A review by themezzaluna
Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone

2.0

For a book that promised so much, it delivered very little.
The worldbuilding felt vague and underdeveloped, and so did the characters.
Being in the head of the main character, Violeta, was exhausting at times, and it was hard to sympathize with her when she made the absolute worst decisions, which I felt directly derived from her self-sacrificing martyr complex. The only times I could actually relate to her and even like her, was when she interacted with her little brother.
Though I felt little to no chemistry between Violeta and her love interest Rowan, I didn't mind reading about their relationship, since it gave me a break from the bleakness of Violeta's thoughts of the corruption. The gentleness of the romance between them was also refreshing, in a way.
I wish we had gotten some more backstory on Clover and Florence, as it was hard to care about them knowing so little of who they are.

I understand this is a debut novel, and it's okay for what it is, I just couldn't get into it and, in the end, made it through the whole thing only because I thought the writing flowed well, and was curious about how the conflict would be solved.