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edlothia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved it ! The storyline and the characters make me think of a fairytale story (with a much more dark atmosphere and challenges).
whatyoutolkienabout's review against another edition
5.0
Review: Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone
Firstly I want to say the writing style of this novel is absolutely gorgeous. I don’t think I have read something so beautifully penned in a long time. It is almost lyrical in parts and helps build the atmosphere perfectly. The story was everything I wanted it to be. The story is woven so well and perfects the gothic fantasy genre to a tee.
The story follows Violeta Graceling and her younger brother Arien who arrive at the haunted Lakesedge estate, they expect to find a monster. Rowan Sylvanan, the estate owner drowned his entire family when he was a boy and terrifying rumours have grown up around the event and estate. Only Leta and Arien soon find out that neither the monster or the estate are what they appear to be.
Leta begins to fall for Rowan and thus discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, a death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. Finding herself drawn to the creature Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under to have a chance of saving Rowan or herself.
This novel is truly magical and not only in setting! The characters are amazing, the descriptions perfection and the storyline is engaging. I have ordered a physical copy of this book and I am sure it will be one of my favourites and most reread.
I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good gothic fantasy. It has everything you could possibly want and more.
Firstly I want to say the writing style of this novel is absolutely gorgeous. I don’t think I have read something so beautifully penned in a long time. It is almost lyrical in parts and helps build the atmosphere perfectly. The story was everything I wanted it to be. The story is woven so well and perfects the gothic fantasy genre to a tee.
The story follows Violeta Graceling and her younger brother Arien who arrive at the haunted Lakesedge estate, they expect to find a monster. Rowan Sylvanan, the estate owner drowned his entire family when he was a boy and terrifying rumours have grown up around the event and estate. Only Leta and Arien soon find out that neither the monster or the estate are what they appear to be.
Leta begins to fall for Rowan and thus discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, a death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. Finding herself drawn to the creature Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under to have a chance of saving Rowan or herself.
This novel is truly magical and not only in setting! The characters are amazing, the descriptions perfection and the storyline is engaging. I have ordered a physical copy of this book and I am sure it will be one of my favourites and most reread.
I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good gothic fantasy. It has everything you could possibly want and more.
_haggis_'s review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Self harm
amieroseee's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book very mediocre. I felt bored for so much of this book and I got to the last 50 or so pages and just genuinely didn’t want to pick it up or read it. The only reason I did was for my book club.
The characters fell very flat for me and the plot didn’t appeal to me up until the last 20-30 pages.
The atmosphere of the story was good, it felt dark and all-consuming which is the only reason this got a 3 star and not a 2 for me. I feel like the author focused so much on the atmosphere and not enough on the rest of the aspects to a story.
I would not recommend this.
The characters fell very flat for me and the plot didn’t appeal to me up until the last 20-30 pages.
The atmosphere of the story was good, it felt dark and all-consuming which is the only reason this got a 3 star and not a 2 for me. I feel like the author focused so much on the atmosphere and not enough on the rest of the aspects to a story.
I would not recommend this.
peppervaughn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hviareadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Overall Review (no spoilers)
I really enjoyed this book, and I didn’t think I would. The best way to describe it is magical, gothic, murder, fantasy, romance book. It had the classic trope of a main character obsessed with the idea of sacrificing others, which is a little played out. However, I found myself invested heavily in this book and really enjoyed it. It’s got a Hades and Persephone, beauty and the beast vibe going. I already bought the sequel to read.
Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Spice Rating:
Overall Review (no spoilers)
I really enjoyed this book, and I didn’t think I would. The best way to describe it is magical, gothic, murder, fantasy, romance book. It had the classic trope of a main character obsessed with the idea of sacrificing others, which is a little played out. However, I found myself invested heavily in this book and really enjoyed it. It’s got a Hades and Persephone, beauty and the beast vibe going. I already bought the sequel to read.
Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Spice Rating:
wisteriamoon's review against another edition
4.0
4.75 stars. Oh my! That was quite the first read of 2022! Just so you know, this book ends on a cliffhanger and I'm kiiiinda mad about it, but also it was good enough that it didn't ruin my experience. This book gives off Cupid and Psyche vibes, as well as just general Greek mythology vibes, though maybe that's just because I'm writing a Mythology-inspired book so I'm studying that. But it was so so good! Very atmosperheric and transportive and emotional and really... raw and evocative I guess? Maybe I'm just saying words that mean the same thing. Either way it's about a young woman whose brother is touched by darkness and who lives in an abusive home. Certain circumstances lead her and her brother to a very stately mansion/manor/estate that is very very spooky but also cozy! And of course there's a LOVE interest, the master of the house who may or may not have drowned his whole family. Yikes. But he's kinda hot and maybe nice so it's okay?! For real though I liked the romance and that's saying a lot because me and romance usually don't mix, and I was not expecting to enjoy that part of the story. The story has a tinge of magic and interactions with gods and it has lovely side characters so that's a bonus. The only thing keeping me from rating it 5 stars? I guess it was the ending? It didn't wrap up nicely and that kinda is a dealbreaker for me, and it was a great read overall, just not something I would scream about for everyone to read, not necessarily because it's bad but just because it wasn't a 100% perfect match... just a 99.9% match. I'm very picky with five star ratings apparently. Either way it felt like a book that read like a classic but wasn't actually a classic, which was pretty epic. It wasn't necessarily one of those books that keep you up at night or make your heart pound, but that wasn't what it was supposed to be. It was the perfest cozy read to curl up with, and I feel like you could totally read this in fall and get all the Autumn vibes... too bad it isn't Fall right now but in eight months when you're looking for a fall read you can pick this up! In short I think this was just a really cool and interesting gothic fantasy that I would highly recommend for anyone looking for something cozy, romantic and kiiinda dark in a fun way! I know that doesn't make sense, just read the book lol.
nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition
Feeling sassy rn soooo I apologize in advance for my review 🤪
I just could not vibe with the writing and it felt like it was poorly edited.
I just could not vibe with the writing and it felt like it was poorly edited.
- It feels like there’s a disconnect between the dialogue, the action, and the descriptions; they don’t all flow together. It feels like a start and stop and then another start and stop anytime it goes from one to another. Especially when a scene or moment transitions to the next; it doesn’t feel natural.
- The writing can also be confusing?? Like it said Rowan & Florence went to put the horses away behind the house but then when Leta & Arien enter the house they’re inside?? Like if Arien and Leta had not gone up to the door would they have just like been left outside all night?? HUH??? Like I GUESS Florence and Rowan just went inside after putting the horses away (I feel like it would’ve taken longer BUT WHATEVER) and just didn’t care that the other two were just 🧍🧍♀️outside. But Rowan wants the shadows from Arien so why wouldn’t he be more careful & attentive to Arien instead of just leaving him outside? And I can tell it’s not intentional because Leta has no reaction or any kind of thought about any of this. Why isn’t she more stressed that the only two ppl who live here (that she knows of before Clover opens the door) left her annd her little brother alone at the front of the house AT NIGHT? Why doesn’t she have a reaction to Clover’s LACK of reaction? Why isn’t she mad at Rowan for just leaving them there without telling them to like go ahead and go inside, etc. He nor Florence said ANYTHING to them before they left to put the horses away. Like I would’ve been kind of pissed, LIKE YOURE THE ONE WHO WANTED ARIEN SO BAD
- More on why Clover has like no reaction to them: two strangers are standing at the door alone and you just let them in, no questions? Like it would make sense if this was all planned but it wasn’t?? Rowan saw Arien in the forest and decided he wanted him; there was no time for him to go home first & tell Clover/make up the room for Arien because it was a two day horse ride. And if it WAS planned but we’re not supposed to know, why isn’t the MC also questioning this? Maybe she’s just stupid but if that’s the case it just makes me dislike her
And to be honest, even if she isn’t stupid, the main character Violeta is super annoying. Also all the character interactions in general tend to be unrealistic and over-exaggerated (think stage acting or Disney channel). Honestly it would have been way more interesting (at least from what I read) if Arien was the main character.
rayquellens's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Just not my cup of tea.
caleymac's review against another edition
3.0
Took me 10 months to get through this one, lol. The last 25% was worth it.