This book is just dripping with gothic creepiness and I LOVE it. It has it all and more - the dark mansion, magical battles, a tormented hot brooding man, a scary but sexy king of the underworld and last but not least the brave and self sacrificing main character of Violeta who both frustrated me and wowed me. The book cover art perfectly captures the goth romance feel of the story. Highly entertaining, I look forward to reading more from this debut author. ( )

Lakesedge was a mixed reading experience for me. The author showed a lot of creativity in terms of the setting. I loved the eerie, atmospheric, isolated gothic mansion on a lake filled with spreading corruption, a secret garden and creepy woods. The dark magic was fascinating, and I would have loved more background on it.
The main characters felt flat to me and there was a lot of ruminating inner monologue from Violeta. Rowan was just brooding most of the time. Both had a heavy self-sacrifice trope. I really liked the side characters and wish they had been better developed. First person narration was not the best choice since we were inside Violet's head instead of experiencing different perspectives.
The plot was repetitive and often stalled instead of moving along, making the book hard to get through.
My favorite parts were those involving the sinister Lord Under and his dark realm. He was reminiscent of Hades and I could have read an entire book about him. There is a cliffhanger ending involving Lord Under and this makes me want to read the sequel as he will likely feature more prominently in it. ( )

I loved reading this. It captivated my attention, and I loved the gothic feel. It captured me in its claws and pulled me down with it into its depths. Violeta is a wonderful and relatable protagonist, and I felt her struggles and her pains. She is protective of her younger brother, and I felt their relationship was raw and authentic and completely believable.

My favorite thing about this book was Rowan. He was an absolute brooding bad boy, and he was the star of the show. His dynamic with Violeta was great, and the way they danced around each other was perfect and kept me on edge. I had to keep turning the pages and sleep was less important than knowing what happened next. I need the next book, because Lyndell Clipstone is an absolutely amazing author, and I need the rest of the story now! I can't wait for the release of the next book! Thank you for the copy! ( )

This is a book that can fool you for the first several chapters. However, it does not disappoint after you realize what's at the core of it. There's plenty of tension after Violetta learns what's facing her and her brother when they reach the estate, and the supporting cast is pretty solid, even the most evil one. It is complex and ends on a major cliffhanger. I will be extremely interested in what comes next. ( )

This is a gothic fantasy novel that follows the story of Violeta and her brother Arien. After forcefully moving to Lakesedge estate to live with Rowan, a monster rumored to have murdered his family, their lives change drastically. While Violeta struggles to determine the truth about Rowan, darker secrets emerge about the seemingly cursed estate with dark water in its lake and his real purpose in bringing them there.

I thought this book started off engaging! I enjoyed the overall plot and the numerous mysteries that the author set up for the readers as you went through it. It was also fun to read about the slow burn romance between Violeta and Rowan!

However, I struggled with the Violeta at points. To put it bluntly, her overprotective, obsessive nature was PRETTY annoying throughout the novel. In addition to this, the pacing of the story felt too slow at points. There were various descriptions and interactions that seemed a bit repetitive and unnecessary.

Overall, this book was worth the read but I don’t think I’m going to be picking it up again! ( )