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The Phantom #1
Phantom Reality
From the moment I drowned in the lake of secrets, I knew things would never be the same.
All I’d wanted for my eighteenth birthday was a kiss and a summer to be remembered before heading off for college. What I got was so much more.
I wasn’t just trapped in a cabin at the lake with a group of my rowdiest friends; I was trapped in another dimension. A dark one, where dreams manifest before your very eyes, fears are conjured in the cool mist, and the dead are living by our sides.
One thing I was certain of, the only way out . . . is in.
All I’d wanted for my eighteenth birthday was a kiss and a summer to be remembered before heading off for college. What I got was so much more.
I wasn’t just trapped in a cabin at the lake with a group of my rowdiest friends; I was trapped in another dimension. A dark one, where dreams manifest before your very eyes, fears are conjured in the cool mist, and the dead are living by our sides.
One thing I was certain of, the only way out . . . is in.
332 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2022
10 people are currently reading
2441 people want to read
About the author
Laura C. Reden
22 books67 followersI never considered myself a creative person, until a sudden spark of inspiration left me writing my first book. The endless possibilities for creativity and imagination have kept me dedicated to the craft ever since.
I find myself captivated by mixing real life with the unknown, a perspective glimpse on what lies beyond our reality. And driven by deep, unrefined emotions, that are at the heart of life’s beauty and tragedy.
If my work has resonated with you, I would be thrilled to hear about it. Please consider leaving a review, subscribing to my email list, or reaching out to me directly. Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you soon.
I find myself captivated by mixing real life with the unknown, a perspective glimpse on what lies beyond our reality. And driven by deep, unrefined emotions, that are at the heart of life’s beauty and tragedy.
If my work has resonated with you, I would be thrilled to hear about it. Please consider leaving a review, subscribing to my email list, or reaching out to me directly. Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you soon.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 23, 2022
The Phantom Series is a little dark and twisted and I loved writing it. If you like ghost stories, the exploration of our deep subconscious minds, or dream interpretation, I think you will enjoy this one. Scheduled release is August 9, 2022.
October 15, 2022
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All these opinions are my own and are not biased in any way.
Release Date: August 2022
Rating: 5/5
Age Rating: 13+
“The truth was a nebulous line between fact and fiction. Reality and illusion.”
Plot: Oh wow, I just love thrillers taking place at the lake. So basically, this follows Kinsley and her friends going to Kinsley's lakehouse in Baylor for the summer holidays as a celebration that they are now done with school and are officially adults. The action happens immediately in the first few chapters. Weird stuff starts happening; she feels a hand grab her and when she comes back for air, she's at a completely new place. When she returns, no one, not even her best friends, has noticed that she was gone.
Characters: Kinsley was an okay character, and even though a lot of the decisions she made stressed me out, I knew that she had to make them, especially since a lot of the time she doesn't know what's real or not. I really liked Noah, and felt kind of bad for him. I thought something was off about Walker, and still think so.
Elements/genres: This is a YA thriller set at a lakehouse (my favourite!), with the occasional fantasy and mystery elements.
Likes: Basically everything, but especially what happened at the plane. That was cool. Scary for Kinsley, but really interesting to read and think about.
Pace: This book was fast paced right from the first chapter. After that, some parts were slower, but the pace was still consistent and didn't dwell on any boring parts for too long.
What. Was. That. Cliffhanger.
I need book two as soon as possible.
This book reminds me so much of a book I read a couple years ago as a kid, The Sign in the Smoke and a book I read at the beginning of this year, The Lake. So if you liked those, or just lakehouse thrillers in general, I HIGHLY recommend this!
Release Date: August 2022
Rating: 5/5
Age Rating: 13+
“The truth was a nebulous line between fact and fiction. Reality and illusion.”
Plot: Oh wow, I just love thrillers taking place at the lake. So basically, this follows Kinsley and her friends going to Kinsley's lakehouse in Baylor for the summer holidays as a celebration that they are now done with school and are officially adults. The action happens immediately in the first few chapters. Weird stuff starts happening; she feels a hand grab her and when she comes back for air, she's at a completely new place. When she returns, no one, not even her best friends, has noticed that she was gone.
Characters: Kinsley was an okay character, and even though a lot of the decisions she made stressed me out, I knew that she had to make them, especially since a lot of the time she doesn't know what's real or not. I really liked Noah, and felt kind of bad for him. I thought something was off about Walker, and still think so.
Elements/genres: This is a YA thriller set at a lakehouse (my favourite!), with the occasional fantasy and mystery elements.
Likes: Basically everything, but especially what happened at the plane. That was cool. Scary for Kinsley, but really interesting to read and think about.
Pace: This book was fast paced right from the first chapter. After that, some parts were slower, but the pace was still consistent and didn't dwell on any boring parts for too long.
What. Was. That. Cliffhanger.
I need book two as soon as possible.
This book reminds me so much of a book I read a couple years ago as a kid, The Sign in the Smoke and a book I read at the beginning of this year, The Lake. So if you liked those, or just lakehouse thrillers in general, I HIGHLY recommend this!
July 6, 2022
I really enjoyed this book once I got into the story. It’s one that messes with your head a little as lots of things don’t add up and make sense. I worked out most of it quite early on but still enjoyed finding out what happened and who did what and I did have a couple of surprises along the way!
My favourite character was Kinsley and I liked Gunner’s energy too, I mean, who doesn’t like dogs in books?!
Later on this story had a Final Destination kind of feel to it so I would highly recommend it to any FD fans!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
My favourite character was Kinsley and I liked Gunner’s energy too, I mean, who doesn’t like dogs in books?!
Later on this story had a Final Destination kind of feel to it so I would highly recommend it to any FD fans!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 8, 2022
Kelsey 18, just graduated High School, goes with her friends for a couple of weeks at her parents lake side lodge. She should be very afraid. If you read this well written fantasy story you should be very afraid too! Adrenaline will flow and your heart rate is going to rise! Perfect reading for a horror story junky. This story had me doubting myself a few pages in until the last paragraph, and I’m still not sure. Okay, I’ve settled a little bit writing this review. So now I’ve read the book, and calmed down, I’m off to read book two in the series! Oh finally, read the books in order. Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
August 13, 2022
this worked so well as a dark fantasy and as a horror novel. It was beautifully done and it worked as a start to the series. The characters were what I was hoping for and can't wait to read more in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 12, 2022
Kensly and her friends planned all her senior highschool year to spend the summer at her family cabin. It was going to be the best summer ever. She meets a mysterious stranger named Walker, who saves her from drowning.
She starts to have dreams about her grandma who recently passed away. Her grandma keeps telling her that she must find this girl and save her. She has no idea who her grandma is talking about.
Then one of her friends disappear. The wonderful summer that her and her friends planned is not going the way she thought it would be.
This book will keep you guessing until the surprising end.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
She starts to have dreams about her grandma who recently passed away. Her grandma keeps telling her that she must find this girl and save her. She has no idea who her grandma is talking about.
Then one of her friends disappear. The wonderful summer that her and her friends planned is not going the way she thought it would be.
This book will keep you guessing until the surprising end.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 12, 2022
This is a really interesting story and there are a lot of great things about it. The writing is phenomenal, the descriptions make you feel like you’re experiencing it for yourself, the characters are realistic, if a bit immature-but what can you expect from recent high school graduates, the dialogue is believable and the creep factor is High!
There are some poor decisions made by the MFC, and some things don’t add up, but it’s possible that’s intentional. This does read very much like a horror movie, and as an self-proclaimed horror movie junkie, I love it!
Also, I noticed another reviewer said something about fatphobia, and while I see what was meant, I don’t agree with that assessment. As a common trope in many horror and slasher films there is the role I think is best expressed as “The Harbinger” -Cabin in the Woods is a great example for this- this is the creepy (usually old, but in this case obese) person who everyone calls “crazy” but they are the only one who really knows what’s going on, and they often warn the Final Girl, in some scary way that causes other members of the party to get protective of said FG- which is exactly what happened.
I’m looking forward to the next book!
5 ⭐️s= Perfect story, exciting, engrossing, well developed complex characters, solid plot with few to no holes, descriptive environments and place settings, great mystery elements, realistic dialogue, believable reactions and behaviors, loved this story so much I’d buy it.
4 ⭐️s= Great story, highly entertaining and enjoyable, exciting storyline, well developed characters and settings, a few discrepancies but nothing that can’t be overlooked. Believable actions and reactions, realistic dialogue, a book I would consider buying.
3 ⭐️s= Good but not great story, noticeable discrepancies, grammatical and or spelling errors, undeveloped characters or unbelievable behaviors but still readable. Nothing majorly wrong with the story, just not interesting enough for me to continue. Would not buy the book.
2 ⭐️s= Not offended by the story, but not interested enough to finish. Unbelievable characters, poor writing, many mistakes, big holes or discrepancies, many spelling or grammatical errors, characters not believable, unlikeable or TSTL.
1 ⭐️= Offensive, extremely poor writing, horrible characters, victimization, gaslighting, blatant abuse, unnecessary violence, child endangerment, or any other highly objectionable behaviors by Main characters. Would never buy this book, and do not recommend it to anyone.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
There are some poor decisions made by the MFC, and some things don’t add up, but it’s possible that’s intentional. This does read very much like a horror movie, and as an self-proclaimed horror movie junkie, I love it!
Also, I noticed another reviewer said something about fatphobia, and while I see what was meant, I don’t agree with that assessment. As a common trope in many horror and slasher films there is the role I think is best expressed as “The Harbinger” -Cabin in the Woods is a great example for this- this is the creepy (usually old, but in this case obese) person who everyone calls “crazy” but they are the only one who really knows what’s going on, and they often warn the Final Girl, in some scary way that causes other members of the party to get protective of said FG- which is exactly what happened.
I’m looking forward to the next book!
5 ⭐️s= Perfect story, exciting, engrossing, well developed complex characters, solid plot with few to no holes, descriptive environments and place settings, great mystery elements, realistic dialogue, believable reactions and behaviors, loved this story so much I’d buy it.
4 ⭐️s= Great story, highly entertaining and enjoyable, exciting storyline, well developed characters and settings, a few discrepancies but nothing that can’t be overlooked. Believable actions and reactions, realistic dialogue, a book I would consider buying.
3 ⭐️s= Good but not great story, noticeable discrepancies, grammatical and or spelling errors, undeveloped characters or unbelievable behaviors but still readable. Nothing majorly wrong with the story, just not interesting enough for me to continue. Would not buy the book.
2 ⭐️s= Not offended by the story, but not interested enough to finish. Unbelievable characters, poor writing, many mistakes, big holes or discrepancies, many spelling or grammatical errors, characters not believable, unlikeable or TSTL.
1 ⭐️= Offensive, extremely poor writing, horrible characters, victimization, gaslighting, blatant abuse, unnecessary violence, child endangerment, or any other highly objectionable behaviors by Main characters. Would never buy this book, and do not recommend it to anyone.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 9, 2022
I wasn’t quite sure where this book was going, starting with Kinsley Wilde and her 11 classmates and right through to strange encounters in Kinsleys’ dreams and nightmares. Being a bit of a lightweight where this sort of genre goes, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to cope with the theme of this book, but I did, mainly by reading it in the daylight and not late at night.
It definitely keeps you on your toes, not quite sure what is happening, only knowing you’ve got to keep reading. A couple of the characters felt a bit like cliches (Trinity for one), but I think they were needed to take some of the focus from Kinsley. With the tale being darker than I normally read, I’m still not sure why it makes interesting reading - but it does. And I was a tiny bit surprised by the ending. Looking forward to the next in the series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
It definitely keeps you on your toes, not quite sure what is happening, only knowing you’ve got to keep reading. A couple of the characters felt a bit like cliches (Trinity for one), but I think they were needed to take some of the focus from Kinsley. With the tale being darker than I normally read, I’m still not sure why it makes interesting reading - but it does. And I was a tiny bit surprised by the ending. Looking forward to the next in the series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 21, 2022
Phantom reality by Laura C Reden.
The phantom series book 1.
Kingsley drowned in the lake of secrets. Her life will never be the same again.
Brilliant read. Loved the story. Loved Kinsley. Can't wait for book 2. 5*.
The phantom series book 1.
Kingsley drowned in the lake of secrets. Her life will never be the same again.
Brilliant read. Loved the story. Loved Kinsley. Can't wait for book 2. 5*.
July 29, 2022
A twisted ghost story, that will have the reader wondering what will happen next. A group of people are at a lake house, partying. Next, the story takes an interesting turn of events. The descriptive and creative writing of this world and the mystery of it all will keep the reader engaged.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 17, 2022
Wow. That hit me right from the first chapter. Laura knows how to draw you to a character right from the first page. I almost cried at the beginning when nobody seems to miss Kinsley and she feels lonely. Seems like everyone around her is moving on with their lives and leaving her behind. I would have absolutely kicked them all out of my house if it was me. I really liked the characters. We have a good mix. I absolutely loved Walker and I need more from him. He’s a great listener and perfect for Kinsley, although I think there’s more to learn about him. I enjoyed the dark atmosphere and the twisted reality. Great ending twist, leaves it wide open for the next book, which I need to read ASAP.
Thank you the Laura C Reden for this advanced copy.
Thank you the Laura C Reden for this advanced copy.
August 9, 2022
The phantom series book 1
From the moment I drowned in the lake of secrets, I knew my life would never be the same. All I wanted for my eighteenth birthday was a kiss and a summer to be remembered before heading off for college. What I got was so much more. I wasn’t just trapped at a lake house with a group of my rowdiest friends; I was trapped in another dimension. A dark one, where dreams are manifested before your very eyes, fears are conjured in the cool mist, and the dead are living side by side. One thing I was certain of, the only way out . . . is in.
Really enjoyed this book totally gripping and so well written totally captivating and totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op
I just reviewed Phantom Reality by Laura C. Reden. #PhantomReality #NetGalley
From the moment I drowned in the lake of secrets, I knew my life would never be the same. All I wanted for my eighteenth birthday was a kiss and a summer to be remembered before heading off for college. What I got was so much more. I wasn’t just trapped at a lake house with a group of my rowdiest friends; I was trapped in another dimension. A dark one, where dreams are manifested before your very eyes, fears are conjured in the cool mist, and the dead are living side by side. One thing I was certain of, the only way out . . . is in.
Really enjoyed this book totally gripping and so well written totally captivating and totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op
I just reviewed Phantom Reality by Laura C. Reden. #PhantomReality #NetGalley
July 25, 2022
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review- and this will be quite an honest review.
Phantom Reality is a horror novel about a group of twelve teenagers (and one dog) who go to a lake house for the summer after graduating high school. From the first night, weird things begin to happen that only Kinsley seems to notice. Time and weather begins to move weird, and the lake begins to attack her.
This book has the exact feeling of a teen lake house horror movie, including a ghost story told around a camp fire and a mysterious, charming man that saves the main protagonist and teenage relationship drama. That is not inherently bad, and the predictability of such a story can be fun. However this book did one stereotypical thing that really bothered me and that was having the main character make incredibly stupid decisions that make no sense, especially for an 18 year old girl. Obvious clues are given, and she cannot pick up on them even when she is explicitly told the answer. She puts herself in danger multiple times. Also, many of the side characters just did not react realistically to events around them. This was explained away by the lake doing weird things to memory and emotion, but it just felt like the author wanted to move forward with the plot rather than focus on the characters.
Another large problem I had with this book was the character of Big Jimmy. Jim is the only person described as fat in the book, and he also just so happens to be described as crazy, violent, and putrid smelling. There is even a description of the smell of "unwashed folds". Honestly this fatphobia was disgusting and completely unnecessary to the book, and seems to follow horror's trend of using "fat" and "crazy" as stand-ins for evil. The book lost a star solely for that.
The only thing I liked about this book was the description of setting. Reden makes great use of metaphor and color throughout the book. However, the rest of this book made it truly not worth recommending to me.
Phantom Reality is a horror novel about a group of twelve teenagers (and one dog) who go to a lake house for the summer after graduating high school. From the first night, weird things begin to happen that only Kinsley seems to notice. Time and weather begins to move weird, and the lake begins to attack her.
This book has the exact feeling of a teen lake house horror movie, including a ghost story told around a camp fire and a mysterious, charming man that saves the main protagonist and teenage relationship drama. That is not inherently bad, and the predictability of such a story can be fun. However this book did one stereotypical thing that really bothered me and that was having the main character make incredibly stupid decisions that make no sense, especially for an 18 year old girl. Obvious clues are given, and she cannot pick up on them even when she is explicitly told the answer. She puts herself in danger multiple times. Also, many of the side characters just did not react realistically to events around them. This was explained away by the lake doing weird things to memory and emotion, but it just felt like the author wanted to move forward with the plot rather than focus on the characters.
Another large problem I had with this book was the character of Big Jimmy. Jim is the only person described as fat in the book, and he also just so happens to be described as crazy, violent, and putrid smelling. There is even a description of the smell of "unwashed folds". Honestly this fatphobia was disgusting and completely unnecessary to the book, and seems to follow horror's trend of using "fat" and "crazy" as stand-ins for evil. The book lost a star solely for that.
The only thing I liked about this book was the description of setting. Reden makes great use of metaphor and color throughout the book. However, the rest of this book made it truly not worth recommending to me.
September 3, 2022
Lately I have been reading a lot of fantasy, so reading a dark paranormal series is a nice change of pace and I'm glad I decided to give this series a try. I found the second book on Netgalley and the plot looked interesting to me, so I found the first book on Kindle Unlimited and dug right on in.
It took me a little bit to get into the story, especially because there were a lot of characters right at the start, but once I got past that I was really intrigued and captivated by the story. I loved the set up of the town at Baylor Lake and the different mysterious elements surrounding the characters. The story itself is a mystery that is slowly unfolding and looks like we won't get the whole picture until the series is over, which appears to 3 more books, but I'm excited for the last two.
All Kinsley Wilde wanted was to have the perfect summer at her parents'lake house before she and all her friend's went off to college. Along with her diverse group of friends, including her two best friends, she has also invited her long time crush Noah, hoping that this will be the summer that they finally get to kiss for the first time. Unfortunately, the trip starts off with Kinsley almost drowning in the lake and no one seems to be around to help her. When she emerges from the water in the middle of nowhere, she happens to be rescued by the mysterious Walker who is out on the lake in his canoe.
She feels an instant connection and attraction to him and starts to resent her friends, who don't even seem to realize she was missing. This wasn't how she thought her summer was going to kick off, but despite all that she keeps trying to make the best of it. That is, until weird things start happening all around her. She is seeing and hearing things that aren't there. Things are happening that she can't explain. She wonders if she is going crazy because no one else seems to be experiencing the strange happenings and the only one who seems to understand is her new friend Walker.
The rest of the story, as I said is unraveling the mystery about what is happening to Kinsley and also her struggle to figure out a local scary story that she believes may have happened. Perhaps if she solves both, everything will be explained and she can find some peace.
Im glad I stepped outside of my norm because I really did enjoy this book a lot and immediately jumped into the ARC for the second one. I'm excited to see what happens next to Kinsley and can't wait for the 3rd installment to come out in December!
It took me a little bit to get into the story, especially because there were a lot of characters right at the start, but once I got past that I was really intrigued and captivated by the story. I loved the set up of the town at Baylor Lake and the different mysterious elements surrounding the characters. The story itself is a mystery that is slowly unfolding and looks like we won't get the whole picture until the series is over, which appears to 3 more books, but I'm excited for the last two.
All Kinsley Wilde wanted was to have the perfect summer at her parents'lake house before she and all her friend's went off to college. Along with her diverse group of friends, including her two best friends, she has also invited her long time crush Noah, hoping that this will be the summer that they finally get to kiss for the first time. Unfortunately, the trip starts off with Kinsley almost drowning in the lake and no one seems to be around to help her. When she emerges from the water in the middle of nowhere, she happens to be rescued by the mysterious Walker who is out on the lake in his canoe.
She feels an instant connection and attraction to him and starts to resent her friends, who don't even seem to realize she was missing. This wasn't how she thought her summer was going to kick off, but despite all that she keeps trying to make the best of it. That is, until weird things start happening all around her. She is seeing and hearing things that aren't there. Things are happening that she can't explain. She wonders if she is going crazy because no one else seems to be experiencing the strange happenings and the only one who seems to understand is her new friend Walker.
The rest of the story, as I said is unraveling the mystery about what is happening to Kinsley and also her struggle to figure out a local scary story that she believes may have happened. Perhaps if she solves both, everything will be explained and she can find some peace.
Im glad I stepped outside of my norm because I really did enjoy this book a lot and immediately jumped into the ARC for the second one. I'm excited to see what happens next to Kinsley and can't wait for the 3rd installment to come out in December!
August 7, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC copy.
I found this book hard to get into and that it didn’t have huge plot point until about 1/2 way through the book. It seemed there wasn’t a lot of build off from the synopsis of what was actually happening and where this story was going. The story is one that makes you question what is going on and whether you can trust the MC (what is the reality, did this happen). A twisted ghost story about a group of friends at a lake house.
Definitely read like a teen horror book, a lot of juvenile thoughts that seems realistic.
I found this book hard to get into and that it didn’t have huge plot point until about 1/2 way through the book. It seemed there wasn’t a lot of build off from the synopsis of what was actually happening and where this story was going. The story is one that makes you question what is going on and whether you can trust the MC (what is the reality, did this happen). A twisted ghost story about a group of friends at a lake house.
Definitely read like a teen horror book, a lot of juvenile thoughts that seems realistic.
August 12, 2022
Phantom Reality is a book unlike any I have read before. It has a very interesting storyline, and characters that feel like real people. I was spooked by some parts, and charmed by others. Laura C Reden is a very good writer and her books are worth your time.
August 29, 2022
Intriguing read, great for young adult readers, and was one that kept me wondering how it would end..
November 1, 2025
Phantom Reality was a great read! If you’re into paranormal and mystery, you will enjoy it. It isn’t my usual genre, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. The cover is so beautiful and it was a fun read. And that ending! I was not expecting it and it made so much sense. I will definitely read book 2, I’m curious to know what happens next.
~ August, 2022
~ August, 2022
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews