Wow… this book will sit with you long after finishing it. A haunting dark tale that feels almost like the makings of a fairy tale but more like Grimms’ fairy tales.

The descriptive writing brings this world to life around you which is good and bad given the content. The spooky tones of this book really mess with your head leading you on a thrilling and slightly terrifying journey. At several points I had to stop reading because it was night and it was freaking me out a little bit. Lakesedge was so much more than I expected. Just when I thought I may have it figured all out, a twist would come out of nowhere leaving me clueless once again. Never once did I feel that anything was predictable. Every new discovery had me surprised and overwhelmingly excited. There were so many layers to this story that would peel away and make it even more intriguing and more deep. It is so hard to keep this review spoiler free because there is so much I want to say about it. The family dynamics and relationship development were incredibly well done. What you thin is going on may not really be what it seems.

Also, that ending?! I definitely thought I was dealing with a stand alone but that is not the case and now I’m even more intrigued. If you like dark gothic style fairy tales this is the book for you!

This is in no way a light fluffy read. The concept is dark as is the tone throughout, but it surpassed my expectations and I am so incredibly excited to have been able to be a part of this tour.

As excited as I am for gothic romance to make its way into YA fiction, I can't get behind a book that uses a gruesome depiction of child abuse right off the bat in place of establishing stakes/characterization. I just think there are better ways to do it. Ultimately I found this book lackluster, mostly because the characters were not drawn compellingly.

A huge thanks to Tbr and beyond tours for this chance and to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and t enry Holt and Co. (BYR) for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange of an honest review!

“The shadows are only dreams”.

So Violeta keeps saying to her brother Arien, trying to protect him from his nightmares, from the darkness that spills from his body, from his black eyes. From their mother, convinced she can burn Arien’s darkness away. When the monster of Lakesedge discovers everything and offers Arien the chance to help him with these powers, Violeta won’t let them go away, not without her. Not after the rumors surrounding Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. In the creepy and mysterious manor at Lakesedge, Violeta discovers another world, made of magic and alchemy, made of monsters and gods and full of secrets and pain. Neither the monster nor the estate are what she thought they were. As she starts to fall for Rowan, trying to protect Arien, Violeta discovers a connection between Rowan and the lord of death, the Lord Under…and, also, a connection that bound her to the latter.

Told in first person by the main character, Lakesedge is intruing and Violeta is a stubborn and brilliant main character. She’s weighed down by losses, past and current traumas and she’s been through a lot, but she’s willing to do anything to protect her younger brother Arien, even from the truth. Taken away from abuse and bigotry, Violeta struggles to understand her new world, worried about what her brother could risk and lose, worried, slowly, about the other estate’s inhabitants. I loved how Violeta starts to free herself from others’s stories and rumors and makes up her own thoughts and ideas. In a world full of magic and where gods can answer your pleas of help, Violeta falls for , feels a connection to a monster…or more than one, maybe.

The setting is eerie and intruiguing, a crumbling manor, a battle against darkness and light, in a very real sense and this battle, Arien’s lessons to understand his magic, Rowan’s secrets and past traumas are interwoven in Violeta’s journey to protect the people she loves and herself. It was interesting realizing who and what is the real monster, Violeta’s willingness to do anything to save her loved ones, her connection with Rowan, first a complicated, then a loving one.

I loved the bond between Violeta and Arien, how they are strongly connected, struggling to do the right thing and save everyone and everything. Their journeys and growths are really moving to read. If the main character is really well developed, so Arien, Rowan, Clover and Florence, the other two estate’s inhabitants and I liked the way they slowly start to build a relationship and a family, how finally Violeta starts to see Lakesedge as a home.

I liked reading Lakesedge, even though I wish the author would have explained and developed better the magic system and the romance. The pacing is sometimes slow, others rushed, but, overall, the story is good and, after the ending, I can’t wait to read the next book.

Lakesedge is the start of a new YA gothic fantasy romance about monsters, alchemy and dark gods. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

The story follows orphaned Violeta and Arien who are found as children and taken in by a kind stranger. As Arien starts to battle against shadows that haunt his dreams, the once kind stranger punishes him for the darkness within him. The Lord of the village, young Rowan Sylvanan, rumored to have drowned his entire family, sees the shadows within Arien and takes an interest in him. Desperate to escape, Violeta and Arien find themselves at Lakesedge, an empty and haunted manor ruled over by the cursed monster Lord Sylvanan.

I truly enjoyed the romance in Lakesedge as well as the constant suspense of not knowing what would happen next. Although I am personally not a fan of first person POV, it did not take away from the story itself. A bit of the prose was repetitive, but overall felt lyrical. I cannot wait for the next installment and to see how the story continues.

*Full review to be posted closer to publication!*

I love a gothic fantasy, and Lakesedge was the perfect book for getting just that! This book was a lot of fun, in a dark and spooky way. I really enjoyed getting to know Violeta and exploring this dark plot as the story and twists were slowly unfolded. The writing style was beautiful and I felt that the pacing was pretty steady as well. This is the perfect fall read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a compelling, gothic YA read.

DNF at 20%
When I saw this cover and heard "lush Gothic fantasy" I needed to read this book. But then I opened the book to find the most annoying main character possible. All she does annoy her brother and refuse to leave him alone and if anyone talks to him without her she demands to know what was said. I'm sorry, but no. Maybe the plot improves but I could not find out because I was pulling my hair out at such an annoying character. Also, can we please stop with the randomly abusive parent trope? It's rarely adds anything to the story and this book is no different.

Lakesedge

Thank you to Macmillan, Netgalley and Lyndall Clipstone for the e-arc ready for the tour with TBR and Beyond Tours

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Review:
Lakesedge is the perfect spooky season book. With a Hades and Persephone vibe throughout, dark brooding love interest, found family and all the angsty goodness you could possibly wish for. The writing style is unique and engaging, the story flows well with some interesting twists and turns and an enemies to lovers semi-slow burn romance what more could you want?

The main character, Violeta is strong, independent and her only interest is protecting her brother, I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout, to learn to trust and love, to make friends who become family but most of all, finding a home. However, I felt a bit clueless as to why her magic was so special? Hopefully the answers come in book 2.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Violeta and Rowan, although it also felt like she was starting a relationship with the Lord Under so I guess we’ll see what happens there too.

Overall, I think fans of Hades and Persephone retellings and Kingdom of the Wicked fans will love this one! Just in time for spooky season.

This story peaked my interest from the synopsis alone and it did not disappoint when reading! I find it mysterious and intriguing from start to finish. The story definitely got better as we learned more and had a better understand of Lakesedge.

The story building was good and felt developed at a good speed. I didn’t feel confused at any time and was able to understand all components of the story clearly.

I enjoyed Leta and Rowan tremendously as our main characters! I liked how Rowan’s story was presented. What you thought was true wasn’t and slowly we learned more and more about exactly what happened to his family. I like how their relationship developed more as the book progressed. You could tell they both had feelings for each other, but I loved watching them grow from strangers to lovers. They work so well together!

The Corruption is an fascinating story plot and I really liked how it developed by the end of the book. I’m nervous to see what happens next with it with where the book ended!

The Lord Under was another part of them book I liked too. Discovering the mystery unravel of how The Lord Under was connected to The Corruption, Leta, and Rowan kept my interest.

I’m excited to see where the story goes in Book 2! That ending, especially last chapter, just left me immediately wanting to know what happens!

This haunting book pulled me in immediately. It is quite scary, as the book opens with Violeta and her brother Adrien fighting against dark nightmares that seep into the physical world and threaten to harm them. Soon after, they are taken to live on a creepy estate by a guy who killed his whole family, but who thinks Adrien holds the key to helping him defeat the darkness that exists there.
Definitely some Twilight vibes, some Gods of Jade and Shadow vibes, and I dug it.
I'm excited for the next book!

Beautiful use of language, the author does a great job of setting the tone & energy for the story. I generally don’t read thrillers but this synopsis sounded intriguing. The character arcs are well done & while creepy, the story itself sits with you in a great way. I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series, not because of the book but the subject matter is a little too much horror for me personally. If you love gothic horror/thriller books then I definitely recommend!

i really should have dnf’ed this one.

i kept reading for the gothic atmosphere and the references to beauty and the beast and hades and persephone, but lakesedge feels so unpolished and incomplete. i know this is the first book in a series, but there were too many plot holes and too many things were left unresolved. i wasn’t intrigued, i was frustrated and confused.

the plot and romance are so repetitive. violeta and her younger brother, arien, are whisked away by the monster of lakesedge after he witnesses arien’s magic. this begins a cycle of “he’s a monster—but he did a nice thing for me—but he’s a monster” before they even arrive at lakesedge, and once they get there, the main plot is just as repetitive: “the magic will work this time—oh no, the magic didn’t work—the magic will definitely work this time!”

the main character is incredibly frustrating. we’re told again and again by other characters that leta is strong, brave, etc., but her behavior is consistently immature and selfish. her thirteen-year-old brother demonstrates more maturity than her. and despite the first person narrative, arguably the most important reveal of the story is dropped randomly in the middle of the book, as if leta herself forgot about this life-changing event until that point.

the other characters were underdeveloped stereotypes. the “monster” boy love interest (who doesn’t actually do anything monstrous—boo. boring). the cottagecore lesbian side character. the gay little brother. the closest this book came to an interesting character was the lord under, who was woefully underutilized (though it does seem like he’ll be more important in the next book).

lakesedge as a whole just felt like the author made a list of popular trends in ya fiction—gothic mansion! monster boy! beauty and the beast! hades and persephone! immortal dude with an unhealthy interest in a teenage girl!—without exploring any of those themes more deeply, so by the end it all felt very shallow.

A quiet, gothic story with a cursed manor, a dark god, and a boy with a curse. With titles like Summer Sons and A Lesson in Vengeance, 2021 has been on a roll with it’s gothic stories. I picked up Lakesedge on a whim, going with with zero expectations and found myself enchanted by this quiet haunting tale

Violeta, Leta, Graceling and her younger brother Arien are hiding a curse, one that’s been slowly threatening endanger Arien to the rest of their small village. When the lord of their town gets wind of this curse, the two are abruptly whisked off to Lakesedge Manor, where the two quickly learn the origins of this curse, and how to stop it.

Like the other gothic books I’ve read this year, I found what makes or breaks a story is the atmosphere, the vibes. Do I feel suitably ensnared in the mystery, balancing on a knife’s edge between enchanted and horrified? With Lakesedge, that answer is absolutely a yes. There are some especially vivid scenes early on, when Leta is first learning the ways of Lakesedge and first uncovering its dark secrets in a dream-like manor, that were so beautifully disturbing. The descriptions of the feeling of drowning, the enveloping darkness, and the siren-like lures Leta experienced were just beautifully crafted.

I was surprised to find myself so endeared to this set of characters. Lakesedge is told in an almost fairy-tale like manner, so there’s a degree of separation from the characters and the reader, yet something about Leta and Arien’s sibling bond struck me in a way I haven’t really experienced before. I loved how much they were willing to do for each other. Additionally, Leta and Rowan’s budding yet antagonistic relationship was a ton of fun to read!

If I had to give a critique, it would be that the worldbuilding felt empty. In part, I think, due to how short the book is. In this world, there exists the Lady and the Lord Under, who represent life and death. However, that’s about the extent of what we learn of them, There’s very little on their origins or how widely spread their worship is, or any details about the Lady in general. Likewise, we learn very little about the world Leta lives in other than her village, the Lakesedge Manor, and some talk of foreign countries with magic.

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. The gothic atmosphere is delicious and the characters well written and fascinating. And of course, there’s the dark and sexy Lord Under (big fan). The one thing I wished was that the worldbuilding could have been expanded on, but the story did an excellent job staying within a small confined setting.

Review will go live on my blog 24 September 2021

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

Thank you to the publishers at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for allowing me to read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I MAY OR MAY NOT BE IN LOVE WITH THE LORD UNDER!
A gothic fantasy with everything I could have wanted. I was so excited to read this debut novel and it lived up to my expectations. I love how the heroine, Violeta, expects a monster with multiple eyes and fangs, but as you read you realize not everything said is always the honest truth. Also I'm loving Rowans earrings.

Going into it, I knew I was going to enjoy this atmospheric read. I'm so glad I got approved if this ARC! Perfect for the fall season with many twisty plotlines.

Enjoyment: 3/5
Execution: 3.5/5
Final: 3.25/5

Violeta Graceling makes a bargain in the dark of the woods to save her and her brother, but shadows and nightmares plague Arien. When the lord Rowan Sylvanan comes to their town to collect tithes, he takes them with him back to the haunted Lakesedge estate, where he’s rumored to have murdered his entire family in cold blood.

This book’s strongest aspect is its atmosphere. The prose is lovely and descriptive, and paints such vivid mental images of secret gardens and magic rituals. The nightmare scenes are haunting and eerie, and This is a fascinating world with magic and religion tied closely together, however there is minimal worldbuilding and I desperately wanted more. What little we know is so interesting, but I was left with so many questions. Give the people what they want! I would have loved more lore, perhaps in the form of fables or stories, that lead up to the creation of the religion, as well as more into the magic system. While there are notes of using sigils to harness magic, with Leta’s magic, she just seems to be able to magically… *do* things.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the main character, Violeta, because she is so stubbornly self-sacrificing and refuses to listen to anybody else. She yells at Arien for doing something and then later in the book proceeds to do the same thing, then get upset when people are upset at her. She is frustrating and bounces from extreme “I hate this evil monster who is putting my brother at risk” to “oh but he’s so hot”, and it seemed like they went from Leta screaming insults at him to very physical and intimate flirting. I know that she’s young (17), but it often felt like she was the younger sibling and her 13 year old brother, Arien, was the older one. I did appreciate the demisexual rep here, along with the queer rep in Clover and Rowan, though I wish there had been more exploration into her feelings here. Of the characters, my favorite was Clover, who unfortunately doesn’t have many scenes. She’s an alchemist living with Rowan and working with him to stop the Corruption. She is fun and witty, and though the humor sometimes felt at odds with the sinister atmosphere, it made for some fun scenes.

This was a fun and atmospheric read that is perfect for the spooky season. It ends on a bit of a sequel (that I believe will be told from Rowan’s POV?) that I will definitely be checking out when it is released. Clipstone’s debut promises many more great books in the future!

Content warnings (may contain spoilers, may be incomplete): Physical and emotional child abuse, blood, death of parents & sibling, grief, graphic descriptions of injury, self harm, drowning imagery, body horror, suicidal ideation

Monster boys. Martyr girls. A complicated devil. Gothic landscape. All in all, not bad.

Love the setting and I'm weirdly hoping for something with the Lord Under. This gave me Splintered vibes toward the end.

However, the writing feels clumsy sometimes. They stop making out and just quietly eat fruit instead? She continues to call him a monster.. but fondly? Maybe she has a bad boy fetish. Hah.

Holy gothic fantasy!

This was one of my most anticipated reads, and it did not disappoint!

The author creates the perfect atmosphere for this eerie read, and I couldn't stop turning the page. Man or Monster? A Hades and Persephone retelling? Creepy estates? Light and dark magic? I AM HERE FOR IT.

This world this author creates is so descriptive and feels so real, it's as if I was right there with her characters. And her characters are so lovable and also full of darkness and angst and guilt and--just incredible. A strong brother and sister connection, a classic enemies-to-lovers romance, and found home and family make this book absolutely worth your while.

Even when they're hard to love, you can't help but to love Leta and Rowan more and more.

And with this ending, I can't even begin to tell you the amount of relief I felt once I saw that this was only book one.

<b> "It's like there are two stories about Rowan, about Lakesedge. Written side by side in a single volume. The ink from one bleeding through to mar the words on the opposite page. A boy who almost died. A boy who did die. A boy who drowned in a lake and came back as a monster.
But which story is real, and which is just a ghosted specter of rumor and fear?" </b>

Lakesedge is a dark and haunting story of a girl and her brother who are stolen from their home and taken to the one place more dangerous than the abuse they suffer... Lakesedge. Haunted by the stories of a lord who killed his entire family.

Leta & Arien will do what they can to stop the darkness and monsters that have overtaken the land, and save the ones they love.

Lakesedge felt like Beauty & the Beast met Crimson Peak.
<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/t8L2rqrjj2oXSZUnPK/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47mh611vb40szx0j5tf5ub2p0k3nqcf0um4fvqg0s8&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g"/>

Haunting, Beautiful, and a little sexy with a great start to a new series.
Also, do I smell a love triangle?
<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/eiFRaXPXr5ktDOvr1c/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e478wwy0kh41zmf5x8oyz8xqhoi7md4x8mh4926b2in&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g"/>

Read if you love:
-dark and haunting
-romance (wiggle brows)
-magic and mayhem
-morally grey characters ERRRRWEEEEERRRR
-LGBTQ characters 🏳️‍🌈
-dark a mysterious man x2
-a redhead dame to save the DANG DAY
-an easy series to get hooked on

Overall really enjoyed. I think I wanted a little bit more on the magic and the shadows to help me understand where all these powers were coming from. Are there alot of people with magic? how do you get it? that's where I needed a bit more clarity.
Also she repeated what Rowan smelled and tasted like in the book so many times it was burned in my brain.... I get it... he's delicious.
Thanks to the publisher and author for my ARC

My Rating:
characters-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
story-⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)
steam- things happen but the descriptions used made me feel like I was hiking and smelling new greenery, or I needed a snack... and that my friend left my lady bits confused.

Song- My Blood by Ellie Goulding

Thank you to the Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was not an enjoyable book for me. It's not that the writing was bad or anything, the story just wasn't something that gripped my attention. I found this to be just another average fantasy book with over used troupes. I didn't connect with any of the characters and by the end I didn't care about what happened to them or how the story ended. There was absolutely no connection between the story and I at all.

If you enjoy stories where the boy meets girl and everyone's lives change then this is probably something you'll enjoy. Like I said, it's not a bad book it's just not for me.