“I open my eyes and press my hands deep into the mud. Light blooms at my palms. I am the sun. I am wildfire,” Clipstone, Lakesedge.
Lakesedge follows the main character Violeta, also known as Leta, on a journey to keep her brother, Arien, safe at all costs. He has forbidden magic that is coveted by the Monster of Lakesedge, Rowan. Rowan makes Leta and her brother, Arien an offer: a place to stay at Lakesedge estate, but he gets Arien’s powers, which would hurt Arien and Leta very much.
Little does Leta know, they are not by themselves at Lakesedge Estate. There’s the Lord Under, who is very threatening to Leta and everyone at Lakesedge, but Leta specifically. He is a very intriguing villain and I found myself quite invested in Leta’s relationship with him. I was also enjoying Leta and Rowan’s relationship. Lakesedge does a great job developing friendships between characters and making the reader care what about happens to them.
Leta is a strong character who will do anything to save those she loves, even if it hurts her deeply, which her bargain she makes with the Lord Under will hurt her more than she maybe realizes. Lakesedge tells an atmospheric journey with moments of sadness, but also tells a story of how far family will go to protect each other. The writing is fast-paced and extremely descriptive. I loved the images of the Lakesedge Estate I conjured up in my mind while reading. It felt like I was watching a movie in my head, which is one of the reasons I love reading so much. It’s great when a book is told so well that it feels effortless to read it.
I had a lot of emotions going through me during my reading experience of this book. At times I really felt for Leta and what she was willing to do to save her brother. She was willing to give up so much for him, that I was even more worried about Leta and questioning whether she was really going to make that bargain with the Lord Under. I hope the sequel, Forestfall, which is set to release September 27th, 2022 will answer all of these questions the ending left me with. In fact, when I finished reading the book, I sat on my couch in shock, wondering what in the world just happened. It had a great cliffhanger ending that will leave you wanting more and eager to pick up book 2!
This is already a new favorite book of mine for 2022 and definitely the kind of YA fantasy that I love to read.