A roundup of all the books I read in October

Very excited to be part of The Haunted Lake Society for Lyndall Clipstone’s fabulous gothic romance duology: Lakesedge and Forestfall! The book series is a mixture of Crimson Peak and Persephone and Hades and honestly, what more could you ask for? Go check out my instagram: @ashley_dang096 for more of my bookish posts and more up to date things I’m up to!

Lakesedge as film stills

Title: World at the Lake’s Edge

Author: Lyndall Clipstone

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2021

Genres: fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, paranormal

Blurb: When Violeta Graceling arrives at the haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumours about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy...but neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem. As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under - the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake, a creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn. Now, to save Rowan - and herself - Leta must confront the darkness in her past...including unravelling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.

Violeta “Leta” Graceling from Lakesedge is demisexual!

TOP READS OF 2022 📖

Despite being busy with revisions and finishing my MA, I’ve found time to read some incredible books this year 🖤 it’s so hard to narrow it down! I was going to do a top five, but it ended up being a top 7 ~

1. The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew

2. Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

3. Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone

4. Iron Heart by Nina Varela

5. For the Throne by Hannah Whitten

6: Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

7: Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

So excited to read more incredible books in 2023! What were some of your favourite reads of this year?

💬 Happy Tuesday aka New Release Day! Did you pick up any new releases today? 🤎📖 Happy Release Day to Forestfall by @lkclipstone! This is book 2 in the World at the Lake’s Edge series! Have you read Lakesedge and Forestfall yet? Are they on your TBR? Thank you to @fiercereads for gifting me these copies! . . . s u m m a r y : Some oaths can never be broken... The curse that haunted Lakesedge Estate has been broken, but at great cost. Violeta Graceling has sacrificed herself to end the Corruption. To escape death, Leta makes a desperate bargain with the Lord Under, one that sees her living at his side in the land of the dead. But this world of souls and mist hides many secrets. And when Leta realizes she is still connected to Rowan by a tethering spell, she will risk everything— even her soul— to try and reach him. Torn between power and love, life and death, Leta struggles to keep hold of her humanity as she falls further and further under the spell of the world Below… and the Lord Under. . . . h a s h t a g s : #forestfall #lakesedge #lyndallclipstone #fiercereads #cozyaesthetic #cozyhome #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #bookworm #readercommunity #bookcommunity #readersofinstagram #booksofinstagram #bookblogger #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations https://www.instagram.com/p/CjA-pBZuAoz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Lakesedge (World at the Lake's Edge #1) by Lyndall Clipstone

I'd purchased this book years ago after reading a glowing review, but it did not live up to the hype. The plot wasn't anything new (Naomi Novik's Uprooted and T. Kingfisher's The Seventh Bride both do it better, even if those are more adult and less YA, but only just), and once again when reading YA I thought "WHY is YA so horny?" Every other sentence was about the softness of someone's skin or the way someone's strong jawline catches the light. I get that young adult novels are aimed at people experiencing puberty who are pretty horny, but I've read so much YA that has good romantic longing passages that aren't "just horny" that this book exasperated me to no end, and I wound up skimming the last third of the book just to finish (and I didn't lose the plot, because most of that was breathy glances and descriptions of adolescent longing). This is a miss for me across the board.

Leta in the Land Below. Based on Lyndall Clipstone’s Forestfall 🖤 These books are SO GOOD. If you haven’t read them, go read them for some good girl x monster romance. @torbooks

Lakesedge  Aesthetic Moodboard inspired by the fantastic gothic fantasy by Lyndall Clipstone! As part of her Haunted Lake Society I really wanted to capture the beautiful mood and characters in the book! Also the sequel, Forestfall is coming out soon so be on the look out!

my books as retro film posters

My current read 📖 🤓

A gothic fantasy about monsters and magic, set on the banks of a cursed lake.

There are monsters in the world.

When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem.

There are monsters in the woods.

As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn…

There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name.

Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.

Today's fun fact: the media that inspired me as I wrote Wraiths and Wanderings! 🌷Lakesedge by @lkclipstone 🌷Ninth House by @lbardugo 🌷Buzzfeed Unsolved (check @shanemadej and @ryanbergara at @wearewatcher for some really cool actual ghost hunters! 🌷Anna Dressed in Blood by @kendareblake These are the bad boys that got me pumped up about writing about ghosts, the occult, and writing my weird little children! Charlotte is, as always, the beautiful @tica_jules #wraithsandwanderings #charlotteblythe #charlotteandwade #amwriting #indieauthor #mortlockwing #Victorianlibrary #ghosthunting #darkacademia #aesthetic #debutauthor #debutbook #urbanfantasy #occulthorror #paranormalfantasy #buzzfeedunsolved #lakesedge #ninthhouse #annadressedinblood #writinginspo #witch #hunter #supernatural https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp9oFheuOY_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=