Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book. My first impression was the cover, I think its great. Laura was a really enjoyable main character, she was very relatable. I also really enjoyed the small town feel!

This is my first book from this author! I am grateful for the chance to receive an arc of this book.

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. It was very twisty, but I felt like towards the middle I just started skimming because I was a little bored. I did not guess the twist! Which was awesome. I was genuinely shocked.

Overall, it was an okay read for me. I would definitely still read more from this author tho!!

A fast paced thriller. I’m always on board for a quick read especially one that has me guessing.

This one started promising. I was sucked in from the opening paragraph and it kept my attention 90% of it. However, a good 10% was too much. Sometimes twists don’t feel like twists and the reveals don’t feel like reveals. This was me of those. By the time we found out what was happening it didn’t come as a shock or a twist.

I was deeply invested in a lot of these characters. I wanted more. I didn’t they more. I was secretly hoping the obvious twist was actually what would be revealed but it didn’t line up that way. I don’t think I can say anymore without giving too much away and I’m not big on spoilers.

It was a decent read but I wasn’t wowed.

Than you NetGalley and Inkubator books for the eARC.

I just finished reading The Lake House by Theo Baxter. I was intrigued from the very beginning. The author sets up the main character on what's supposed to be the happiest day of her life & then the unthinkable happens. From there, you follow her to her "new" life on Pine Lake, where she is expecting seclusion & peace. Laura thinks she's found her perfect house, then strange events start occurring & her life is turned upside down. I'd say this plot is more domestic drama with a little bit of suspense & murder thrown in sporadically. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I'd read other novels from this author.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, & the author for voluntarily letting me read this book & give my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentray copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

Laura, still reeling from her fiancé, Tony’s betrayal with Mary, whom she thought was her best friend, has moved to the small town of Pine Lake, and is renting off a kind man, Brian, who goes out of his way to make her feel at home. But when Laura’s neighbour suddenly dies, she finds herself living next door to Tony and Mary. Laura cannot decide if she should just up and leave or tough it out. Thigs get weirder when she has run ins with Tony, Mary and Brian. Why would they move in next door, what are they up to and what’s going in in this lakeside town?

This is my first book by this author. I liked his style and thought the storyline was interesting. I did however guess most of the twists but still enjoyed reading how the book played out. I would definitely check out more books by this author.

This psychological thriller is a page turner that you can’t put down. I loved the story with all the twists and turns throughout and the unexpected ending. The characters were great, the story itself was so enjoyable with plenty of suspense and the style of writing was perfect.
I have read a few books by this author and they are all excellent.. I would highly recommend this book and its author to anyone who likes to read this genre.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

The first book I read by Theo Baxter was quite an exciting experience for me. I was eagerly anticipating the start of the book, and I have to admit that it did not disappoint at first. The initial chapters were engaging and had me completely hooked. However, as I progressed further into the book, I started to feel like the storyline was going around in circles, and it became predictable that another issue would surface. At times, I found myself feeling a bit annoyed with the main character, which affected my overall enjoyment of the book.

I really had high hopes for this book and just because I didn't care for this book, I plan on trying another book from this author.

Thank you, NetGalley and storm publishing for this ARC!

Laura escapes to Pine Lake when her fiancé cheats on her with her best friend on her wedding day.
The first half of the book had me roped in. It was a face paced read. However, the second part of the book was a little unrealistic. Like why didn’t the police interview Laura when her neighbor/best friend is murdered. And when she found all of the hidden cameras at her house she had enough evidence to go to the police. Why wouldn’t see? Those little things bugged me. Overall, I enjoyed the book.
Thank you

Laura is reeling from the devastation of finding out that her fiance - Tony, and her best friend - Mary are having an affair. After finding them making love on her wedding day, and on her wedding dress, she decides to move to a small mountain town to escape.
She has been trying to work on herself and opening up to new relationships in her life, possibly a new love interest. But with the sudden death of her neighbor, Laura finds out that the new tenants are her old foes Tony and Mary. How have they found her, and why are they there? Laura needs to find out what is going on in her new town and what brought the two people who she hates the most.
Overall rating 4 /5
Another quick and thrilling read by Baxter. I like the sly breaking of the 4th wall in this book, having the characters being proactive in such precarious situations (such as recording conversations). I feel like all mystery readers have these thoughts and I love that he includes this in his writings. His approach to adding the dynamic of mental health and receiving help in such situations was also refreshing.

*Thank you to Theo Baxter, Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

I received an early edition of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an open and honest review.

The story follows Laura as she picks up the pieces of her life following both a nasty breakup and a nasty end to a friendship after catching her husband-to-be and her MOH doing the dirty on top of her Vera Wang wedding gown. Laura takes us to a small town on the lakes edge, and life seems to be going so well for her…until her neighbor dies suddenly and a “new couple” moves in rather quickly…just take a guess at who the new neighbors could be!

I absolutely devoured this book. I loved the whole mastermind plot behind everything, and the way it all tied together so seamlessly. The characters were so well written that it was easy to be swayed one way or another on how to feel about them.

Theo Baxter is a phenomenal writer, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books!

My unrestrained thoughts: LOVE IT. Absolutely LOVE IT. NEED A SEQUEL OR SOMETHING… Please, Theo…
Now, onto a little sophisticated review – it may contain tiny spoilers!

Theo Baxter’s The Lake House is advertised as a gripping psychological thriller… and it is, to some extent! Our protagonist, Laura, witnesses her fiancé in the middle of coughs doing it coughs with Mary. Who is Mary? Her maid of honor! And what day did he choose to cheat on her? Their wedding day! Somehow, over the course of days, everyone supports the devil couple and Laura is left to pick up pieces of her heart, stuff them in a suitcase along with her clothes, and move to a town called Pine Lake.
Living in a lake-front house in a quiet town has its own perks for a novelist and columnist like her and she takes full advantage of it. But everything goes South when she finds out her neighbor has died… and – Tony and Mary move in there. Suddenly, chaos reigns over Laura’s mind as stranger things take place around her, culminating in Mary’s murder. Laura has no choice but to find out what is happening before this chaos takes her life too.
I am obsessed with the way the book is written! There’s this simple feel to the story that very much resembles the simplicity of the life Laura is living (well, outside all the Tony-Mary drama). The flow of the story was steady, complete with a relatable and funny protagonist, her band of supportive people, and a not-so-average small town.
There is only one complaint I have and that is calling the book a psychological thriller. There was nothing in there I lost my sleep on; in fact, I was able to forget about the mystery pretty quickly. It was the setting and the protagonist who hooked me in and made me stay till the end. Just imagine if the whole reveal was even more impactful… this book would’ve been unstoppable!

What I liked:
Simple and realistic narrative: Have I talked about this above? If yes, I’m still gonna talk about it! The book had a simple flow that was seamlessly rooted in realism. However, being realistic also leads the narrative to be a little slow, with a good chunk of the book being Laura’s nervous, panicked overthinking. This also resulted in the mystery taking the primary place in the story way later than I was thinking, but somehow, it still made sense to me.
Laura: Laura was so relatable – her reaction to the cheating, her subsequent move, her way of living, everything was really amazing to see. Her panicked session with Dr. Delgado, her quiet day outs with Celene, her way of interacting with everyone around her, even Tony and Mary, and her and Graham’s cute dates… it felt like she is a living, breathing person, someone I’d pass by in my town. I especially loved how she was a writer and had moved somewhere that’ll help boost her skill (what I’ve been wishing to do, basically). Brownie points for all the times she made me laugh (more than five times, mind you). She just really impressed me!
Pine Lake: There are many small-town settings I’ve come across, but this one felt better than the rest. More focus was put on how the town is actually than the people who live there and their lives. I was totally invested in knowing about the hiking trails, the houses on the lake, the boardwalk, the florist, the mail office, and the coffee shop – it was even easier to imagine these. Gossip was definitely a big factor, but that didn’t manifest as people stage whispering to each other – it was more subtle, the way rumors and gossip circle around in a community. In simpler words, I loved it.

What I wasn’t impressed with:
The first thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was the way the reveal and the subsequent drama were written off hastily. The mystery was there, but it was barely a thriller, more of a household suspense. There was no substantial evidence – apart from town gossip and Graham’s ramblings – about the said mystery nor did I feel like exclaiming what the hell when Laura puts the blame on the wrong person (when the obvious choice was like right there!).
Expanding more on that, I was also disappointed to see how abruptly and quickly Brian was gotten rid of. It’s like the author didn’t know how to explain the motivations behind his actions and just killed him off instead of giving us the reasons.
And that’s sad because I wanna know how insane Brian is – I wanna hear his plans, how he blackmailed Shelly to get her hands dirty, what he wanted to gain, and like, what started all this in the first place? We just get to know he MIGHT be pulling all the strings (thanks Graham, I love you) but that was almost a conspiracy till the last chapters of the book. I would’ve loved it if he was alive and we got to hear about his backstory from his own mouth (prequel with Brian… haha… unless?)

My final thoughts?
The Lake House is totally a fun read – I can see myself buying the book somewhere down the line and rereading it whenever I feel like escaping reality to go to a peaceful lake house in an idyllic small town!

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
#netgalley #arcreview

Thankyou to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
I really enjoy Theo Baxters books and have read a few so far.
I really enjoyed this book and I will for sure suggest this book to others looking for a domestic thriller.
I did am discover what was going on before the plot reached boiling point but I was still very much enjoyable.
5/5 stars Thankyou

📚 Book Review 📚

Firstly, the cover of this book definitely seduced me into choosing this along with the ‘killer psychological thriller’ tagline. It looks stunning.

Secondly, the book started really well. The leading female character Laura, starts by discovering her best friend and future husband in a very compromising position, in top of her wedding dress no less, on the morning of her wedding. Suffice to say, the wedding doesn’t go ahead and heartbroken Laura moves away to a beautiful lake house in a quiet community. Everything runs pretty smoothly until her neighbour dies and her new neighbours turn out to be … her ex fiancé and his girlfriend, aka Laura’s ex best friend.

From here it gets a bit daft. Another reviewer wrote that it felt like the author ran out of time when writing and I can understand that thought. The murder occurs 72% of the way through and the characters become a bit strange. The number of characters banging on Laura’s front door day and night and fighting on her front lawn is no odds to anyone and I was getting a little bemused with the number of characters ‘hitting on’ Laura as the story progresses. They needed to form a queue.

It’s a shame because I had high hopes for this one. I would try another by this author but this was really cliche and predictable.

I’d like to thank Inkubator Books, NetGalley and the author for the arc and the fantastic opportunity, in exchange for my honest feedback 😊

⭐️⭐️

I love a good suspense/thriller and the premise of this was great. The MC leaves her life behind looking for a change after she finds her fiance cheating on her the day of their wedding with her best friend. She finds a quaint lakeside town and fast forward three years and her ex-fiance and the ex-best friend move into the house next door.

At first I was really into the book, and looked forward to reading it any chance I got and then it hit a point in the book where it felt like the author was done writing and just rushed the rest of the story. At that point I felt like I just needed to skim it to get to the end to review it because it didn't feel like the author cared that much about the ending, so why should I? It felt more wattpadd book towards the end which was disappointing. I think there was more that could have been explored to make it feel more complete.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the free eArc copy in exchange for my review.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end.. Definitely was action packed towards the end with some twists I didn’t see coming. Would highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I wanna thank Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book to review! I finished this book in basically one sitting and while it kept me engaged, I could not get behind the characters and their stories. I hated how so many people just kept showing up at the main character’s door and I feel like there was a lack of description about what the characters looked like

Overall I liked the concept but some of the details were lacking

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6435673259

I had a really hard time with this book. The story was a good idea but the writing felt very juvenile and over dramatic, almost like a high schoolers essay piece for a class. Over all I enjoyed the plot, the events at the end of the book were quite enjoyable and I liked where it went.

Who doesn't like a good thriller/mystery?
I really liked the scenery depicted in this story. It was a small, lakefront, foresty town. It reminded me of being up at a cottage. I could easily imagine myself sitting on the deck of the MC's home, sipping wine, and enjoying the lake view. It was a great scene for a thriller!
I also liked the mental health representation. It definitely showed the importance of getting help if you need it!
This was a medium paced thriller, I felt. It was a bit slower to start, though the beginning was filled with enjoyable drama, but then picked up near the end.
I didn't really like the FMC, but i liked a lot of the other characters.
One thing I would have liked was to see this in the villain's POV. A dual POV would have made it a lot more interesting.
Overall, this was a great read, and I would definitely recommend it!

The lake house by Theo Baxter
⭐⭐⭐

Laura's retreat to Pine Lake after her devastating breakup sets the stage for Theo Baxter's "The Lake House." In this serene haven, she encounters tragedy when her neighbor dies unexpectedly, leaving behind a house that soon falls into the hands of none other than her ex-fiancé and his mistress. As Laura grapples with the discomfort of their proximity and the eerie occurrences that plague her, she becomes convinced of a sinister presence watching her every move.

While "The Lake House" held my interest with its tantalizing mysteries, I found it to be more of a contemplative drama than a gripping psychological thriller. The plot unfolds steadily, though it takes nearly three-quarters of the book to build momentum. Nevertheless, I was drawn to uncover the motives behind the orchestrated placement of Laura's former lover right next door.

As the narrative reaches its climax, the tension heightens, yet the final revelation feels somewhat abrupt, leaving me slightly detached from the overall experience. Despite this, Baxter crafts a compelling tale that delves into themes of betrayal, resilience, and the haunting specter of the past.

Overall, "The Lake House" is a worthwhile read, though readers expecting a heart-pounding thriller may find it falls short of expectations. Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#netgalley #inkubator #honestreview #bookstagrammer #theobaxter #thriller #drama #booklovers

Laura thought fiancé Tony was ‘the one’ – until she caught him cheating with her best friend and maid of honor, Mary.

Devastated, Laura moved away and settled in idyllic Pine Lake, where she is just beginning to date again.

But her new life is turned upside down when her next-door neighbor dies in a freak accident . . . and Tony and Mary move in beside her.

Things go downhill fast...

Mary is convinced that Tony orchestrated the move so he could live near Laura and cheat with her. Tony suspects that Mary moved them here so she could stalk Laura, with whom she’s totally obsessed.

For her part, Laura is increasingly uncomfortable with both. Strange things keep happening and she is convinced that someone is watching her.

Then this small community is rocked by a murder, and Laura begins to worry that her very life might be on the line.

And she’s right, she’s in terrible danger. Because this little town is home to a mind that is truly evil…

As an avid reader, I was drawn in from the beginning, and the story did not disappoint at all. Once again Theo Baxter has crafted an amazing psychological thriller that will hook you from the start. Will recommend to others.