Reviews

Only The Stains Remain by Ross Jeffery

taylorrdismuke's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

rach666's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

sayre_94's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Only the Stains Remain is both phenomenal, yet incredibly unsettling. The torture that Jude and Kyle go through is awful. The awful backstory, revealed in wonderful sequences, is completely disturbing yet draws you in for more. Balanced out with a present day, revenge tour makes it that much harder to put down. I think I slightly higher word count would have benefited slightly, however I appreciate the simplicity that Ross puts the reader into. It truly is a book that readers will never forget, and one that will stick in my mind forever.

c0rpsekat's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

well written babbling with poorly written gore . incredibly repetitive in both plot, word usage, and self referencing .

i'm not a fan of books that say their own titles like a punchline, and this book did it literally countless times . i actually lost track of the times it said "only _____ remains"

parts of this book borderline on just graphic gorey CP , and every other aspect is just the main characters revenge porn drug out between regurgitated information

this is the second splatterpunk horror i've read and i personally think the desperate attempts to gather gasps from the reader gets to be a point where the actual artistry of being an author is removed . can and will it ever be both in this genre ?! not this time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Child death, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Blood, Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Torture, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Incest, Rape, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Car accident

tayytheisen's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

steve_pagechewing's review

5.0

Wow. What an experience. From the first line to the last, it was a roller coaster of emotions. Beautifully written even with horrific scenes. It's I Will Spit On Your Grave but with heart. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

killmoore_'s review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Only the Stains Remain was heartbreaking and difficult to get through at points. However, I felt that there was something.. lacking. I'm not sure what, as we definitely don't need graphic depictions of what got us to when the story takes place, but I was left wanting more. Maybe I'm just desensitized 😂 The ending kind of snuck up on me as well - definitely not the ending a story of this caliber deserves. 

For that and the over use of the word "stinking", this was a 3.5 for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

ebeubanks8's review against another edition

3.0

This was hard to read and stomach. Check trigger warning

kellireadsstuff's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was a relatively fast but rough read. I found myself turning my kindle off for a bit while I thought about what I read. It's sad and there isn't much relief when you finish the book. 

cinnamon_girl9's review

4.0

This is a tough read!