Lakesedge (ARC): a review
- justmereadinghere
- Sep 22, 2021
- 3 min read
Q U I C K S T A T S
Characters-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Setting- ⭐⭐⭐. 5
Writing style- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
// Content Warning: Blood (including description of wounds) / Body horror / Drowning-related imagery / Emesis / Emotional and physical abuse by a parent / Gore / Self harm / Suicidal ideation//
Publisher: Titan Books
Age group: Young Adult
Genre(s): Gothic romance
Pub date: October 12th 2021 (First published September 28th 2021)
"My debut gothic romance, LAKESEDGE, will emerge in 2021, full of:
🖤monster boys who gift you pretty dresses
🗝️secret gardens and bramble thorns
💀death gods who whisper your name in the dark
🕯️honey scented altar candles
🌑almost-kisses at midnight"
P R E M I S E
There are monsters in the world.
When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem.
There are monsters in the woods.
As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn…
There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name.
Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.
M Y R E V I E W
At first, I was like ✨Rowan✨ as a joke.
But bro, I don't think it's a joke anymore.
To start off this review, I do in fact realise that the mansion thingy was supposed to have a whole Wuthering Heights vibe going around. But, in my head, all I could visualise was Buckingham Palace with its well-lit hallways and clean stairways. I would appreciate it if someone helped get the image out of my head.
Now, onto the ACTUAL review:
I'm not going to talk at great lengths about what an amazing person I am (that my friends, is for another day). I was in a reading slump mainly because I had burned myself by reading about 100+ books back in July (scary I know). I remember seeing a bunch of people who have had reading slumps for months, and even years and the thought of one genuinely terrifies me. I was disheartened by the pace established at the beginning of the book and put off reading it for, I don't know, a couple of days until I was reading an ARC and had to finish it before the publication date otherwise, I am forever doomed. Being the wreck I am, I picked it up at God knows what hour and prayed to the sun summoner that I would be able to finish this.
I am fuming at my stupidity; this was really good.
To give credit where credit is due, Violeta was one of the strongest YA protagonists I've ever had the pleasure of reading, and I truly admire her. Despite all the trauma she had undergone, all for her little brother, Violeta remained the kindest and most selfless character throughout the story and if any character arc has to be my favourite, it's hers.
Rowan was pretty much every morally grey love interest in YA fantasy and he lowkey reminded me of Kell from V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic. But with his given, how do I put this lightly, uh condition, he is kind of like Nikolai Lantsov in King of Scars or even better, Ren from A Curse so Dark and Lonely. For your information, the storylines are nowhere similar, I just love comparing characters and making connections between them.
My favourite part of the entire book was the sister-brother relationship. It represented everything; the ups and downs, the little arguments, the inside jokes, the bickering and the naturally protective feeling one has for their sibling (be it younger or older). This being an aspect often written badly, I was prepared for the worst, but never expected it to be so good.
The romance was built up wonderfully and I don't know about you but to me them getting together was clearly evident from the premise (yes, I read the premise first, be proud of me). They really complemented each other's personalities and I could dare say they were made for each other! But I am not fixated on whether I completely approve of this mostly because I am unaware of Rowan's age and the age gap between them (normalise normal age gaps in fantasy otherwise it's fucking weird. And the "older" love interest being over a century older than them isn't cute; it's fucking disgusting).
T R O P E S
Enemies to lovers
R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
LGBTQ side characters
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