Title: Lake of Dreams
Author: Linda Howard
Date finished: 5/2/16
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: May 2, 2016, originally published 1995
Pages in book: 73
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.
Blurb from the cover:
House painter Thea Marlow hasn’t been sleeping very well. Her nights are plagued by dreams, the setting by the water and the mysterious man who appears in them always the same. But the outcome of the dream changes nightly: sometimes the man loves her…and sometimes he kills her. Desperate for some much needed relaxation, Thea travels to her family’s remote country lake house. Imagine her surprise when a knock at the door reveals the man from her dreams…who happens to have just rented the house next door.
So will he love her—or will he kill her?
My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5
My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Also, this book will count towards my “PopSugar 2016 Checklist” reading challenge, marking off the “a book that’s under 150 pages” check box since this novella was only 73 pages. This one was actually a re-read for me but when I saw it available on NetGalley I thought this would be a great time to re-read it! This book is about Thea Marlow, who retreats to her family’s lake cottage after a month of strange, extremely detailed, life-like dreams, hoping that the rest and relaxation she usually finds at the lake will help her catch up on her sleep. Unfortunately, over the last month she has developed an extreme, debilitating fear of water, completely out of nowhere. And then she meets the man renting the neighboring cottage, who has eyes exactly like the man Thea’s been dreaming about every night for the past month.
Overall, I just love this novella. This was a re-read for me, so I already expected to like it but reading this again just reminded me how much I love Linda Howard’s books. For me she is the master of creating a gut-twisting suspense while also developing a love story. I thought the way she developed the relationship between the two main characters in such a short span of time (73 pages) was expertly done. And the plot line is really creative, I would love to read a full length book with the same plot line idea. This novella goes fast because it is so short but it is still a really good read and one that I would most definitely recommend!!
The bottom line: I would definitely recommend this one. I am a huge fan of everything Linda Howard writes and this one may be a short story but it definitely doesn’t disappoint. Suspenseful, thrilling, and sexy! Must read!
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page