THE LAKE HOUSE Book Review

The Lake House¹ (book 2 in A Firefly Summer series) by Lori Foster, eBook, 328 pages

Synopsis from Goodreads: When Pixie Nolan first came to Bramble, Kentucky, the abandoned and desperate young single mother found hope, healing, and a fresh start. With the loving support of her best friends—Marlow Heddings and her handsome Marine husband, Cort—Pixie is now happily raising her toddler son in a cozy cottage, managing Marlow’s thriving boutique, and designing firefly logo t-shirts that are selling like hotcakes. The past is behind her, and life is good. She never expected to make an electrifying connection with a summer renter, a retired Navy SEAL with his own complicated past.

A rugged warrior with scars both seen and unseen, Brogan Rafferty arrives with an adorable baby girl in tow and settles into the lake house next door. And while he’s a stunning addition to the gorgeous scenery, it’s his caring devotion that captures Pixie’s heart—the way he gently snuggles away the precious infant’s cries, or swoops Pixie’s delighted little boy high in the air with his tattooed, muscular arms.

But it’s no coincidence that Brogan has found Pixie, and his startling revelations make it clear she’s the key to healing old regrets and building new dreams. And when a hostile stranger turns up with shocking accusations against Bramble’s new hometown hero, Pixie must put her own fears and heartbreak away for good—and learn what it truly means to trust.

BOOK REVIEW: I'm not entirely sure when I signed up for this ARC on NetGalley but I'm fairly certain I didn't realize that it was going to be book 2 to The Guest Cottage (see related posts below for that review) that VBC read in March! This is a series but it seems like the new way to write series is as if they are stand alones. While we get a little give of Marlow and Cort from book 1, we're focused on Pixie this time. I have to admit. I hate Brogan's name. At no point did the name grow on me. I don't like it as much now as when I first read it. That is also the only reason this isn't a full 5 star for me. I know...it's petty and I almost gave in and did 5 stars but the name just irritates me and I do not know why!

I definitely enjoyed watching the relationship between Pixie and Brogan grow and how they both grew independently. They both have issues that they needed to work on and they acknowledged that to themselves and each other. We see a lot of open communication which, if you read book 1, Pixie definitely needs. There were things that I did make connections to before revealed but I think the more you read a genre, sometimes it gets easier.

As I already said, this is a 4.75 star, rounded up to 5 stars, only because I don't like the name Brogan. His character is great. The author does an amazing job telling this story with Pixie and Brogan but I just can't like the name. I also missed that we don't get as much of the town characters like we got in the first book. The story flows but kind of lacks some of that color we got originally when we had a outsider come into Bramble. We get a little sideways glances at Brogan and there are some things that bring in some new town characters but I want more. I hope there will be a book 3. I don't know who it would focus on but I think it would be cool to have it circle around and encompass Marlow, Cort, Pixie, and Brogan. If you want to read book 1 before The Lake House comes out, at the time this review is posted, The Guest Cottage is in the KU member library. The Lake House comes out 5.26.26 and will be available in all formats. You can preorder now. If you want to support Indie bookstores, check out the link above to purchase through Bookshop!

4.75/5 Stars

2026 Reading Challenge: 24/55 complete

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