Thank you to Random House for this copy to review.

Josh Malerman sure does creepy well. Every step of the way you’re asking how. How could this house be at the bottom of the lake? How could the house be intact? How? How? He always keeps you wanting more and leaves you wondering what happens next.

The idea is intriguing the execution was unrealistic. Maybe if this had been a full size novel there would be more explanation for some of the characters actions, motivations, and behaviors; and more history of the lake and house would have giving the story more depth. As is, its a quick read, somewhat entertaining but nothing I would recommend.

This is not a novel but a novella, which I didn't realize since I got this to read on my kindle app. I like this author so I just jumped in without really looking at the length. Initially this formed a bit of a disconnect for me as there is no backstory at all on the characters - we just start off with the action and go from there. This never changes - throughout the story there is no explanation for how two 17 year olds spend nights on a lake and have no apparent parental supervision. For a novella, this lack of depth all made a lot more sense.

This is really an allegory for first love. It's not a horror story, which it is billed as. It's slightly creepy at times but those moments are never given any true depth of horror. I enjoyed reading it, although I understand the reviews that found it frustrating. Just bear in mind it's not really horror, and it's a novella so don't expect everything to be explained fully or to have neat resolution. Expect symbolism. Lots of it.

I liked the ending. Another reviewer commented that this story reminded them of No End House, season 2 of Channel Zero. I got the same vibe while reading it.

I actually read this novella two years ago, but was under the impression it had been extended for this Random House release. Why? Well, for starters, several Net Galley reviews mentioned its page count being over 200, and I could have sworn it was more like 100. I then went onto the publisher's website to look up its details, which showed a page count over 200. However, the Goodreads profile for its original release was around 80 pages shorter. So, you can see how I got confused. But here's the thing - I didn't notice anything different. Had I known nothing was extended, I wouldn't have read this again. Let me tell you why.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake features an interesting premise that doubles as a wonderful backdrop for a coming-of-age tale. In other words, this could have been a really striking story if done a bit differently. The problem I had throughout this cute novella is that it tended to drag. There were too many scenes that were solid, but lacking excitement. It's not that this having a love story is any issue - it's that the love story is a little too naive and youthful. It seemed like I was reading about thirteen year olds, not high school seniors.

It also feels like very little happens when it comes to the mysterious house. It takes too long for anything to really develop, and once it does, there still isn't enough coming from it. And the ending? I'm not sure if I like it or hate it. I've read this book twice now and I'm still torn.

If you're a diehard Malerman fan (there are plenty out there), chances are you'll love this one. For people like me - who haven't yet been blown away by his work - then this probably won't be the book to it. I'm still waiting for my 5 star experience. As far as this one stands, A House at the Bottom of a Lake is solid, but not satisfying enough for shelf recommendation.

i'm not sure if this is a revised, re-release of the 2016 version or not. my copy is labeled as an uncorrected proof.

i like malerman. i like his style and use of language. i think his concepts, in general, are intriguing, though all of them seem just shy of being fully realized; it's almost like he's seen the phrase "show, don't tell" and decided that he just won't tell you anything at all. much like black mad wheel, a house at the bottom of a lake veers too close to incomprehensible. i like when characters are in the dark, when they don't know or understand and therefore the entire plot isn't handed to the reader on a plate, but i also enjoy a sense of clarity - the lack of resolution, of a point solidly made, hinders the story some.

it's not really a convincing marriage of the two genres - romance and paranormal - either. the supernatural elements are actually quite sparse, while the 'romance' is melodramatic and, for me, too forced. i would've liked more of a balance, more of an exploration of amelia and james's dynamic, only for the ending to be so lackluster and jarring.

but like i said: i like malerman. his work is interesting. this is my third book of his, the third in a row i've rated a three. there's potential in his ideas; i just always want something a little more from his novels.

This is a fast=paced novella that had me on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out what would happen. This was a quick read that I wouldn't classify as horror, but there was a lot of mystery and suspense.

James and Amelia set out on their first date, at age 17, to explore the a couple lakes. They discover a third and canoe over to explore, only to find there's a house at the bottom of the lake. The story follows their decisions of whether to explore it, keep it a secret, and of course -- explore their romance.

There isn't a lot of background to the characters, so the story really just jumped right into the plot line. The characters and imagery were well-described and it was easy to imagine what was happening. The open-ending makes me wish there's a second novella!

Review: A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman

James and Amelia are on their first date, deciding to take a canoe out on the two connecting lakes to have a little picnic while seeing the beautiful surrounding scenery. When they find a third connecting lake, something darker, dirtier, hidden and foul, things take a turn. Just under the surface of the water, James and Amelia make out the roof of a rather large (impossible?) house. In deciding to explore the rest of it, they find much more than they were expecting.

This book just worked for me, and while many might not consider this to be horror, I could see where the horror lied based off of my personal fears. I’ve mentioned this before, but I have one major fear: submechanophobia, which is the fear of man-made objects submerged in water. This book creeped me out just knowing there was a whole damn house underneath the water’s surface. No thank you, I’m already disturbed.

Josh Malerman did an exceptional job creating an eerie atmosphere with this claustrophobic setting, one where I felt like I was trapped myself. For me, there were several unnerving moments, and two that made my skin crawl. I don’t think a book has ever done that to me before. I also thought that James and Amelia truly read as if they were 17 year olds just discovering who they are, and embarking on new discoveries, which I really appreciated. I love how this story isn’t spoon-fed to the reader, which could be a reason for the mixed reviews, as there are so many readers who do prefer things being wrapped up in a neat way with no loose ends. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, it’s something I love sometimes, too, but in this case ambiguous just worked!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Spooky, eerie...but in a way that snatches at your imagination. The writing captures a dreamy feeling of things just <i>being</i>, of things one <i>must do</i>. "No hows, no whys" is the rule for exploring the house, and that is carried over to you the reader. You don't get to ask how or why, or at least you can ask but you won't be answered. The book is an experience, and one that's going to lap at my mind like the waves of a lake.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure I would classify this as horror. In fact, I’m not sure what I’d call it. I don’t know how this author wrote Bird Box but also wrote Malerie and this novella. The writing seems different, especially the dialogue. All of this to say, I didn’t care for this. It could’ve been a decent plot under a different author (sorry), because there were definitely some spooky moments. But I don’t love novellas and the characters were flat with stilted dialogue.

So this was a reread for me, which I don’t often do. But I remember really enjoying the creepiness of this one a lot. As for the second time around, I’m just as creeped out.

I feel like I would have taken one look at the roof and been like, NOPE!! Not going in there!! But I assume there’s a pull like moths to a flame, which freaks me out. As if there was no other choice than to go inside. To be scared and have to proceed anyway.

James and Amelia are almost sickeningly cute together. I guess when you’re experiencing that sort of thing together, it changes your relationship and brings you closer together, but damn... [hide spoiler] That was apparently all they had!!!! It makes me sad that they had all this love that just flattened without the house. Like they couldn’t even be around each other without it.

And let’s discuss the ending momentarily. What in the hell?!?! They find the house above water?!?! That is also a hard no for me!!! So why do I get the feeling that they’re dying to go inside and explore it to see if it’s the same. To find a blob person living inside with random dresses floating in the air like other blob people are wearing them??? (hide spoiler)] Hence the hell no!!!

I’m sure many people aren’t scared by this book and I wouldn’t say I was scared, but freaked out. I kept shaking my head and telling them not to go on. I do love a book that can give me chills and pull me in as much as Josh Malerman’s books can. I recommend this as suspense, not horror and I’m eager to read some more of Malerman’s works!!

Amazon review pending approval.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake was a quick read and was different from what I expected. The story is mysterious and vivid, mixing romance and horror. This seemed different from other work I've read of Malerman's, but I enjoyed it and would read more like this in the future.

Delightfully eerie, yet also sweetly nostalgic, a unique combination for a very original novella. Malermann perfectly captures the sincerity of first love.

Not what I expected after reading Bird Box from this author. I had a hard time getting into at first but I worked through it. Towards the middle I started to really enjoy it. However ending was a bit “Eh”. I would not say it’s bad just different.

Unbelievable bad. Poorly written and dumb. It’s constructed like a first draft of a very cheesy tv episode. Only good thing is it reads fast like a short story.

There's nothing like falling in love for the very first time.  Unusual to discover a house under a lake on your first date.  I cannot label this horror by any stretch of the imagination.  One reviewer suggested it might fit better in a YA/magical realism slot, and I would agree with that assessment.  Loved this author's Bird Box and Unbury Carol, but I wasn't able to wrap my arms around this one.

To start, I wouldn’t put this book down in horror categories. What it actually is to me, is a sci-fi or fantasy. With that being said, for the sake of a fair review I am not going to review it as horror.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake starts out with a young teenage couple on their first date. It details the awkwardness of encountering someone you have a crush on, the big ask, and the first awkward moments of the date. This part was a little nostalgic and it did bring a smile to my face.

For the first date one of our lead characters, James, decides to take Amelia in his uncles canoe completed with a packed lunch (I’m telling you, completely adorable). The lake actually gives access to a second lake, and once they’re out there they discover an unknown third park of the lake.

The access point to this hidden, mysterious body of water is kind of creepy. It’s a long, dark tunnel covered in graffiti. The graffiti itself is juvenile, but this is a teenage couple on their first date…. it fits.

From here Malerman goes in the describe how the young couple stumbles upon a house at the bottom of this third, hidden lake. They decide after discovering it to ride their adrenaline high and come back to explore it, as any normal teen would.

They continue to come back, spending their entire summer here exploring this house under water. They keep it a secret between the two, and as they live this adventure their love grows.

Now we come to the ending. This is the part that lost me. Only moments after they both lose their virginity underwater in this house, their house, they discover it is indeed haunted. They both get the scare of their life and run away from it and abandon their budding relationship. they avoid each other for an entire week and then meet back up to go back to the house, because at this point they can’t ignore this haunted house.

In their last hurrah, they revisit the house at the bottom of their lake, only to find it winks out of existence completely. It is here that they decide to go on a normal date, but the efforts are in vein as they decide to call it quits. The adrenaline rush was too much, and they end things. That is, until Amelia makes a discovery and calls James back (moments after she ended it).

All in all, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this book because it was written extremely well. Seeing as it was marketed as horror, I was a little let down.

Great book written in simple language, heavy with mood.

Like a fairy tale or better yet, a campfire tale this book is frightening in what questions it does not answer.

The plot is simple. Two 17 year old s meet, go on a date to canoe through the local lakes and stumble upon A mysterious house at the bottom of the law where the furnishings are set in place and unaffected by damage. Furthermore, there are always more rooms and spaces to explore. Of course their curiosity gets the best of them, and the two begin to ask questions best left behind.

I'm not sure why Netgalley is offering this book. I thought they only had not yet published books but this book has been previously published back in 2016. I loved Bird Box and Malorie by this author and thought this was a new book.

This book was only 187 pages and I thought I could read it pretty quickly but it started slowly and I didn't know if I would finish it. It was like a teenager was writing this. Maybe he did write it when he was a teen. But then it started to get more interesting and I really wanted to finish. When I did, it was "ah, eh, huh?" Is it an allegory for young love? Is it a paranormal story? I don't know. The author needs to write an epilogue about what he was trying to put across to the reader. Because I sure as hell didn't get it. I didn't care so much for the main characters. We were told they were falling in love but I couldn't see it. It didn't feel like it to me. Maybe the author was at the age where he could get away with writing "penis" in a book. And the end, I couldn't figure it out. Others said the same in their reviews.

I'm so glad he did write Bird Box, and the sequel, Malorie. Those books were fantastic and held you and didn't let go until you finished. More books like that, please, Mr. Malerman.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This is the scariest book I've ever read. It seriously gave me the same feels as a good horror movie. I read this alone in a hotel room and that WAS NOT the right place to read it. I did absolutely love it and I wish I could find more books that make me feel this way! I read Bird Box by him and there were parts of it that scared me, but nothing like this.

I’m torn... I love Josh Malerman and Bird
box is one of my favorite books. This one was so different. The beginning and middle were great. I was sucked in and finished it in just a few hours. However, the ending. What the hell was that? I feel like this novella climaxed about 60% in and then quickly got uninteresting.