Book Review: On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah

So I’ll be honest about this book, it’s kind of sad. Not sad in a bad way, but if you’re looking for an uplifting romance, you might want to pick something a little lighter. Like this. Or this. That being said, it is a good book, and I did enjoy it, and there are parts that can even be considered happy. Just keep an eye out for when the sad bits strike.

When I first started reading On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah, I thought it was going to be a cliché. I don’t know why I have a tendency to sometimes judge a book so harshly after reading the first chapter or two. But I thought that this was going to go something like: husband demands divorce. Woman is devastated then finds inner strength without man. Then some crap about independence. And while this book does flirt with that, it’s much more than a cliché. It’s a fully developed novel. It shows us heartbreak and healing. And even though it’s not the typical novel I read, I enjoyed having read it, and learning about the characters.

The characters in this novel are all beautiful and tragic in their own ways. Annie, Nick, Izzy, even Blake (Annie’s husband who wants the divorce) all go through tragic events in this novel, yet somehow their hearts still beat. I kind of like that about this novel. A lot of novels focus on being slightly happier, even though there are still lots of issues. But with On Mystic Lake, it focuses on what happens after one falls into the shadows, and whether or not they will ever make it back out alive.

Reading this book, I also enjoyed Kristin Hannah’s writing style. She uses a lot of descriptive language and metaphors, which I felt were almost too much at the beginning, but then once I got into her style it was quite nice. She also floats around to different points of view (although Annie is the main one) so we get a picture of what’s happening with all of the characters. The only complaint I have about this book is that I wish there was just a little bit more at the end, but other than that it’s a good read.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sadder romances, and books that deal with things that are a bit darker, like depression and drinking.