Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett

5 reviews

sunshinestark's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Confinement, Death, Cancer, Grief, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicide attempt

bookishcookiemonster's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

0.5

I wish I liked this book but it was so hard to get through.
For a book that is supposed to be in the horror/thriller genres it is SO SLOW and barely has any actual action or horror in it.
The plot meanders. There are so many scenes that don't add to the main story.
There were so many times I wanted to put it down but it just has so much POTENTIAL. I kept hoping it would pick up the pace and become exciting but it never does.
I'm upset because I really, really wanted to like this book. It could have been so scary and exciting. There were moments, especially with the

flipping of tenses, that it reminded me of Mike Flannigan's version of The Haunting of Hill House

, which is why I was so determined to finish it. 
A plot that had the potential to be so good, but was the most boring horror novel I've ever read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Misogyny, Self harm, Blood, Torture, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Confinement, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Chronic illness, Car accident, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, and Child death

So much time/space is wasted on the main character, Claire's insecurities. One, or two sentences expressing her not feeling worthy of Mitchell, or not a good enough friend to Abby is enough in my opinion when she's around those two, but like LINE AFTER LINE OF HER AGONIZING "oh, he's going to reject me" or "she's going to hate me" it really gets old and annoying after a while

jerusha's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, Mental illness, Confinement, and Death of parent

savvyrosereads's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Out February 22, 2022! [Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!]

Rating: 4/5 stars

Beneath The Stairs is a horror/mystery centered on Clare, a young woman who returns home when her childhood best friend attempts suicide in the local haunted house—a place that played an important role in their adolescence and is now threatening the lives and minds of more than one person…including Clare herself. 

Let me start by saying this book is GENUINELY creepy. I’m not usually scared by books, but I kept finding myself reading this one late at night and needing to turn the lights on. Overall, I loved the vibe and love when a horror novel can actually live up to its promise of eeriness, so even if that was all this book had to offer (it’s not) I’d be impressed.

In terms of the plot, I found it a little too straightforward in parts and would have liked a bit more mystery/surprise in the ending. But I was pulled in by the characters and found the story (particularly the history of the house and flashbacks to past timelines) gripping for the most part. It also gave me Haunting of Hill House vibes (both the novella and the show) that I REALLY appreciated. In short, a super solid debut you should check out—I’ll be eagerly anticipating whatever Fawcett does next!

Recommended for anyone, but especially those who like: horror literature; ghost stories; Haunting of Hill House.

CW: Suicide/self-harm; mental illness; death of a parent; pregnancy/miscarriage; death of a child; violence; murder; abandonment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Violence

kaylasbookgram's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I’ve never been much of a horror fan and when I got this one from Simon & Schuster I was a bit nervous I wouldn’t like it. 

I can say as I hit 60% this was not a book I should’ve read right before bed because I woke up screaming and terrified my husband 🤣 

Altogether I enjoyed this book the paranormal aspect was a bit out of my comfort zone because I don’t believe in that type of stuff. I think this is a great horror/thriller book so keep your eye out for its release in February 2022. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt