Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The House Across the Lake

I always struggle with thrillers that dive into the supernatural, which is ironic because I love fantasy and paranormal books. I think the difference is that when I know from the get-go that there are supernatural elements, it works. But in this book, similarly to other thrillers I've read that have a supernatural twist, it felt out of place and a bit dissapointing. I feel like if there were more hints/breadcrumbs about the lake's supernatural properties, or if the MC had more fears about it in her internal monologue, I might feel better about it. All in all though it was a fun thriller. I did feel like the ending with Tom was a weird rush of a thing. I was definitely suspicious of Eli and I think it would've been a cool twist to have him be more involved somehow.

Content Warnings

ghoulpwr's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Really enjoyed the audiobook

Content Warnings

vetrina's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book wasn't great. The writing is decent, and it's entertaining enough (usually). The intermingling of "now" and "before" scenes were done very well. But a lot of things annoyed me.

I think this book could have been a lot shorter. The pacing is off in parts because the main character constantly talks about herself and how much she loves alcohol. The first half of the book feels like a rehash of The Woman in the Window. The second half is where the supernatural aspects come in. The supernatural aspects feel kind of forced, especially since there's only two mentions of the lake being haunted in the first half of the book (and even then it's only the characters being creeped out as children and one character telling a spooky story).

Also I'm annoyed by the trope of

the main character knowing something important, but not telling the reader and pretending they don't know so the author can reveal it as a twist later in the book.

And the amount of twists were insane and almost felt like the author was trying to set up as many twists as possible. But at least it all wrapped up nicely in the end.

Content Warnings

jry's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

More...