{"id":24938,"date":"2025-09-14T19:48:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T23:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=24938"},"modified":"2025-10-02T20:23:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T00:23:24","slug":"the-house-on-druid-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24938","title":{"rendered":"The House on Druid Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

The House on Druid Lake<\/em><\/a> (2021) Isabelle Adler<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Oliver has taken a job in Baltimore to make a new start, and perhaps a little bit of escaping his abusive ex. He believes he’s lucked out in finding a relatively inexpensive apartment to rent, in what looks to be an historical building, but things are not what they seem.<\/p>\n

What did I like about this story?<\/p>\n

The paranormal elements for one, and the way Oliver reacted to them. It’s always difficult when reading a story with paranormal elements, because you know it’s a story, so it’s hard not to be annoyed at a main character for not picking up on the fact that Things Are Not As They Seem.<\/p>\n

What bothered me was twofold. <\/p>\n

First, I absolutely could not mentally place this story in Baltimore. <\/p>\n

Second, Oliver’s boss was so much of a nightmare he felt a parody of a bad boss: He continually calls Oliver Daniel (those names aren’t even close?). But mostly, he’s a complete jerk.<\/p>\n

Eliminating that one window across all the buildings would save tens of thousands of dollars in building costs, and the residents would never know the difference. After all, they won\u2019t be living there for comfort and luxury, will they?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s the thing that bugged me.<\/p>\n

(H)e had a good reason to be wary of entitled men who couldn\u2019t take no for an answer and considered the slightest rebuke as a wound to their ego.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oliver is thinking about his ex here, but it’s actually a perfect description of his boss.<\/p>\n

Yes, he’s made a huge move across the country and has no support system, but… the boss seems to be made entirely of red flags, and Oliver just lets it go.<\/p>\n

Ugh.<\/p>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Oliver Foster, Nym Brown, Aurora, Sky, Serena, Raphael, Kimona, Amy, Horace Livingstone, Despina Shaw, Courtney, Ela Blum, Richard Cox, Colin Thompson<\/p>\n

Cover art by Jaycee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

Publisher: NineStar Press<\/p>\n

Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The House on Druid Lake (2021) Isabelle Adler Oliver has taken a job in Baltimore to make a new start, and perhaps a little bit of escaping his abusive ex. He believes he’s lucked out in finding a relatively inexpensive apartment to rent, in what looks to be an historical building, but things are not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[193,897,292,2,148,26,56,16],"tags":[50,896,544],"class_list":["post-24938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-10","category-contemporary","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-supernatural","tag-boinking","tag-isabelle-adler","tag-mm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6ue","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19553,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19553","url_meta":{"origin":24938,"position":0},"title":"In the Winter Woods","author":"Michelle","date":"January 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In the Winter Woods (2020) Isabelle Adler Declan has escaped to his family's summer cabin--in December--in the hopes it will let him write the book he desperately needs to get to his editor. And it looks like he can't just churn out another mystery with his hero--he needs something new,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"In the Winter Woods","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/In-the-Winter-Woods.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19509,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19509","url_meta":{"origin":24938,"position":1},"title":"Valor: Wands","author":"Michelle","date":"January 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Valor: Wands (2018) Isabelle Melan\u00e7on, Megan Lavey-Heaton Editors \u201cThe Prince\u2019s New Clothes\u201d by Isabelle Melan\u00e7on and Megan Lavey-Heaton \u201cMom Knight and The Centipede\u201d by Sara Goetter \u201cThe Magnificent Daji\u201d by Alex Singer and Diana Huh \u201cMaleen\u201d by Nicole Chartland \u201cMarie and The Nutcracker\u201d by Emily Hann \u201cThe Laughing Queen\u201d by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Valor Wands","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Valor-wands-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Valor-wands-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Valor-wands-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24151,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24151","url_meta":{"origin":24938,"position":2},"title":"Murder at Midnight, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"December 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Murder at Midnight, Audiobook (2023) Katharine Schellman narrated by Henrietta Meire (Lily Adler Mysteries #4) Set in Hertfordshire in 1816 \u201cMrs. Adler, how many of the rumors about you are true?\u201d \u201cThat depends on the rumors,\u201d Lily replied \u201cThere\u2019s a door past the kitchen, between the servants\u2019 quarters and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Murder at Midnight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Murder-at-Midnight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22481,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22481","url_meta":{"origin":24938,"position":3},"title":"Death at the Manor","author":"Michelle","date":"October 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Death at the Manor (2022) Katharine Schellman (Lily Adler) Set in England in 1815. Jack's ship is repaired and ready to return to see, and Lily is headed to the country to visit her aunt. \u201cWill you write me?\u201d \u201cOf course. I shall tell you how revered I am aboard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Death at the Manor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Death-at-the-Manor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Death-at-the-Manor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Death-at-the-Manor.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20915,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20915","url_meta":{"origin":24938,"position":4},"title":"Deadbeat Druid","author":"Michelle","date":"October 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Deadbeat Druid (2022) David R. 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