I still don’t know what to think of it… it was nothing like what I had expected it to be but I was really pleasantly surprised by the inventive magic system and the way that this book explored the themes of love, loyalty, and faith. All of that being said, the ending was surprisingly satisfying for a book that has a sequel. I’m not sure that I’m going to read said sequel but either way I definitely have fun reading this first one and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good Ya Gothic romance.

I received an arc of this book from MacMillan and I was definitely excited to read it. The plot was interesting, and so were the characters. I did, however, feel like the plot was not unique, and I the ending did not surprise me.

I enjoyed Lakesedge for two reasons. One was that the book managed to surprise me. The story itself wasn't the most unique, but it managed to take some interesting turns especially towards the end. The second reason is because of the relationships between the characters. I'm not sure if I cared about any of them individually, but I'm a sucker for a found family story with a dash of romance.
The only thing that gave me pause was Leta's relationship with the Lord Under. I get that he's evil and she's using him, but there is also an affection between them that feels weird seeing as they met when she was a child. It would be the one thing holding me back from wanting to dive into the second book because of the focus on that relationship and how it would make me feel. I love a good Death Personified romance, but this time it just felt a little off. But I will give book 2 a chance!

I absolutely loved this book!
The characters are compelling, the writing is beautiful and it's the YA gothic fantasy of my dreams. It's full of mystery and atmosphere as you learn more about Lakesedge, Rowan, the monstrous Lord Under and Leta herself. Nothing is ever what it seems and you can't wait to find out what will happen next.
There's a beautiful estate, a creepy lake, magic rituals, characters you can't help but love and hidden secrets.

This book was absolutely captivating from the very beginning. I loved the dark, creepy storyline. I loved the dark retelling of The Secret Garden. I loved that I personally got some Phantom of the Opera vibes too with the cover and parts of the story. I loved the ending although I need the second book this instant! I cannot wait to see what happens next year!

DNF at 15%

I don't normally DNF books this early. Normally I give them at least 25% to get good. But this one deserved no more of my time. We were on a 7 hour road trip today, and I didn't read a single page. All because of this book. This book had me dreading reading. So no, I won't be continuing it. Can't tell you why this one is so hyped, but I won't be jumping on that hype train.

I really wanted to love this book because I am a major fan of gothic novels! However, there were many disturbing scenes that made me uncomfortable. Still, the novel is very well-written! I do recommend this for fans of the paranormal genre!

A thrilling gothic tale. Well written and perfect for those looking for something paranormal adjacent.

The beginning of this book gave me such wonderful Beauty and the Beast vibes and I was all for that. Violetta and her brother are abducted by "The Monster", Rowan, and brought back to his estate on the cursed Lakesedge in order to help purge the lake of the corruption. As the story progresses, it drastically diverges from the Beauty and the Beast storyline and into much more sinister waters of the underworld. This book had all the makings of a great read for me, but the last half was so sluggish and I felt like I read the same tense scene over and over at least 3 times. It just lagged too much for me. It had good promise but fell short. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. 3 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I gave it a good try but I just found the main character Leta too annoying to continue. The other elements in the book just weren't strong enough to get me to stay.

Wow. This book was utterly amazing.

The whole premise was interesting and the world building was top notch. The only complaint that I have is mainly that that the book seemed to simultaneously drag on and move on way too quickly all at once.

I loved it though.

The slight enemies to lovers storyline was very cute and well done. Clipstone referenced several times some pretty old practices. <i>Seal on your heart, seal on your arm</i> That is referenced in several historical fiction books and I absolutely love it. It's so freaking romantic.

The magic was very intriguing. The whole dark and light parallel was so so well done.

Honestly, I need a second one 'cause that was a very big cliffhanger.

"I can think of countless foolish things I want to do. In the end, I do the most terrible of them all. I lie."

⭐⭐💫

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are honest and my own.

Content warnings: self-harm, injury, gore, physical abuse, parental abuse,

Lakesedge follows Violeta, an orphan girl desperate to keep her little brother Arien safe from shadows and darkness that swirl and haunt him at night. Their adopted mother of sorts seems to think this is a sign Arien is evil or possessed, and is abusing them both. While she debates whether running away is an option, a local lord with a reputation for evil (rumor has it he drowned his whole family!) takes both Violeta and Arien to his haunted estate for mysterious reasons. Will Violeta be able to discover his hidden motives, all while hiding her own?

I was most drawn in by this absolutely stunning cover, and was intrigued by the idea of a YA gothic fantasy. This is not my typical sub-genre, but I enjoy branching out! My favorite part of Lakesedge is the atmosphere. The author does a splendid job of making scenes leave you with chills almost reminiscent of Erin A. Craig in House of Salt and Sorrows. Sometimes the writing did suffer from repetition. I enjoyed learning the definition of a new word to me, bower, but then bower was used to a frequency that took away its magic. Some scenes that held appeal or intrigue were remembered by the MC on so many occasions that they twisted into scenes I was annoyed at having to reread yet again.

I enjoyed the plot with Rowan, the found family trope in the manor, Violeta's sense of humor in the worst of situations, and the chemistry between Violeta and Rowan! Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy anything about the Lord Under (the entire time I was imagining Lord Voldemort ahjfdgkfg and I also found most interactions cringy considering how they met), so my intrigue towards the end of the book was too low to want to continue the series.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy atmospheric YA fantasy, complicated romances, and monsters in both a figurative and literal sense!

Gothic Dark magic awaits the reader. I felt that the ending was a way to grip the reader into reading the next book and man did that win me over. I loved every creepy page and can not wait to get the next one. The feel and atmosphere are just perfect for the story and I love the characters.

Violeta is fierce about protecting her brother Arien. Sometimes when he sleeps, dark shadows surround him. When he has an episode in the village during the day; he runs into the woods. He hides because he knows people will be afraid of him. Lord Sylvanan rules the village and he finds Violeta and Arien in the woods and promises that he can help with the shadows. They travel together to Lord Sylvanan’s grounds and discover that he also deals with darkness and guilt. His first name is Rowan but Violeta doesn’t trust him to not harm Arien. They see Rowan’s shadows and how he has to make sacrifices to the Corruption so it won’t take over their world. Slowly, she begins to trust him and tries to help stop the Corruption. Arien is taught to use his magic by Clover, the alchemist who resides in Rowan’s home. The housekeeper Florence takes good care of all of them. Arien grows stronger and believes in himself as Clover helps him grow and direct the shadows. Lord Under appears to Violeta, Leta for short, and she recognizes him from when she made a sacrifice to keep Arien safe when they were younger. She trusts him but she shouldn’t trust him completely. Lord Under watches over the souls of people that have passed on. Their hearts live on in trees within Lord Under’s world. His domain is falling apart too and he’ll do anything to save it. Interesting, unique world. 4 stars!

Lakesedge is a dark, gothic like novel. There is a corruption that is gradually spreading through the land, one that cannot be contained easily. Leta is the main character of this story. She is protective of her younger brother and tries to hide the shadows that come from him when he dreams. Their adoptive mother is cruel and tries to punish him every time his shadows appear. On the night of the tithe, the lord of the lands arrives to gather their payment to him. In the case of bad timing (as always seems to happen in these kinds of stories) Arien's shadows suddenly appear in the middle of the day instead of only at night. The lord, whom is later known with his actual name, takes Leta and Arien back to his home in hopes that Arien can help cure the corruption with his shadow powers. Along the way, all of the characters show growth and develop more dimension.
It was an exciting day when I received and ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I wish I could have rated this book much higher, but I simply could not connect with the characters. For a novel of this length, I can usually finish it in a matter of a couple days. However, this book took me a week. The world building was dark, lovely, and everything I could have hoped for. The characters left much to be desired. It was as if the author wanted to spice things up and kept adding more poor choices and emotional damage to the characters at every turn, even when wholly unnecessary. I will not continue on with this series, but I will not forget the stunning imagery the world building gave me.

Lakesedge is a story of an older sister who would do--and has done--anything, even the unthinkable, to save her little brother. In a world ruled by "The Lady," some are born with magic and are called alchemysts. The Lady's counterpart "the Lord Under" rules the afterlife below, but sometimes intervenes in the living world above when people encounter death, bringing them back to life or keeping them from an otherwise inevitable death after bargaining with them, sometimes for magic, or memories, or worse things entirely. Leta and her little brother are swept into a fight against dark magic when they are taking to the Lakesedge estate by its young lord, Rowan Sylvanan, whose dark reputation at first paints him as an antihero at best and murderous villain at worst. But as the plot progresses, Rowan's innate kindness reveals itself quite soon and Leta and Arien are quickly invested in the fight against the evil "Corruption" magic of their own accord.

This book was dreamily atmospheric, the details of the setting and customs lovingly detailed. The characters were all distinct and easily likable in their own ways, though there were a couple hiccups in their development. For example, the young alchemyst Clover blushes after looking at Rowan when talking about the choice to work at Lakesedge, leading me to believe she had a crush on him and fearing the arrival of a love triangle. For the rest of the story, however, Clover is cheerfully and meddlesomely supportive of Rowan and Leta's growing feelings for each other while staying steadfast in a different crush on the daughter of a local official. I like the pivot, but that first detail about Clover threw me off.

I would also say that the climactic arc of the book was a little bogged down with back and forth "will it work or will it fail" events, but successfully leads the reader into a somewhat unexpected final showdown. The final pages are not what I would call a satisfying ending or stopping point in the narrative of the world, but urgently set up an inevitable sequel.

Elder siblings will sympathize with Leta's character. There was a scene of intimacy between Rowan and Leta that I thought very well done, euphemistically worded, and appropriate for an older teen audience while still adding to the story and dripping with chemistry and sweetness. Overall, this story is one I would recommend to any young adult fantasy enthusiast who enjoyed darker tales or hints of a Hades-esque underworld lord.

dnf I really loved the concept of the book but I slowly lost interest. I would personally give it 4 stars though even though I dropped it. I really feel there was amazing potential

Lakesedge is a gothic YA story with elements of romance, witchcraft, and a splash of horror. I was immediately captivated by both the beautiful cover and the synopsis. Unfortunately, the book ended up falling flat to me.

I will say that the author is a very good writer and is able to weave together great sentences. This review has nothing to do with the author's ability to write- she clearly can! I was simply not captivated by the plot. It dragged in many parts and didn't go as quickly or as smooth as I would have liked.

The characters were fine, but I wanted a little bit more out of them. I do think the worldbuilding is great, but without a steady plot and developed characters, this book just wasn't for me.

Lakesedge fit my love for atmospheric YA with a great blend of gothic, horror, and romance. In the book we are following our main character, Violeta, who will stop at nothing to protect her younger brother from nightmares. Lakesedge, itself, is a mystifying old estate that is rumored to be cursed and haunted by a monster of the lake. I got some Crimson Peak mixed with Secret Garden vibes here and my heart was oh-so-happy! This is the first book in the World at Lake's Edge Series and the ending leaves much more to be desired. I will be reading on....

Absolutely wonderful story! Cannot wait to read the next book! Characters were wonderfully written and easy to fall in love with. Brought me to tears. And that ending was equally infuriating and amazing.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.