Rating: 
Summary: Truly awful
Review: This book has no redeeming qualities. Preposterous plot, juvenile writing, disconnected story threads, several totally unexplained developments, superficial character development, etc., etc. Even though I got this from the library and did not waste good money on it, I nevertheless feel ripped off. I've never been much of a Patterson fan, and this does it for me - never again. The author, editors, and publisher should be ashamed of themselves.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a powerful punch
Review: After much anticipation, I felt let down by the sequel to When the Wind Blows. The plot is basically identical to the first story, and I found my interest waning the further it progressed.
Rating:
Summary: Author gives up at the end
Review: The first 2/3 of the book does a good job of holding your interest. Chapters alternate between first person, as the main character recounts her experiences, and third person, allowing the reader to view the evil goings-on elsewhere. But just as the book builds to a climax, the author gives up. The situations are resolved without saying how or in really amateurish fashion. Multiple subplots are never finished. In one case, the judge references a situation which a few pages earlier we are told was kept secret from everyone.The book gives the impression that the author ran out of time as the publication date neared, so he had an eighth grader throw together a few quick pages to wrap things up. An aspiring author might want to read the first 2/3, set the book aside, and then write an ending for themselves. They'll probably do better than James Patterson did.
Rating: 
Summary: Tons Of Fun With This One!
Review: The Lake House by fantastic writer James Patterson gave me hours of enjoyment and I know this fantastic story will do the same for you! In the sequel to James Patterson's bestselling novel, WHEN THE WIND BLOWS, Kit, Frannie and their flock of flying children are back, and, so is the evil doctor set on using them in a deadly new experiment. (Highly Entertaining!)
Rating:
Summary: Not quite that bad but it is pretty weak.
Review: As others have mentioned, Patterson is more known for his Alex Cross novels and Woman's Murder Club. "When the Wind Blows" wasn't exactly a bad book. It was actually entertaining to say the least, and believe it or not, its one of Patterson's most successful novels around the world and THAT'S why he made a sequel. I guess the first thing I'd have to ask is that if you HATED "When the Wind Blows" I'd like to know why you wasted a few hours of your life reading this? No, I'm one of the few who liked "When the Wind Blows". But you if you abhored it I gaurantee you won't like this one so don't even pick it up and I'll explain why. Of course, the first problem with this book. As a sequel it has potential to be better than the first book, but its not. This book is too similar to "When the Wind Blows." The plot in this is the kids with wings now live with foster parents but want to live with Frannie O' Neil, their guardian in "When the Wind Blows." Well, a trial ensues and later the kids find a way to escape the foster parents and get back to the lake house to see their original guardian, while escaping an "evil" scientists. It should sound a little familiar. The problem with it being like "When the Wind Blows" is of course the fact that its so similar to the previous novel that this one is very predictable. This makes the read extremely boring. Mix that together with some unlikeable characters and you've got one of the less exciting reads in a while. So the Lake House had the potential to be better than "When the Wind Blows"... though I still didn't think that people who disliked the previous book would actually read this one. Should there be a third in this series it's best just to avoid it all together. If you're really into what James Patterson writes, check out "Along Came a Spider" or any other Alex Cross novel. Also check out "1st to Die" and the Woman's Murder Club books. They're pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: When the Book Blows - Part 2
Review: How do I begin to analyze a sequel to positively the worst book I have ever read (much less justify it)? I must give Patterson credit as after the original story, I didn't think a worse piece of garbage could be concocted. As he has done with repeated regulary of late, Patterson continues to disappoint. After reading Jester (which I thoroughly enjoyed even though Medieval Faire is not my preferred genre), I had renewed hopes of him returning to his early form (and talent). But, after "Lake Louse" Patterson confirms the fact that merely his name and picture were used to generate sales of Jester. I am only through chapter 51 of this unbelievable piece of sh*t, and will only finish the story to see how much worse it can get. The metaphors are still juvenile, the dialogue stupid and the totally unrealistic (incredibly shallow), characters all make me not give a damn how the whole thing turns out. The only saving grace is that I borrowed these audio tapes from the library instead of spending my own money on this tripe. I will never again waste my time on anything with James Patterson's signature on it. I thought Dean Koontz was the worst, campiest, most moneygrubbing, vastly overrated, big name hack out there but ladies and gentlemen, we have a new champ! I loved 1st to Die and 2nd Chance, but I will not waste time reading 3rd Degree due to this very unpleasant experience. Anyone who gave this trash 5 stars, perhaps you'd better put down your comic books and reevaluate your reading habits.
Rating:
Summary: Huge disappointment.
Review: Patterson writes in the front pages of this novel that his book "Where the Wind Blows" is his most popular book overall. That doesn't surprise me as it is certainly one of my favorites. "The Lake House" is a sequel to that best seller and picks up pretty much right where the other book left off. Unfortunately. Rather than take us on a new journey with familiar characters we like (Kit, Fran, Max and the gang), Patterson rehashes the same plot (mysterious lab doing bad things to people in the name of science) and sadly, doesn't even do that very well. I was very disappointed in this book and would not recommend anyone who is a Patterson fan read it. You will be left wondering, as I was, why did this even get published? One word answer for that one I'm afraid - money. Not Patterson best effort.
Rating:
Summary: If Only Children Could Fly!
Review: Other than the Alex Cross books written by James Patterson which I've read recently, Four Blind Mice and The Big bad Wolf, I haven't been having too much success with his stand alones. I barely managed to get through The Beach House and never did finish The Jester. Then along came The Lake House, which I did manage to finish, all the while wondering why I bothered to read this book. There's an old adage that says, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." To this I would now add, "If a book is moderately OK though real quirky- DON"T WRITE A SEQUEL." Obviously James Patterson didn't take my advice and a sequel he did write. The first book he wrote Where the Wind blows introduced us to a widowed veterinarian, an FBI agent and charming children whose only difference to other children is the wings on their backs and their ability to fly. The very people who have scientifically engineered and altered them basically hold them prisoner in a facility. By the end of the book, though, these children have escaped their captors and a re spending idyllic days with their rescuers - the vet and FBI man - at a secluded lake house. And so readers were led to believe that the flying children could live in peace. Several years have passed when the sequel The Lake House begins. The children are now living unhappily with their parents after they were found and returned to their families. Some of the children have been exploited for money like the twins who do cereal commercials while others want to return to a less stressful life at the lake house with their former guardians. What ensues is a trial, another daring escape engineered by the children themselves and a sinister doctor who is conducting unheard of transplants and is determined to find and use these children for future projects. One book with this subject I was able to tolerate, two was a bit much. While I seriously thought I'd pass on reading The Lake House, I have so enjoyed some of Patterson's titles,
I thought why not give this book a chance. And for some reason I felt compelled to read to the conclusion that turned out to be non-monumental and predictable if one could really think outside the box. I do hope that Mr. Patterson in short time will write more good books about Alex Cross the Women's Murder Club. If not I may opt not to read the stand alones and reread some of my real favorites of his like Along Came A Spider, 1st to Die and his two most recent Alex Cross books.
Rating:
Summary: Tim H.------Must Read This book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: The Lake House by james patterson is a science fiction novel filled with mystery and suspense. the book starts out in a usual way, a scene where one of the main characters is leading their normal everyday life. Then before you know it you are smack dab in the middle of the plot and you just can't put it down. in this book's case, the character portrayed in the first scene is Frannie. She is a middle-aged woman that takes care of animals, she is a veterinarian. In the first scene she is walking into a court house with her friend Kit who is a FBI agent. they are trying to win custody of the bird children that they love so much and who love them back. After the court case this book takes off on a whirlwind adventure. When two of the children are attacked in their home they immediately fly to round up all the other kids and go on the run from teh mad scientists with Frannie and Kit again. It you read the book When the Wind blows (the prequal to this book) you would have learned that this couple met the six extraordinary bird children when Frannie helped the eldest, Maximum, when she shot out of the sky. THe children were test subjects at an ilegal facility called the SCHOOL. Their genes had been spliced so that they had super strength and intelligence. They also had some senses an dphysical features of birds, they even had wings that made them fly!! Frannie and Kit helped the children escape and they became one happy family until the media came around and the biological parents wanted their children back. I enjoyed reading this book very much. I had a lot of trouble putting it down; in fact, the only way i stopped reading was if I fell asleep in it. Even though the book seemed predictable there were spots that cought me off guard and scared me at what was happening. My favorite thing about this book though, it that at the end it leaves you hanging, setting up for a third book in this series. (Ooh I'm so excited!!!!!)
Rating:
Summary: Too slow
Review: I am only going to finish listening to this audio book in hopes the ending will be decent but I don't expect much. It seems like the author took two completely different but interesting story lines and meshed them inexpertly. I like the idea behind the bird children and the Hospital but the inane dialog, weak character development, and bad decisions made by the characters are just weights that drag this book down almost beyond redemption.
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