Thank you Books Forward and Netgalley for the arc ! Lost Girls of Hollow Lake is marketed as a Young Adult Horror Thriller, but let me tell you, it didn’t feel like YA at all, and I loved that. It had all the eerie suspense and chilling vibes of an adult thriller, with just enough heart and youthful perspective to keep it fresh.

The horror element was fantastic. The small-town lake setting had me completely immersed, and the way the author built that creepy, haunted-woods atmosphere? Spot on. At times I felt like I was right there in the community, watching everything unfold. Think I Know What You Did Last Summer meets a cabin-in-the-woods kind of suspense.

One of my favorite details was that we even got chapters from the dog, Tiger’s, POV. It added such a unique layer, and it was honestly one of the most fun surprises.

As for the mystery itself? I had absolutely no clue who the killer was. I was so sure I had it figured out, only to be proven totally wrong. The reveal threw me completely off guard. That being said, there were a lot of characters to keep track of, and sometimes the pacing felt a little slow. I also found myself wondering why certain characters (like Sunny and Evie) had such heavy focus when the ending twisted in another direction.

Here are a few quotes that gave me chills:

-“We were lured here to this island. I think we were at least. I think that even though it doesn’t make sense, it’s the only logical reason we would all have heard something we couldn’t explain or seen the fire that shouldn’t exist.”

– “We are here now. We may never leave. Plenty of others haven’t; why should we be special?”

– “When guys love something, they really go hard,” Sunny replied. “Same for when they hate something,” Callie adds.

If you’re a fan of group dynamics in horror, where a bunch of teens (or friends) are thrown together to figure out what’s happening and how to survive, you’ll love the way this story unfolds. It has haunted woods, small-town secrets, and a twisty mystery that will keep you second-guessing until the very end.

Bottom line? If you want something spooky and atmospheric for your next fall read, Lost Girls of Hollow Lake should definitely make your TBR.