Thank you to HCC Frenzy for an eARC via netgalley for me to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

CWs: guns, abandoned camp, injury detail (minor), panic attacks

This was a really interesting one. I figured out the twists pretty early because it was leading in that direction, but it still kept me fully engaged as I waited to see what would happen to the characters. The writing style was gripping, and the plot moved at a good pace for this kind of thriller.
I thought the characters were good. Claire, Reyva, and Mariana were all different, but they connected well to each other. I thought their friendship was sweet especially with how intimate and vulnerable they had to become due to their situation.
I thought the supernatural type twist was intriguing, but I also feel as if I’ve read some things that are similar. It didn’t feel like something that really surprised me, but it was interesting to see how the characters reacted.

Claire, Reyva, and Mariana arrive on a remote lake for a summer camp that their parents went to when they were kids. Their parents all decided to send them now since the camp is reopening after being closed for years. However, when they get to the camp, the house has burned down. Then they find a dead body in the woods. It’s too late for them to return to the mainland because the boat that dropped them off has left. The three girls must conquer their fears to survive the mysterious dangers of the lake house.

I don’t usually like survival stories like this one, but I was intrigued by the premise of this story. I really enjoyed it! The three girls had to figure out how to survive on the island with only the things they had brought for camp, but they also encountered other challenges throughout the story. There were a lot of unpredictable twists that kept the story suspenseful. There was a bit of a supernatural twist to the end of the story too that surprised me, but it all came together in the end.

The Lake House is a suspenseful new YA story!

Thank you HCC Frenzy for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: panic attacks, death, suicide, anxiety, broken bones, fire, gunshot death

If you liked the video games Until Dawn and/or The Quarry then this is the book for you! It hits a lot of the same notes: survival, murderous stranger, summer camp, and touch of the surreal. As far as books are concerned, if you liked The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins this is definitely something you might enjoy!

Our protagonist, Claire, thought her biggest worry at camp this summer was going to be trying to fit in. She's never been "normal," instead anticipating every worse case scenario. It turns out that habit is going to make her uniquely fit for the situation she finds herself in alongside two other young woman: their camp has burned to the ground, and they have no way to get help. What follows is a wild story of the three unlikely friends surviving the elements, a guy who wants to kill them, and a supernatural force that never wants them to leave the island.

I think I would have liked to know going in that we were headed towards the more surreal. I was really concerned it was going to go the Until Dawn route and use an indigenous belief but it didn't, as far as I can tell, which I can appreciate. I understand why they might not have marketed this aspect of it, but I think it ultimately set somewhat false expectations. There are only a few other things that I wasn't a huge fan of, one being some repetitive dialogue, but nothing insurmountable (the other big thing is below hidden because of spoilers).

If this sounds like something you'd be into, I really recommend it! A great summer read that I absolutely flew through and found myself looking forward to getting to read.

Spoiler: The part at the end when they forget about Jack felt rushed to me-- I understand it was the demon or whatever trying to get the girls to forget he was there but to me it didn't feel like that was fully fleshed out. Part of that I think is that they clearly didn't do a good job convincing the police why they forgot about him. I think it was pulled off really well in the writing, the girls forgetting about him, but I think the resolution could have been more believable. Not something that ruined it for me, just something I noticed.

I wanted to love this one but sadly it just didn't live up to what I was hoping for. I really loved the Queens of Renthia series by this author and I wished she would bring that kind of thing to her ya books. Because, although those were sold as adult they are so much better and very Ya for the most part. This one felt more like it had a great set up but failed to really execute what it needed to do. The dialogue kept getting in the way of the story and the characters were just kind of meh.

It is a survival thriller set on remote island vacation. Three teenage girls were sent to a summer camp their parents loved so much but so many things were not as they expected.
This book has great distinct characters, they are strong and vulnerable and their friendship bonding is very touching.

I loved the setting, survival mode was excellent and thrilling (I swear now I put a lighter and Swiss army knife in my purse just in case) - wet clothes, lack of food and rain water to drink, attempts to build a fire, forest everywhere which was both beautiful and scary.
Short chapters often ended up with a cliffhanger and I just couldn’t stop reading.

What didn’t fully work for me is a major twist at the end, it was not expected and felt a little bit out of place.

But it was still a very enjoyable and exciting read with lots of fascinating details.

This book had it all. A thriller that kept your mind turning through the entire story, as well as a touching story about friendship and accepting and loving who you are. Three young girls are sent to an "enrichment retreat" for the summer. Only when these late arrivals were dropped off at the waters edge, they find the Lake House burned and the camp director dead. Thinking they are alone, their main focus is on survival and finding a way out of the forest. However, they soon find out they are not alone, a man with a gun is hunting them. Their survival moves beyond finding food and water to survival of the deepest kind. These girls use all their resources to try to stay alive and outsmart the killer, discovering themselves and each other along the way. This book has you rooting for the underdog with your heart racing and your mind turning. This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last!

In this summer camp turns survival story where three girls must do anything they can to survive after being left alone in a remote woods off the coast of Maine. But are they really alone?

A story of friendship, survival, and using what makes you different to make you stronger this is a can’t miss book.

DNF. Not a fan of the isolation trope. The characters were unlikable, and the author was dancing around "anxiety" for Claire, which I thought was weird. Say it's anxiety! The storytelling was loose and relied too much on "I'm not giving you enough info so you keep going"... only bad storytelling uses that tactic because it's manipulative. If it comes from the heart, it'll just flow. There won't be any deliberate withholding of information. I don't recommend. Frustrating.

This reminded me of Hatchet, which I’ve never liked, until it didn’t. There was a weird paranormal plot dropped in at about 70% and I love paranormal plotlines, but really? That late? I think this book suffered from trying to do two different things. It could have been a survival book or it could have been a paranormal book. It didn’t work as both because of how it was structured. That said, I enjoyed the writing and found the girls interesting. It just didn’t work for me.

The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst

Reyva, Mariana and paranoid Claire go to a secluded Lake House camp on an eerie island. When they get there, they find a burned down house and a dead body. They have been stranded with no way home. Creepy things start going on and they have to fight for survival.

This book had so much promise it started off strong with the opening with the boat ride to the island and the girls arriving on the island to find things are not what they seem with the camp building burned down and finding a dead body. I was pulled in instantly then it kind of lulled out for me it moved slowly where the girls couldn't figure out really what they are going to do to get off the island.
Also, the characters began to annoy me a bit. Then when things begin to happen you need to suspend disbelief to go with the story going forward. Which in this case it was a bridge to far for me and just too much for me. I still think some people will enjoy this book it has a bit horror vibe with young adult characters if this is your jam then you may enjoy this book. I would still like to read something else from this author she does know how to pull people into a story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins Children Books for a free copy of The Lake House for an honest review. All Thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Claire is off to summer camp. Actually, she's off to a "summer enrichment program" because her parents, who are constantly working to "fix" her anxiety issues, feel that this would look good on a resume and be a good experience for her. Located in the remote woods of Maine, Claire boards a small boat with two other girls and heads toward the camp, where they assume many other campers and adventures await them there. However, when the girls leave the boat and hike the path to the facility, all they find is a completely burnt down facility and a dead body. The girls must rely on each other and survive in more ways than one, especially as they soon come to find that something about these woods aren't quite natural.

This was a really fun summer read! The survival element was more of what I wanted from The Woods are Always Watching and the relationship between the three friends was more of what I wanted from Sawkill Girls. There was a bit of a lag in the middle, as the beginning of the book started with such a bang of excitement, but the novel did pick up in the end. Overall, this is a book I would readily recommend to any fan of summer thrillers.

SO MANY TWISTS! I am a sucker for a summer camp thriller, and the cover of this one has major 80s summer camp thriller vibes. The story 1000% delivers on the hype of the cover and the description. I suggest going into this one as blind as possible and enjoying the ride until the end. The characters are really well written, and the mix of survival meets supernatural will have horror fans hooked.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Three girls arrive at a summer camp to find a burned lodge and no survivors. The are now stranded and realize someone or something is hunting them.

This book is outwardly a survival story. While I can't say anything about the setting being true to Maine, I felt isolated and lost throughout the story. The survival plot is engaging and kept me reading. However, at its heart it's a story of friendship and learning to love yourself. The three girls are the heart of the story. They are distinct, real people. People dealing with anxiety, trauma, and acceptance. It is great to see them come together throughout the story, learn to use each other's strengths, and trust their own. Often times in YA I have read female friendships that seem catty or have a love interest getting in their way to add drama to the story. It was a great change of pace to read a story without that. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst is a creepy and thrilling young adult horror novel. The story in The Lake House is one that was told by changing the point of view between the characters in the novel.

Teenagers Claire, Reyva and Mariana all thought they were heading to a remote summer camp in the wilderness. After being dropped off by the boat however they find things are not the happy camp they expected, a fire has occurred and they stumble upon a dead body. The girls will have to ban together to survive what else is waiting for them.

The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst was a quick and creepy read, definitely more on the horror side than thriller, or more chills than thrills for the most part. The girls in the book all had their own personalities and quirks to get to know which made them stand out while reading. The story quickly takes a dark turn and the pages kept turning waiting to see how it would all resolved. Not the first book I’ve read from this author and will certainly not be the last either.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Off-grid survival stories and female empowerment are two things I love! Add in the socially awkward making it work and I'm all in! This story had all the thrill's I could've hoped for and I enjoyed this story of three unlikely girls, caught in a bad situation and surviving!

The cover of this one caught my attention immediately. The setting also grabbed me - I love stories set in the woods or at camp. The character were well done, diverse and not stereotypical "dumb girls". The actual story, however, was not what I was expecting. I felt like it started in one genre and flipped to another mid way through and it didn't work for me. I became less and less invested as the story went on. The ending explained some stuff, but overall a decent read.

Definitely gives creepy and suspenseful vibes. I enjoyed reading through this creepy forest setting. Perfect for someone who wants something quick, easy and spooky.

The Lake House follows three girls who have just embarked on a summer adventure they'll never forget.

Our main character is Claire. She's excited to be going to the Lake House, an off-grid summer camp, but it's definitely outside of her comfort zone. On the boat ride to the remote location in Maine, Claire meets two other girls attending the camp, Reyva and Mariana. In fact, they're the only campers on the boat. Although they're quite different, they hit it off right away.

They get dropped at the dock and their escort, Jack, says his goodbyes. As he takes off, the girls realize this is it. He was their only connection with the outside world and he won't be back for a long time. This is it. It's really happening. Their off-grid, roughing it, summer vacation has officially begun.

At this point, you may be wondering why these girls would sign themselves up for this? As it turns out, all of their parents were once campers at the Lake House and all highly recommended the experience.

Even though their motivations differ, each one of the girls has their own reasons for wanting to participate in the challenging summer excursion. You'll hear a lot about those things over the course of the story. Be prepared.

As they make their way down the trail to the Lake House, all they discover is a burned out shell where the building once stood. Ashes all around, they find no one and worse, have none of the expected supplies that would aide in their outdoor survival.

After they find a dead body in the woods, they realize this was no accident. With no means of communicating with the outside world, and danger lurking around every corner, the girls will now learn the true meaning of survival.

Before I get into my thoughts on this story, can we all just take a moment and bow down at the alter that is this cover. She is such a beauty; my favorite aesthetic. It's giving me strong, dark 70s-Horror vibes and I am eating it up. I love the muted colors and haunting imagery. Honestly, I would hang this is as an art print above my bed, where I could behold its stunning glory daily. Moving on though, we probably should get into my final thoughts.

I liked this. It's good, but sadly, I was expecting more. I know a lot of people will love this. I wish I was one of them, but from the start, the set-up seemed off to me. It didn't quite make sense. I had questions. Around the 30%-point was my peak interest moment. There was some intrigue, after the girls find out their shelter has burned to the ground and they begin to really investigate their surroundings for the first time.

For a moment, it was channeling the same vibes I got in the early episodes of LOST. There was a lot of mystery and I was desperate to find out what was going on.

Unfortunately, for me though, while I wanted to dig more into that feeling, I kept getting distracted by the dialogue between the girls and the inner musings of Claire. I felt like I was a fly on the wall of a therapy session versus in the midst of a survival story.

There were a couple of interesting twists and I did appreciate the idea behind the Horror element, but for me there were holes that never got fully explored and as mentioned above, I kept getting kicked out of the story by the eye-roll inducing dialogue amongst the girls. I know the above makes me sound bitter and maybe I am a little, because I was looking forward to this so much. I do want to be clear though, this is a good book. It's a quick read and engaging overall.

I was just expecting a different, darker tone and wasn't really psyched about what I ultimately got from this. Additionally, I may have enjoyed it more if I knew less about Maine, camping, or camping in Maine...

With this being said, just because it wasn't a great fit for me, doesn't mean it won't be for you. If you are intrigued by the synopsis, you should absolutely give it a shot. There's a Reader for every book and book for every Reader. Please don't let my slightly sour opinion sway you either way. I would love for you to come back and tell me why I'm wrong. I really want this to work for everyone else!

Thank you to the publisher, HarperTeen, for providing me with a copy to read and review. While this wasn't a perfect match for my tastes, I really appreciate the opportunity to pro

Sarah Beth Durst has a way with making every story unique with some realistic characters. This one just happens to also be extremely suspenseful in that survival horror kinda way.

When I started this book, I was worried it was going to be another book in which a bunch of teenage girls make really silly decisions in the face of a serial killer. Luckily it wasn't. Instead, what I found was a book that felt like a thriller. It did have some supernatural/horror elements but they felt kind of retrofitted in. Overall, I loved how the girls worked together and didn't end up relying on yet another man to save them.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.