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denali_epub's review against another edition
4.0
★★★★
Something creepy this way comes…
As most of you know, until recently, I didn’t tend to gravitate towards thrillers or horror novels. It takes a lot for me to consider a book to be well and truly creepy. That being said, Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis isn’t a book to be read in the dark.
There are so many things to say about this book. It didn’t earn five stars from me, but it’s definitely one of my favorite creepy reads of the year. Like many fellow reviewers, I would consider this to be more of a psychological thriller than a horror novel, but either way, I meant what I said. Don’t read this book in the dark. While I was reading, I was convinced that every sound was the dreaded Mr. Jitters coming for me.
That being said, the supernatural elements of this story weren’t really what set me on edge. It was the setting, Harrow Lake with it’s an eerie atmosphere like a town captured in a snow globe and doomed to never meet the modern world. Harrow Lake is set in our present day, but the town itself is still trapped in the 20’s, obsessed with the movie that put it on the map. Nightjar is the film that brought Lola Nox to life, and it’s also pretty much the death of her.
Arriving in the town where Nightjar was filmed, Lola’s sanity is slowly unraveling as the story goes on. Perhaps that’s the most unnerving part of the story, an unreliable narrator who was already off before arriving in Harrow Lake. Lola’s father is controlling and overprotective, forcing Lola to become obsessed with being the Optimal daughter, and you can tell she’s already on her way down the rabbit hole before Harrow Lake beings to pluck at her brain with needle-like fingers. Lola’s descent into madness is truly gut-wrenching, and I was invested enough in the book that I felt as if I were tumbling down with her.
With all of that in consideration, however, I wish there had been some more concrete answers to some of the questions left open at the end of the novel. There were missed opportunities to turn this book into something truly horrifying, which is why I landed on a four instead of five-star review.
Harrow Lake is just the book for anyone looking for a spooky October read, psychologically compelling and riveting up until the very last page. Personally, I can’t wait to see what Kat Ellis comes up with next.
Something creepy this way comes…
As most of you know, until recently, I didn’t tend to gravitate towards thrillers or horror novels. It takes a lot for me to consider a book to be well and truly creepy. That being said, Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis isn’t a book to be read in the dark.
There are so many things to say about this book. It didn’t earn five stars from me, but it’s definitely one of my favorite creepy reads of the year. Like many fellow reviewers, I would consider this to be more of a psychological thriller than a horror novel, but either way, I meant what I said. Don’t read this book in the dark. While I was reading, I was convinced that every sound was the dreaded Mr. Jitters coming for me.
That being said, the supernatural elements of this story weren’t really what set me on edge. It was the setting, Harrow Lake with it’s an eerie atmosphere like a town captured in a snow globe and doomed to never meet the modern world. Harrow Lake is set in our present day, but the town itself is still trapped in the 20’s, obsessed with the movie that put it on the map. Nightjar is the film that brought Lola Nox to life, and it’s also pretty much the death of her.
Arriving in the town where Nightjar was filmed, Lola’s sanity is slowly unraveling as the story goes on. Perhaps that’s the most unnerving part of the story, an unreliable narrator who was already off before arriving in Harrow Lake. Lola’s father is controlling and overprotective, forcing Lola to become obsessed with being the Optimal daughter, and you can tell she’s already on her way down the rabbit hole before Harrow Lake beings to pluck at her brain with needle-like fingers. Lola’s descent into madness is truly gut-wrenching, and I was invested enough in the book that I felt as if I were tumbling down with her.
With all of that in consideration, however, I wish there had been some more concrete answers to some of the questions left open at the end of the novel. There were missed opportunities to turn this book into something truly horrifying, which is why I landed on a four instead of five-star review.
Harrow Lake is just the book for anyone looking for a spooky October read, psychologically compelling and riveting up until the very last page. Personally, I can’t wait to see what Kat Ellis comes up with next.
njdarkish's review against another edition
2.0
This book tries to do so many spooky things at once- a stabbing, a creepy town, sinkholes, caves, missing girls, a local monster legend, a yearly folk horror movie celebration, a ventriloquist dummy-turned imaginary friend, a semi-senile grandmother, a bone-tree covered in teeth, missing possessions... I could go on. Unfortunately, only about half of these plot threads really do anything or go anywhere. At its heart there's a solid, although tropey, horror story, but it feels like the author didn't have enough faith in that story so instead we got a version that has so many horror cliches crammed into a couple hundred pages in a desperate attempt to ensure it will manage to be creepy to anybody who reads it, right?
...right?
...right?
gosska's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 to OPTYMALNA ocena dla tej książki
-1 ⭐️ za to że Lola jest irytująca (momentami aż przesadnie) i za to że nie dostałam odpowiedzi na wszystkie pytania
-1 ⭐️ za to że Lola jest irytująca (momentami aż przesadnie) i za to że nie dostałam odpowiedzi na wszystkie pytania
clarag's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kfyoung's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a fever dream. It might be because I listened to the audio book, but this book was all over the place!!! I enjoyed it overall, but think I need to read the physical copy!
alexia_15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
dembury's review against another edition
3.0
Although the ending was pretty satisfying, I found HARROW LAKE to ultimately be middle of the road. The parts that were creepy became way less so after they were repeated time and time again, and nothing in the scare department felt very fresh. Although I liked the premise of the book, I felt like the execution was just missing that bit of pizazz to make it truly unique.
evewok's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
jess1010's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, don't expect to know it all by the end, but expect some surprisingly good thrills.
I received an ecopy of this book through Penguin Teen via Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book through Penguin Teen via Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.