Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett

6 reviews

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

llb's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Solid haunted house read. Some stuff that just didn't hit for me with the characters and one problem with the story but overall it was good, I read it in two days 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Child death, Miscarriage, and Drug use

raen99's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Miscarriage, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Drug use, Addiction, and Cancer

writingbookscoffee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Mental illness

danaslitlist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

2.0

 Oh boy....how to start this review....

Let's start with the positive aspects, for which there are many which may be surprising giving my low rating.

From the beginning of Beneath the Stairs I was hoping for a honest and true horror thriller. The overall premise sounded very much like something that would be a great fit for me: a desolate house in the middle of the woods, childhood friendships fading over time until a crisis demands a reunion, an unsolved mystery regarding the house's dark history, and more. And boy did Jennifer Fawcett deliver. I made notes as I read; one detailing how much I admired her decision to incorporate additional character's backstories to detail the history and secrets of the Octagon House such as Mrs. Jansen as well as Bill. I noted how well the flashbacks improved the reading experience and painted great parallels between Clare back then and Clare now.

The tension throughout is also very effective and there were many times were the hair on the back of my neck stood up or I felt a tingle run through my body. The moments we're in the Octagon House itself are some of the most chilling and intriguing sections. In my opinion this speaks volumes to Jennifer Fawcett's ability as a thriller writer to create such a realistic atmosphere that even someone who might be skeptical of the supernatural would feel as if there was a real threat. Even if you were to remove the haunting atmosphere there is a sense of foreboding and dread woven into the more mundane aspects of the character's lives.

Now, onto the reason behind why this book is not rated higher despite the fact that I enjoyed so much of it. 

The last twenty or so pages really felt like the author wasn't sure what she wanted to do with the story she had so far written out or alternatively, that she had an idea of what she wanted and was going to do what she needed to in order to get that ending. There are also several story lines that are introduced that were not given a proper conclusion to. Not even the resolution for the main subject felt good enough. It didn't feel solid enough in the decision to make the story a supernatural horror. I'm not one who particularly enjoys ambiguous endings to supernatural  stories especially when so much of the plot revolves around the characters discovering what the truth is. There was too much left up to the reader to decide, but also contradicted what Clare (our main character) had previously stated, and left me feeling confused. While I believe there is a happy medium where an author can leave some questions unanswered or allow for a reader's interpretation, I don't think that it worked here. And ultimately it ruined the ending of the book for me enough that I felt frustrated that I had invested as much time as I had into the story.

The simple decision that burning down the Octagon House was the answer to the question of “What do we do?” was so glaringly obvious and cliché that I was instantly frustrated. That being quickly followed by the revelation that George was a serial killer all this time and had buried numerous people in the woods, only for Clare to not do anything with that information because she was worried no one would believe her? When it was confirmed by George's own sister that the town was suspicious of his behavior. That was such a waste of a great set up for why the house was full of such anger and oppressive tension for anyone who lived in. It's only sort of confirmed that the House was any type of haunted and even then we don't get a clear explanation of what happened to the girls from the other family (unless I'm supposed to believe they were murdered by George in which case I feel that was very boring red herring). I wish Jennifer had committed to making this a ghost story with Grace being a confirmed spirit haunting the home, along side the other victims of George, who didn't want anyone else living there because it wasn't safe. If she insisted on having George be apart of the murder of the second family, there was a better way to handle that. Grace, the haunted doll, the house that had an oppressive and angry atmosphere as if the house itself was alive (very reminiscent of Amityville Horror) was such a beautiful set up with little to no real pay off for me because of how the author decided to throw it all in together. It left too many questions for me to be satisfied.

 

This is such a conflicting review, and happens to be the longest I've written in recent memory, because I was having such a great time reading Beneath the Stairs! But ultimately it was that the last four percent of a novel ruined all the build up and suspense for me. If you don't mind being left with unanswered questions or an ambiguous ending, I would say most definitely pick up this book. If you're looking for a fast paced story with great atmosphere, I recommend it. 

 I think Jennifer Fawcett has a bright future as a thriller author, this just wasn't for me and unfortunately I think I'm going to be bitter about the conclusion for quite some time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol

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