Rating: 
Summary: A good, humorous read
Review: For a light, humorous read, you can't do better than this one. Lipman explores the humor in family relationships, neighbors, prejudice and joining the job market and somehow ties it all together in a great story. If I were Jewish, I too would wonder why all the Jewish women in the book ended up marrying out their faith. However, since I'm not, I didn't get hung up on it and enjoyed the story without hesitation.
Rating: 
Summary: I might not return to The Inn.
Review: Don't get me wrong. I'm a big Elinor Lipman fan. "Then She Found Me" is a classic. I've read it several times. I was expecting a little more from this book and never quite received it. It was written in typical Lipman style (which I love), but I wasn't as swayed by the romantic relationships as I have been with her other books. Like some of the other reviewers here, I was enamored at the beginning but felt less enchanted as the book neared its conclusion. The inclusion of the character "Linette" toward the end felt oddly hasty and underdeveloped. Nonetheless, Lipman's fresh, sharp style and her always-witty dialogue made this book a pleasant late-summer read.
Rating:
Summary: great beginning, but doesn't keep it up
Review: Very good beginning. Her characters are well developed and the plot is funny, believable, and very heartwarming. However about 3/4 of the way into the book, I think it loses it's way and even goes for some very pat plot lines. I still enjoyed the book though. And would read other books of hers.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable story
Review: This book was chosen as a break from some of the heavy reading and issues of my life. For its entertainment value alone, I rated it highly. I don't often read light novels and enjoy them, but this was an exception for me. I found it to be amusing, the characters were fun and some of the scenes downright funny. No, I did not think it added to the book to have both Jewish women end up with gentiles but it didn't bother me a lot. It was just a story to entertain and amuse and this book did that well.
Rating: 
Summary: A real gem of a book
Review: I continue to be shocked that anyone could have anything bad to say about 'The Inn at Lake Devine'. I absolutely adore it -- I pick it up whenever I'm stressed or in a bad mood and it never fails to make me feel better. Ms. Lipman is a marvelous writer, and comparisons to Jane Austen are certainly well-founded. It was solid throughout with excellent characters and a great plot. There truly is nothing better than a revenge comedy. This is an excellent book, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Review: I ordered this book thinking it was about a young girl who tried to get into an Inn despite being turned away because of her religion. What I got was so much more! I loved Natalie and her family, and laughed out loud at several situations. The characters were all memorable and I LOVE a love story, so for me, this book had it all.
Rating:
Summary: All right, not great
Review: I could definitely "put this one down," if you will. I loved the beginning, with Natalie's quest to humiliate Mrs. Berry and discover why ews are not allowed to stay at the Inn. However, once Natalie groaws up, I found the story to be, well, boring. The characters are complete stock types, with no originally. (th overbearing ewish mother? Puh-leeze.) Besides, what are the chances that this girl would spend her whole life trying to get back at this family? And then end up marrying one of the sons? And of course, the evil family's whole life falls apart. It was so predictable-the mushroom scene, the French chef (although that was pretty funny) and other scenes were very obvious. I, like many of the other reviewers, found it somewhat disturbing that all of the Jewish girls end up marrying Gentile men. Um, what's that all about? Very disappointing novel overall.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining summer reading
Review: I had 2 hours to spend at Davis-Kidd waiting on a printing order and decided to just read something entertaining instead of looking at every book on the fiction shelf. This was the first novel I had read by Lipman but was hooked by the title. Yes, sometimes I do judge a book by it's cover. The story had just enough seriousness to it to give the characters depth...like Natalie...I thought the development of her encounter with prejudice and how she handled it through the years was an excellent portrait. What other smarter than the average kid growing up in the 60's did not want to "get back" at someone for being haughty, prejudiced, or snooty?? Let's teach them a lesson, right? We all want to believe that there is some good in everyone...even if there is not. And, of course, if there is not then we must try to change them! Natalie was idealistic but it was really sincere. The rest of the story follows what happens to the people that Natalie meets as they pass through summertimes into young adults. Oh, also it gives a portrayal of the grownups as they get older and some of their pre-conceived notions and generations of traditions are torn down. As I said, I read it in 2 hours and found myself laughing out loud in a very quiet bookstore setting. I'm going to buy copies for my friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Jewish girl pines to be a Gentile.
Review: Lipman is no Jane Austen. Austen is generous with all her characters and provides her readers with a glimpse into the human soul that is rarely equaled. On the surface this novel is sweet and gentle. On closer inspection, it is, in fact, infused with a polite but pronounced anti-Semitism, that the story ostensibly abhors. The only three characters in the book who are Jewish and observant are seen as boors and liars. For Ms. Lipman, heaven and plot resolution is the marriage of two Jewish girls to Gentile men, who are, by the way, characterized merely by their blue eyes and down vests. This is a shallow novel and at its core, deeply offensive.
Rating:
Summary: Positively delightful book!
Review: This is my favorite Lipman novel so far. Definitely has the most substance of all of them. Great characters, great story. You won't be able to put down this book. Lipman is without a doubt the modern day Jane Austen.
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