This short novel by Josh Malerman is nothing like the others, but that’s part of its enjoyment factor. Two teens find a house beneath a lake, and at first, they fall in love with it. But can they keep their pleasure between themselves or will life get in the way? Find out by reading this one-time story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of A House at the Bottom of a Lake.

I'm always looking for a scary, suspenseful story (and have yet to find one that meets my standards) so I was excited when my request was approved.

This is a short story, a novella about two teenagers, both 17, that go canoeing on their first date. It is otherwise a regular date until they end up somewhere else, a forgotten third lake and see a house at the bottom of the lake.

The rest of the narrative has the two teens falling in love as they explore this strange and unusual house.

How did it get here? What is its purpose? Why did the both of them find this house?

None of these questions are developed or examined, and though I enjoyed the teens' exploration and the general uneasiness of this house, the story left me wanting.

I'm not sure what the author is really writing about; a house at the bottom of a lake or how innocent and fragile first love is.

I don't mind ambiguity in a story, including the ending, but there were more questions than answers.

The characters were not well developed, since the novella is so short, and the ending felt abrupt.

I definitely wasn't scared, not once, but it takes a lot to spook me. The story had potential and could have been scary if the author had gone in a different direction.

I'd recommend this for fans of the author, or looking for something different to read.

"It's what I've been looking for my whole life. It's something so nonsensical that it makes fun of every sensible thing in the world. It's impossible. But it's here."

Nostalgic. Haunting. Suspenseful. Immersive. Could you walk away from a creepy house in a place it shouldn't be?

I've been anxious to read Josh Malerman with the recent hype around his stories, and this is my first. Needless to say, I will be reading much more! His writing is excellent and smart. His characters are nostalgic and complete, their journey familiar and relatable. These two awkward, stupidly brave kids transported me right back to my teenager years, when I so badly wanted to believe in magic and hauntings, but anything that initially presented with that smokey, eerie glimmer of the otherworld swiftly fell flat into reality. Malerman's story goes all the way, completing the what ifs of my younger years steeped in So Weird, Goosebumps, and Stephen King.

This short tale gets a full 5 stars from me for the following reasons:
- I was truly creeped out as I read this at night especially. I read horror regularly but infrequently, so I can understand how a horror aficionado may not be creeped out, but I soaked up (pun not intended) that wonderful bone chilling nervousness and leaned right into it. It's pretty legit horror that is not bloody, gory, jumpy, or cheap--my favorite!

- The writing. Oh man, the WRITING. It's one of those immersive, creative, melodiously written stories that makes me want to write. Malerman's pacing is genius. Is there some formula for writing dialogue to description to reflection to more dialogue? Because if there is, he's mastered it. The plot moved with grace and efficiency, pulling me along in suspense and hunger for more.

- By way of content warning and as part of my review, there is brief teen sex. It's not totally necessary, but I appreciate that for a scary story there isn't actually any other content warning needed. It's soooo refreshing to read something creepy that didn't involve kidnapping, child death, or other things I just don't need in my brain.

- The setting is colorful and captivating, as clear in my mind as a movie. Man, this would be a great movie. I read it fairly quickly, I had a hard time putting it down so I read it while I brushed my teeth, while I ate, while I walked around the house trying not to walk into door frames and wall corners.

- I can't stop thinking about it. The ending. What a great ending.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review! It was a right treat. I will be posting a review and photo on Instagram in the next week.

An original premise that’s deliciously scary and creepy. While canoeing on a first date, James and Amelia find a secret tunnel to a third lake. Discovering a huge house in the water beneath them they decide to explore and what they find is other worldly and impossible. Not asking how or why the house exists they spend their summer falling in love, learning to scuba dive and exploring the interior of theIr secret place.
I loved this story up until the ending which I found too ambiguous and disappointing If I were to rate the ending alone I’d give it a 0-1. Because the rest of the story was terrific, I give it a 4

There is no other way to put this so here it goes…I disliked this book. I found it very weird, I found the dynamic between the characters unrealistic, I didn’t like the writing. It was marketed as horror and it definitely wasn't. It was just, overall, a huge disappointment. I made myself finish it, which ended up kind of putting me in a reading slump. I had gone to multiple bookstores in search for this book and found out it was a print-on-demand title…now I know why. Luckily, I didn’t buy this book. I ended up borrowing it from my library. This book was a complete waste of time and I should have DNF’d it but it was really short so I just suffered through it. My opinion is probably in the minority for this book, but I really didn’t like it. I do own Bird Box and am still looking forward to reading it. I have heard many good things about it and it sounds right up my alley. However, this one is a definite no for me.