coming, but I was surprised by the final one at the end...the one that made this book sing to me. A good book leaves you wanting to hug the author, and this one did that for me. Beautiful.

Thank you to netgalley for letting me listen to the audiobook in exchange for my thoughts.

erinlikesreading's review against another edition

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5.0

Heartfelt and deeply touching, the ladies of the lake is a beautiful tribute to forgiveness, growth, friendship, and true love. It follows two of four close women who were childhood friends, who’ve grown into very different women. It’s has dual timelines, and it’s a really interesting story. I had the pleasure of listening on audio, and the narrator was great, I was able to differentiate the voices of the characters, and enjoyed the story more for her narration. Very well done.

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