It took me a while to get into this one, I don’t think I really got into it until at least 40% of the way through. 

I think a lot of the story hinges on how much the main character loves and cares for her younger brother, but I didn’t really get a chance to care for him. I don’t think he was actually in the story much. There’s much more a focus on the love interest and he’s a bit… meh. I also didn’t really care for him. 

Weirdly, I think the audiobook narrator made me really anxious (I was listening on 1.5 speed which is normal for me, but I did have to slow it down for this book) because she seemed to always be talking really frantically. It meant I’d rarely want to pick it up because I usually listen to audiobooks when I want to relax or turn my brain off - and this didn’t help. 

After the 40(ish)% mark, I did find the story a bit more interesting. I always find folktales being real an interesting premise, and I liked how the fantastical seemed to creep into the real world in this. 

I thought this was a standalone so was a bit surprised when the end didn’t tie everything off nicely. I might check out the sequel… but I may well not. 

I read this on a whim because it was available on audiobook and it was marked as LGBT and Gothic literature, both things i very much like. Personally, I don’t think it really fits either category. Really enjoyed the start of this book, but oh boy it dragged. Somewhere around the 30% mark I started noticing really repetitive descriptions and dialogue. The main character is… a bit annoying to be honest. Refuses help, wants to protect everyone else, even if accepting help would make things easier for everyone. Lots of passing mentions of side characters sexualities being queer, buuuut our main romance is still the usual guy and girl. Very little world building is done, and what there is doesn’t always track chapter to chapter. I’m sure some people will really enjoy this book, and I’d say go for it. Do keep in mind there is a LOT of (TW: Self Harm)

cutting of the arms and wrists mentioned as means of handling an evil lake.

Threw me for a loop a bit.

This is definitely a dark, gothic story. There were quite a few mentions of self harm, so make sure to read the content warnings. Overall, I did find myself going back to this story repeatedly because I had so many questions, but I left the ending with some of the same questions. 

I felt like the magic system fell a bit flat. It was very crucial to the plot, but I didn’t fully understand how it worked. 

The main character was also my least favorite, and she was determined to make herself a martyr rather than opening up to anyone. I had hoped she would learn and grow from it more in the end. 

That said, it was a compelling story and unique plot. I kept me interested, and I’m curious to see more from this author. 

I honestly don't know how to review this book. Even at the end I was still confused, like I was missing some important part of the story.

Lakesedge felt like a scrapbook dedicated to Hades and Persephone, Alice in Wonderland, love triangles, and quippy one liners, but the person making the scrapbook was high.

I enjoyed the little details of the book and there is nothing inherently wrong with the writing style, but somehow it still felt incomplete and discombobulated. The romance was sweet but came at the most unexpected moments. Same with the quippy dialogue: it made me smile, but came after such intense scenes that it gave me whiplash.

The premise held so much promise and I definitely enjoyed the twists and turns of how we got to the end, but I feel like I still don't understand anything that happened or why.

Overall it was not a bad debut novel and I may read it again to see what I missed before attempting book two.

I liked it enough to finish and continue on with the sequel, but something about the book just doesn't jive with me. I was promised a Labyrinth-inspired gothic fantasy romance, and I got a barely love-at-first-hate rivals to lovers, with a sense of the author actually being afraid to build the world they were creating, instead squeezing the lore out in little doses over just about every chapter of the book. Things only really pick up toward the end, in a, "Well I've read this far I may as well finish," kind of way, instead of out of any care for the characters or plot. 

It does hit you in the face first chapter with the child abuse, and then again later on with the self harm, so reader beware of the content warnings.