Leta’s Book Review: Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone

Fantasy, Paranormal, YA

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Lakesedge is a book I picked up specifically for this spooky season and I do not regret it. the first thing I noticed was honestly the coolest thing: the main character’s name is Violeta, but she goes by Leta. I instantly felt a kinship with her – if you haven’t read the about section, my name is Myshara Leta and even though Leta is my middle name, it feels more like mine than my last names do. I’m not used to meeting or reading about people who have the same name as me, so it felt special to read about Leta.

I’m going to include the synopsis from Goodreads since I want to be sure not to spoil anything about this book. Thank you to Goodreads for the following quote.

“A gothic fantasy about monsters and magic, set on the banks of a cursed lake.

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.”

I fell in love with the gothic vibes instantly. Lakesedge reminded me of a few different stories once we met Rowan and traveled to Lakesedge estate. First, I kept thinking about Beauty and the Beast, with Rowan described as monstrous and the estate and manor house in such disrepair. It’s quite obvious from the description now that it’s a paranormal reflection of Beauty and the Beast.

The gothic vibe of the novel immediately had my mind going to Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. And like Mexican Gothic, Lakesedge plays with the classic gothic tropes until they twist into something unexpected. In this case, a connection to the Lord Under.

Leta’s emotional journey wasn’t the most solid and it annoyed me that she resisted a change of thought for so long. I feel like she could have accepted things a bit faster. That being said, the secret that she carries twists the narrative into suspense and thrill. I cannot wait for the second book in this duology.

For readers who loved Mexican Gothic, Beauty and the Beast retellings, and Belladonna by Adalyn Grace, Lakesedge is the perfect read to satisfy that creepy, slithering fear that we crave as the veil thins and we move towards Samhain.