Skip to main content

Haunted Lake, Lauralynn Elliot

Haunted LakeGuaranteed to give you chills...

Rachel Madison has it all.  With a successful art gallery, comfortable lifestyle, scads of friends clamoring for invitation to her parties, Rachel thinks little on serious matters.  But when a tragic accident steals her one true friend, Rachel rents a cabin at the secluded Misty Lake for a season of solitude and a healthy dose of soul searching.  During her stay, Rachel meets the eccentric and tortured owner, John, and fun loving, successful, and handsome Daniel.  The three slowly forge a bond as they discover that Misty Lake holds more than mere secrets in its murky depths.

Haunted Lake is the first book I've read by author Lauralynn Elliot, and I'll gladly buy another by this author.  Haunted Lake hints at eerie mystery from the first chapter, leading readers along with Rachel through the story to the unexpected conclusion.  Elliot's descriptions were vivid yet concise, capturing the scenery wonderfully, and I have my own mental pictures of Misty Lake, the cabins, and the surrounding walks, nooks, and forests.  Also worth mentioning is Elliot's masterful use of suspense and tension within the paranormal facet of the story.  Well Done!

Each character had a defined personality with strengths and weaknesses, lending a realistic and believable quality to the unfolding relationships.  Haunted Lake, in addition to being an eerie ghost tale, houses a romance.  I wasn't certain who the love interest, the villain, or the fall guy would be for a good piece of the story which kept my interest high as I wavered in my speculations.  The author nicely built and maintained tension between Rachel, Daniel, and John; however, there were a few instances where I got an odd and unwelcome three-some vibe, which is NOT a theme within the storyline.  Elliot actually writes a fairly chaste romance, but does so well.

My only criticism involves the ending - I have mixed feelings.  An unexpected twist adds interest and surprise, (Spoiler alert) yet the entity and the reason for its ultimate defeat is never fleshed out.  That being said, I greatly enjoyed the intense tension and emotions which continued to the very last pages while still affording my happy ending.

Overall Story - 4/5
Plot - 4/5
Hero - 5/5
Heroine - 4/5
Romance Heat - 3/5




~ Moira


Comments

  1. Oh, I'm so far behind on my blog reading on Google Reader and didn't see this until now! Thank you so much for the wonderful review. It brought tears to my eyes. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are quite welcome, Lauralynn. Thanks for stopping by! I truly loved Haunted Lake. - Moíra ♣

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

We Broads love comments! Thanks for stopping by.....

Popular posts from this blog

Broads On A Budget: Fresh, Healthy, and Within The Budget!

Lately, I've seen a few news segments citing the higher cost in buying fresh produce and healthy foods compared with processed, prepared, packaged, but far from healthy products.  This caught my attention.  Eating for health is... well, sort of my goal.  I want my family (and myself!) to be healthy, but what I want most is to enjoy my food while feeling great about it's health and nutrition benefits. We can watch every cooking show on the cable channels, read each new cooking magazine with eager determination, and lose an hour (or two!) on Pinterest boards, but if we can't afford the grocery bill to create all those wonderful meals - it's all a wash.  So...is it possible to prepare healthy meals with fresh ingredients AND stick to a budget?  Broads everywhere know the answer is YOUUUU BETCHA! One issue I struggled with was meal-plan-cohesiveness.  In other words, creating my weekly meal plan around my fresh ingredients on hand to avoid waste.  (Who else has cring

Uhh....Seriously, we're waiting!!

      I know, I know.  You've probably been wondering where we have been.  Well, truth be told, your guess is as good as mine!   Wandering around the corridors of reality and looking--in earnest--for the emergency exit.  Real life has a way of derailing our engines and putting them on a completely different track.               During the spring, my kids happened.  From sports to plays, the driving is endless.  During the summer, my kids--again--happened.  Though, in Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen.  (Sorry about that, I had a moment.)  In the fall....do we see the pattern here?  Good.  So, between the kids' activities and school, hubby's work, my work, still remodeling the house, and my newest occupation as college student, I have very little room on my plate for cookies.  But damn-it, I like cookies.  I would love to roll naked in cookies!  Only metaphorically, I have no wish to explain those crumbs at the next gynie visit.  That, ladie

Ahh, vacation...

     Well, I did it.  I survived my first family vacation.  I'm pretty sure I have a little less hair and an eye tic, but dammit, I'm  alive!!        Yes, we have taken little vacations in the past.  My grandparents had a cottage on a lake about 2 hours from here and we'd go for long weekends, but this was different.  This was the 9 hour drive-stay in a hotel kind of vacation.   Everyone better thank their lucky stars it was on the beach, too.  No shoes makes Mommy a happy girl.        While I was somewhat mollified by the "Yay! No Shoes!" thing, the planning and keeping in-line of the entire family and their things was slightly less enjoyable than stepping on legos in your bare feet...in the dark....while sick. Yeah, for me, it's like that.            As my dearest sister Moira can attest, I am not up for any organizational awards, I am a procrastinator extraordinaire, and I have adopted the "This is my I-don't-care face" attitude.  Meani