The Infested

Title: The Infested

Author: Renee Lake

Rating: 3.75/5

Info: 265 pages, first published by  Victory Editing 06/23/2026

Genre: Horror, YA

The Infested is a story about Desdemona and her family set in a 1900 alternate-history U.S.A. The first few paragraphs give the specifics of the danger zone that stretches across the middle of the country. This area is already inhospitable because of the land itself, but it is also home to creatures, ghosts, monsters, demons, spirits. Whatever you want to call them, they are not friends to regular human beings.

Desdemona lives with her family on their homestead, Ash Hollow, in Nebraska. Ash Hollow is protected by magic wards and they do their best to provide travelers with a safe place to rest and fix up their wagons. The story begins with Desdemona and her siblings dealing with a death and some new guests while their father is away guiding a caravan through the Infested. 

The story splits between the siblings at home and the first-person POV of their father as he travels with the caravan. I found the father’s chapters more exciting than the siblings’ storyline, although I was interested in both. The world building was probably my favorite part and I would love to spend more time in it. 

The Ash Hollow drama didn’t hold my attention quite as well as it probably should have, but I don’t really fault the author for that. A lot of it revolves around YA relationship drama, and that just isn’t my favorite thing to read. I was much more drawn into the father’s storyline, especially the challenges that he was facing. That’s a personal taste thing more than an actual criticism of the writing.

There are some good twists and turns, along with some truly creepy scenes, and enough action for me to speed through the book. My favorite parts were all the ones that involved people dealing with the Infested land. I especially loved seeing the creatures that live there. Some of them are wonderfully unsettling. 

A much bigger story is taking place that this book is just a part of. It definitely feels like the beginning of a series. If it doesn’t get follow-up books, that would be a shame. Fortunately, the story wraps up nicely while leaving enough for me to want more. 

I’d recommend this to anyone interested in YA horror or spooky books in general, especially if you like the idea of mixing horror with westward expansion.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing this ARC.