In the small, lakeside town of Bluebell, North Carolina, tragedy strikes the Bennett children. Molly, Levi, and Grace, grieving the sudden death of their parents in a car accident, band together to plot their uncertain future. The path they chose included working together to make their parents' dream come true: to turn their historical home into the Bluebell Inn, a working inn to be a tribute to their beloved mother and father. 

Working at the front desk at the inn, Molly sees a handsome stranger approaching. He has a nice smile, the bluest of blue eyes, and in a nerdy way is quite handsome. He introduces himself as Adam Bradford, a.k.a. Nathaniel Quinn, the successful author of romance novels. He has always hidden his identity from the public, unsure of how they would react to him. Nathaniel Quinn is Molly's favorite writer, reading and re-reading all his books. She has a crush on him and her sister teases her about him. Adam tells Molly he is doing research in the area and wants to rent a room for the summer. Their physical attraction is strong and talking to Adam about books is fun. Adam thinks Molly is sweet, spirited, and pretty, and he loves to hear her rambling on and on in her innocent but spirited manner. She brings sunshine into the room. Does he think he has found his inspiration and perhaps more?

LAKE SEASON is the first in the Bluebell Inn series and is told in a split time manner, which I enjoyed. Back in the day, the Bennett home was an old post office. While taking down one of the walls, Molly found an old postal box. Wedged under it was a 50-year-old undelivered letter. Reading it, Molly knew she had to find the sender and get the long-overdue letter delivered. This is the precious sub-plot of a summer love between Benjamin Schwartz and Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Van Buren. She was Catholic; Ben was Jewish. Her father had serious and unbendable religious beliefs and would never consider giving his blessing to his daughter marrying a jew He was rude and insulting to Ben. When Molly found out she and Ben had a huge argument Molly, angry, told Ben she never wanted to see him again Ben left for home and they never saw each other again.

The stories of two loves, Benjamin and Lizzie and Molly and Adam captured my heart with the addition of inspirational elements and Bible verses that were lovely. The ending had a surprise and was the icing on the cake. How easy to adore the reclusive author who spoke of his feelings to Molly in Italian. Ms. Hunter weaves her magic of family, faith, friendship, second chances, and forgiveness. LAKE SEASON is my recommendation for all of you who enjoy a sweet, Christian love story that leaves you smiling and feeling happy. Another winner from Denise Hunter. Brava!