Reviews with content warning for Incest - The Monster of Elendhaven

An interesting concept and atmosphere, though the execution felt just a little off.

I do love dark sceneries and myths which I think this book did perfectly. It had a dark and gritty atmosphere, one you wouldn’t want to be in yourself. A glum industrial town would not be the place I‘d like to spend any amount of time in. Such is Elendhaven.
I also liked the myths in this book and the tad bit of the supernatural making them real.

The characters however felt a bit inconsequential at some points. With how I imagined them, some of the things they did and said felt somewhat out of character.

I would’ve also liked for the book to be a bit longer to explore the characters, especially the „monster-ization“ a bit longer and maybe over the course of that the author could’ve slowly introduced this behavior that seemed odd to me now and make it more believable.

Also beware of the trigger warnings if you read this!

One other thing: As a German reading this, it was funny because it uses some German terms. I mean „Elend“ alone is German and roughly translates to „misery“ which makes sense for the town.

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

From the get go I fell in love with the atmosphere the author transports us into. The gothic vibes, the gorey and unhinged characters, the gruesome and fatally flawed (aka toxic) situations situasionship these two has going on. It reminded me of Bloodborne or Dishonored in some aspects, either by the vibes and monstruousity in it all, or the revenge at all costs plotline. I loved the writing too, hollow and haunting, full of imagery that surely clicks much better on a second read. The descriptions of the characters and the mythical aspect of the city, with us as spectators rooted in the city yet still watching everything unfold from a deep mist that clouds our perceptions in the same way the sorcerer manipulates everyone here. The idea of a master-monster also reminded me a lot of Frankenstein, although both stories differ in a lot of aspects. Nonetheless, I believe it's a gritty novella perfect for when you are in the mood to read dark, gory, stuff like for Halloween, and be left wondering about the world a little bit (a sense of acrid lingering that follows you around like the shadow of Elendhaven.

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violetjean4's review

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challenging dark emotional funny fast-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? Yes

5.0

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midnightcomets's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Νοthing but a good death-filled, obsessively-passionate, gutter-filthy and alley-dark novella to mark the end of spooky season and give me one more gothic horror to think about! Not my favourite thing, but I definitely recommend for fans of villain origin stories.

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zghutcheson01's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

Everyone in this book is a bad person but if you want a quick, queer fantasy/horror novella to listen to while you work, this is the one for you. Everyone in this is also a bitch (compliment) so it can be very fun until something either very sexual, very violent, or both happens and you're just sorta like "oh yeah I remember what I'm reading."

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snackattackisback69's review

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

As a fan of Bloodborne, I loved the premise and atmosphere of this novel due to the similarities they share. The unsettling city of Elendhaven and the rot that was consuming it from the inside out was right up my alley. The writing style was both descriptive and engaging. I enjoyed following the two main characters and their dysfunctional relationship. My one issue with the novel is how short it is, as I would've loved more time to delve into the horror of the city and flesh out the ending which I felt was rushed.

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theghostly's review

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I was excited to read this because I was expecting an atmospheric and mysterious story but instead it came across as an overly edgy fan fiction written by some teenage girl who thinks a tall guy forcing himself on a “smol bean uwu” is the hottest thing ever. Very much not for me but i’m happy for anyone that did enjoy it.

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blacksphinx's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

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

2.0

When I looked up the author's name to see if she had written anything else, I was not surprised in the least to see she was one of the writers of the much-despised Homestuck Epilogues. I can feel the glimmer of Homestuck in the dialogue and humor, so take that as you will.

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