Judith Hudson

What a delightful Holiday novella. It’s a great read just before the holidays. The story has great characters, a believable story and the perfect setting. The characters are all realistic and likeable. In the story, Starlight is in a small town, Fortune Bay, all by herself. Since she lost her mother it’s only been her. Then she meets a very nice man, Harry, though a friend of hers. They get along very well but she always takes off and his love is the big city….or so he thought. So the story goes along with them getting to know each other and also themselves.… (mehr)

STORY LINE LAKE OF DREAMS:

Set in Fortune Bay, Washington State’s beautiful Olympic Mountains, Lake of Dreams is a story of second chances, overcoming grief, and acceptance. A prequel to author Judith Hudson’s new series, Fortune Bay, the introduction to this new series is exciting.

Colleen Murphy left Seattle to find renewal in beautiful Fortune Bay, the summer home of her childhood. Unhappy in her accounting job and with her artist boyfriend, Kyle, Colleen said goodbye to him and Seattle. After four years, Colleen was ready for the next step in their relationship while Kyle was not. The lake, the peace, and the beauty of the area had always been a save haven for Colleen. Returning to the roots of her happiest times, Colleen plans to start her life over.

Alex Porter returned to Fortune Bay to find himself. With no intention of returning to Seattle or his father’s law firm, Alex strives to deal with the death of wife and find his niche.

Acquaintances in their teenage years, Alex and Colleen strike up a friendship almost immediately. Colleen is looking for love, security, and a family of her own. However, Alex appears to be a drifter, down on his luck with no job prospects. Appearances can be deceiving; Colleen does not realize Alex is wealthy. Alex just wants to come to grips with his wife’s death 5 years ago and find his place in life. Attraction comes fast as Colleen and Alex see more and more of each other. However, is Alex ready to say goodbye to the memory of his wife and forge a new life?

Will Colleen and Alex grab this second chance at happiness? Come along on their journey in the small community of Fortune Bay. There are lots of things happening in this small water side community!



LAKE OF DREAMS CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, DEVELOPMENT:

I enjoyed this introduction to the Fortune Bay Series. I look forward to coming to know all the characters better in future books. Although a short prequel, Ms. Hudson provided the correct amount of detail and history to tantalize the reader.

Ms. Hudson developed each character to their potential, leaving hints of books to come. Her writing was clear and easy to read. Also, the pace of the story was steady moving along without stops and starts. Ms. Hudson included one love scene which was tasteful and was not explicit or graphic.

Furthermore, Ms. Hudson had several plots threads in Lake of Dreams. In addition, Ms. Hudson skillfully brought all the threads together to form a solid story-line leaving the reader feeling satisfied and entertained. For a short prequel, Ms.Hudson packed the story with detail, plots, and romance. Also, I found the secondary characters were interesting and well-developed, leaving the reader to understand much more is coming to Fortune Bay. Ms. Hudson left the door open for many more books in this series.

I found it noteworthy that Ms. Hudson highlighted the environmental impact to the forest and animals when logging old forest as well as the controversy involved. She did not shy away from this controversial issue. It is a hot button in most logging communities and I feel for both sides of the issue. Well done, Ms. Hudson, well done.

In conclusion, I would not hesitate to buy this book for myself or a friend. I look forward to future books in this series.



RECOMMENDATION LAKE OF DREAMS: STARS 4

Finally, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a well-written story with well-developed characters and the chance to see them again in future books. Lake of Dreams is suitable for young adults and adults.

In addition: I received an ARC from the author and have chosen to review the book. Books reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion. Consequently, book reviews on line under my name are my opinion.… (mehr)

What a delightful short, sweet romance! This is my first read by author Judith Hudson and I look forward to The Fortune Bay series. The characters were all well written and likeable with interesting backstories. I believe there are a lot of books to be written with these characters!

This short story is about Colleen Murphy who left her boyfriend when he doesn’t want to start a family. So Colleen goes back home to Fortune Bay. The other main character, Alex Potter, was having problems getting over the death of his wife so he goes to the one place he always felt at home, Fortune Bay. Of course, the two meet up and sparks fly but it was slow and easy. It was a great short story without bad language which is always a pleasure to read.… (mehr)