Lakesedge Book Review
Hi friends! It’s been a minute since I posted here. I’ve taken a bit of a break from blogging, but I felt inspired today. Here is my Lakesedge Book Review!
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Title: Lakesedge
Author: Lyndall Clipstone
Rating: 2 Stars
CAWPILE: 4.8/10
Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Gothic, YA
Content Warnings: Blood, Magic, Drowning
Format: eARC
Publisher: Titan Books
Date Published: October 12th 2021
Goodreads Description: When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem.
There are monsters in the woods.
As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn…
There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name.
Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.
I received a review copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
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Lakesedge Book Review
Characters – 4/10
The more I think about this book, the more I dislike it. The characters did absolutely nothing for me, especially Leta. I almost put this book down because she annoyed me so much. Something about her made me want to scream and I don’t know how to articulate it. It’s almost like the author infantilised her, which is apparently something female characters in gothic novels often face. But she was just so…naive? Dumb? Morally righteous with a hero complex and the intense urge to self-sacrifice. Count me out.
Rowan wasn’t much better, to be honest. I enjoy the dark, brooding villains, but he wasn’t any of those things. And I can’t even remember the secondary characters.
Atmosphere – 5/10
Lakesedge started off well, it was creepy and had spooky vibes. However, the more I read the more the descriptions became repetitive. There wasn’t much going on visually either. We don’t get enough of the world around the mansion, and the mansion cannot stand on its own.
Writing – 6/10
The writing isn’t bad. It was easy to follow and not overly flowery. I blew through the first part of the book, but the second part just dragged.
Plot – 5/10
The start of the book really intrigued me and creeped me out. It didn’t last long. The story became so repetitive. They’d fight the lake, lose, repeat over and over. Nothing new or exciting happened. Honestly, I can’t even remember most of this book.
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Intrigue – 5/10
We essentially have three villains in this book, Rowan, the lake, and the Lord Under. Rowan fell flat immediately. He was all bark and no bite and I was disappointed. I would have liked more lore surrounding the lake, maybe some more mystery. I am a whore for lore. The Lord Under wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t fleshed out enough.
Logic – 4/10
My main issue with most fantasy romances is that there’s not enough fantasy. The two leads are supposed to hate each other, but by the second page, they’re already kissing. Most of them have serious consent issues and I am not here for it. With Lakesedge, there’s not enough worldbuilding or lore. The stakes aren’t high enough. The lake is supposedly trying to take over the world, but because there’s not much to the world I didn’t care.
This book should also have been New Adult. I want to do a whole discussion post on New Adult, so I’ll save the rest of my thoughts for that.
Enjoyment – 5/10
If you want a gothic mash-up of FBA and SJM, this book might be for you. Unfortunately, it was not for me.
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