A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman is a young adult horror/suspense novella length read. Most readers probably know Josh Malerman from his hit, Bird Box, which I’ve not yet read and am starting to wonder now if I should. This is my second attempt reading something from this author and I have yet to be overjoyed.

This story follows two seventeen year olds who have gone out in a canoe on the lake for their date. They take the canoe exploring and find a path which leads to yet another big lake. Once paddling out in the new territory they peer down into the depths and see a house under the water so of course they decide to explore.

Quite honestly this was the type of read I didn’t know what I was feeling and it was fairly short to have so many ups and downs. There were moments I would think of this is getting creepy and compelling but those were few and far between. To me the story just seemed to be trying to build into something but even when done I wasn’t sure what that would have been as quite honestly I just didn’t get it and that’s for someone who has read a lot of horror. This one slid over into the didn’t quite like it range when done leaving my rating at two and a half stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

4 STAR I can see if you are uncomfortable with open endings why you may have rated this book lower. First thanks #netgalley for an ARC of this book. What I really liked about this book: Pace, realistic characters --> Josh Malerman did such a great job at creating the appropriate awkwardness of teenagers coming of age and seeking out first dates. There was no smoothness in their dialogue... they were will casted. I also loved the atmosphere... being afraid of not knowing what is under the surface of the water he did such a great job at capturing that. There were scenes that I was literally holding my breath.

I would not classify this as horror... more of a thriller targeted to new adults/older YA. The ending - while I liked it in concept, I would have liked a little more development and connection with the rest of the story. That said... for a mere 120 ish pages, this held me from page. 1

I enjoy Malerman's writing, but this wasn't for me. I found it to be confusing and the ending was extremely open ended without a solid point. I enjoyed the writing style and the imagery, but that was about it.

A charming little book, though I hesitate to call it horror. A few creepy moments, sure. But mostly it's a teenage love story. For my own interpretation (Possible Spoilers Ahead), I see the house as an extended metaphor for the passionate love people feel at the start of a relationship, especially in teenagers who have never felt it before. You get a little obsessed and want to spend all your time exploring every nook and/or cranny. You feel like you're the first people who have ever discovered this. However, it never lasts. The moment you try and understand it, examine it, shape it....it's gone. It's replaced by the less-intense but no less profound love that sustains a relationship in the long-term. For those who never experienced this before, it may seem like the love is gone forever, but it's still there. It's not all cool and hidden at the bottom of a lake, and even seems ordinary, like a regular old house. But it's vital to understand that it's still the same love as before.

To say I am a fan of his first novel, Bird Box, would be a massive understatement. It was my favorite book I read this year (or at least in the top three). Needless to say, I was excited to read anything else from Malerman. Although A House at the Bottom of the Lake wasn't quite to the level of Bird Box, it still increased my want and anticipation for his next novel.

A House at the Bottom of the lake does all the things that made Bird Box so amazing. You care about the characters in short order, you want to know where the story goes with flawless pacing, and Malerman really threads the needle of giving you enough information to peak your interest, but in the same stride, keeping just enough from the reader to leave questions unanswered in the best possible way.

A quick but very entertaining read, if you are a fan of Bird Box, this novella is a no-brainer.

I really hoped for more. I've read 2 or 3 other Malerman books at this point, and I know this is a short story. But the set up was good, very creepy, lots of potential. But then it fizzled out for me and did not enjoy the ending. I know that a lot of the time it's hard to wrap up these far-fetched ideas, but this one just missed me. I will keep being a Malerman fan.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman is an eerie tale of young love and the secrets they share. Secrets no one would believe if they spoke of them.

Summary -

"...Without speaking, they gripped the edge of the canoe at the same time, their fingertips touching the chipped paint. Sunlight tap-danced across the surface, a glittering curtain, a welcoming, a reveal.
But not much of one.
'Oh my God,' Amelia said again.
It's all she could think to say.
'It's huge.' James said.
If the shingled roof was any indication, it was a big house.
Beneath them.
Underwater.
They looked at each other at the same time and it was stated silently that they were going to check it out. They were going to go into the water. No self-respecting seventeen-year-olds on a first date could paddle away from this.
But first, for a minute or two, for now...they just stared..."

James has been wanting to speak to Amelia for a long time and he is pretty sure the feeling is mutual. They are seventeen, in a small town and with a long summer ahead of them. So he asks her on a date, but it cannot be just any date. It has to be different, special some how. So James asks Amelia to go canoeing on the lake. Amelia says yes. It's different and she has always been the adventurous type.

The lake is beautiful and calm and as they explore they find a passage to a second lake beyond the first. It is a little more open and wild. Less people have come here, it has a feel of being secluded. But what they notice is that the lake seems to have a drainage opening. A large pipe that they can barely fit the canoe through and beyond that...is a third lake. Darker and denser feeling a lake that hasn't seen people in some time. What they find in this lake is a house. A house at the bottom of the lake.

James and Amelia know that they have to explore the house. They will need to dive underwater and what they find is a house suspended underwater, everything in its place, nothing floating away. The door is open, as if the house has been waiting just for them.

"...Look, she tried to say. LOOK!
But her voice was muted by the mask.
As if comprehending in slow motion, moving slower than the feeling of dread rising within him, James looked to where Amelia was frantically training her beam.
A black dress floated high above the indoor pool. Its dark fabric flapped with unseen waves. But its position was what scared James most.
Like someone's wearing it..."

Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home.

Review -

A House at the Bottom of a Lake is one of those rare novels (though it's size is much closer to that of a novella) that blends genres effortlessly without belonging in any of them. It is a romance, a fantasy, and a coming of age tale. I would argue that it is not truly a horror story though it has strong elements of a haunted house story in it. What it is, in my opinion, is a really good episode of The Twilight Zone. The Rod Serling Twilight Zone, not the pitiful crap that followed.

Josh Malerman is the author of Bird Box, a book that is on my shelf and I have been meaning to read but have never gotten around to it. It is also the Netflix movie starring Sandra Bullock, a movie I have been meaning to watch but have never gotten around to it. If they are anything like A House at the Bottom of a Lake, then I think I need to make the time.

What Malerman captures so well is the magic of a first date and a first true love. Especially in your teenage years. It is the time when the fantastical can be true. When you are able to believe in the fairy tale that Disney has been selling you. It is then you can believe in a house under a lake. A house that is as still and preserved as any house on land, in fact even better. A house that somehow, still holds its secrets. When a grown up love found this house and unlocked its secrets.

This is an original tale that skirts the genres of romance and fantasy and coming of age stories, and carefully, very carefully, tiptoes in and out of horror.

A very good read.

I loved Bird Box and Malorie, and also enjoyed A House at the Bottom of a Lake, just not nearly as much... I absolutely loved the premise of two teenagers canoeing across a lake but I wouldn't consider this to be horror. It was more of a YA book in my opinion, and I did find the characters to be entertaining as well as their love story. I didn't know it was a novella, but the brevity definitely worked for this story. The ending was very confusing and although I've read some theories online as to what it means, I'm still not sure what I think.

A House at the Bottom of the Lake by Josh Malerman was received directly from the publisher and I chose to write a review. The book started out strong, building characters and suspense but it never seemed to go anywhere. Was it even horror? I am not sure but to be fair a horror author does not have to write only horror. This one was more Young Adult. As always I will not go into the plot but if you, or someone you buy books for, enjoys Josh or, better yet, you need to introduce Josh to someone younger, this may well be the book to do that with.

4 Stars

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House Publishing and Josh Malerman for this ARC. Where do I begin, what can I say about this book? So I read this authors book Birdbox and fell in love with it, then I read unbury Carol which I enjoyed, so I was excited to get this ARC. First I have to say I read this book in one day mainly because I was trying to understand where it was going. The times I felt it a bit monotonous with so many scenes of swimming through the house. But because I’ve read this authors works before, I knew that this book was going to be somewhat different, and it was. I wasn’t sure if it was going to lead me to the point of the story or not, but at the end it did. Even though I was confused as to where all this was going, guess maybe that’s what the author intended ? And if it was, then he did what he intended to do.. And even through all that confusion I didn’t joy the book.

She’d heard of people, adults usually, intentionally turning a good thing into a bad thing. When things were going good, adults liked to ruin them. Her own mom called it a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’ And you did it to prove to yourself that it wasn’t so good to begin with.”

When 17 years James meets Amelia at his dad's Hardware store, they fell in love, and both been attracted to each other they decided to go on a first date. Instead of going on a typical first date two 17-year-olds go, They decided to venture out on a lake in a canoe with the expectation to enjoy. But the sweet date changed to an exciting adventure when they found a hidden lake behind two lakes and it is not just a lake, it's a lake with a house at the bottom.
This is one unique book with a mixture of horror, mystery, thriller, and fantasy element and the entire story is full of eerie, haunted vibes that I could not stop reading the book.
Also, this is my first reading of Josh Malerman's books, and I enjoyed the author's writing style, the setting, and the world-building a lot. He was able to build this mysterious world in readers' minds with the full of ominous.
But the ending was a little bit disappointing and I wished this could be a pure horror novel instead of more fantasy.
I will be definitely picking more books from the author in the future and highly recommend this book if you like Fantasy/YA genre.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for an ARC of A House at the Bottom of a Lake in exchange for an honest review.

What in the weird world was this lil’ book I just read? By the same author that gave us Bird Box (yes, of the Netflix/Sandra Bullock fame), A HOUSE AT THE BOTTOM OF A LAKE was a short (just over 100 pages) fantasy, fiction, horror, thriller combo.

Two teens, Amelia and James, go canoeing on a date and discover a house at the bottom of a lake. Just for the heck of it, they swim down to get a better look…and then begin returning everyday with diving equipment. They discover the house is furnished…and the furniture doesn’t move with the water. And mysterious dresses seems to float about…almost as if someone was wearing them.

Listen, with the few exceptions of some really well done books, I like my books to be wrapped up at the end. I want a solid conclusion. And this definitely did not give that to me, at all. Parts of it were definitely spooky and I felt claustrophobic reading all the underwater scenes. However, ultimately, it was just not my cup of tea.

CW // confinement

Really enjoyed everything until the ending. Im confused and need more! I am very unsatisfied! But wow such a unique story! Super quick and entertaining read!

From Goodreads:

Good premise but the execution just wasn't there for me -- it required way too much suspension of belief due to thin world-building.

Still, it kept my interest and I read the whole thing.

Premise = 4 stars
Execution = 2 stars
Average = 2.5 stars
Final = 3 stars (because I was taught to round up in grade school and Goodreads refuses to add half stars)

Malerman tells a sweet but melancholy story of first love and what it means to let go. What begins as a first date on a secluded lake turns into a terrifying, confusing, and deeply personal adventure that sees high schoolers James and Amelia exploring abandoned and uncharted territories for the both of them. When they find a submerged house while canoeing on a lake, their intrigue becomes obsession. They begin using scuba gear to explore the house, and they become deeply attached to the abandoned underwater structure. But what if they aren't the only ones exploring the house? After things appear to go too far and their relationship to the house is broken, they feel the strain on their own relationship to one another. Malerman’s use of magical realism and quiet horror as a tool to explore new sexual and romantic experiences is genius. The setting of the house under the lake is haunting, fascinating, and incredibly well depicted on the page. This novella will take readers back to that time at the end of high school when you are discovering who you are and having new experiences right before you have to prepare to leave for a new adventure. It's a confusing and scary time, very bittersweet, and Malerman hits the nail on the head.

Josh Malerman does an excellent job at developing creepy, uncanny atmospheres. The House at the Bottom of a Lake excels at just that. Although I found the characters a bit flat and difficult to become invested in, I was thoroughly drawn in by their exploration of the strange, underwater house they discover. Locked doors, strange noises, and clothes floating through the water where no current should be all come together to create a read that will keep you on edge.

I felt chills run up my spine as these two teens explored the mysterious house. They have many questions, but agree not to vocalize them – something instinctual tells them that they may not like the answers. They spend their days and nights together out on the lake, using old-fashioned diving suits to reach its bottom and the house that sits there.

Unfortunately, I found the romance between the pair to be rather flat and unbelievable, which did hurt the rest of the book. It never felt like a genuine teen romance. To be honest, it felt like an out-of-touch, middle-aged, white man’s idea of romance – which, well, I suppose it was, in all fairness. While the romance itself wasn’t a focal point of the book, a believable relationship and more relatable characters would have made for a more compelling story. It was hard to care about what they were doing any time they were outside the house, and those chapters felt like a slog, breaking tension for me.

Further, I felt that the ending was a bit of a let-down. It seemed to reduce the house to a symbolic construct representing their relationship, reducing most of the mystery surrounding it. To me, it made the earlier, eerie bits feel cheap.

All in all, it’s a fairly good read if you’d like some creepy underwater horror.

I had heard about A House at the Bottom of a Lake from someone else in the book community who raved about it and the concept was intriguing enough that I couldn’t wait to pick it up. It’s the type of horror novel that had the potential to leave me thinking about it for weeks after reading it but in the end it was a forgettable story. Unexplained phenomena and water are some of my biggest fears within books and while I did have that “hair standing up on the back of my neck” feeling a handful of times throughout my time reading this in the end I was unimpressed and confused.

This book followed two teenagers but it felt like reading an adult pretending to be a teenager and it kept me from fully immersing myself in the story because I couldn’t help but think how unrealistic it felt. Even more so, the way that Amelia was written felt very stereotypically like a man writing a female character. Nothing about the way that Amelia and James felt quite right and that was a big factor into the dislike I had for this book.

In terms of the plot, even though this was a very short book it took me days to finish it. As I mentioned previously I did find parts of it to be hair raising but overall it was more confusing than anything. I can understand why some people enjoy this story but I found it slow moving and the open ending was the final disappointment in a series of mediocre plot points. I do understand why some people would have found this to be enjoyable, the open and unexplainable ending being one of them but too many aspects added up to keep me from liking this.

The House at the Bottom of the Lake follows two teens who go on a date canoeing at a lake. I enjoyed this book, but I will say that it was not the book I thought it was going to be. It is marketed as a horror, but I would categorize it as a YA/Fantasy. It was magical and short, but sweet. I really enjoy Josh Malerman's writing and would like to thank NetGalley and This Is Horrror for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this well-written book until I got to the end. I was left a little confused and unsatisfied by how it wrapped up. Still, it's a haunting read that will stay with you.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a very interesting read. I probably won't read it again, only because like a lot of thrillers once you know the end you can't really read it again. It's got a bit of romance, and a lot of adventure.