Harrow Lake By Kat Ellis
Welcome to my stop on the Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis! Please note that Harrow Lake is released this month, May 2020, in the UK! However, it doesn’t release in the United States until August 25, 2020. Keep an eye out for it during these two release dates, worldwide! Harrow Lake also features two completely different covers, which you can note in my featured image, below! The cover in the top left-hand corner of the image is the cover for the United States. The cover utilized in the tour banner (created by our wonderful Noly @ The Artsy Reader— both an angel of a person and an amazing site- please go check her out) is the cover for Harrow Lake, across the pond! Hope that helps.
Thank you to the Write Reads for organizing this blog tour and RandomHouse for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: A can’t-put-down, creepy thriller about the daughter of a horror film director who’s not afraid of anything—until she gets to Harrow Lake.
The Good
Kat Ellis gets something dead right (no pun intended). Lola and her interactions with others are spot on. The more I read the more I find that I am a lover of the absurd and the snarky. Disclaimer, as I’ve said before, I have a very dark and twisted sense of humor. What I find acceptable humor in certain situations, may not be for others. In fact, others might find not only inappropriate but completely offensive. To me, everyone has different ways of coping and I completely understand developing a dark sense of humor/sarcasm as a defense mechanism. This is what I’ve done to deal with not just severe childhood trauma but other points of trauma.
For the more faint of heart there is also dead panned sarcasm between Lola and her grandmother. While looking for her missing suitcase, her mother’s arts and crafts disappear.
Lola: “Could the jitterbugs perhaps be in the same place you didn’t put my suitcase?”
Out of context, this may not quite hit the mark, but there are many pure sarcastic and more, very dark and twisted hysterical moments throughout Harrow Lake that I very much appreciated.
The gothic vibe of the town (not necessarily the town people, who were a bit cookie cutter) but the town itself, which often felt like a living, breathing character, was very well done.
There were, at times a good creepiness vibe. At times, because once you figure out what is going on that gets lost pretty quickly.
The Bad
Let me say this upfront. None of what I’m about to say is because Harrow Lake is a Young Adult novel. I’ve said everything below about Adult books in this category. In fact, I’ve said a lot of it, quite recently. I said it about both The Guest List and You Are Not Alone. The only difference is that Harrow Lake got a couple things right whereas the former two didn’t get ANYTHING right.
First off, in my opinion and to no fault of Kat Ellis or Harrow Lake, this book was labeled as the correct genre. It is not a horror book. It is a Psychological Thriller. There are few books that are clear cut in genres. Most blend through different genres. This is a clear-cut psychological thriller that doesn’t even bend into horror, in my opinion. Had I known that going in, I would have come out with a much different impression. I still would have had issues with it, but I would have had a more favorable view of it. There is no way this should have ever been put out as a horror book.
Next, Harrow book is highly predictable, with a lot of cookie cutter characters. I’m just going to leave it at that because of spoilers.
The Ugly
The whiteness factor. Ok, Lola even points out, herself that Harrow Lake is all white and how different it is coming from NYC. But it was like I almost felt Ellis purposefully put that there to let herself off the hook. So,no one could say anything to her. I’m not saying that every book has to have all the representation. I’ve read books that aren’t always diverse. Something just really bugged me out about how this was done. It was like it was purposefully done and pointed out for CYA.
Last, and this is my biggest and again, I’m going to keep this spoiler free. That means this is going to be vague. Otherwise, I’m going to have to do what I did with my review of the Guest List, where I had the second part with the spoilers, and I don’t think that is necessary. Here’s the thing.
There are A LOT of heavy themes that end up coming into play during Harrow Lake. That is great if they are done well. Many Young Adult and Adult Psychological Thrillers have a chance to address heavy themes and do them well. Those are the best ones. However, when it goes bad? It crashes and burns in huge ways. Harrow Lake crashes like the Titanic on this front. I’m sorry, but it does. It never ends up dealing with the fallout from it. The ending is just… like getting to the climax of a movie and someone pulls the plug.
Overall, it just misses too much and is way too uneven. And where it misses? It misses big.
Really great review! I have seen this book pop up on many book blogger sites, but your review is my favourite. I love how you let us know the good, bad, ugly. Despite the bad/ugly, I am still curious about the book and definitely want to try it out.
Thank you! That is very sweet to say! There are so many books out there because everyone is going to love different things. Look at how salty I was about All the Stars and Teeth. I was certainly the lone wolf on that one. I hope you love it (either way, I definitely hope you review it)! And don’t let me miss when you post it! :)I love comparing reviews!
I was also part of this blog tour and I had a really hard time agreeing with the labeling of “horror”. I too felt like it was definitely a psychological thriller.
A few people have said this now and I’m glad I’m not the only one..Many books bend into other genres but this one doesn’t. Unless they labeled it horror because it is YA but that doesn’t even make sense because Wilder Girls and even Girls with Sharp Sticks I would say are Sci-Fi that bends into horror more than this. Tenth Girl is more horror than this is so that doesn’t really make sense either.
Plus even with its faults? YA needs more psychological thrillers to at least define the category outside of books like good girls guide to murder and all your twisted Secrets bc that isnt it!!! Lol
Great review! I haven’t read many horror books, so that was probably why I had only a few expectations of what was to come and wasn’t disappointed but I 100% agree … a book being wrongly categorized can make a huge difference in enjoyment! I find your thoughts about the ending really interesting because I actually really liked the way it ended.
I agree with the cookie-cutter characters though, the side characters aren’t really that well developed. I loved Lola though and yes to dark, sarcastic humour
Thank you! Definitely agree about books being in the wrong category. Especially when few are so clear cut these days. The ending, wouldn’t have bothered me as much if the book dealt with the themes that ended up coming into play better. I don’t mind open endings. Like Wilder Girls, for example, I absolutely LOVE, and that had an open ending. But it didn’t have such heavy themes to resolve and that, I think is why it bothered me more.
And yeah to dark, twisty humor. In real life I’ve gotten so many cross-eyed looks over it… and I’m just like… look people have to get through lol!!!
The characters were seriously cookie cutter like the Guest List… especially how everyone seemed related hahaha… but I did like Lola a lot
I had this on my list and really wanted to read it, but I was also thinking it might only be somewhat good. So I’m glad you read it first. And yes, it’s weird to point out that Harrow Lake is predominantly white. You could have easily just wrote the book and never mentioned it and that would have been that.
Exactly! That was what I was trying to get across. It wasn’t even that it was all white. Harrow Lake as a setting was a town caught out of time- stuck in retro 1920s and backwards. So I probably wouldn’t have thought about it if the character hadn’t mentioned. Where as with book like You Are Not Alone, which is set in a big city, it sticks out. So for it to be purposely point out, was just, odd.
And no problem! Glad I could help lol. I’ve been extremely lucky this year. Outside of 5 or 6 books? I’ve read insanely good books so it’s cool!
I love a good psychological thriller but I think I’m going to skip this one. I have a massive issue with heavy themes not being dealt with well. I’M LOOKING AT YOU The Swallows!!!!!! I do have high hopes for The Guest List though!
Go check out the non-spoiler part of my review of the Guest List– i remember your issues with the swallow- not the same themes but The Guest List is worse than Harrow Lake. Not just for the themes… but if you think I got salty with All the Stars and Teeth? OH HELL
This is what I love about your reviews, Susan. The detail that you go into without writing any spoilers.
Thank you! I try very hard to do that unless I give a clear warning and it isn’t easy. I appreciate the thought, love!