Young Adult

The Lake

The Lake

  • Downloads：7054
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-12 05:12:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Natasha Preston
  • ISBN：0593124979
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Carla Rivard ，

Another amazing book from the very talented Natasha Preston。 If you have never read a book by her you should definitely add her to a list of must read authors。

Shirley McCann ，

Another great read from this YA author。 However， as with the previous one， I DID NOT like the ending。 Hope that doesn't continue。 Another great read from this YA author。 However， as with the previous one， I DID NOT like the ending。 Hope that doesn't continue。 。。。more

Kim ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was an absolute mess， which was so beyond disappointing。 I really really wanted to love this book， but wow。 The writing was poor， the characters were written terribly， the romances were awful， and the ending was a travesty。 I honestly was going to give it 3 stars because I moderately enjoyed the summer camp and the book was set up to maybe have a good twist。 But no。 There were no twists。 It really was Lillian the whole time with some help from Rebekah。 I was hoping it would be like Lillians This was an absolute mess， which was so beyond disappointing。 I really really wanted to love this book， but wow。 The writing was poor， the characters were written terribly， the romances were awful， and the ending was a travesty。 I honestly was going to give it 3 stars because I moderately enjoyed the summer camp and the book was set up to maybe have a good twist。 But no。 There were no twists。 It really was Lillian the whole time with some help from Rebekah。 I was hoping it would be like Lillians older brother （Andy） or an older sister （Cora）。 But nope。 They were just normal innocent characters。 Okay， the no twist thing is forgivable， but then she goes and kills all the characters except Esme in the last two pages and had Esme as being framed as the killer！？ I read a lot of thrillers and there are good ways and bad ways to do this type of ending。 Most of the time the main character needs to atone for something majorly bad that they did as a teenager or adult。 But all the characters were kids when Lillian was burned and really didn’t know much better。 Scared kids will hide anything。 It just felt ridiculously malicious towards dumb characters。 Basically it was boring and unsatisfying。 You have to have a good ending if the rest of the book really doesn’t do much。 。。。more

Cash Olson ，

Amazing！！！！！！

Jeanette Porcaro ，

I needed a Tasha thriller in my life。 Suspense， twists， turns， makes your heart race。 Everything I need in a thriller novel it’s all there， all boxes are ticked。

Alisha ，

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！

Deb ，

Warning: it ends on a cliffhanger！！！ Ugh， I want to know what happens next！！

Kari ，

The Lake is a YA mystery set at a summer camp。 Esme and her best friend， Kayla received invitations to be Counselors-in-training at their old summer camp。 They are hesitant because of something tragic that happened when they were younger。 Something they never owned up to。 The synopsis intrigued me and promised creepy summer camp vibes， so I was all in。Sadly， The Lake didn't live up to my expectations。 It ended up being jsut OK for me。 The story is told through only Esme's perspective。 I would h The Lake is a YA mystery set at a summer camp。 Esme and her best friend， Kayla received invitations to be Counselors-in-training at their old summer camp。 They are hesitant because of something tragic that happened when they were younger。 Something they never owned up to。 The synopsis intrigued me and promised creepy summer camp vibes， so I was all in。Sadly， The Lake didn't live up to my expectations。 It ended up being jsut OK for me。 The story is told through only Esme's perspective。 I would have liked more than one perspective。 I didn't feel like there was any real danger until about the last quarter of the book。 I mean it was a bit creepy and mysterious， but just on a very surface level。 Choices were made by the owner of the camp that never would have been made。 I had a hard time suspending my disbelief。 The ending was what made me really not love this book。 I hated it。 I'm not sure I would recommend this one。 I have read better books from this author。 。。。more

Amy ，

Great thriller for young adults， probably middle school age。

Angelica Garcia ，

This started off as one of my favorite books from this author but went downhill fast :（ The last five chapters were very very rushed and the ending。。。 I HATE endings like that。 But overall it was an enjoyable quick read and great for all YA mystery fans。

Sarah Brown ，

Another great thriller by natasha， I was hooked right from the start and found myself so invested in the story。 I have no idea where tasha gets her ideas from but I sometimes think her mind is a scary place as the lake gave me goosebumps more than once

Aly ，

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 suspic 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。 。。。more

Rebecca Robertson ，

I couldn't put this down。 Omg the suspense， and the ending。 Wow。 A definite must read I couldn't put this down。 Omg the suspense， and the ending。 Wow。 A definite must read 。。。more

Tim Joseph ，

Not。 My。 Style。This was， were I to jump out of my norm and expectations， still 3。。。 3。5 at best。 BEST。'Okay。。。 jest leave a review'。。。I felt this was very flat for a thriller。Expected scenarios。Typical plot twists。。Hyper-dialoge to cover action。After that。。。 I didn't like the ending。Is that just me？ Probably！I stick by my ** Not。 My。 Style。This was， were I to jump out of my norm and expectations， still 3。。。 3。5 at best。 BEST。'Okay。。。 jest leave a review'。。。I felt this was very flat for a thriller。Expected scenarios。Typical plot twists。。Hyper-dialoge to cover action。After that。。。 I didn't like the ending。Is that just me？ Probably！I stick by my ** 。。。more

PinkAmy loves books， cats and naps ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 1。5 STARSSTOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS。 I’m spoiling the plot to save you the trouble of wasting your time and money。 I had such high hopes for THE LAKE， but I’ve never liked Natasha Preston’s story execution。 What I wanted to be a fast-paced， heart-thumping read was a slow book with a ridiculous ending。 Ten years ago， at age eight， Esme and her best friend Kayla started a bonfire at camp that got out of hand and burned another little girl， Lillian。 Now， everyone reading th 1。5 STARSSTOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS。 I’m spoiling the plot to save you the trouble of wasting your time and money。 I had such high hopes for THE LAKE， but I’ve never liked Natasha Preston’s story execution。 What I wanted to be a fast-paced， heart-thumping read was a slow book with a ridiculous ending。 Ten years ago， at age eight， Esme and her best friend Kayla started a bonfire at camp that got out of hand and burned another little girl， Lillian。 Now， everyone reading this book has been eight years old at some point and for THE LAKE to work， I would have had to buy into the idea these children did something so horrible it caused another little girl to not only blame those girls， but harbor homicidal ideation and set a plan into fruition a decade later。 No， just no。 Did I mention that I REALLY wanted to love this book？ I love camp stories。 Esme is an okay enough narrator， not particularly honest or forthright， good with the kids， an okay friend to Kayla。 I never got a real feel for Kayla or what made her relationship with Esme so special。Preston does a fairly good job throwing in some red herrings。 THE ENDING SPOILERSLillian kills a bunch of people including Kayla， runs away and leaves Esme holding the gun， then the book stops。 It。 Just。 Stops。I didn’t hate reading THE LAKE which is why I rounded up to two stars。 I hated the ending and reason for the murders。 I wonder if Preston ended so abruptly to set up a sequel， but with so many characters dead I doubt it。Skip this book。 。。。more

Jen ，

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 ca 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。 。。。more

Chelsea ，

ALL！ THE！ STARS！ 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I am a fan of all of Natasha’s thrillers and have been waiting anxiously （for about a year） for The Lake to be released。 This book was a grand slam！ Seriously！ It kept me on edge and the hair on the back of my neck standing the entire time！ And that ending。。。！！！！ This was brilliant and I am so so so happy to have read this！！！ Allll the recommendations！！ 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Stephanie Hernandez ，

Such a page turner but come on the ending what a cliff hanger！！ Good short read with unexpected turns。

Tammy ，

This book was great！ I loved everything about it。 I loved the characters and how each one was described。 I enjoyed how the book was written。 I also liked how long things took to turn。

Alaina ，

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 promi 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！ 。。。more

Abby Bacon ，

This is hands down the best thriller I have ever read。 I was on edge constantly during the action chapters and I didn’t know what to expect next！ Truly an amazing book。 It felt like a criminal minds episode and it would make for a fantastic movie。 I read this in one day and was not at all disappointed; I couldn’t put it down！ My only issue is that the side characters were not very deep and could have been explored more。 The ending was very upsetting， but it also fit the story well。 Please go che This is hands down the best thriller I have ever read。 I was on edge constantly during the action chapters and I didn’t know what to expect next！ Truly an amazing book。 It felt like a criminal minds episode and it would make for a fantastic movie。 I read this in one day and was not at all disappointed; I couldn’t put it down！ My only issue is that the side characters were not very deep and could have been explored more。 The ending was very upsetting， but it also fit the story well。 Please go check this book out if you can！ 。。。more

Crystal ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 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 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 StarsThank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Amber ，

She did it again， folks。 Riveting。

Ariel ，

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 brief 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。Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book。 All thoughts and opinions are my own。Blog • Instagram • Twitter 。。。more

Samantha ，

This book was honestly just bad。 Even for YA the writing was just way too simple and made reading tedious。 The horror/thriller aspect wasn't even that scary， just kind of annoying。 There are so many things that simply don't make sense and cause some major plot holes。 The two "best friend" main characters don't even act like they like each other for 90% of the book。 Not to mention the copy I have has a copy error where a character's name is completely wrong。 I would not recommend this book。 This book was honestly just bad。 Even for YA the writing was just way too simple and made reading tedious。 The horror/thriller aspect wasn't even that scary， just kind of annoying。 There are so many things that simply don't make sense and cause some major plot holes。 The two "best friend" main characters don't even act like they like each other for 90% of the book。 Not to mention the copy I have has a copy error where a character's name is completely wrong。 I would not recommend this book。 。。。more

Sandy O'Brien ，

Genre: YA Mystery ThrillerSynopsis:Esme finally decides to go back to her childhood camp to be a CIT ， counselor in training。 She has been hesitant to ever step foot back on the grounds because her and a friend did something terrible when they were campers。 They’re having a great time until suddenly they start to get threats at the camp that escalate and begin to terrify them。 Will their past come back to haunt them？Rating:3/5 ⭐️sThis book honestly felt like it dragged on and on。 The twist at th Genre: YA Mystery ThrillerSynopsis:Esme finally decides to go back to her childhood camp to be a CIT ， counselor in training。 She has been hesitant to ever step foot back on the grounds because her and a friend did something terrible when they were campers。 They’re having a great time until suddenly they start to get threats at the camp that escalate and begin to terrify them。 Will their past come back to haunt them？Rating:3/5 ⭐️sThis book honestly felt like it dragged on and on。 The twist at the end was definitely something I wasn’t expecting but I don’t know if it made up for my disappointment in the rest of the book。 I know students will like it though because they always seem to love her books。 。。。more

mary kate f ，

This book was all over the place。。。 it was hard to follow， filled with mistakes， and written as if by a kid。。。 not impressed at all and certainly not with the ending （left you on a cliffhanger that was built up beyond weirdly and messily）。 Disappointing because it would have been an interesting plot had the writing style been better！

A ，

Alright so I literally just finished the book as I’m writing this。 And with all due respect， i am going to be completely honest in this review。 I have read every book by Natasha Preston and they all have been amazing， but “The Lake” I didn’t really enjoy reading it。 *These are my opinions*Why:1） The storyline was too slow in the beginning。2） I didn’t really see the big deal of the “secret/plot” I found this whole book quite mediocre。 3） The characters were all quite boring， I felt no connection Alright so I literally just finished the book as I’m writing this。 And with all due respect， i am going to be completely honest in this review。 I have read every book by Natasha Preston and they all have been amazing， but “The Lake” I didn’t really enjoy reading it。 *These are my opinions*Why:1） The storyline was too slow in the beginning。2） I didn’t really see the big deal of the “secret/plot” I found this whole book quite mediocre。 3） The characters were all quite boring， I felt no connection or empathy for any single。 （ and I usually do when reading Natasha Prestons previous books， but I the character were “bleh” to me） 4） I felt that some things said by the two main characters were quite repetitive， that I was actually getting annoyed when reading some pages。 5） The ending was whatever I guess， （whoever is reading this and you have read any other of Natasha Preston’s book before than you know that she always ends her books without a completely settled/ cliff hanging ending that leaves you thinking “um that it’s， but what happens next， I need more information/ detail”） but um ya， the ending got me like : 🤦🏽‍♀️😤😒Overall: I didn’t hate the book， I was just expecting more of a mystery/ fast paced thriller book。 With more memorial characters。Anyways Though， I still have major respect for this author。 She is still an amazing author， cuz I love her past books， but the lake is alright。 I still recommend you guys to read it though， because we all have different opinions。 I can’t wait till “The Fear” by Natasha Preston to be released in Spring 2022- it sounds like it’s going to be a great read。 Let know what y’all taught of the book！！ I would love to reas others opinions。 🖤 。。。more

Kim Sutton ，

Natasha Preston’s new YA thriller。 The Lake is unputdownable！ Stayed up till the early hours because I just needed to know how it would end and I honestly had no idea what would happen。 Loved every minute of it！ Five stars！