This is a lush, gothic-like horror with fantasy elements and an atmospheric culture. It was beautiful and rich, and dark and foreboding. The characters are stunning and well developed and the story just pulls you and pulls you and sweeps you away. It was unforgettable.

Masterful and lush and filled with such a richness that is like dark-chocolate, the romance is ... wow. It's so well done, it is everything I want in a gothic novel. The cover is stunning, the world is amazing...

I would say if Crimson Peak and Secret Garden had a baby, then Lakesedge is it.

This was just... perfect.

“Maybe I just want to be the girl who held the hand of a monster.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for providing me with a digital copy of this book to read and review!

3.75-4 stars

I had high expectations for this book, since Lakesedge boasts a dark romance dripping with monsters, magic, and gothic atmosphere. And it delivered. Lyndall's debut is the perfect October read, offering the moorish atmosphere of a Brontë novel and a story that wasn't afraid to explore dark themes and characters..

I was slow reading at first, but Lakesedge had me fully hooked by the second half as the threat of the corruption loomed. If I were to describe this book with a Pinterest image, it would be a pitch-black autumn night, when you’re sitting alone clasping a mug of warm tea as the cold wind bites into you. Lyndall's writing was at times unnecessarily expository and on-the-nose, but not to the point where it was too annoying. I feel like it’s something that could be fixed with one more round of editing. For example, there were a few lines that got repetitive, and some themes of "monsters" and cruelty were a bit overpressed. But the characters were engrossing in the same way of those in a Stoker or Robert Louis Stevenson book. Leta feels like a gothic novel protagonist, painted in ethereal descriptions and in her head a lot.

We can't forget the monstrous characters as well.

There are actually two monsters, so-to-speak, in this story, and I like that the author took the plot path that not a lot of traditional movies are willing to take. Let’s just say, if you wished Rey and Kylo’s relationship was fleshed out more, this book shines a light on those kinds of characters. Rowan and the Lord Under are the archetypical gray characters who are finally given proper attention. Though the characterization was done mostly through dialogue and exposition, rather than action, Lakesedge's exploration of dark characters and their complexity kept me turning the pages. I was completely invested in Leta's story, and am counting down the days to Forestfall. Especially after that ending!

There was brief mention of a f/f side couple, and it is mentioned on-page that Leta's brother is queer.


Content Warnings: cutting, blood, mentions of murder and suicide, light body horror, drowning, suicidal themes, death

Along with Goodreads and my blog, I will be posting a review on my Instagram and Twitter, and promoting it on my TikTok closer to the release date!

I requested this for my daughter that is 16 she read it so fast. She said it was so good. She can’t wait for more from this author. She said it was all she was looking for!! She loved the cover too

*Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review*

AAAAAHHHHHH when I went on Goodreads to find out if there was a sequel I was disappointed and super excited. I was disappointed because now I have to wait six million years to find out what the flippin heck happens next!?

Lakesedge is one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint! I absolutely LOVE this book.

The pacing was perfect, the writing is magical, and the development of characters was simply perfect. I wish this book were ten times longer so it wouldn't end so soon.

I am greatly anticipating the sequel and I hope there's a lot of fan art when the book comes out.

5 stars!

CREEPY HAUNTED HOUSE? GOTHIC FANTASY? WITH A CREEPY ASS STUNNING COVER? YESSSSSS. First off, what instantly appealed to me was the fact that there is a market for this genre but it is very rarely utilized. We get book after book of standard sword and knight fantasy in YA and it all follows the same formula and similar world building because people want to stick to what works. But gothic horror fantasy? Meshing YA fantasy magic with the paranormal and subtle horror motifs? The genre alone is brilliant and rarely seen in new YA releases. Big plus already that this isn’t a repeat of a basically every other fantasy book out there. The genre/world building/vibe alone causes this to be a standout read and I picked up on this instantly from the first chapter.

The vibes of this book are UGH IMMACULATE. Part of me wants to live in this world, a fairytale village with a creepy dark Crimson Peak estate shrouded in magic and mystery. The vibes are immaculate! IMMACULATE! A fairytale/royaltycore aesthetic will always be top tier for me but I would totally want to be in this book world too. Books like these just make me want to make me wanna drink tea and listen to dark academia music while I read and go to my happy place.

From the first chapter, the book felt different yet familiar because it reminds me of several things that I love. Different because this is a genre (unfortunately) not commonly seen in YA; similar because I got Belle from Beauty and the Beast in her village vibes from the first chapter (creepy village, magic, monsters) but a gothic horror version. It also gives me Phantom of the Opera vibes, and also reminds me of Crimson Peak. The mention of the Lord Under also reminded me of one of my FAVORITE books of all time, Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, where an evil entity called the King Under Stone who lives in the underworld torments the princesses from his dark, underground universe. The fact that this book is reminiscent of things that I know and love love was a big plus for me, because it was new, yet also nostalgic.

“Once marked, the Lord Under knows your name.”

The magic and religious system of Greymere is a major highlight because holy shit it is interesting. The villagers believe the Lady created the universe and threads her magic throughout the world, and her magic is light. Conversely, the Lord Under is all dark magic and evil, filled with terror and shadows. His purpose is to guide the dead into the world Below, but if he comes to you then leaves you alive, you return to the world corrupted. This is what Violeta suspects about Rowan, the ”monster” who forces her brother to his estate. There is a lot of mystery surrounding his character and Violeta is determined to find out the truth.

The highlight and strongest part of this book is definitely the atmosphere. However, the story was a bit anticlimactic. The beginning started out strong, but then the middle 70% dragged on and were not very interesting. I only really was into it at the beginning and end. Speaking of the end, I do realize there is a sequel but the ending still felt a bit too abrupt to me. However, I still overall enjoyed this story. I loved the ambience, the atmosphere, and the style. A solid 4/5 stars for atmosphere and ambience.

Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

As an anticipated read, I’m disappointed.

I think the biggest offender for me was the writing style and that honestly killed it. It’s hard to fall in love with a book when you don’t mesh with the writing. In the blurb it is compared to Naomi Novik and Brigid Kemmerer. Both of those authors are big names and I just didn’t see this one comparing to their books unfortunately.

As for the characters, they were okay but left me underwhelmed. Violeta may be portrayed as selfless but honestly, she is selfish. I really didn’t like her or the choices she made. Rowan was just not what I was expecting and his broody self wasn’t working magic on me. It’s kind of a shame as broody is usually a good keyword as to what I like about characters. Her brother just kind of felt like a plot point pawn and it was hard to connect with him or feel anything besides what his mother did to him. That was pretty harsh.

The setting had it’s moments. I liked the use of the lake and the estate but it still felt a bit underwhelming. As this book is going for a gothic feel I just felt like it tried so hard to be that but it fell flat. I didn’t get the spooky vibes I wanted.

Overall, this was okay and ultimately not for me. I’m just going to keep this review short. You can take it as you will for it seems this may be another unpopular opinion! Apparently I have a lot of those, haha.

What a great gothic novel of mystery and an epic marvel of darkness. Clipstone has created a story that I devoured in one sitting; utterly dripping with gothic mythos and legend. Thank you for the e-arc!

A dark, gothic fantasy about a monster who collects his tithes from the townies, resides at his mansion sets on the banks of cursed lake where he drowned his own family one by one! If you don’t start screaming and running away yet, this may be good fit for your dark, claustrophobic, suffocating thriller intake!

You get your fix and read your feel-worse book! Sometimes scary things in this book can be therapeutic by distracting us from the real villains at the outer world!

Poor Violeta Graceling was found in the woods with her brother, raised by a woman who tortured both of them to kill the shadows and pure darkness growing inside her thirteen years old brother Arien. Only thing she prays for is providing a safe place and taking care of him.
But their lord Rowan Sylvanan returns back to town for collecting tithes. The dark lord is presumed to massacre his entire family! And now he wants to take his brother drag into the haunted Lakesedge! Hell, no! She cannot let him take away without a fight.

You can guess what is gonna happen next. She loses the fight, reluctantly stepping in Lakesedge estate, meeting with eccentric alchemist Clover and tough, loyal, caretaker Florence and the eerie, empty, freezing, haunted estate slowly brings out the nightmares and secrets she kept about her past.

She realizes Rowan is not the monster she thinks and his connection to Lord Under and the black waters of haunted lake is way more complicated she can absorb. She may be the key to save Rowan, her own brother, her new friends. But she has to be brave enough to cross the path of darkness, learning the ugly truths she restrained for so long. She has a dangerous tithe to pay!

It’s a great, extremely bleak, horrifying but absolutely intriguing beginning of brand new series ends with cliffhanger. I enjoyed this one! I’m looking forward to read the other books of the series. ( it seems like a duology, so let’s say the other book)

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/ Henry Holt and Co. for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I have to call a very quick DNF on this one, but I'm not entirely sure that that should be taken as condemnation of the book. For one thing, I don't do well with abusive mother characters, and although the one in Lakesedge only appears relatively briefly at the start of the book (unless she comes back past the point at which I stopped reading) it was still enough to be upsetting for me. But that's an issue with the reader, not with the book (if anything, it suggests that Clipstone writes an extremely believable, believably-awful mother character. Which does take skill!)

And I think most of the other things I really Did Not Like about Lakesedge...are very common conventions in YA fiction. (First person present-tense narration, for example; slightly simplistic dialogue; a pace I found a bit too brisk.) Which means that Lakesedge shouldn't be penalised for those things - I was just completely the wrong reader for this book. I went in hoping for luscious prose and dark decadence and a genuinely monstrous love interest, and I didn't find them. But I don't think it's a bad book; I'm sure there are a lot of readers who are going to love this. I'm just not one of them.

"I’ve seen the darkness turn him into a monster. I’ve seen it fed and felt the endlessness of its hunger. And now I stand beneath its heart."

What drew me to this story was the promise of a gothic fantasy romance with a cursed lake. Then the cover was released and I was in love. The cover is breathtaking and the more I looked at the cover, the more things I saw lurking in the dark. After you read the book, everything on the cover will make sense. It's perfect for this fantastical dark story.

I feel as if an evilness lured me into the dark woods on the night of the full moon. Where we travel deeper into the darkness as things grow denser with spots of brightness from where the moon peeks through the trees. You hear things that go bump in the night as the evil lures you deeper into the woods. You make it to a lake and he clutches your soul in his hands. He plunges it deep into the icy water and brings out your now cold and black soul. After that, you know things will never be the same.

This was so damn good. I couldn't put this down. It instantly pulled me into its clutches and never let me go. I was entranced by its dark beauty. The story was fantastic, the characters were amazing, and the tale that was told through these pages was one that you'll never forget.

And you know how I love the bad boys. So let's talk about Rowan! He was a monstrous boy who was dreamy as hell. He has a dark past with some family issues but who doesn't!? His character was well-thought-out and looked damn good on paper.

Lakesedge was absolutely amazing. This is part Secret Garden mixed with Crimson Peak with a dash of gothic fantasy romance. I don't have to say anything else because it'll have you hooked from page one. If I make one book recommendation this year, it's going to be this one!!

When I saw the cover of Lakesedge, I immediately fell in love and knew that I had to read it as soon as possible.

So I would like to thank the author Lyndall Clipstone and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I’m not sure anything that I could say would do this book justice, but I’m going to try.

Prepare to be transported to another world full of gothic mansions and candle-lit hallways. Where the gardens are lush, vast and green. Where alchemy runs in your veins and blood magic is used to curb darkness. With a story that weaves in the underworld, love and a bond between siblings.

The corruption will consume you if you let it, if you dip your toes into the lake’s surface long enough…it will creep up your skin. Are you brave enough to bleed and offer up something from yourself to the Lord Under? Who will save you from yourself when you do?

Violeta and Arien are siblings. And they’ve heard the whispers about the monster of Lakesedge. Never did they think they would end up under the same roof as him….

Lyndall writes beautifully. I loved this book so much that I have my hard copy preordered, and I think you should do the same.

When I truly love a book, it’s hard sometimes for me to review it because I am just so mesmerized with it, and because I don’t want to spoil it for you. Also, THE LORD UNDER!! That’s it, that’s all I’m going to give you.

The release date is Sept 28 by Henry Holt Books.

5⭐️

Thank you to Edelweiss and Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Lakesedge promised us monster-y romance, death gods, a gothic manor, a cursed lake, and magic, and it DELIVERED. I devoured this book in a single night.

Lakesedge follows Violeta Graceling, a girl orphaned with her younger brother being raised by a religious woman who took them in, but Violeta’s younger brother, Arien, starts exhibiting signs of dark magic: shadows erupting during the night as he dreams, and the woman punishes them for it.

On the tithe day, Arien’s powers erupt, and the lord of the area sees them and demands they come with him to his estate, Lakesedge. But the lord, Rowan Sylvanan, is a monster, rumored to have killed his entire family before inheriting the estate and lands.

But even if Rowan is a calculating and cruel kinslayer, Rowan needs Arien’s magic to help cleanse a magical corruption that started from the lake at his home, before it consumes Rowan, already half-filled with the corruption himself, Lakesedge, and the rest of the world, with its rot and decay.

Romance blooms between Rowan and Leta, but there is more to both of them than meets the eye, both inexplicably tied to Lord Under, the god of death, and it becomes clear it’s not just Arien who Rowan needs to help cleanse the corruption for good.

Now time for my actual thoughts on the book:

While I don’t think there was anything particularly noteworthy of the writing itself—I only tend to notice writing styles if it’s either terrible or absolutely stunning— it wasn’t bad but it just didn’t jump out at me, I LOVED the romance, I loved the magic systems, I loved the incorporation of the death god and his underworld, blood sacrifices, everything.

Even for me not enjoying young adult books very often anymore, this was amazing. I highly recommend if you’re looking for a good monster love interest fantasy romance.

As for LGBT rep: it was overall a F/M romance, and as far as I could tell the protagonist is straight, but there’s a wlw side character and I believe Rowan was implied to like men as well as women.

Like I said, I devoured this book. It hooked me from the beginning and I felt like I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Now I’m hating that I read it so quickly because I need the next book NOW but it’s 19 months away. What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Bribe the author with a crisp $20 to let me read the unfinished draft of Forestfall? Work more hours at the bookstore to be able to give Lyndall a more sizable bribe?

Add to your TBR and preorder. You need to read this book, just like I NEED to be torn between Lord Under and Rowan Sylvanan, just like Leta.

Excellent read! Mix in part gothic horror, part renaissance festival, part fairytale with a little romance. Abused orphans, one of which is possessed by shadows, are claimed by a monstrous nobleman to help him heal a blighted lake. As the brother works to learn to control his powers over the shadows, the sister finds she is not without resources of her own.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. Magic, dark romantic interest and something in the woods. I love the characters and I couldn't wait to read more about them. I devoured this book quickly and cant wait to see what Clipstone does next.

Lakesedge is a beautifully written tale filled with magic, moonlit kisses, and death gods that lurk in dreams and dark lakes.
Lakesedge begins with Violetta and her younger brother Arien, two orphans who through a series of increasingly concerning events, find themselves at the shrouded and mysterious Lakesedge estate. The lord of the manor, Rowan Sylvanan, is tied to the Lord Under and he carries a dark secret. It is said that he drowned his entire family in the lake next to his home. As Letta finds herself drawn to Rowan, she discovers that Lakesedge estate is not what it seems and at night she starts to hear a voice calling to her.
Without giving too much away, I want to say that this book is every gothic romance lover's dream. It reminded me of Crimson Peak, Jane Eyre, and The Haunting of Bly Manor all at the same time. The writing is incredibly immersive, I often felt myself reacting alongside Letta to her surroundings, this book truly makes you see, hear, and even smell what Letta does. The plotting and reveals were timed and presented perfectly, the horror and shock of a few are truly bone chilling. The Lord Under is one of the best gray characters I've ever read, he's truly the personification of death and he is very mysterious. The romance (without spoiling anybody) is one of my favorites now. It's slow and angsty in all the best ways. The relationships Letta forms with the other tenants of the estate are also sweet to read and I loved her relationship with her brother especially.
This is a YA novel that I definitely think will be a crossover hit with it's exploration of dark magic, romance, and its atmospheric setting that draws the reader in from the first sentence.

This was such a lovely gothic read!

In this book we follow Violeta whose brother is suffering from these odd shadows that they try to hide from their village. The Lord of Lakesedge notices them one day when visiting their village and takes them to his home so that he can have her brother trained to control his powers. In the meantime, Violeta is trying to come to terms as to what her brother can do, her memories, her feelings for Rowan, and the curse he is under and how she can end it.

This gave me such Jane Eyre and Hades and Persephone, with maybe even a bit of Beauty and the Beast, vibes. It is very gothic and atmospheric, enchanting and a bit eerie. The world is so eerie and gothicly romantic.

I loved the dynamic between the characters. I loved Violeta’s relationship with her brother, and the interaction between the other side characters in this book. I love when the main characters develop such strong relationships with side characters and when family relationships develop. It was well done in this book. The romance in here is also lovely, a slow burn, which I love! I adored Rowan from the start. Such a dark past, that causes his rather broody and dark demeanor, but he obviously has a heart and cares a lot. Violeta, on the other hand, was probably my least favorite character. She was over protective(which I get, it’s her brother’s life at stake here, but still, let him make his own choices), and instead of getting more information, she tended to jump to conclusions and was very stubborn in her thoughts. Then she suddenly just changed and accepted everything. I dunno, she just honestly annoyed me.

Other than Violeta, I loved the rest of the characters, the story, the world, and that ending! I’m curious to know how the story continues! Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the free digital copy to read and review.

A mix of Beauty and the Beast, Hades and Persephone and The Haunting of Bly Manor, this novel is a gothic fantasy. When Violetta and Arien’s parents die, the two children end up alone in the cold, snowy woods. Violetta asks a stranger for help, a stranger that turns out to be Lord Under, the god of Death. She bargains with him, giving up her magic so that he would spare her brother and lead them to somewhere safe. As a result, Arien has dark magic in the form of shadows that torment him. The lord of the village, Rowan, notices Arien’s dark magic. Rowan is referred to as a monster, ever since his family died under mysterious circumstances involving the lake on his property. He also has black marks from dark magic gained by his own deal with Lord Under. Unfortunately his despair and guilt over the bargain has taken on a life of its own as a Corruption that has made the lake black and is destroying the land. He takes Violetta and Arien into his house, thinking that Arien’s magic and that of his alchemist Clover can heal the land. He is wrong- it’s not enough. Violetta, now in love with Rowan, makes another deal with Lord Under to save everyone but it comes with consequences she did not anticipate.

I've been eagerly anticipating the release of Lakesedge so when I saw it on NetGalley I was beyond excited. The description is what initially sold me - I mean a gothic estate, monsters, and magic? Yes please! Then I saw the beautiful cover and having now read the book I can say it definitely matches the vibe of the story. The writing style in Lakesedge is lyrical and haunting. It instantly transports you into Violeta's dark and beautiful world. The romance between Violeta and Rowan is very subtle and slow burn. The pacing is a bit slow but it worked for me as it helped build the creepy and gothic atmosphere. Overall a great read for autumn/winter, I'd recommend to fans of books like Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft.

The writing was super beautiful but I couldn’t connect to the characters. But the story had a unique concept!

Lakesedge, for sure, is one of my most anticipated releases for this year. I was lucky enough to read this early so yes, this is me telling you I've already finished it!

If you're looking for a gothic fantasy romance book, this one is for you. It also has short chapters, so the story flows really easily. Leta is a girl who lives with her little brother and her adopted mother, but she is afraid of the powers her brother has. Then, the Monster of Lakesedge comes for them when he sees her brother's powers and takes them to his gothic manor. Rowan is rumored to have killed his entire family in the lake beside the house. And now Leta is going right there.

Even though the story was very fascinating and has lots of little things that were intriguing, there was something missing. Maybe it was me and something didn't click completely, and if you read it you might enjoy it lots more than I did. I enjoyed our two monster boys and wished we saw more from them in their monster-y ways. Rowan and the Lord of the Dead were the most interesting characters. But Leta too! Her power and story were epic but I wanted to see more darkness, more story around that magic and her powers.

I really thought in my head this was a standalone book, but I was 99% into the book and SO MANY THINGS WEREN'T ENDING, THEY WERE NOT FIXING THEMSELVES. So yeah, I saw the sequel comes out not until Fall 2022, so that's such a long way to go from here. I will be definitely reading that because this book ended really *eye emoji* I'm ready to see what comes next.

♡ monster boys
♡ curses
♡ blood and magic
♡ bisexual lord of the gothic manor who is annoyed the heroine comes to his crumbling castle
♡ found family!!

content warning: there is a lot of cutting involved in the magic and the curse, so beware of the sudden cuts in arms and blood coming out from there.