Reviews

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman

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cadmanreads's review against another edition

4.0

I really liked this one. I'd consider it a 'tale'

I thought the two characters relationship was very charming and I felt like I only wanted good things for them. Due to the marketing of the book I was expecting it to take a dramatic turn into 'horror' but this never really happened. For me this wasn't a bad thing, just not what I expected.
The surprising element came from the sex scenes, although well written I wasn't expecting that in this story!

I can see the criticism aimed at it mainly due to the ending. Did I want to know more about how the house got there? Yes when reading it but on reflection I'm okay not knowing.

I was glad they stayed together (sort of), I was glad there was a glimmer of more to their adventure and I was also glad that the predictable ending of the couple becoming part of the house never happened.

jellyjk's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

babychreez's review against another edition

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1.0

1.5 stars, rounded down. Yeah… This one was definitely not for me. Not only did I not really understand it, but it also felt like the climax of the story never actually came. I’m unsure how this can be considered horror at all… This is 250% a young adult romance novella, written to take place in a (mildly?) creepy setting that the author chose not to do much with. If that is your thing, then you might enjoy this, but I—rather exclusively—prefer content with darker themes.