The Woman By The Lake by Kristen Ashley | Book Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

The Woman By The Lake (Misted Pines #3) by Kristen Ashley

Book 3 in the Misted Pines Series. Can Stand Alone. Romantic Suspense.

My thanks to Kristen Ashley for providing an advance copy for review purposes. Ana’s Attic accepts no compensation for reviews, and all reviews contain my honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links.

I barely read actual books anymore (I listen to audiobooks), unless a Kristen Ashley ARC lands on my Kindle. I immediately dropped what I was reading for the last month and jumped right into The Woman By The Lake and it consumed me. The Misted Pines Series is a little different from Kristen Ashley’s other romantic suspense series like The Burg Series, Dream Man, Colorado Mountain series and others. Those were more focused on the romance and less on the mystery. The Misted Pines Series is about the mysteries first and they’re all a little creepy. But it’s the romance that still wins out for me.

“The sun was shining, glinting off the peaceful waters of a lake that was a good twenty yards away. And still, I felt like I was drowning.”

After two horrible tragedies in her life, Nadia booked a remote cabin on a lake in Misted Pines to heal and recover. She didn’t realize she’d have a handsome neighbor across the lake who liked to jog shirtless through her yard and have late-night, loud parties. She also didn’t realize the cabin she rented was rumored to be haunted after a famous murder happened there—until she heard the middle-of-the-night scratches that proved it.

“He was a good-time guy. (…)
But he’d learned along the way he wasn’t the other kind of man for a woman.
You wanted to get loose or get high or get off, Riggs was the guy for you.
You wanted more, he wanted no part of it”

Riggs (aka Doc) is a traveling contractor who is away for weeks at a time. He shares custody of a sweet and smart 9-year-old son, Ledger, and he’s a good dad when he has his son. Otherwise, he likes to let loose and party, and he had no interest in getting involved with his snooty-but-gorgeous new neighbor. Until he heard her back story and then found out she had been a victim of this “haunting” that was happening on his lake.

“Not fair,” I whispered.
“Who said I play fair?” he whispered against my skin. The wheel was turning. I was either in for a fun ride that I’d eventually get thrown off. Or the ride of my life. With Riggs, the first was probably a better bet than the last.

As more and more strange things start happening around, they help Harry, the Sheriff (OMG, I can’t wait for his story!) re-examine the old closed case that happened on that lake years before. I found the story interesting, but I never got fully sucked into the mystery part because it was an old case involving people that I didn’t get to know through the story even though it directly related to the current events. I loved the main characters and the romance. I loved Ledger. But I sometimes had a hard time following the older story at the center of the mystery because Kristen loves to use both nicknames and full names; this works fine when you get to know the character, but I found it a little confusing when talking about characters from the past.

“…the vision of Nadia standing in her sundress, illuminated by flower lights and lanterns, was burned in his brain in a way he knew he’d never forget it for the rest of his life.”

Likes:

A totally engrossing story.
Kristen’s amazing storytelling.
You can’t help but love the heroine.
How Kristen can make you hate the hero (just like Nadia) and then make you melt and fall in love.
The “coven” from previous books was barely mentioned.
I loved Riggs’s son, Ledger.
More of Sheriff Harry and cameos from previous books in this series (though this stands alone easily).
It was still sexy even though there was very little sex compared to most KA books.
A wonderful doggo.
After the initial dislike, Riggs and Nadia had such a healthy, smooth relationship.
The descriptions of the homes put such a clear picture in my head.

Dislikes:

Because much of the mystery involved an old case, the story was more telling rather than showing.
Kristen’s habit of using multiple names for the same person can sometimes be confusing. I found myself having to look up characters from earlier in the book more than once.

The Down & Dirty:

Poor Misted Pines. They just can’t get a break! I loved that Riggs was a single dad and that they were just what Nadia needed to heal from her trauma. While this series is supposed to be more about the thriller aspect than the romance, in this case it was the romance I loved the most. The mystery kept me interested but not quite as involved as I could have been because it was an old case involving people from the past. I loved Nadia and Riggs’s story. It was the perfect slightly creepy mystery to add to the Misted Pines Series, and I can’t wait for the next in the series!