Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Monster of Elendhaven

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

73 reviews

wichbich's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The first book from this author. It wasn't my favorite story ever, but I enjoyed many of the conventions that were played with and really liked the world building a lot. Would definitely pick up another book from this author, especially if it expands on this world more. The lore was definitely the best part though I did really enjoy the grimey romance element. The characters themselves didn't really have much of an arc but it's a very short book so it makes total sense. All in all I thought it was a fun, interesting read.

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thelittle_seokmin's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I had a lot of fun with this!! Love a dark atmosphere and Giesbrecht does s0 damn well delivering this. Obsessed with the writing!! ☆▪︎☆ (chapter one could've been a short story in of itself o0Ooo0 it's so good~)

I just could've done with more from it? Like i even more depth to the characters, even more explaination of what Florian's goal was. And I need closure in an ending which this didn't really give. It is a bit rushed and a bit too vague. Add a hundred or more pages for more greatness and this probably would've ended up as a fave. ♡♡♡

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sofipitch's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

1.5

I read this bc apparently this author used to co-wrote fanfic with Tamsyn Muir and I am obsessed with TLT. So I should like this right? And while there were stylistic similarities I feel like I just read a mediocre fanfic for something that doesn't exist. It just felt so underdeveloped, the characters, the plot, the world building. Some stylistic choices I liked and then the characters would talk and it was awful. The most I liked was the gore. I considered DNFing multiple times but it was short so I figured why not. And while I knew what my review would say about half way through, I wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt that it would get better but nope, truly a "that's fucking it?" ending. Go girl, give us nothing

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lunarreader's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

I picked this book up because I had heard some good things from a book reviewer I hold in high regard, and I was not disappointed.
The Monster of Elendhaven tells the story of a monster who calls himself Johann as he aids Florian in his.... endeavors. A very vague description, I know, but this novella is so short that I feel telling you any more than that would spoil it.
I was shocked at how quickly I knew I would like this book. I got maybe 5-10 minutes into the audiobook before I said out loud, "Oh I'm going to like this". Jennifer Giesbrecht does a beautiful job establishing Elendhaven and its characters in such a short time. I found myself really invested in Johann and Florian. As seen in one of my updates while reading I talked about how I am not usually kiki-ing over the romances in novels, but I found myself really wanting Johann and Florian to develop something more than this "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours".
I truly think if you like semi-creepy books that are very atmospheric, I'd recommend it. Jennifer Giesbrecht's writing is so lovely and I truly hope she releases a full-length novel at some point because I really found myself wanting more from her.

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joy_ong's review

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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reisuki's review against another edition

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dark tense

3.75

I should read more stuff like this because I always get pleasantly surprised everytime I rediscover I like horror in any type of media.

It was going somewhere but then it didn't, you know? Lol. It was building up to something and then.. ?? Nothing. It felt rushed in the end. The lack of plot (so they said) didn't bother me too much. So. Tentative rating.

The longer fall I was looking for? To know that I was summoned up from the dark ether to do a monster’s deeds for Hallandrette’s truest son? And when our work is done, I will carry him to the bottom of the sea, where we both belong. Deep beneath the silt our bones will turn to salt.

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abyissmal's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

There is a craving when I flicked the last page of “The Monster of Elendhaven”. A desire to know more about the place that lies at the end of the world; to witness more of Johann’s murderous spree; to watch as Florian ensured his life’s work would meet its end. I was satiated, sure. But I wanted so much more from this book. This place is pulsing with death, corruption, rot—all possible wretchedness you could possibly think of. These characters are undeniably cunning, biting, and with monstrous desires of their own longing to be sated.

Giesbrecht’s writing has such a grotesque yet somewhat elegant flair that elevated my senses. You can feel the density of Elendhaven’s air. You can almost taste the lingering scent of iron from the bloodiness of this book. You can feel yourself tingling from disgust. It is grimy. It is full of rot. It is corrupt. It is dense with death.

That growing desire to know more ceases to end. Despite the book’s fascinating and dense with delicious horror, I believe there’s more to be said about the story and the characters. Although it isn’t necessarily fast-paced, I thought everything felt abrupt. And by the time we reached the end, it had simply… ended. I wanted more of them. I wanted to know more about the monsters that have their grip on Elendhaven. I wanted more of the convoluted dynamic between Johann and Florian and just as I was witnessing it grow, that was it.

I wanted to see more development with them as individuals. The book is primarily spent its time through Johann’s perspective, but even so, I felt very little development from him. It’d only been sprinkles of it here and there. From his lack of understanding about humanity, about himself, and how he grows some form of fondness towards Florian. But that was that: only sprinkles of them.

However, that’s just about the only issue I had with the book. Its only lack is its length. That it ended so quickly before I was even ready to bid my goodbyes to these characters. Before I could understand them on a deeper level. It feels like a story that could’ve gone a little longer than it did. Just stretching a little longer to allow the characters, the world, and its story to flourish.

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asperomari's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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smartie_chan's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

1.5 / 5 Stars

CW: Rape of a child, Death, Blood, Gore, Murder, Dub-Con

The fact that this almost won the goodreads choice awards makes me question y'alls taste in books.

Wouldn't even reccomand to my enemies- if I had any

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jenareuter's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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