Unbelievable bad. Poorly written and dumb. It’s constructed like a first draft of a very cheesy tv episode. Only good thing is it reads fast like a short story.

There's nothing like falling in love for the very first time.  Unusual to discover a house under a lake on your first date.  I cannot label this horror by any stretch of the imagination.  One reviewer suggested it might fit better in a YA/magical realism slot, and I would agree with that assessment.  Loved this author's Bird Box and Unbury Carol, but I wasn't able to wrap my arms around this one.

To start, I wouldn’t put this book down in horror categories. What it actually is to me, is a sci-fi or fantasy. With that being said, for the sake of a fair review I am not going to review it as horror.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake starts out with a young teenage couple on their first date. It details the awkwardness of encountering someone you have a crush on, the big ask, and the first awkward moments of the date. This part was a little nostalgic and it did bring a smile to my face.

For the first date one of our lead characters, James, decides to take Amelia in his uncles canoe completed with a packed lunch (I’m telling you, completely adorable). The lake actually gives access to a second lake, and once they’re out there they discover an unknown third park of the lake.

The access point to this hidden, mysterious body of water is kind of creepy. It’s a long, dark tunnel covered in graffiti. The graffiti itself is juvenile, but this is a teenage couple on their first date…. it fits.

From here Malerman goes in the describe how the young couple stumbles upon a house at the bottom of this third, hidden lake. They decide after discovering it to ride their adrenaline high and come back to explore it, as any normal teen would.

They continue to come back, spending their entire summer here exploring this house under water. They keep it a secret between the two, and as they live this adventure their love grows.

Now we come to the ending. This is the part that lost me. Only moments after they both lose their virginity underwater in this house, their house, they discover it is indeed haunted. They both get the scare of their life and run away from it and abandon their budding relationship. they avoid each other for an entire week and then meet back up to go back to the house, because at this point they can’t ignore this haunted house.

In their last hurrah, they revisit the house at the bottom of their lake, only to find it winks out of existence completely. It is here that they decide to go on a normal date, but the efforts are in vein as they decide to call it quits. The adrenaline rush was too much, and they end things. That is, until Amelia makes a discovery and calls James back (moments after she ended it).

All in all, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this book because it was written extremely well. Seeing as it was marketed as horror, I was a little let down.

Great book written in simple language, heavy with mood.

Like a fairy tale or better yet, a campfire tale this book is frightening in what questions it does not answer.

The plot is simple. Two 17 year old s meet, go on a date to canoe through the local lakes and stumble upon A mysterious house at the bottom of the law where the furnishings are set in place and unaffected by damage. Furthermore, there are always more rooms and spaces to explore. Of course their curiosity gets the best of them, and the two begin to ask questions best left behind.

I'm not sure why Netgalley is offering this book. I thought they only had not yet published books but this book has been previously published back in 2016. I loved Bird Box and Malorie by this author and thought this was a new book.

This book was only 187 pages and I thought I could read it pretty quickly but it started slowly and I didn't know if I would finish it. It was like a teenager was writing this. Maybe he did write it when he was a teen. But then it started to get more interesting and I really wanted to finish. When I did, it was "ah, eh, huh?" Is it an allegory for young love? Is it a paranormal story? I don't know. The author needs to write an epilogue about what he was trying to put across to the reader. Because I sure as hell didn't get it. I didn't care so much for the main characters. We were told they were falling in love but I couldn't see it. It didn't feel like it to me. Maybe the author was at the age where he could get away with writing "penis" in a book. And the end, I couldn't figure it out. Others said the same in their reviews.

I'm so glad he did write Bird Box, and the sequel, Malorie. Those books were fantastic and held you and didn't let go until you finished. More books like that, please, Mr. Malerman.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This is the scariest book I've ever read. It seriously gave me the same feels as a good horror movie. I read this alone in a hotel room and that WAS NOT the right place to read it. I did absolutely love it and I wish I could find more books that make me feel this way! I read Bird Box by him and there were parts of it that scared me, but nothing like this.

I’m torn... I love Josh Malerman and Bird
box is one of my favorite books. This one was so different. The beginning and middle were great. I was sucked in and finished it in just a few hours. However, the ending. What the hell was that? I feel like this novella climaxed about 60% in and then quickly got uninteresting.

3.5/5 stars!

A HOUSE AT THE BOTTOM OF A LAKE is a great story, but it's not a horror story.

These two teens awkwardly make their first date for a canoe ride. Both are nervous and shaky, but end up having a great time, especially after they decided to squeeze themselves through a narrow tunnel into a connected but smaller lake. As they paddle around, they can see the roof of a house from above. Each takes a turn diving down to take a closer look and they were right. It is a house. Under a lake. Of course they make plans to return and explore it more thoroughly and that's where I'll leave off. What will they find inside of the house? You'll have to read this novella to find out!

A HOUSE AT THE BOTTOM OF A LAKE could be described as magical realism, and as that, it was fine. It's not horror, though, which is what I was expecting. As I proceeded with the story, a lot of things didn't really make sense. Can you become scuba divers in only a few days or weeks? Can you even fit, never mind run, an air compressor, with two people and diving gear in one canoe? Can two 17 year old teens spent nights sleeping on a raft together without their parents freaking out? I tried to put all of this out of my mind as the characters did. "Don't ask why. Don't ask how." It worked about as well for me as it did for them-meaning not that well!

Don't get me wrong, this was a nice little tale about two teenagers finding love, (and sex too), but it didn't make a lot of sense at times. Being by Josh Malerman, it was still good, but not great.

*Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-ARC I was given, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

Not what I expected was very hard to get into it. I didn't end up finishing but thank you for the opportunity to try it out

Another good read from Josh Malerman. It wasn't a completely horrific book, but definitely creepy and fantastical. I had read Bird Box, and this was definitely different from that. Of course, that is a good thing. Can't wait to read the next thing from Malerman (just got Malorie). Keep them coming.

I received a copy of this novel from net galley in exchange for an honest review.
This is my first Malerman novel, not for lack of trying, but mostly because every time I go to reach for one or go to get one they seem to fly off the shelves.
To be honest when I started reading this novel I was actually surprised at how easily it was to fall in and just loose myself in it. I found myself having to put this book down just to be an actual human being and doing the things that normal people do when they shouldn't be reading.
I absolutely loved the story, the characters were relatable...the only thing I wish I knew more about was who created the house, why was it where it was, and what seems to be haunting it.

All around a fantastic novel which has spurred my desire to read more by the author.

[Blurb goes here]
The story is rather unexpected. I was thinking horror. Instead, what jumped out of the pages was, weird, original and compelling. I have to say that I loved it. If you like Japanese fiction, a read where the premise feels absurd, but thanks to the author prowess, you end up believing in it, you will love this book.

For me, this books also could be seen as a metaphor. The way we try to hang on to a relationship, when we have nothing in common with the other person, except for things that are on the fringe of said relationship.

The characters are single minded in the way that teenagers are in real life. It is rare to find a book that portrays young people as accurately as this one does.

Thank you for the advance copy!

For a premise so seemingly benign, Malerman ratchets up the terror in this short read. This eerie tale kept me riddled with anxiety until the last page. A house on the bottom of a lake dosent sound that terrifying at first, but after reading this I changed my mind. Great read for any fan of Josh Malermans work.

Wow, ok. That was disappointing.

This is not horror. I’ll go as far as to say that this is actually YA romance that happens to be set in a creepy house underwater.

The tone of this book is wonderful. Incredibly atmospheric. Keeps you constantly on edge, expecting something actually scary to happen. Over and over. And then it NEVER does. I mean it, literally nothing happens in this book other than two teenagers getting it on in a secret house underwater. That’s it. That’s the book. There are a couple of times when you think something is going to happen and then it just... doesn’t. If the author had some really clever point to make with this book, it sure went right over my head.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake
Excellent. It seems a bit short for a full book so I would consider it more of a novella. It's definitely a creepy read. It was well written and had details that helped to see the inner workings of the minds in the book. Josh Malerman again didn't disappoint with this weird little story.
.
.
Two 17 year old teenagers go on a first date and find a house at the bottom of a lake. Everything is intact, nothing is floating. They tell each other to ask no questions is why or how and set off to have a look. This is the tale of their adventure and fear of exploring a house at the bottom of a lake.

I just finished reading A House at the Bottom of a Lake, I have to say I don't really know how I feel about it. The story started off a little slowly in the beginning, and I felt like some of the writing and conversations between characters were often a little stilted. Still, the The author did a great job of creat ing a subtly creepy atmos phere and a storyline that was incredibly unique.
I had no idea, as I turned pages, where the story was going to lead. And when I finally finished it I still have that same feeling of not knowing where the story led. But I guess that's what makes it so unique.

As surreal as you would expect from Josh Malerman. A teenagers take their first date boating on lakes when they discover another lake almost hidden. There they discover a house underwater. They plan and prepare to go underwater and find the house to be strange indeed. A spooky little tale. The book itself seems almost a metaphor for first young love.

While I loved the premise behind this book, I wouldn't quite describe it as horror but it still had its moments of suspense. However, this book is more magical and mystical and leaves you guessing after you've finished.

A creepy and atmospheric discovery. This novella is concise, endearing, and downright creepy. A House at the Bottom of the Lake takes a deep dive (pun intended) in to the desire to explore just what is under the surface - in life, love, and romance, but in a really spooky way. Two teens spend their first date out on a canoe, and discover a submerged house under a little known lake. As they become more obsessed with what is happening underwater, they become more intruiged by each other as well. Memorable moments, and a fast read.

For such a quick read, I have many thoughts and emotions about this book.
Firstly, I thought that the premise of two naive, 17-year-old teens who decided to have their first date be to canoe on a local lake. Knowing the genre this is in, one immediately thinks, as in any horror film, what are you doing? Nothing good can happen with that premise. However, the story takes a quick turn to the mixture of all of the listed genres, horror, mystery and fantasy. What was omitted from the listing was one of the most prominent themes, romance. As these two are feeling their ways, with the anxiety that was well captured by the author, between these two and their attempt at romance, they discover an area of lake that was not well-known. While exploring this, they discover what appears to be a full-size house under the water. They decide or are compelled to explore this and they spend their summer doing this.
I enjoyed the mixture of genres, the pacing of the story and the possibility of romance between the two protagonists.
I kept getting the underlying theme as possibly being Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden with its forbidden fruit. I will be curious to see if the author was deliberate in that background theme or that is just where the story went.
Extremely compelling story and well paced read. Highly recommend.
#AHouseattheBottomofaLake #NetGalley #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallentine #DelRey