Lake Effect, Cynthia DAprix Sweeney
Lake Effect, Cynthia DAprix Sweeney
List: $28.99 | Sale: $20.29
Club: $14.49

Lake Effect
A Novel

Author: Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Narrator: Marin Ireland

Unabridged: 8 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ecco

Published: 03/03/2026


Synopsis

Audiobook performed by Marin Ireland From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nest and Good Company comes a wry and tender portrait of two families forever changed by one lovestruck decision that will reverberate for decades.It’s 1977 and an air of restlessness has settled on the residents of Cambridge Road in Rochester, New York, a place long fueled by the booming fortunes of Kodak and Xerox and, for some, the mores of the Catholic church. When Nina Larkin is given a copy of The Joy of Sex by her newly divorced friend, she can no longer dismiss the nearly nonexistent intimacy of her marriage. Just as her oldest child, Clara, is falling in love for the first time, Nina finds herself longing for the forbidden: a midlife awakening. An intoxicating fling with a prominent neighbor brings Nina a freedom she never thought possible—but also risks the reputations of both families and unravels Clara’s world, just as she stands on the threshold of adulthood.Years later, Clara, now a successful food stylist in New York City, has never been able to move past the long-ago scandal. Drawn back home by the pull of a family wedding and wrestling with her own demons, she makes a pivotal decision that turns her life upside down. Written with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s signature humor and insight, Lake Effect is a wise and probing look at love and desire, mothers and daughters, loss and grief, and what we owe the people we love most.

About Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is the author of the instant New York Times bestselling novels The Nest (named a best book of the year by People, the Washington Post, and NPR) and Good Company (a Read with Jenna selection). She has been a guest on Today, Late Night with Seth Meyers and NPR’s All Things Considered. Her work has been translated into more than twenty-eight languages, and The Nest is in development as a limited series with AMC Studios. Sweeney holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She and her husband live in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Karen on September 17, 2025

This novel is a tour de force of complex family relationships. There is so much to unpackage when two married people choose to have an affair and subsequently leave their families for quick divorces and equally quick nuptials. The ramifications of their decisions unfold over the next two decades – a......more

Goodreads review by Claire on January 01, 2026

I love family dramas told with nuance- and Lake Effect delivered. The book was also filled with references to Rochester NY. So much of the book rang true and pays homage to the unique culture of our city. The time period of 1977 was perfect and I enjoyed trying to decide if Finnigan’s was a Wegman’s......more

Goodreads review by Ryan on September 14, 2025

I’m not at all surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I’m a big fan of family dramas that span generations, and this one grabbed me from the very beginning. What sets this book apart is the intricate exploration of the adults’ marriages, which are unlike any other I’ve read. Additionally, witness......more

Goodreads review by Ellen on August 28, 2025

Right off the bat I loved the setting of this book taking place in the 70s. All of the characters are so entertaining and relatable. There are many themes in this book to relate to like grief, coming of age, affairs, love, and bad decisions. The scandal is juicy and the connection the characters hav......more

Goodreads review by Diana on November 20, 2025

I’ve been in a real reading rut—fearing that my attention span for intensive amounts of reading wanned—but this novel pulled me right out of it. Vivid, engaging characters in a story about romantic and familial relationships that feels so true. Equal parts Judy Blume adult novels of women of the 70s......more