This book started off so good!

Two siblings. Orphaned. The sister trying to protect her brother, trying to hide his dark magic.
A manor with a dark aura and a darker past. And the master of the manor, a boy who is smack dab in the middle of it all.
Their paths collide and, magic erupts and things get more and more intense.

If I were to rate only the first half of the book, I would definitely give it a solid 4 star rating.
The plot, the pacing, the characters, all of it was perfect.

Things started falling apart for me somewhere in the middle of the book.

I started getting more and more doubts in my head about the plot and many of these questions that I had were left unanswered at the end.

I love it when seemingly unrelated pieces fit together to form a good plot at the end of the book. And I really do not like it if I don't get a proper explaination of why things happened the way they did by the end of the story.
The later happened with this book.

The main plot revolves around dark and light magic and what leads to its corruption.
Our MCs are trying to deal with such a corruption of magic.
Now the basics of how this magic works is explained in a simple way, but there are situations where one of our MCs can wield stronger magic and its not clearly explained why that happens.

Somewhere in the middle of the book, the character growth of our MCs stop and then in the second half they just fall flat. Also, the side characters are not given enough space in the story to flesh them out properly.

The ending was really confusing for me. There were quite a few loose ends and I genuinely did not understand why and how things happened.
Maybe I could not understand the story properly and could not figure out what that ending meant.

All of this affected my enjoyment of the second half of the book.

I would recommend this book for everyone who likes stories with dark magic and gothic manors and foght against darkness.

Lakesedge is a darkly Gothic fantasy romance filled with queer characters and strange magics, making it a good read for the Halloween season.

The story follows Violeta Graceling, a young woman who has been living with a surrogate mother, along with her younger brother Arien, since her parents died when she and her brother were young. Whilst it's great that she and her brother have a roof over their heads rather than having to survive on the streets it's not perfect for them, especially because of the strange magic that Arien seems to control. Whenever Arien has nightmares, which seems to be a common thing, dark shadowy magic flows from him. His surrogate mother being a good godly woman sees this as a connection to Lord Under, the god of darkness and death, so hurts Arien whenever this happens.

Violeta has spent years trying to prevent her mothers anger from causing serious harm to her brother, as well as trying to keep it hidden from the rest of the village. Everything seems to change, however, during the most recent tithe when the local lord, Rowan Sylvanan, comes to town. The young Lord is a figure of fear for the locals, due to rumours of him having drowned his entire family in the lake beside his stately home. Rowan sees the magic that Arien has, and decides that he wants to take him back to his estate with him.

Trying her best to prevent this, Violeta finally has to accept that she can't keep Arien at home; but she can still try to keep him safe. As such, she makes Rowan agree to take her along too. Arriving at the estate, Violeta and Arien discover a dark corruption has overtaken the lake, turning its waters black. With the corruption threatening to spread and harm more of the world Rowan wants to try and use Arien's magics to help combat it; but they don't have much time left before the corruption becomes unstoppable.

From pretty early on in the book there's a lot of set up for stuff to come, promises of big stakes, frightening confrontations, and world building; but after Violeta and Arien reach Rowans estate things slow down a lot; which is odd considering how quickly the book moves. In the early parts of the book the story is being set up to be a very dark story, something closer to horror than anything else, and Rowan is a big part of this too. He's described as being a monster, and Violeta absolutely hates him when they first meet. And whilst he does come across as grumpy and rather uncaring it quickly becomes apparent that he's actually a decent guy; albeit one who doesn't like to explain himself much, which leads to more than one occasion where Violeta storms ahead and makes a fool of herself.

I was expecting Rowan to be a figure that took a long time to figure out, that he was going to be closer to an anti-hero more than anything else, but at some point all of the parts that made him seem like a much darker and more mature figure just fell away. What was left after this was a love story between him and Violeta that should have resulted in the two of them ending up together a lot sooner than it did.

The reason there were issues with the two of them, and the book on a whole for me, was Violeta. Violeta is a hot headed character. She thinks she knows best and doesn't expect that anyone else can do as well as she can, even when its a situation where she has little knowledge or expertise. For example, when she believes that she's found a solution to solving the corruption she goes ahead and acts without talking to anyone else, despite all those around her having more knowledge and experience, and her actions putting herself at serious risk. This tends to be what keeps her and Rowan apart a lot off the time, as every time they come close to getting together she ends up doing something impulsive and reckless. I know that we're supposed to have characters that are confident, even if they're not competent, but there were times when Violeta went beyond reckless into plain foolish.

I also think the pacing of the book didn't help with my struggle to connect with Violeta too, as there are large sections of the book where we skim over days and weeks of time to jump to the next major event. Whilst I know we can't follow every single moment of these characters lives and have to focus on the important parts it did feel like we were missing out on a lot of development, especially in the interpersonal relationships. In one chapter Violeta would be somewhat guarded towards another character, keeping them at arms length because they didn't quite trust them, whilst the next they were good friends who spent time together and confided in each other. The little moments between these two states, where we could have seen these bonds forming were missing, and as such I felt little connection to the characters beyond being pieces of the story.

It's a shame, as there was a lot in the early parts of the book that I liked, things that are present throughout the entire novel yes, but that felt only half done by the end. I enjoyed the story for what it was, but I didn't feel much for the characters that inhabited it, and think that if we'd have been given more time with them, more time to see relationships grow and develop, I might have come to love the book.

As it is, I enjoyed Lakesedge, and found it to be a perfectly fine fantasy story with some interesting ideas and some great queer representation, but it just failed to grab me and excite me in big ways. Hopefully this will be something that changes in the second book, and I'll end up coming to like the series more.

“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.” ~ 𝑳𝒚𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝑳𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Lakesedge
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Lyndall Clipstone
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Young Adult, fantasy
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆


𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐇:
• Dark, gothic read incorporating a simple yet beautiful writing style. The beautiful descriptors evoke a rich and eerie atmosphere.the writing was fun to read.
• Intriguing premise and easy to read.

𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐄:
• Whilst I somewhat like the main character, she can seem a bit too self-sacrificial at times and her poor choices™ did frustrate me more than once. I also didn’t appreciate how she never communicates anything with anyone!! I really empathise with her younger brother.
• I really enjoyed the first 70-80% of the book and then… arghhh!!! Why did I think this was a stand-alone??

𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
✔ monster boys
✔ sibling love
✔ eerie atmospheric reads


Please note: This is NOT a stand-alone.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬: first love, sacrificing yourself for others

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫: fans of gothic romance fantasy, fans of For the Wolf, House of Salt and Sorrow, Down Comes the Night

𝐂𝐖: emotional + physical parental abuse, body horror, gore, exploration of death + grief, drowning, self-injury (e.g. cutting)

Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher (Titan Books) for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠: 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐣𝐨𝐲.𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞.

As a big fan of gothic novels, especially now at the spookiest time of the year, I went into this with high hopes. I have to be honest and say I’m a little disappointed and really, kind of bored by the end.
I felt as though I must have missed a few pages at some points because as I was reading, some things just weren’t making sense. I found the cyclical nature of the corruption and the rituals over and over again kind of monotonous, and never really felt connected to any of the characters. The romance just also didn’t do it for me, and Rowan just seems like another misunderstood broody LI. The thought of something happening with the Lord Under in the sequel also doesn’t excite me like it usually would.

RATING: 4.5

Thank you so much Netgalley and Titan Books for this eARC.
First of all, HOW DARE YOU END THIS BOOK WITH THE BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER EVER?!?
I loved reading this book so much, it was a little hard getting into it at first but after the first 15% of the book I just couldn't put it down. From the plot to the characters for me this book was just perfect. It just made me love the gothic fantasy genre and I just can't wait to read the sequel.
I loved all the characters, I especially loved how the main character, Violeta was such a strong and badass female character from page 1 to the very end. The relationship between Rowan and Violeta was everything I could ever want, I loved every single scene with them together.
Overall I totally recommend this book to anyone who loves Hades & Persephone or Beauty and the Beast retellings.

A stunning debut that will take you on a fantastical gothic adventure.

From the marketing of this book I assumed that it was a historical gothic, but it is a bit higher fantasy than that. Despite the initial confusion, I found myself sinking easily into this lush, dreamy, gothic world. As with any good gothic, it takes place in an atmospheric mansion house that becomes as much of a character in its own right as anyone else. I appreciate that it isn't a chosen one narrative, but rather the main character, Leta, is motivated by a fierce love for her brother and a wish to protect him from his abilities, and those who want to take advantage of them. It's not often we get a fleshed-out sibling bond on the page. When the siblings end up on the Lakesedge estate, the story begins as they become wards to the intimidating Rowan Sylvanan, who may also be their only hope. A great, solid, gothic fantasy debut, and I greatly look forward to reading Forestfall. Thank you to the team for letting me read this early!

Ahhhhh another favourite spooky read to add to my collection!! I enjoyed everything about this book, from the plot, to the characters - to the romance !!!! It had me hooked from the beginning to the end and the fast pace of the book made it difficult to put down (in fact I literally couldn’t put it down and read it one sitting oops). Would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a good, gothic fantasy. The only issue I had was with the writing, it felt a little bit rough at points but it still didn’t distract me from the story and I physically cannot wait for the sequel. Rowanleta have my heart <3

A lush, Gothic fantasy about a creeping Corruption and two different monsters. LAKESEDGE is packed to the gills with eerie vibes and taught, tense atmosphere. It’s creepy in a way that sends chills up the back of your neck while you’re reading and plays about with the ‘shadows and impeding doom’ brand of horror really well.

It’s all billowing white dress, night-time lakes and blood pacts with a ballsy heroine and tormented hero. Exactly my type of Gothic drama!

At the heart of the story are the relationships between the characters, and I think there’s something for everyone here. If you enjoy romance, there’s a ‘fleeting touches and broody looks’ slow burn that’s not quite enemies-to-lovers, but unfolds beautiful. If you prefer the found family trope, then there’s the inhabitants of Lakesedge, all brought together for their various reasons, working together and teasing each other throughout.

Personally, I loved the sibling relationship here. Leta wants nothing more than to protect her younger brother, Arien, from the darkness that’s haunting him, so much so she goes with him to live with the ‘monster’ at Lakesedge and makes deals with a dangerous, dark entity. The relationship feels really well developed because even when they bicker, both are determined to help the other in any way they can.

Oh, and it’s got a killer cliffhanger that has me really excited to see how dark the sequel is able to go.

LAKESEDGE would be perfect for fans of Crimson Peak or anyone who enjoyed The Haunting of Bly Manor.

I'll be honest, I really didn't get on with this book. I was so looking forward to a dark and spooky read, and I found myself disappointed.

I couldn't connect with Violeta at all, and as our main character I feel I should have connected on at least some level. I never really understood what was going on, and I just struggled.

I ended up dnfing the book at 40%. I usually give a book until around the 50% mark if possible, but I just couldn't continue on with it.

Lakesedge is an exceptional read to pair with nights when the darkness sneaks up on you and the wintry touch of the cold air grips your throat. It captures the autumnal essence of that luminal time of year where boundaries are blurred and anything seems possible.

Right from the start, Clipstone expertly weaves this web of death, darkness and paradoxical beauty that captures every one of your senses. Lakesedge opens with this compelling and strangely beautiful scene. It’s an entrancing opening that sets the tone perfectly. Already, you are drawn into this web of this lilting beauty, with a haunting edge of darkness, abuse and this possession like experience. From then on, you are utterly ensnared. Everywhere you look, there are dark deals and this all-consuming, haunting magic clutching at everything in its midst. The magic system here is brutal but in a way that you can’t look away from. It’s darkly gorgeous and addictive, seeping under your skin.

I just adored the writing style. It’s no exaggeration to say that I flew through the pages. There was just twist after twist in a way that felt so natural, but heart-racing at the same time. All the way through, you have this sense of foreboding and awful events to come. Clipstone plays with those dangers lurking in the shadows and the monsters just out of sight. This is a story where there is no easy way out and actions always have consequences. All this culminates in an explosive ending and an intriguing cliffhanger that left me desperate to know what happens next.

Lakesedge is a darkly Gothic and supernatural exploration of family, power and magic that will haunt your dreams.

4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“My Violent on the woods”.

BEFORE ANYTHING, check the official list of TW for this book: https://lyndallclipstone.com/content/

What a great reading, omg. AND THAT CLIFFHANGER ENDING. It's been a long time since a cliffhanger left me so void, I NEED THE SECOND BOOK YESTERDAY.

And before I go an tell you all about what a great spooky book this is, let's set the tropes:

🖤Gothic
🖤Gore
🖤Magic
🖤Over protective main character
🖤Grumpy love interest that gifts dresses
🖤Death god who whisper your name in the dark

This book is a combination of The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It's the perfect October read and I'm so glad I decided to read it, it's so good, suspenful, mysterious, sweet and creppy.

The story follows Violeta, our main character, who's only mission in life is to protect those who she loves, that includes her little brother Adrien, a boy with the magic of shadows, but as he continues to suffer from the abstinent of using his magic, she has no way of hiding the evident. He is not a normal boy. And our mysterious Lord Sylvanan, Rowan, a 19 year old boy who is known to be a monster, find the siblings and threatens them to help him end with the Corruption, a dark magic that threatens to end with their world as they know it. But Leta founds herself in trouble when she tries to save her beloved Lord, and at the same time, stars to interact with the Lord of the Under.

What immediately drove my attention was the cover as well as the description of the book, and since October stared, I thought this was gonna be a great reading to set the spooky mood of fall. But I underestimated how good this book was going to be. I have to admit that it is a little heavy towards the story, not necessary on the tropes but, it is kind of a dark academia, and the history is so well written I had to take breaks to let things sink in. The balance between the dark magic scenes and the sweet interactions with our two main characters, were delightful, so well managed. I rooted so much for Rowan and Violeta to end up together because of their background. Both have suffer so much, and they need each other in order to finally get a happy ending after all the tragedies they've been throw. But the stupid cliffhanger lives us with no clue what is going to happen.

Now there are two boys in this story that drove my attention:

Our sweet monster: Rowan
And the God of dead: Lord of the Under

BOTH OF THEM HAVE A CLEAR INTEREST ON VIOLETA. And all I have to say is, girl, good luck. Don't know how you are going to manage your feelings with those two. Both of them are so intense and HANDSOME. That's the worst part, how will she choose? I don't know but I do wish I could be her.

And if you still can't decide if you should read this book, I'll leave you this quote of my monsterly Rowan:

"When I first saw you, with your sunburned nose and tangled hair, with your poor bruised arms....You looked as thought you would tear me to pieces, but still, I was drawn to you. And I knew if I let myself care about you—if I let myself want you—it would be worse than leaving you behind in that awful cottage. You're right: I didn't want you to come with us. I needed to mend the Corruption. I didn't have time to worry about feelings. But even as I intended to leave you there, I still—I wanted—" He sighs. "I just want you to be safe."

This is a great fall reading. Totally recommend it.

Enjoy your reading. 📚🖤✨

My thoughts on this book are quite mixed.
I feel like the plot was a bit dull and repetitive. They do the ritual, they try to mend the Corruption, it comes back stronger, Leta wants to do it all by herself, then she lets them do it and it goes on again and again. Also the romance was too quick for my liking, I love a slowburn and even though it was kind of a slowburn I feel like it comes out of nowhere.

Nevertheless I liked the atmosphere, it was spooky, mysterious and scary at some point. I liked the ending, the last few words got me smiling.
I feel like this book would be the perfect halloween movie or tv show to be honest. I think it'd work better on the screen than as a book. It made me think of The Haunting of Bly Manor because of the lake.

eh.
plot
Violeta Graceling has spent her life trying to protect herself and her younger brother Arien (who has dark magic) from their cruel adoptive mother. In order to escape they need to take a position at the haunted estate of Rowan Sylvanan—the so-called “Monster of Lakesedge”—who comes seeking Arien's dark magic. As Violeta's friendship with Rowan blossoms, she learns the tragic truth of Rowan’s curse and his fateful bargain with the Lord Under. To save Lakesedge, she must make a bargain of her own with the fiendish being who rules over the world Below.

thoughts
this was alright. i liked the atmosphere created, mostly because i'm a sucker for dark and gloomy settings, but that is where the good things ended for me. the writing style was just fine, nothing special. i didn't really enjoy reading about these characters either, let alone forming an emotional bond with them. i've already forgotten what happened in this book??? honestly, i wanted to dnf this a third of the way through.
would i recommend this to anyone? not really. but if you want to try out a new gothic book, maybe try this?

thank you to Titan Books for sending an e-arc via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review

I had really high expectations for this book being sold that it was a gothic lush fantasy, but I felt that a lot of parts of the book weren't fully developed.

For me, the first-person point of view didn't really help this story, but it's not one of its worst problems. I really didn't connect with the MC and felt that she wasn't fully three-dimensional, in fact, not a single character in this book felt fully constructed nor developed to me. They were just shells, promising shells for sure, but it made me long for more.

I didn't know how much fantasy this book was going to have but it had quite a lot. I felt the magic system was kind of messy and that not all of it made sense. It was easy to read but it wasn't that good. I was very intrigued by the Lord Under and his characterization was good, but again I wanted more.

I wish the romance in this book wasn't so insta-love, it felt very hard to "buy" their feelings for each other because I didn't see them interact as much, and it didn't have so much depth.

I also wish the writing were different because for a gothic story the atmosphere in this book is very thin, there are not many descriptions as it could have, and the ones that are there are very simplistic and didn't quite help me visualize things. I wanted more from the ambiance, both internal and external, more from the woods and the creepy finds and weather, more from the huge mansion and its architecture.

Of course, the ending leaves with a cliffhanger, and I actually didn't know it was going to be a series before I picked the book up. I don't know how I feel about it being a series though. The ending does make me want to read more, and also I have some theories about things that could happen, but it's safe to say it's not non my priority list. We'll see when the time comes.

Overall, it was a quick and easy read (I read it in two days) and I had an enjoyable time reading it. Also, there wasn't anything I completely hated or that was done wrong in a way I disliked. For all that, I will settle with a three-star rating.

Thank you to Titan Books for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re on the lookout for a gothic fantasy, complete with a brooding Lord and captivating magic, then Lakesedge is definitely one for you to check out. It’s a perfect lead for the run up to Halloween, or if you just prefer darker reads around Autumn and Winter in general!

The story starts out with our main character, Violeta (Leta) in a precarious position trying to keep her little brother, Arien, from harm caused by their adoptive mother. It’s a dark start to a dark book, but it keeps your attention from the very beginning thanks to that. Straight after, they need to deliver a tithe to the Lord who owns the land. And then in comes Rowan, our brooding, tormented Lord. He offers to take in Arien at his home (Lakesedge) once he realises he has magic, and Leta, fearing Rowan, refuses to let him take Arien without her.

Rowan has his own motives for wanting Arien around, there is something at Lakesedge that he thinks he can defeat with the help of Arien. There are so many secrets to be uncovered throughout the story though, including those of Leta’s, helping to make the story as mysterious possible.

Although Lakesedge is on the darker side, it still has some bright moments in it. Leta and Arien find their home at Lakesedge, and they find family too. This includes Clover, an alchemist at Lakesedge and probably my favourite character? She’s big on teasing the rest of the characters and genuinely a breath of fresh air for the story.

On the polar opposite of that… we have the Lord Under. I really liked his character but I can’t talk too much about him because that would be spoiler territory!

If you’re after a spooky read, this deliciously dark, gothic debut should definitely be on your to be read pile! I’m definitely excited to see where this goes also.

“I thought I could burn myself down to save the world. But I never thought of what to do if the world burned all around me instead.”

Things I Liked:
♥ The atmosphere in this book was impeccable. It was so dark and lush and creepy. This just had the most perfect dark manor house in the forest kind of vibes and it was so vivid.
♥ Lyndall Clipstone’s writing style is super lyrical and gritty, almost like poetry. The prose in Lakesedge is absolutely gorgeous and was a real highlight for me.
♥ I felt that this book did an excellent job of discussing grief, and the guilt felt by those left behind after a traumatic event, not the mention the desperate measures people will go to to help the people they love. It was all really raw and well done.
♥ Truthfully, I was expecting a modern contemporary setting and was pleasantly surprised by the more primitive, devout, world Lakesedge is set in. I found the concept of the two deities really interesting and The Lord Under was probably my favorite character.
♥ The romance played a bigger role than I expected and I loved that. It didn’t feel insta-lovey, and I just loved the tension between Violeta and Rowan. Also, Rowan had more of a monster vibe than I expected (I totally expected that to just be metaphorical) and I love a monster romance.
♥ Holy cliffhanger. I didn’t realize this wasn’t a standalone when I started it, so that’s on me, but I desperately need the next book.

Things I Disliked:
♡ I struggled to connect with the characters a bit. Honestly, they all kind of annoyed me, with Violeta being the most frustrating. They went on such a journey, though, that I’m hopeful I’ll get along better with them in the next book.

Overall:
You wouldn’t know this was a debut, it was so beautifully crafted and well put together. I immediately pre-ordered a physical copy upon finishing the arc. I would recommend this for fans of For the Wolf, Silver in the Wood, and The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Content warnings: Child abuse, death from illness, drowning, murder, fire, possession like vibes, cutting/self harm, lots of blood.

Dark, lush and mysterious thus is sure to appeal.tonfans of Allison Saft and Holly Black. The cover perfectly matches the eerie tone!!

Lakesedge is a lush young adult gothic fantasy dripping with atmosphere, Faustian bargains, monster boys, sacrifice and casual queer representation. It's exactly what I want to see more in this genre and the perfect read for the spooky season. I adore how gothic fantasy is gaining popularity, and Lakesedge doesn't disappoint. If you love the angst of self-sacrificing characters who will do anything to save the people they love, even destroy themselves, you need to read this book.

Arien, Violeta's brother, has strange dark powers that they must hide from their cruel, adoptive mother. Violeta, known as Leta, has done everything in her power to keep her brother safe, but the darkness is only getting stronger. When Lord Rowan, rumoured to have drowned his entire family, arrives in the village to take tithe, he notices Arien's powers and snatches the siblings away to his estate. Rowan is looking for a way to free himself from the grasps of the Lord Under, a death god who Leta feels inexplicably drawn to, but perhaps the cost of salvation is too high for any of them to pay.

This book has all of the hallmarks of the gothic genre, and it uses them so well. The atmosphere was seductive, haunting and perfectly complimented the setting. I especially loved the dreamlike qualities of some of the scenes, the twisted but compelling relationships, the way the characters were both selfish and completely selfless. The story itself has strong Beauty and the Beasts vibes, and I'm so here for gothic retellings of fairytales.

The sibling dynamic between Arien and Leta was a surprising highlight of this book. The original description didn't mention much about how integral the sibling relationship would be, and I loved to see how the character's developed together. Leta is so focused on protecting Arien that she doesn't allow him to grow into himself; he relies on her so much he can't even see how things could be different. Their love and dependence on each other aren't healthy, but it is wonderfully compelling. Reading about them coming into their own as characters, rather than their lives being defined by their sibling, was amazing.

Lakesedge also features a slow-burn enemies-to-friends-to-lovers relationship between Leta and Lord Rowan, which I adored. Lyndall Clipstone perfectly captured the dark, seductive vibes that are perfect in a gothic story. The two characters are instantly intrigued by each other, but their relationship grew at a slow pace that built up tension perfectly. Leta is also demisexual, and the way their friendship grew and intensified their feelings for each other was delightful. These two self-sacrificing idiots have my heart.

I can't talk about this book without mentioning the Lord Under. He's such a fantastic antagonist(ish); he's portrayed as incredibly dark, and yet, just like Leta, you can't help but feel drawn to him. If you love carefully crafted bargains and tricky, inhuman creatures, you're going to love him.

Lakesedge was such a brilliant gothic fantasy; I can't wait to see more from this author.

Now this book started out strong, but in the end I found myself a little disappointed.

Lakesedge follows Violeta, whose little brother Arien is haunted by dark magic that gives him nightmares. On tithe day, the local lord Rowan Sylvanan notices Arien lose control over his magic and invites him to live at his estate, Lakesedge and claims to be able to help him. There are rumors about Rowan having killed his entire family, however, and wanting nothing more than to protect her brother, Violeta goes with them. At Lakesedge, the siblings discover a corruption that is spreading through the land and is tied to the god of death, the Lord Under.

I absolutely loved the premise for this - dark magic, a haunted Gothic house and a monstrous love interest. The book started out as exactly that but sadly lost some of its focus after the halfway point. The mystery around Lakesedge and Rowan's family got resolved pretty quickly and that made the story lose some of its Gothic style. It was also fairly easy to guess what had happened there. I also found the pacing uneven: While starting out pretty fast-paced, the story lost momentum in the middle and only picked up pace at the last quarter, with a very abrupt ending and cliffhanger.

While I liked Violeta, we were told that her main goal is to help her brother but in the second half, they have all of two conversations while the plot centers around the romance. The romance itself felt very insta-lovey and shallow to me. From the premise I expected more of a monster lover story, which sadly didn't fit the bill. Rowan fell very neatly into the Tortured, Handsome, Brooding Love Interest trope and never developed beyond that. I couldn't see why Violeta liked him so much despite being, well, handsome and tortured.

As for the Lord Under, I thought the character's connection to him were really interesting and I will probably pick up the next book in the series for that. While the descriptions and prose flowed very nicely, some of the dialogue was a bit awkward.

All in all, this book was just fine for me but if you enjoy YA fantasy a lot, I would say do pick it up! I gave Lakesedge 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

As soon as I started this book I couldn’t put it down.. okay I put it down once, to eat. This book was not what I was expecting, in a good way. I don’t read many gothic books but Lakesedge may have made me fall back in love with the genre.

From the beginning I was hooked and, surprise surprise, I cried during the first chapter. Anyone who knows me knows how much of an emotional reader I am, but in my defence, the chapter was a little emotional. I loved everything about this book, it did fall flat in places but that was very minimal and the book was still very enjoyable.

I absolutely loved the characters in the book. I mean Rowan… ahhhhh, I love him so much - but I am a sucker for villains, morally grey characters and antiheroes. Arien… ugh, he just deserves the world. Finally, our leading character and narrator, Violeta. Now, whilst Violeta was annoying at times, I absolutely loved her character, her banter with Rowan and the brother/sister relationship she has with Arien is adorable.

Most of the book is set in one place which I really enjoyed. It made the world easier to understand and I didn’t have to memorise tons of different places.

As a massive Hades lover, I loved the addition of the “Lord of the Under”. If you love anything to do with Hades and/or Hades and Persephone retelling you might just love this book. I also loved the dark and light magic element that was included. It ties with elemental magic as my favourite magic type.

When I started this book I said, “if this is not at enemies to lovers book, I will riot”, and lo and behold, it was.

All in all, if you love: monsters, tending to wounds trope, curses, deals and bargains, magic, enemies to lovers, beauty and the beast, Hades and Persephone retellings and banter between the MC and love interest, then you will love Lakesedge!