~ Book Review: Forestfall (World at Lake’s Edge #2) ~

Author: Lyndall Clipstone

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 realises 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.

Forestfall is a direct sequel to Lakesedge in the World at Lake’s Edge duology. Violeta (Leta) is now in the World Below, the realm of the dead, after sacrificing herself to end the Corruption. Here she is under the rule of Lord Under where she is trying to figure out her next steps. As for Rowan, he is Above still and desperately tries to reunite himself and Leta. The story is told from the POVs of both Leta and Rowan, so the reader gets to visit both worlds as the two characters try to reunite. Since the reader mainly was in the Above in the first novel, it was nice to explore the World Below in more detail.

The first novel was primarily in Leta’s POV, so having both in this one was an interesting twist. I went back and forth on my feelings for it as I did love seeing Rowan’s side as he tries to find a way to free Leta, but her journey was a little more captivating. Even though I liked Leta’s POV a little better, I think having both was necessary as it helped remind the reader of the connection the two characters shared, and they would not get too caught up in the new setting and characters on Leta’s side. Through Rowan’s POV, readers also get to revisit some of the characters from the first novel, such as Leta’s brother Arien, alchemist Clover, Florence, and Thea. As they were all present in the first novel, I wish they were featured more in this one. As for Leta’s POV, not only do readers get to know the Lord Under more, but they are introduced to the Lord Under’s sisters, Moth, Fawn, and Owl.

The pacing of the story is both fast and slow as events keep moving forward yet there is some repetition. As Leta and Rowan keep trying to find each other, there are many moments of this that seem to repeat. I understand the idea that this was supposed to build up the desperation each of them is feeling, but I would have liked a bit more depth. As for the romance, there was a lot of potential in the first novel. While it was satisfying in this one, there was a lot of telling instead of showing. The romance itself becomes a lot more complex, yet there is a lot told to the reader without a lot of feeling behind it, at least for me. Overall, this was interesting and captivating duology. I loved the atmospheric feel with the darker vibe added in and the lyrical writing added to the feel. There are some elements that I believe could have been done better, but I still enjoyed Clipstone’s work and would read more from her in the future.