Monday Book Review: Beneath the Lake, by Casi McLean #TWRP

Beneath the Lake, by Casi McLean
Published August 5, 2015 by The Wild Rose Press

About the Book:

Reeling from her boyfriend’s indiscretions at a party, Lacey Montgomery escapes into the throes of a torrential storm. Her car spins out of control and hurtles into the depths of an icy, black lake. She awakens in the arms of a handsome stranger, in a place she’s never heard of—thirty-four years before she was born.

Bobby Reynolds is smitten the moment the storm-ravaged woman opens her eyes. Learning the truth about her origin does nothing to stop the passion taking root in his heart and leaves him torn between finding a way to return Lacey to her time and convincing her stay with him.

Will the couple be able to discover the key to a mysterious portal before time rips them apart? Or will their spirits wander forever through a ghost town buried beneath the lake?

My Take:

First, can I gush a little about the cover? LOVE it! Sweet but menacing at the same time. I'm not sure that's how I picture the hero, but the artist got the heroine so right! Okay, on to the story...

I love time travel novels, especially when they offer something unique. In Beneath the Lake, author Casi McLean gives readers a new and interesting twist with a novel that shifts back and forth to give us different perspectives on events through time as they happen "simultaneously."

The book starts firmly in the present, or so the reader thinks. Lacey Madison Montgomery is an Atlanta lawyer with some pretty big chips on her shoulder when it comes to relationships. The final straw comes when she finds her boyfriend in flagrante delicto with another woman at a benefit ball. She storms off into the night and crashes her car, sliding into the lake and losing consciousness.

She awakens in 1949, in the arms of a handsome stranger who helps her get her bearings and stirs feelings she'd given up on long ago. He also seems to live in a place that no longer exists, having been flooded to create a man-made lake in Lacey's present, adding to the miscommunications between them. As I mentioned, she has some issues to work through, but 1949 seems to be the perfect time and place for her to slow down and figure out what she wants out of life and love.

Bobby Reynolds is handsome, polite, and his every innocent touch fills Lacie with heat and longing, although the author keeps the storyline PG-13, with sizzling kisses and closed bedroom doors. A WWII veteran, Bobby is the consummate gentleman. It's obvious to the reader, if not to Lacey, that he soon falls head over heels for this gal from the future.

This is not a fast read, as the chapters zips between present, recent past, and the long ago past that Lacie finds herself stuck in and not wanting to leave. The author also shifts between the first person POV of Lacey's perspective to third person narrative to give the alternate timelines.

All in all? A different take on a time travel romance that kept me turning pages well into the night. A really interesting story and solid read from a new-to-me author. I recommend this novel and look forward to seeing what Casi McLean writes next!

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. And I honestly loved it.

Grab your copy on AMAZON