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Lakegrave School for Young Women
Here, we do not care where you are from or who you are. We care that you are women. And we care about your minds.
Lakegrave is unlike any other school. Hidden in the mountains of Scotland, it only accepts one bright woman per specialist subject. With no teachers and no curriculum, the self-taught establishment offers its students the tools to expand their skillsets to then go onto being masters in their fields.
When Raven and her cousin Rowan are accepted, they are excited to refine their crafts and converse with fellow classmates.
That is until students go missing.
Some come back but they are not as they once were. Something is off about them. Something is misplaced.
So when fellow student Esme wants to investigate and invites Raven to join, they uncover that there’s much more to the school than they thought with chilling secrets kept tucked away in its history. But with ghosts stirring and the cohort decreasing, will any of them make it to graduation?
Lakegrave is unlike any other school. Hidden in the mountains of Scotland, it only accepts one bright woman per specialist subject. With no teachers and no curriculum, the self-taught establishment offers its students the tools to expand their skillsets to then go onto being masters in their fields.
When Raven and her cousin Rowan are accepted, they are excited to refine their crafts and converse with fellow classmates.
That is until students go missing.
Some come back but they are not as they once were. Something is off about them. Something is misplaced.
So when fellow student Esme wants to investigate and invites Raven to join, they uncover that there’s much more to the school than they thought with chilling secrets kept tucked away in its history. But with ghosts stirring and the cohort decreasing, will any of them make it to graduation?
- GenresLesbian
237 pages, Paperback
Published September 9, 2025
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Carter
11 books19 followersLauren (she/they) is a library assistant by day and writer by night. She is the author of WHEN THE DEMONS TAKE HOLD and YOUR DARLING DEATH.
She has published several short stories including: ALIVE, JUST with The Horror Tree, THE CHILDREN OF OWL WILDS with Haunted Words Press, and THE SACRIFICES WE MAKE with Rooster Republic Press.
She has published several short stories including: ALIVE, JUST with The Horror Tree, THE CHILDREN OF OWL WILDS with Haunted Words Press, and THE SACRIFICES WE MAKE with Rooster Republic Press.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 22, 2025
Inescapable regret
A great book and an amazing story. A gothic horror story set in the early 1900s with a slow burn sapphic romance in the background.
Very sad tragic and horrifying is the only thing I can say.
A great book and an amazing story. A gothic horror story set in the early 1900s with a slow burn sapphic romance in the background.
Very sad tragic and horrifying is the only thing I can say.
September 22, 2025
Another great novel from Lauren Carter. This is a dark plot with an Intriguing mystery that had me hooked from the moment things started to go down.
Esme Vill is a fully recognised character and after reading the authors note describing how she related to Esme, it shows how well own voices authors can craft a character.
The twists and shocks in the book are amazing. Definitely one to read
Esme Vill is a fully recognised character and after reading the authors note describing how she related to Esme, it shows how well own voices authors can craft a character.
The twists and shocks in the book are amazing. Definitely one to read
January 18, 2026
2.5 Stars
I have such mixed feelings about this book. I believe this is the definition of an unreliable narrator, and I hate that. Which is a bummer, because I really liked the concept. I was in the mood for something dark, something unpredictable. What I got was a lie that mostly bored me, did nothing to make me root for the characters, and only had something to say at the end.
It was full of odd phrases, too. Like: 'Sometimes I wake up with a fog in my mouth, ready to escape.' I'm sorry, but there are better ways to tell me winter is fully present and you wake up very cold. It came across like it was trying too hard to be prose, but it left me re-reading sentences to make sure I even knew what was being said. Even dialogue could be weird. For instance: "I do not know what is the right thing to say. The exact right thing is to tell you is that I am right beside you." No, I didn't splice those together. That was said by one person, back-to-back, nothing in between.
And then some things were just inconsistent. Like when Hattie and Orchard are both back, but half comatose, and for days they do nothing, until the night of the ball, when they appear halfway through, dancing together. The other girls later help them back upstairs to their dorms and help them out of their corsets. Weeks later, I am still wondering how these helpless puppets who cannot even find their own rooms managed to get into corsets for a ball. Seriously, what was the point of that? So many things didn't seem to serve the plot or move the story along.
Ultimately, I was just left disappointed, with many unanswered questions.
I have such mixed feelings about this book. I believe this is the definition of an unreliable narrator, and I hate that. Which is a bummer, because I really liked the concept. I was in the mood for something dark, something unpredictable. What I got was a lie that mostly bored me, did nothing to make me root for the characters, and only had something to say at the end.
It was full of odd phrases, too. Like: 'Sometimes I wake up with a fog in my mouth, ready to escape.' I'm sorry, but there are better ways to tell me winter is fully present and you wake up very cold. It came across like it was trying too hard to be prose, but it left me re-reading sentences to make sure I even knew what was being said. Even dialogue could be weird. For instance: "I do not know what is the right thing to say. The exact right thing is to tell you is that I am right beside you." No, I didn't splice those together. That was said by one person, back-to-back, nothing in between.
And then some things were just inconsistent. Like when Hattie and Orchard are both back, but half comatose, and for days they do nothing, until the night of the ball, when they appear halfway through, dancing together. The other girls later help them back upstairs to their dorms and help them out of their corsets. Weeks later, I am still wondering how these helpless puppets who cannot even find their own rooms managed to get into corsets for a ball. Seriously, what was the point of that? So many things didn't seem to serve the plot or move the story along.
Ultimately, I was just left disappointed, with many unanswered questions.
May 12, 2025
Welcome to early 1900's Lakegrave School for young woman. This a boarding school for girls which is hidden in the Scottish Hills. You wanna know what is so special about it? It is a school where there are no teachers and the students are completely in charge of managing their own education and the the only authority figure is the headmistress. This might sound like a dream school for some but Lakegrave has a much more darker secret regarding its past orgins and some of it's current state.
We are introduced to cousins Raven and Rowan who have returned to Lakegrave after summer vacation. They are reunited with their school peers and they start hitting the books to improve their education. Everything seems good until students start disappearing without a trace and when they do return there missing their brain or their liver. What is the cause of this and why is this happening. Time is running out because if all them go missing there will be no graduation in the Spring.
I will admit this novel is a bit unique. I am not one for reading books like this but I thought I would give it a shot and I am sure glad that I did. I feel like this would be the perfect plot for a Halloween movie.
I received an ARC copy from book sirens and all opinions are of my own.
We are introduced to cousins Raven and Rowan who have returned to Lakegrave after summer vacation. They are reunited with their school peers and they start hitting the books to improve their education. Everything seems good until students start disappearing without a trace and when they do return there missing their brain or their liver. What is the cause of this and why is this happening. Time is running out because if all them go missing there will be no graduation in the Spring.
I will admit this novel is a bit unique. I am not one for reading books like this but I thought I would give it a shot and I am sure glad that I did. I feel like this would be the perfect plot for a Halloween movie.
I received an ARC copy from book sirens and all opinions are of my own.
October 5, 2025
Raven gets accepted into Lakesgrave School. Hidden away in the Scottish mountains, the school only accepts the brightest woman per subject! With only a headmaster around and no other teachers in sight, the women are told to expand their skills themselves. Raven, alongside her cousin, Rowan, meets the other women and settles themselves into the school environment.
But if this school is going to be in a gothic looking house / estate ground, there's going to be some mystery right? It simply goes together!
Raven embarks on quite the adventure discovering the mysteries, secrets and odd disappearing and returning acts surrounding the school.
This is a quick and enjoyable read. While it does play with some familiar tropes, it's quite unique in how it goes about things!
But if this school is going to be in a gothic looking house / estate ground, there's going to be some mystery right? It simply goes together!
Raven embarks on quite the adventure discovering the mysteries, secrets and odd disappearing and returning acts surrounding the school.
This is a quick and enjoyable read. While it does play with some familiar tropes, it's quite unique in how it goes about things!
September 18, 2025
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks Book Sirens!
I really enjoyed this -- but then again, how can you go wrong with magical Victorian all-women murder school? I do feel like some characters were a little less disturbed by another character's willingness to murder than I would have been, but then again, their reactions were told through the lens of an extremely unreliable narrator. I also fully believe in the power of sapphic yearning to overcome things like logic and morality.
I really enjoyed this -- but then again, how can you go wrong with magical Victorian all-women murder school? I do feel like some characters were a little less disturbed by another character's willingness to murder than I would have been, but then again, their reactions were told through the lens of an extremely unreliable narrator. I also fully believe in the power of sapphic yearning to overcome things like logic and morality.
June 4, 2025
Phenomenal from Lauren as per usual. A creepy, atmospheric and gothic setting in a beautiful castle school run purely by students. I absolutely adored this one and I loved seeing these characters and their journeys. I encourage everyone to pick this up as it's a super quick, and fun read that horrifies.
January 4, 2026
This book completely delivered everything I love in a dark, sapphic horror read: eerie setting, compelling mystery, strong heroines, and a creeping sense of dread that was with me from the very first chapter to the last page. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling, atmospheric read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews