Finding Their Roots

by Tris Lawrence

There’s nothing quite like home…

More than a decade ago, Colin left the small community of Seven Lakes. College turned into grad school, which transformed into unexpected co-parenting with his ex-girlfriend. Now that his ex has moved on, Colin returns to Seven Lakes with his young daughter, hoping this might become their new home.

But Seven Lakes isn’t just a small community within the Adirondacks. Colin quickly realizes that there are things that he has forgotten, that seem to be just out of reach within his mind. His fanciful daughter, who has always believed in magic, is determined that this is the place where she will finally learn to fly, and that the dog on the beach is actually a girl who will become a new best friend. As Colin reconnects with his old friends, their behavior is both familiar and odd, both welcoming and yet angry that he abandoned their pack.

Then there’s Ash—the cute guy Colin rescued on his way into town. Ash, who just happens to be staying with his brother and sister in the trailer next door, and who is incredibly attractive, and keeps talking about putting down roots like he’s looking for a forest more than a house.

If Colin wants to make a place for himself in Seven Lakes and explore a relationship with Ash, he will need to push past the barriers in his mind and come to terms with the reality of the magical world he can’t remember.

For the sake of his family and his future, he can’t forget again.

Genres: Romance, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 2024

About the author

Tris Lawrence has been writing since she was a child, filling notebooks with the worlds, dreams, and voices from inside her head. She declared in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer, promptly started drafting her first novel in seventh grade, and never looked back.

Tris has always been fascinated by the way people work: how their relationships fit together, how they interact socially, how they learn and discover. She has read avidly her entire life, devouring mysteries, romances, science fiction, and fantasy novels, and as an adult still loves all of these genres, as well as reading YA constantly. Her favorite stories center on people who are learning or discovering new things, and coming-of-age stories top that list, which is how the school of Pine Hills University came to be. She wants to share stories of people who are learning how to relate to each other, how to adult, how to college, and how to just be. She hopes to share stories about diverse characters with representation of everything she wishes she could have read growing up, and she hopes that these stories will touch the lives and hearts of those who read them.

When not writing, Tris is a wife, a mother (to two children, a cat, and a dog), a knitter, a system administrator, a black belt in taekwondo, an avid reader, and a music aficionado. Sleep, she claims, is optional.

Tris is currently writing a web-based serial, Welcome to PHU, which is available on Tumblr and Pillowfort. The first book is available from Duck Prints Press.

Tumblr: https://welcometophu.tumblr.com/post/...
Pillowfort: https://www.pillowfort.social/communi...
Duck Prints Press: https://duckprintspress.com/

Reviews

[Shelba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book during a time where I didn’t really have the time or the energy to read. Which was a good thing and a bad thing.

A good thing, because it was light enough that I didn’t really have to worry about following a plot.

A bad thing, because sometimes days would go by before I would pick this up again, and since there are approximately 49274613 characters.

I’m bad with names, so the fact that there are sooo many characters, and often with similar sounding names, I often couldn’t keep track. There’s Liz (Colin’s sister) and Lila (Colin’s friend). There’s Jeff, Jeremy, Jamie… and Jamie’s 56 siblings that all have J names. There’s the D & D (Dana and someone?) siblings, not to be confused with Jamie’s D & D (Deb and Don?) parents, or Donna the realtor or Devon the pack leader. There’s Rufus, Reginald and Reynard… possibly the worst, because two are dogs and one is Lila’s husband and I’d get confused why a dog would be talking.

Give me a character list if you are going to add so many characters, a lot of which had no consequence to the plot.

But I think for me, the thing that brought this from a 4 to a 3 is the romance. Because it’s more of a subplot. Colin and Ash don’t spend a whole lot of on-page time together. And it’s kinda insta everything. There’s more focus on Colin connecting with everyone else at Seven Lakes than Ash, imo.

I suppose cozy fictions just aren’t my cup of tea. While I enjoyed this, I probably won’t continue with the series.

[Ulysses Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding their Roots (seven lakes, book 1)
By Tris Lawrence
Patent Pendragon Press, 2024
Four stars

This is a sweet, lyrical love story, low-key and without undue angst. At first, I just assumed it was the story of Colin, a young man who discovers his bisexuality years after splitting with his ex-partner and co-parenting their daughter with her.

On his way back to Seven Lakes—his family’s upstate New York summer campground from his childhood—his six-year-old spots a bicyclist broken down on a mountain road, and they pick him up. It’s clear from the start that Ash and Colin will connect. Angela, Colin’s daughter, seems to take to Ash right away.

The surprise here is that at one point in the story, it is clear that Colin has forgotten something very important about his family and about his entire childhood community. It appears that he was somehow suppressing more of his past life than his sexuality—in fact, his attraction to men hardly raises an eyebrow.

The life of the Seven Lakes summer community is described in gentle detail, giving the reader an emerging picture of all the relationships that enriched Colin’s life up until he left Seven Lakes a decade earlier. The gradual surprise reveal (can you have a gradual surprise?) gave me shivers, and cast a whole new light on Colin and the world he left behind when he went to college and started a career.

I guess the truth that resonates with me is that, as children, we can realize things about ourselves that frighten us, and cause us to repress aspects of our personalities in order to feel safe. The twist here is that it is not the obvious thing—sexuality—that is the trigger here. I can’t say more without spoiling the surprise.

This is the first book in this promised series, and I look forward to reading what Tris Lawrence offers us next.

[Christine Ekstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Their Roots was a fun and cozy summer read. I read the majority of it from my hammock to fully immerse myself into a camp life setting. The plot is split between romance between Colin and Ash and Colin finding himself again and rekindling his relationship with family and community. I really enjoyed Colin’s journey of remembering different aspects of his life and magic.

There are a lot of characters but I didn’t find them distracting and let’s be honest that’s how camp life is. A lot of them were secondary and not imperative to the plot where you HAD to keep track of them.

Thoroughly enjoyed it and found it relaxing and would recommend to anyone looking for a light summer read. Looking forward to more books in the series.

[Yakira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great kickoff to a new series by Tris Lawrence. I love how she built on the inherent magic of summer by creating a small town in upstate New York where the magic is real. Where the golden specks of light bouncing off the lake aren't just the glare of the sun, but sparks of magic that fill the campground and the town.

Single dad, Colin, and his daughter, Angela, come home for the summer, to the town where he grew up. Where Colin learned about and lived with the magic. But something makes him forget. His family and friends help him remember, and along the way he falls in love and realizes that home doesn't have to be a place, but can be a person too.

I can't wait for the next books in this low angst paranormal romance series.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A low-stakes, sweet summer romance read.