‘The House By The Lake’ by Ella Carey is the second novel to feature Isobelle de Florian. This particular book concentrates on a different family with connections to the same apartment. For me, these books are unique in how she has woven these stories together but yet apart.
This book Spans three generations across two continents. Anna is happily living her life in San Francisco in the present day. Her grandfather Max, at 94 decides the time is right for him to tell Anna a secret he has kept for decades. He shows her a news article about an abandoned apartment in Paris and tells her it is linked to his past. He requests her to visit Berlin where is old family estate is and return with something he hid there. Anna is hit with it all. Should she go? What will she find?
We are taken on a journey that takes us from America, Paris and Germany. This is the type of storytelling that I adore. A riveting and heartbreaking romance story lies in the centre of this book. If you have read The Paris Time Capsule you will be aware that some of this story is based on the truth and Ella Carey has ever so magically created a wondrous fictional story around the truth. Her writing always makes me feel like I am there in that period, with the rich, fully created characters that are so dimensional and a story that keeps me turning the pages. Anna and Wil have a chemistry from the first meeting and this brings depth to the story also. This just adds a bit more for me and I overall love this set of books that are connected by one thing.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy of the book for my review.
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 