<b><i>ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. </i></b>

I picked this book up because the cover and the synopsis sounded really enticing and I was itching for a good thriller! However, the moment I opened the ebook and read the first few chapters, I knew this was a bad decision.

My first and biggest gripe with this books is that it's very poorly written. The writing is way too juvenile, in my opinion, and doesn't do a good job of either creating a good atmosphere or giving the characters a certain depth. It was just a lot of "this happened, then this happened. Also this happened." It felt like it was devoid of emotion, completely. And that doesn't work well with a thriller. At all!!

The characters are also very flat and do a lot of stupid things. They don't feel real at all, and I wasn't rooting for any of them. Also that romance came out of nowhere and existed for the sake of existing and I was not interested in all that heterosexual activity.

I was going to rate this book two stars, but that ending make me knock one off. It was so....unfitting? not good? dare I say, stupid, almost?? Like I didn't mind the way the mystrey was set up. It was part of the reason why I kept reading even though I knew this book wasn't it for me. I just kept hoping something decent will happen and then I could rate this book three stars and justufy the time I spent on it. But noooo that ending did not feel developed at all! Also the "mystrey" gets solved pretty early on and from there it's just them trying to find the person who they know the identity of. Which, like, really takes the fun out of it for me.

Anyway, try this one if you want to, sure, but I would not recommend it. WASTE OF MY TIMEEEEE

I literally have no words. That ending was crazy! This book was pretty fast paced and kept you guessing. I really enjoyed the ride. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

It was another great book by Natasha Preston . It was scary suspenseful and of course a whole of secrets.

This was a nice change of pace this was! A twisty, creepy thriller is just what I needed. This book kept me on my toes and wondering what terrible thing would happen to Esme next. It's the kind of story where you want to grab the characters and tell them to run and call the police already. I know Esme and Kayla had a secret but is it worth dying for?

At the camp, Esme seemed to be surrounded by possible suspects. It took her a while to start wondering about her fellow counselors, but I was suspicious from the beginning. I was happy to see that some of what I guessed was wrong and there was more going on than it seemed. I did like the scenes of peace where Esme bonded with her campers and she got closer to Olly. It was nice to have cute scenes between all the craziness.

If you've read other books from this author, you know the endings are unpredictable and don't always have a happy ending. This one didn't go how I thought it would and I appreciate the twist!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I have voluntarily chosen to leave a review.

Natasha Preston is one author I will keep going back to. The Lake keeps you wanting more. You want to know what the secret is and Natasha does an amazing job with not letting the secret out. It keeps you guessing and wanting more The character development is spot on, they are likable and relatable.

This was a fast paced YA mystery, centered on Esme and Kayla, who attended a summer camp years ago and left when something bad happened, then returned as counselors in training (CITs) at 17 years old.. The story is told friends Esme’s POV.

There were a lot of red herrings in this book and I found myself suspecting everyone at some point. The messages that were left around the camp made for a super creepy setting.

On the other hand, I never did understand why they would choose to return to this camp where something bad happened, or why they didn’t come clean when they were only 8 years old (or at least done additional research later into what really happened).

Overall, this was a fast paced read that I finished over a few hours. I was a little disappointed in the backstory as well as the revealing of the villain, but I was engaged throughout the book and found the ending interesting. I’d recommend for those who like YA mysteries. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since I read The Twin, I was honestly hooked on Natasha's writing. So when I saw that I was approved to dive into The Lake. Well, I was actually really giddy to dive into another one of her creepy books. Like some other reviewers, I can definitely say this had the vibes of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" but at a creepy camp instead.

Year ago, Esme and Kayla did something terrible. From that moment, they made a promise and never looked back. Now that they are back at the camp, years later, well things definitely start getting mysterious and extra creepy. Once secrets come out to play, well, you'll just have to see what happens for yourself.

Honestly, Esme, Kayla and the rest of the camp kids should have left after the first RED FLAG. Trust me, this book had a ton because so many people were keeping secrets. Then there's the villain, who in my opinion was quite brilliant because of how this all ended. Even though I would have liked certain things to go a lot smoother throughout the book (transition wise) but I did enjoy everything that went down.

In the end, I can't wait to dive into the next book by Natasha!

Holy Moly! What did I just read?

*SPOILERS*

Content warnings for harm, family violence, death of animals, death of children, fire, gun violence, graphic depictions of death and violence.

The Lake follows teenagers who return to summer camp as counselors in training. Let me start out by saying I love a mystery, I love a camp story, this book had all of the right metrics to make it a perfect book for me. We quickly learn that Esme and Kayla are hiding something. They'd previously been at Camp Pine Lake as campers and their last experience didn't end well. Throughout the book we discover what exactly happened that last summer, but not until some strange things start happening. Writing on the side of the counselors cabin, missing flags on the trail, a slash in an inflatable.. it starts out pretty tame but quickly escalates. The ending was incredibly violent, graphic, and disturbing and I would be hesitant providing this to pre-teens/teens without first knowing the content warnings. But, for me, I still thought it was a great book with a complete twist ending that I did not expect.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another great and suspenseful book by this Author! This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the end! I have read all of this Author's books and she never disappoints!!

While the synopsis for this book was so intriguing, I wasn't blown away by the book itself. It had its moments, but overall, I wasn't impressed.

For starters, this book was pretty slow-moving. There were secrets that were slowly being revealed about what happened at summer camp years ago, but the things happening in the present time were kinda dull. Things did eventually speed up only to come to an unsatisfying and anticlimatic ending. So pacing in the plot was a big issue for me.

Also, as I briefly mentioned before, the ending wasn't great. In a mystery/thriller, the ending is so important because that is where everything you've been learning throughout the book finally becomes clear. Well, things become more clear (not completely clear, mind you), but then it just wasn't very interesting. It was such a disappointment to push through this book only to be let down at the end.

These were my two main issues with the book, but they were two important issues in my eyes. The whole summer camp, I-know-what-you-did-last-summer trope is one of my favorites so it was sad to see this book tank. I am still interested in reading some of Preston's other books though so this book didn't completely ruin that for me.

3.5/5 I absolutely love Natasha Preston. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Overall, I really liked the idea of the book as a whole. But for me it unfortunately it wasn't one of my favorites.

The book started off strong and I was dying to know the secret! It took a LONG time to eventually figure it it. There were pieces here and there that eventually all fit together. The middle of the book definitely had a lull and I wish the secret was a bit MORE.

The characters were definitely likable, and I enjoyed having their secrets unravel. Preston is notorious for leaving the ending of her books with a massive 'BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT???' she didn't disappoint with this one! The ending did seem to have a few plot holes that could be poked but overall I liked how everything was set up and how it eventually concluded.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was exceptionally hard for me to sink my teeth into. There is a great deal of extraneous information included that tends to drag the story down. The characters are still childlike even when they became CITs.

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

I received an advanced copy, of this book from the publisher through, netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I enjoyed all the characters in the story. I enjoyed how it is set in a summer camp in Texas. Natasha Preston is a great author. I can't wait to read more books by this author in the future. I never would have thought that character did it. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This book will be in stores on March 2, for $10.99 (USD).

2.5 Stars

I received a free e-ARC of The Lake thanks to GetUnderlined and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I was really excited to read this book. The synopsis sounded so intriguing, and I am a sucker for a good thriller.

We follow Esme as she joins her friend Kayla and returns to Camp Pine Lake, this time as counselor trainees instead of campers. Despite the fun she can’t wait to have, Esme is haunted by her past at camp. She and Kayla have a buried secret from their time spent there as children. But when someone starts terrorizing the camp, Esme learns that some secrets can’t stay buried forever.

This was my first book by Preston and I went into it with high hopes. I’m pretty creeped out by lakes, so a thriller set at a camp on the lake seemed like the perfect read. Unfortunately, the book didn’t live up to my expectations.

The characters felt pretty one-dimensional. I didn’t get a good sense of any of them enough for me to relate to any of them. The relationships between them felt forced. It also seemed odd to me because there seemed to be an awful lot of time for the counselors to be off on their own, which makes me wonder who was looking after the campers?

The end felt abrupt. I went to turn to the next chapter and…..there wasn’t one. I feel like we had so much build up the entire book, we should have gotten more than what we did for that ending. I wish that we had more twists and turns in the story, too, instead of having the guessing game taken from us near the beginning.

Although this book wasn't a hit for me, I will be checking out Preston's other works.

The Lake was a gripping YA thriller/mystery that perfectly emulated the feeling of spending the summer at camp- only this time with a mysterious stalker and potentially dangerous secrets added to the mix of the usual campfires and cookouts.
Esme and Kayla are best friends who once attended Camp Pine Lake as children who decide to return as counselors for the summer before college. Unfortunately the summer isn't only filled with sneaking into town after the campers have fallen asleep or flirting with the other counselors; Esme and Kayla experienced something at Camp Pine Lake when they were children that has kept them away until now. Unfortunately they have not waited long enough, and their secrets begin to come up again in the form of mysterious events that start happening around the camp that test Esme and Kayla's friendship and threaten the safety of everyone at camp.
Preston's novel was relatively well=paced throughout the book but the ending felt a tad rushed. The stakes would have felt higher if we had gotten to slow down a bit and really take in everything that occurs in the last 40 pages or so. I am curious to see if there will be a sequel since the ending was definitely a cliffhanger.
I would recommend The Lake to anyone who enjoys a fast read, misses the feeling of summer camp, or enjoys movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer- or any combination of the three.

I think this is by far one of my favorite books by Natasha Preston. The book actually gives me nostalgia since it reminds me of something R. L. Stine or Christopher Pike would write.
There's only one thing that bothers and that's how the main character thinks she can take matters in her own hands when she's clearly out of her element. No only that but she's putting a lot of campers at risk. But I get it. Teens are stubborn and thinks that nothing can happen to them. I know that's what I was like.
The story line really keeps your attention and I'm not saying that lightly. I love thrillers but it seems as of late that a young adult thriller can either keep my attention or not even though I absolutely love young adult. And OMG that ending! I love a thriller/horror with a good shock factor. I can kind of see the ending making a lot of readers mad but those are the ones I love.
I can't wait to read more books by Natasha!

⭐⭐

This was just not my jam.

I should probably preface this: Anyone who is working on tag lines for their novels needs to be careful about giving your readers expectations and then not delivering on them. When this author is described as "the undisputed queen of YA thriller" and someone like Karen McManus is under the same publisher— it is kind of a lot to tout, and definitely makes someone like me, who reads a lot of the genre, look at things more critically because I want to be wowed.

Because here is me. Disputing.

The Lake is indeed a YA thriller as it claims. But it wasn't an easy one to connect to, it was oddly paced, and frankly, I couldn't find a character to connect to. They barely had relationships between themselves, let alone anything for me to cling to as a reader. This honestly made it an odd and stilted experience. Upsetting, as I thought the cover was both eerie and beautiful and set an entirely different tone than the one that is created at the beginning of the book. The limits placed upon the actual danger left any of the potential risings of stakes to fall flat.

This ending was truly bizarre. It did not feel like an ending. The "reveal" that is the bread and butter of any good thriller was so intensely disappointing I almost put the book down entirely. (but I have had many a thriller redeem itself at the end, so I pressed on) and instead, I was left completely bereft. I won't leave spoilers here, but all we are left with is implications and half-formed resolutions.

My thanks to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was certainly an interesting ride.

Best friends Esme and Kayla are back at Camp Pine Lake as counselors in training, and Esme is delighted to be back in a place where she loved being a camper. But Esme and Kayla have a secret. The last time they were at Camp Pine Lake, something terrible happened. Something they never told anyone about. But there is one person out there who knows what they did, and they want Esme and Kayla to come clean. They want them to suffer for what they did. They might even want them to die. The lake never forgets. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Random House/Delacorte Press. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page), animal death (on-page), some blood/gore, abduction, fire, guns, severe injury, ableism, gaslighting, threats.

I didn’t care for The Cabin, but after The Lost had some minor improvements, I thought I might learn to like Preston’s novels, but no. I’m pretty done with them, and I can’t believe I read this many. The Lake commits one of the biggest sins of a horror novel in being totally, relentlessly boring. It’s hamstrung by its very premise, which is that creepy things are happening at camp–but they can’t be too threatening or dangerous because then they’d send the kids home! Urgh. That prevents anything interesting from happening for 95% of the book. The gaslighting is pedestrian, and even the worst slasher movie probably has more suspense (or at least corny special effects). Just as bad, we’re told right from the beginning who the antagonist is and what their motivation is, and there are no twists whatsoever on that premise.

I don’t know Esme well enough to hate her, and she’s just as boring as everything else about this book. Her main personality trait seems to be anxiety and conspiracy theories, and her best friend relationship with Kayla is as underdeveloped and underused as they are in the rest of Preston’s novels. (Since when are best friends just, like, placeholders instead of people we actually know well and trust?) Sad attempts at romance. Sad attempts at making new friends. Sad attempts at gaslighting a bunch of vapid camp counselors. Vaguely offensive/ableist attempts at providing a believable backstory for a villain, who was both abused and disfigured in a fire. Pathetic excuse for a shock ending with no effort to work through any of the issues. It’s like Preston is ripping off all the campy paperback horror novels of the 90s without actually learning anything from their missteps.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Natasha Preston has done it yet again! It is no secret that Natasha Preston is one of my favorite authors, and I devour her books. If you are looking for a twisty, psychological, young adult thriller, she is the author for you.

This book starts off with Kayla and Esme heading to summer camp as counselors in training. Can you think of a better setting for a creepy book than in the middle of the woods? While the synopsis of the book talks about Kayla and Esme as the main characters, Esme is definitely the one in the spotlight, and Kayla was a bit underdeveloped. This book has a large cast of characters, and took me a little bit to get into for that reason. I also thought a good chunk of the book, specifically the middle, was a bit repetitive. Once I hit 75% though the tables turned, and I couldn't read the pages fast enough.

At this point we know that Preston gives us surprise endings that we would never predict, and this book is no different. I knew the ending would make me want to scream, and be infuriated. I love Preston's books for this reason, I know what I am getting, but I am still surprised.

Overall, I recommend this book if you like young adult thrillers. I can't wait for the next thriller she writes!

I had so many other books I needed to read. However, every time I would pick one up, I would start thinking about The Lake and let my mind wonder about what was going to happen. The story itself is intriguing and draws you in.

I liked Esme’s sarcasm. Her comments and quips were definitely the same comment so would have made as well. I laughed because I would make a side comment and then she would actually say it on the next sentence.

Did y’all ever watch Light as a Feather on Hulu? This kind of gave me the same vibes during the beginning. I went back and forth about who was causing all the sinister things at camp, and I finally just gave up and enjoyed the ride.

I felt the ending was so action packed and fast that I didn’t really have time to process it all. I personally enjoyed the ending, but I feel some will feel it’s open ended.

Thank you Delacorte Press for the gifted copy. The Lake is out March 2nd!