Review by Booklist Review
The inhabitants of the northern Ontario town of Lake Argen live apparently charmed lives funded by inherited shares of the region's silver mine and bolstered by reliably strong cell service and excellent baked goods. They just need to make sure that Alice, the local lake monster, is fed regularly and that everyone upholds the centuries-old Agreement made with the entity known as the Dark. As one of the citizens charged with communicating with the Dark, Cassie Prewitt must act when relations with an eldritch neighbor hit a snag. But her sense of civic responsibility clashes with her heart when Melanie Solvich comes to investigate the disappearance of an outsider in the woods--a disappearance Cassie witnessed. Plenty of humor, quirky characters, a sweet romance, and minimal scares make for a cozy, satisfying read. Recommend to fans of Grady Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism (2016), Rachel Harrison's Cackle (2021), or C. M. Waggoner's The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society (2024). The light tone also may appeal to teen readers of Ashley Robin Franklin's The Hills of Estrella Roja (2023) or Justine Pucella Winans's One Killer Problem (2024).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Lake Argen, an isolated but surprisingly prosperous little town in northern Ontario, does its damndest to keep outsiders away, but they failed with spoiled rich boy Travis Brayden, and now the police are coming to investigate his disappearance. Cassidy Prewitt has even bigger worries as the summer solstice sacrifice has woken something under Lake Argen, and the cops are just the harbinger of worse to come--along with the love of her life, who Cassidy didn't even know she was missing. There's something hungry and waiting under Lake Argen, and there's someone eager to take that power for themselves, but a whole town of supernatural humans and eldritch horrors stands in their way. This combo of horror, cozy dark fantasy, and sapphic romance from Huff (Into the Broken Lands) will appeal to fans of Darcy Coates's eldritch villages, T. Kingfisher's otherworldly scenarios, and Grady Hendrix's homespun and even humorous horror, as well as to readers who loved Hazel Beck's "Witchlore" series and Alix E. Harrow's Starling House. VERDICT The secrets under Lake Argen are chilling, the hellhounds and eldritch horrors are adorable, and the romance goes from fated to bitter to sweet in an epic climax. Highly recommended.--Marlene Harris
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
