A weird thriller novella that is not for everyone but a quick read and I enjoy Josh Malerman as an author

The title caught my attention. I have heard tales of villages being flooded for the need of a reservoirs and actually knew of one locally. What would it be like to find a house at the bottom of the lake? I read this book to see what the author offered in her descriptions and story line. I wasn’t disappointed.

What the heck did I just read?

First of all, who decided to classify this as horror? This is as far from a horror book as Pluto is from the Sun. There isn't a single spine-chilling moment in this mess of a novella.

This book is boring. It's yawn-inducing from its stumbling beginning to it's non-ending. I mean it's only 112 pages long, but it felt like a plod to finish it. Nothing really happens. Two teens go on a first date. Two teens discover a house at the bottom of the lake. Two teens obsess about the house at the bottom of the lake. Weird stuff happens in the house that could be haunting, but most probably is a figment of their imagination. They the house disappears or maybe not. There is no explanation. And since the author expressly tells us through his protagonists not to ask how or why... Well, it's boring.

Also, the constant headhopping between the two protagonists, often within a couple sentences, is a complete turn off for me.

Maybe readers who come to this book looking for Young Adult or magical realism will get more satisfaction from this story. I came looking for horror. I didn't find any. I want 3 hours of my life back.

Did not finish. I could not connect with A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman. I will not be reading/finishing this one. Thank you, netgalley and publisher for the early copy!

This was an OK read. Who doesn't love the concept of a haunted house story in a lake! I was hoping for a more creepy read, but it was still enjoyable if not memorable. The characters were relatively fleshed out for a novella, and tbh, I don't think you would need much more character development for this story. Just maybe more haunted or almost scary scenes to bump it up a star rating or more.

The book is a little strange but it starts with a guy asking a girl out. Sounds simple? It's not. They decide to go canoeing on their first date and find a mysterious lake with a house under it. I enjoyed the premise but I would have liked a little more fleshing out of their personal lives outside of the lake and each other. The house is really strange and their attraction to it. I liked the ending although would have liked a little more info at that time. It sort of ended abruptly. But it is still worth it.

This was my first book by Josh Malerman. I'm definitely going to check out more. This was a well paced book with plenty of creepy to keep me interested. There is very little about the families and backgrounds of Amelia and James, focusing on their time and adventures together. The ending definitely leaves a lot to the reader's interpretation but I thought it worked well. It was a quick, easy, enjoyable read.

I was nervous to pick this up after seeing so many middling-to-low reviews of it, but am glad my curiosity won out! I thought Bird Box was fantastic and had to pick up more of Malerman's work.

The concept itself is so interesting - a mysterious house at the bottom of a lake! It took me a few pages to gel with the writing (it's a lot of teenagers being teenagers), but I was both literally and figuratively at the edge of my seat the whole time. The plot itself is relatively slow-moving, but the tension really got to me. It felt like I was holding my breath through half of this book and I had to put it down a few times to take a quick breather here and there. I kept texting people to be like, "this book is freaking me out!!"

I tore through this in just one sitting and have already recommended it to several other people. If the concept interests you, give this a shot!

<i> I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

2.5 stars. Just not for me.

This book isn't for everyone, featuring a bit of horror, a bit of teen angst, and a bit of something undefinable. As a fan of weird, eerie books, I really enjoyed this one and the short length was perfect, wrapping up the story in a way that keeps the reader interested.

Started off my spooky reading with The House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman and I’m not sure what to say.

Although I wouldn’t agree that this is a horror, it did really enjoy the very eerie and claustrophobic feel to it that had me holding my breath at times.

We also get to follow our two main characters navigate through young love, and with my sudden interest in romance novels, it was just the perfect touch.

While I enjoyed the majority of this story, it’s ambiguous ending was just.. too ambiguous (?) for me lol Have you read this one? Do you agree?

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

This book is marketed as horror, so I was disappointed when I didn't find many horror elements. This book has so much symbolism that you should take your time with it so that you aren't missing anything.

Eerie, but lacked any real plot or character development. The inclusion of graphic sexual content involving minors was extremely unnecessary.

I read all 118 pages of this novella and to be honest… I have no idea what happened! I’ve never read a story like this one and it was an interesting experience. I felt like it was the perfect length. I wouldn’t have needed it to be any longer! But I’d be lying if I said I totally understood it.

This was creepy and atmospheric. A quick, easy read and some might say hauntingly beautiful.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for a copy of the ARC.

First let me say I’m a fan of Malerman’s writing. This one however wasn’t for me. I know some people will love it.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Um. This was fine, I guess, if you want a super heavy-handed metaphor for young love mixed with an admittedly creepy setting-as-character.

What would you do if you found an entire house under a lake? Would you tell others or keep it your secret? Would you dare explore it? What if the house didn't follow the expectations of something that is underwater? What if items were not deteriorated, or objects didn't float...what if you heard footsteps upstairs?
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Seventeen year-olds, James and Amelia, come upon a house such as this, on their very first date. They don't know what to make of it exactly, but decide to explore it as the days go by. While venturing further into the house, they make discoveries that seem out of place and decide to look past them. After all, even if their instincts are warning them, why would they want to ruin what has brought them closer together?
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This short novel is placed in the horror genre for good reason. Technically, there ARE aspects of this story that could make readers uncomfortable/scared...but this story leaves so much more up to interpretation. My mind was reeeeeeeeling with metaphors and deeper meanings, with introspective daydreaming and possible explanations. I appreciated it because it allowed me to step into the brave shoes of both James and Amelia, but mostly, I appreciated it because it left me in wonder and not many books can do that for me.

I enjoyed this book, although it was very strange and weird. I felt like there should’ve been more to it, yet it left it at such an awkward ending. I do enjoy Malerman’s writing, though, it keeps me hooked until the end.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman is a young adult horror/suspense novella length read. Most readers probably know Josh Malerman from his hit, Bird Box, which I’ve not yet read and am starting to wonder now if I should. This is my second attempt reading something from this author and I have yet to be overjoyed.

This story follows two seventeen year olds who have gone out in a canoe on the lake for their date. They take the canoe exploring and find a path which leads to yet another big lake. Once paddling out in the new territory they peer down into the depths and see a house under the water so of course they decide to explore.

Quite honestly this was the type of read I didn’t know what I was feeling and it was fairly short to have so many ups and downs. There were moments I would think of this is getting creepy and compelling but those were few and far between. To me the story just seemed to be trying to build into something but even when done I wasn’t sure what that would have been as quite honestly I just didn’t get it and that’s for someone who has read a lot of horror. This one slid over into the didn’t quite like it range when done leaving my rating at two and a half stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.