LTJ’s review of The House Across the Lake > Likes and Comments
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Thank you for this, I had it on hold & just borrowed it, with like 9 people still waiting for it. I think I’ll do my good deed for the day & let them have a crack at it instead. I would have been hella annoyed, you saved me!
😔, I already bought it, so I'm stuck. Other reviews were so good, but Sager really is a hit or miss.
Great review LTJ! I had this on my TBR for a while but read some other reviews who said the same as you. Sorry that this was a bit of a flop, but congratulations to you for carrying on til the end 😁🤘🏼
Leeanne ☽ ◌ ☾ wrote: "Good luck Inciminci 🖤"
Thanks Leeanne 🖤
Excellent review, LTJ! 💕 I agree, I have also written Sager off. His books never surpass a 2 star rating from me.
Nice review! Bummer it wasn’t better. I really enjoyed the first two I read by him, but Survive the Night was such a miss. I may go in with low expectations and check this one out eventually, but if I feel the same way I am probably done with him as well.
@Phrique: Anytime, my friend! LoL yeah, that sounds like a GREAT good deed of the day to let another person that wants to read this jump in since it's pretty new. I just think it's way too much fluff for a thriller/horror novel. I swear, I wonder what the official word count is on how many times he wrote "bourbon" because my goodness, it was overkill!
@inciminci: LoL yeah, I also purchased this, I should have known something was up since it was a whopping $14.99. I get that it's new and all but common, I could have gotten a nice lunch with iced coffee that would have been a lot more enjoyable than this nonsense.
Everyone tells me Sager's first few books are great but I should have learned my lesson from "Survive the Night" because I hated that novel. Awe well, what's done is done, onto the next one!
@Leeanne: Thanks for the kind words, my dear friend! Wow, it's nice to know other readers said the same thing I did. When I write these reviews, I don't look at all at what others say. I just write it as I see it and well, this was definitely filled with fluff, and the only thing I liked was the eventual plot twists that took way too long to get there.
LoL definitely a flop and thanks! My rule is once I start a novel, I finish it, even if it's terrible. This wasn't as bad as "Survive the Night" but is something I hope to forget about by the end of the week.
I'm done with Sager. Unless he writes something with Stephen King, he's on my NEVER READ AGAIN list :-)
@Michelle: Thank you, my friend! LoL great minds think alike as I'm 100% done with Sager entirely. Even if he's a group read in the groups I'm in, I'm not touching anything he's written or writes in the future. Between this and "Survive the Night" he's just not a good author in my opinion. He's just not for me and that's okay, it happens :-)
This one BARELY got a 2/5 from me as the plot twists that eventually happened I liked and caught me by surprise which I enjoyed. The ending was terrible but yeah, it's a 2 for me and was a 1 for the majority of this novel. So much fluff, not enough horror or even a fun way to write a decent thriller or suspense novel.
@Kristen: Thanks! LoL yeah, it happens, a lot of people have told me that his first few novels are actually pretty good, I've only read this and "Survive the Night" and I did not like them at all. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this whenever you get to it and see if you also feel the same way!
At any rate, I'm done with Sager for good.
@Misty Marie: Thank you! I hope all is well :-D
😂 LTJ your comment did make me LOL 😂 I’m the same! I don’t really give up with a book once started. I carry on hoping things will get better 🤣
@Leeanne: MADE YOU LAUGH! LoL yeah, same here, my whole thing is, every novel I read I actually bought the Kindle edition on Amazon. You better believe that I'm reading it when I can get to it so I get my value back in return. It's true when Stephen King said “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” because even if a novel is good, bad, decent, or extraordinary, I enjoy it all in stride. It's an amazing hobby for me, I'm reading more than even gaming these days :-)
LoL reading also reminds me of cups of coffee. I've had amazing, decent, and crappy cups of coffee throughout my life but will remember the adventures and journies involving coffee. Same with novels, I'll never forget how bleh this novel was and the rage I get whenever I see the name Riley Sager from now TWO novels I've had to endure I didn't really enjoy as I have other novels with substance, brilliance, and memorable moments that last a lifetime.
It's so bad, I can't even remember the name of the main protagonist of "Survive the Night" and I hope by the end of this week, I totally forget "The House Across the Lake" entirely. I don't even want to remember the name of the lake or anything :-P
@inciminci: YES! Thank you for the virtual iced tea, it rocks just like you :-D
Yeah it's a shame this was mostly repetitive about a drunk. I don't get it bc he had a really fun horror idea in this book but it did not get handled well. You can't just mention the idea and then make any of the book about it!
@LTJ I put a hold on it today and am pretty far down the queue, but I will check it out when it comes through. I enjoyed The Last Time I Lied and Lock Every Door and then was so disappointed with Survive the Night. It’s like he’s trying way too hard now with all the plot twists.
@Katie: Exactly! I completely understood Casey was an alcoholic early on but the fact that a HUGE chunk of this novel centered around that and bourbon was a major turn-off to me. Is this a horror novel? Mystery? Suspense? Thriller? It was all over the place with no real direction and a lame ending that was beyond unrealistic with no explanation as to why. LoL I'm so done with Sager after this nonsense!
I felt if Sager stuck with the angle of the creepy lake, ran with it, and really hammered it home in that aspect, this could have been a decent read. From the 20% - 70% mark, it was such a snoozefest with nothing going on but useless dialogue that didn't really add much to the story. Binoculars this, bourbon that, backstory this. It was just too all over the place.
@Kristen: I'd love to hear your thoughts on this once you eventually get to it! It's funny since a lot of my fellow reader friends say Sager's first few novels are actually good and ever since "Survive the Night" he's dropped off big time. I looked at a lot of the comments on Amazon for this novel and STN and many people confirmed that for the most part.
I know he obviously also has a lot of readers who LOVED his last two novels but to each their own. As long as people are happy that's all that matters but yeah, STN was a huge flop for me. Terrible, boring, just one big dud.
I agree, after I finished this novel, I felt he spent more time adding fluff and things that had absolutely nothing to do with the story instead of fleshing out the situations and events that needed it. The whole premise of this creepy lake was great and then it faded away to silly, repetitive situations involving the main protagonist. LoL so yeah, please let me know your thoughts whenever you get to this one! :-)
I’ve seen a few reviews that say similar things which made me hesitant to get the book. Thanks for your insights. I may skip this one for now because I only have hundreds of other books vying for their chance to be my next read!! ;)
@Theresa: Oh yes, for sure! You're very welcome for my insights as I appreciate you reading my review and commenting, my friend :-)
LOL yeah, I'd suggest skipping this one and could you believe, this is a $14.99 Kindle novel? $14.99 for a lot of fluff and something I can guarantee I'll forget about by mid-August. LoL I have 81 books on my TBR so I'm good as I totally know what you mean!
I’ve been a fan of Riley Sager/Todd Ritter for about 10 years or more and usually love everything he writes but this was just pure garbage. Can’t believe how bad it was and was almost like he got to 70% and couldn’t be bothered anymore so handed it over to someone else and said “go on finish it off for me” and they went crazy with it and actually made even worse.
@Kev: LoL I know exactly what you mean as I just did not like this one at all. I thought the ending was terrible as well but it is what it is.
Great review LTJ! Not sure if I’m going to pick this one up now. I’ve seen way to many bad reviews on this and Sager is hit & miss with me. 🤷🏼♀️🤣
@Ginger: Thanks, my friend! LoL yeah, a lot of people didn't like it but I know some people did. It's all subjective to me anyway but this is it for me with Sager. I read this and "Survive the Night" and know enough to completely stay away from him entirely.
LTJ wrote: "@Ginger: Thanks, my friend! LoL yeah, a lot of people didn't like it but I know some people did. It's all subjective to me anyway but this is it for me with Sager. I read this and "Survive the Nigh..."
I haven’t read either one that you’ve mentioned but I have read Lock Every Door, Home Before Dark & The Last Time I Lied. I think these three are his best. Maybe try one of those before you completely give up on him.
I’m like you LTJ. I refuse to give up on a book and will see it through to the end. But I need to start DNFing more.
I’ve read more than 1300 books and have only DNF two of them. I always hope that the book will get better, but life is too short.
@Ginger: I've made note of those novels and thanks for your insight/recommendations, will do :-)
@Zain: LoL yeah, a lot of my fellow reading friends always say at the 20% mark they'll know more or less if they're into it and if not... they DNF. For me, since I do purchase every book I read for my Kindle, LoL I paid for it so I'm reading it regardless :-P
WOW!!! Much respect for reading over 1,300 books, that's amazing! You are right about that, a lot of my reading friends also say that... life is too short to read bad books LoL
I pay for my books on kindle, also, which is why I tend to finish them. And thanks for the compliment. 😎
@Zain: LoL exactly! You're very welcome :-)
Yikes! I've read three of Riley Sager's books (just took home a fourth) and hated two but liked one. I was hopeful that this would trend toward better but looks like not. Sad. :(
@Lyndsie: LoL wow, see? Yeah, I hated "Survive the Night" and this one did have some interesting parts with the lake but then it just got way too boring while reading. It's sad indeed, I know he can write, but I feel he's all over the place when it comes to writing. If he focused more on an "evil lake" and made it scarier, this would have been a much better read!
i got through about 70% of this book and i had a lot of the same issues as you. in the end, I don't feel invested enough to finish it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Hopkin: LoL SEE?!?!?! That's exactly how I felt but my own golden rule is to finish whatever book I start so yeah, I toughed it out but I don't blame you at all for DNFing this. I know many friends that did :-)
Urgh I've not heard many good things about this one, and survive the night was a DNF for me!
@preoccupied: Exactly! LoL I also did not like Survive the Night at all. I will never read another Sager novel again unless he writes such a horror masterpiece, it's highly recommended by all my friends.
Honestly if the end of the novel would of been changed I would of loved it. I wasn’t obsessed with it, but liked it enough to trudge through.
Then the end, pushed it too far for me.
@Cassie: Agreed! That ending, to this day, still annoys me. I felt cheated!
I almost made this my next read! Saved by the review! 🙂
@Fiona: Whew, I'm so glad to hear that! LoL onto the next one :-)
Fantastic review, LTJ! I felt the exact same way about this book (and rated it the same). The twist Sager threw in towards the end was so unrealistic and ruined the whole book!! However, you did say you are finished reading anything that Sager writes, but his newest release “The Only One Left” was pretty good, and I think he finally redeemed himself. (maybe, Lol)
@Rachel: Great minds think alike and thank you ever so much for the kind words! That means a lot to hear and yeah, that ending was beyond lame and 100% ruined the entire reading experience for me.
LOL I keep hearing about "The Only One Left" that it's really good but MAYBE in the future, we shall see. I was so mad at this one I literally made a mental note in my soul to never read anything he writes ever again but time heals all.
We shall see :-)
Did you read it? What did you give it?
LTJ wrote: "@Rachel: Great minds think alike and thank you ever so much for the kind words! That means a lot to hear and yeah, that ending was beyond lame and 100% ruined the entire reading experience for me.
..."
LTJ, I thought I would never read another book by him again either after the disastrous “House Across The Lake”. Lol!! But yes, I did read his newest, “The Only One Left”, and loved it!! I gave it four stars, but I could have easily given it five. You should read some reviews on that book- and maybe one day in the future if you feel you are ready to read Sager again, you can try that one 😃
And yes, great minds think alike as we have similar tastes in books! Thank you!
In my opinion, his two weakest books were Survive the Night and this one. Home Before Dark & Lock Every Door were incredible though. <3
@Rachel: LoL look at that and yeah, a lot of my friends said exactly that about "The Only One Left" so maybe in the future I'll check that out and see if he can be redeemed in my eyes!
Hell yeah as you're very welcome! Happy reading :-D
@H: I also did not like Survive the Night as you're 100% right about that! I've made of those two you mentioned to see if MAYBE in the future when my TBR is lighter, I might give him another shot at redemption :-P
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Phrique
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Jul 25, 2022 10:09AM
Thank you for this, I had it on hold & just borrowed it, with like 9 people still waiting for it. I think I’ll do my good deed for the day & let them have a crack at it instead. I would have been hella annoyed, you saved me!
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😔, I already bought it, so I'm stuck. Other reviews were so good, but Sager really is a hit or miss.
Great review LTJ! I had this on my TBR for a while but read some other reviews who said the same as you. Sorry that this was a bit of a flop, but congratulations to you for carrying on til the end 😁🤘🏼
Leeanne ☽ ◌ ☾ wrote: "Good luck Inciminci 🖤"Thanks Leeanne 🖤
Excellent review, LTJ! 💕 I agree, I have also written Sager off. His books never surpass a 2 star rating from me.
Nice review! Bummer it wasn’t better. I really enjoyed the first two I read by him, but Survive the Night was such a miss. I may go in with low expectations and check this one out eventually, but if I feel the same way I am probably done with him as well.
@Phrique: Anytime, my friend! LoL yeah, that sounds like a GREAT good deed of the day to let another person that wants to read this jump in since it's pretty new. I just think it's way too much fluff for a thriller/horror novel. I swear, I wonder what the official word count is on how many times he wrote "bourbon" because my goodness, it was overkill!
@inciminci: LoL yeah, I also purchased this, I should have known something was up since it was a whopping $14.99. I get that it's new and all but common, I could have gotten a nice lunch with iced coffee that would have been a lot more enjoyable than this nonsense.Everyone tells me Sager's first few books are great but I should have learned my lesson from "Survive the Night" because I hated that novel. Awe well, what's done is done, onto the next one!
@Leeanne: Thanks for the kind words, my dear friend! Wow, it's nice to know other readers said the same thing I did. When I write these reviews, I don't look at all at what others say. I just write it as I see it and well, this was definitely filled with fluff, and the only thing I liked was the eventual plot twists that took way too long to get there.LoL definitely a flop and thanks! My rule is once I start a novel, I finish it, even if it's terrible. This wasn't as bad as "Survive the Night" but is something I hope to forget about by the end of the week.
I'm done with Sager. Unless he writes something with Stephen King, he's on my NEVER READ AGAIN list :-)
@Michelle: Thank you, my friend! LoL great minds think alike as I'm 100% done with Sager entirely. Even if he's a group read in the groups I'm in, I'm not touching anything he's written or writes in the future. Between this and "Survive the Night" he's just not a good author in my opinion. He's just not for me and that's okay, it happens :-)This one BARELY got a 2/5 from me as the plot twists that eventually happened I liked and caught me by surprise which I enjoyed. The ending was terrible but yeah, it's a 2 for me and was a 1 for the majority of this novel. So much fluff, not enough horror or even a fun way to write a decent thriller or suspense novel.
@Kristen: Thanks! LoL yeah, it happens, a lot of people have told me that his first few novels are actually pretty good, I've only read this and "Survive the Night" and I did not like them at all. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this whenever you get to it and see if you also feel the same way!At any rate, I'm done with Sager for good.
@Misty Marie: Thank you! I hope all is well :-D
😂 LTJ your comment did make me LOL 😂 I’m the same! I don’t really give up with a book once started. I carry on hoping things will get better 🤣
@Leeanne: MADE YOU LAUGH! LoL yeah, same here, my whole thing is, every novel I read I actually bought the Kindle edition on Amazon. You better believe that I'm reading it when I can get to it so I get my value back in return. It's true when Stephen King said “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” because even if a novel is good, bad, decent, or extraordinary, I enjoy it all in stride. It's an amazing hobby for me, I'm reading more than even gaming these days :-)LoL reading also reminds me of cups of coffee. I've had amazing, decent, and crappy cups of coffee throughout my life but will remember the adventures and journies involving coffee. Same with novels, I'll never forget how bleh this novel was and the rage I get whenever I see the name Riley Sager from now TWO novels I've had to endure I didn't really enjoy as I have other novels with substance, brilliance, and memorable moments that last a lifetime.
It's so bad, I can't even remember the name of the main protagonist of "Survive the Night" and I hope by the end of this week, I totally forget "The House Across the Lake" entirely. I don't even want to remember the name of the lake or anything :-P
@inciminci: YES! Thank you for the virtual iced tea, it rocks just like you :-D
Yeah it's a shame this was mostly repetitive about a drunk. I don't get it bc he had a really fun horror idea in this book but it did not get handled well. You can't just mention the idea and then make any of the book about it!
@LTJ I put a hold on it today and am pretty far down the queue, but I will check it out when it comes through. I enjoyed The Last Time I Lied and Lock Every Door and then was so disappointed with Survive the Night. It’s like he’s trying way too hard now with all the plot twists.
@Katie: Exactly! I completely understood Casey was an alcoholic early on but the fact that a HUGE chunk of this novel centered around that and bourbon was a major turn-off to me. Is this a horror novel? Mystery? Suspense? Thriller? It was all over the place with no real direction and a lame ending that was beyond unrealistic with no explanation as to why. LoL I'm so done with Sager after this nonsense!I felt if Sager stuck with the angle of the creepy lake, ran with it, and really hammered it home in that aspect, this could have been a decent read. From the 20% - 70% mark, it was such a snoozefest with nothing going on but useless dialogue that didn't really add much to the story. Binoculars this, bourbon that, backstory this. It was just too all over the place.
@Kristen: I'd love to hear your thoughts on this once you eventually get to it! It's funny since a lot of my fellow reader friends say Sager's first few novels are actually good and ever since "Survive the Night" he's dropped off big time. I looked at a lot of the comments on Amazon for this novel and STN and many people confirmed that for the most part.I know he obviously also has a lot of readers who LOVED his last two novels but to each their own. As long as people are happy that's all that matters but yeah, STN was a huge flop for me. Terrible, boring, just one big dud.
I agree, after I finished this novel, I felt he spent more time adding fluff and things that had absolutely nothing to do with the story instead of fleshing out the situations and events that needed it. The whole premise of this creepy lake was great and then it faded away to silly, repetitive situations involving the main protagonist. LoL so yeah, please let me know your thoughts whenever you get to this one! :-)
I’ve seen a few reviews that say similar things which made me hesitant to get the book. Thanks for your insights. I may skip this one for now because I only have hundreds of other books vying for their chance to be my next read!! ;)
@Theresa: Oh yes, for sure! You're very welcome for my insights as I appreciate you reading my review and commenting, my friend :-)LOL yeah, I'd suggest skipping this one and could you believe, this is a $14.99 Kindle novel? $14.99 for a lot of fluff and something I can guarantee I'll forget about by mid-August. LoL I have 81 books on my TBR so I'm good as I totally know what you mean!
I’ve been a fan of Riley Sager/Todd Ritter for about 10 years or more and usually love everything he writes but this was just pure garbage. Can’t believe how bad it was and was almost like he got to 70% and couldn’t be bothered anymore so handed it over to someone else and said “go on finish it off for me” and they went crazy with it and actually made even worse.
@Kev: LoL I know exactly what you mean as I just did not like this one at all. I thought the ending was terrible as well but it is what it is.
Great review LTJ! Not sure if I’m going to pick this one up now. I’ve seen way to many bad reviews on this and Sager is hit & miss with me. 🤷🏼♀️🤣
@Ginger: Thanks, my friend! LoL yeah, a lot of people didn't like it but I know some people did. It's all subjective to me anyway but this is it for me with Sager. I read this and "Survive the Night" and know enough to completely stay away from him entirely.
LTJ wrote: "@Ginger: Thanks, my friend! LoL yeah, a lot of people didn't like it but I know some people did. It's all subjective to me anyway but this is it for me with Sager. I read this and "Survive the Nigh..."I haven’t read either one that you’ve mentioned but I have read Lock Every Door, Home Before Dark & The Last Time I Lied. I think these three are his best. Maybe try one of those before you completely give up on him.
I’m like you LTJ. I refuse to give up on a book and will see it through to the end. But I need to start DNFing more. I’ve read more than 1300 books and have only DNF two of them. I always hope that the book will get better, but life is too short.
@Ginger: I've made note of those novels and thanks for your insight/recommendations, will do :-)
@Zain: LoL yeah, a lot of my fellow reading friends always say at the 20% mark they'll know more or less if they're into it and if not... they DNF. For me, since I do purchase every book I read for my Kindle, LoL I paid for it so I'm reading it regardless :-PWOW!!! Much respect for reading over 1,300 books, that's amazing! You are right about that, a lot of my reading friends also say that... life is too short to read bad books LoL
I pay for my books on kindle, also, which is why I tend to finish them. And thanks for the compliment. 😎
@Zain: LoL exactly! You're very welcome :-)
Yikes! I've read three of Riley Sager's books (just took home a fourth) and hated two but liked one. I was hopeful that this would trend toward better but looks like not. Sad. :(
@Lyndsie: LoL wow, see? Yeah, I hated "Survive the Night" and this one did have some interesting parts with the lake but then it just got way too boring while reading. It's sad indeed, I know he can write, but I feel he's all over the place when it comes to writing. If he focused more on an "evil lake" and made it scarier, this would have been a much better read!
i got through about 70% of this book and i had a lot of the same issues as you. in the end, I don't feel invested enough to finish it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Hopkin: LoL SEE?!?!?! That's exactly how I felt but my own golden rule is to finish whatever book I start so yeah, I toughed it out but I don't blame you at all for DNFing this. I know many friends that did :-)
Urgh I've not heard many good things about this one, and survive the night was a DNF for me!
@preoccupied: Exactly! LoL I also did not like Survive the Night at all. I will never read another Sager novel again unless he writes such a horror masterpiece, it's highly recommended by all my friends.
Honestly if the end of the novel would of been changed I would of loved it. I wasn’t obsessed with it, but liked it enough to trudge through. Then the end, pushed it too far for me.
@Cassie: Agreed! That ending, to this day, still annoys me. I felt cheated!
I almost made this my next read! Saved by the review! 🙂
@Fiona: Whew, I'm so glad to hear that! LoL onto the next one :-)
Fantastic review, LTJ! I felt the exact same way about this book (and rated it the same). The twist Sager threw in towards the end was so unrealistic and ruined the whole book!! However, you did say you are finished reading anything that Sager writes, but his newest release “The Only One Left” was pretty good, and I think he finally redeemed himself. (maybe, Lol)
@Rachel: Great minds think alike and thank you ever so much for the kind words! That means a lot to hear and yeah, that ending was beyond lame and 100% ruined the entire reading experience for me.LOL I keep hearing about "The Only One Left" that it's really good but MAYBE in the future, we shall see. I was so mad at this one I literally made a mental note in my soul to never read anything he writes ever again but time heals all.
We shall see :-)
Did you read it? What did you give it?
LTJ wrote: "@Rachel: Great minds think alike and thank you ever so much for the kind words! That means a lot to hear and yeah, that ending was beyond lame and 100% ruined the entire reading experience for me...."
LTJ, I thought I would never read another book by him again either after the disastrous “House Across The Lake”. Lol!! But yes, I did read his newest, “The Only One Left”, and loved it!! I gave it four stars, but I could have easily given it five. You should read some reviews on that book- and maybe one day in the future if you feel you are ready to read Sager again, you can try that one 😃
And yes, great minds think alike as we have similar tastes in books! Thank you!
In my opinion, his two weakest books were Survive the Night and this one. Home Before Dark & Lock Every Door were incredible though. <3
@Rachel: LoL look at that and yeah, a lot of my friends said exactly that about "The Only One Left" so maybe in the future I'll check that out and see if he can be redeemed in my eyes!Hell yeah as you're very welcome! Happy reading :-D
@H: I also did not like Survive the Night as you're 100% right about that! I've made of those two you mentioned to see if MAYBE in the future when my TBR is lighter, I might give him another shot at redemption :-P
