You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bethanyk57 's review for:
The No-End House
by Jeremy Bates
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an ARC of the book from the publisher. I was so excited for it, I loved the cute little publicity packet they sent, and I was really hoping to leave a glowing review. But I just can't.
First of all, the book is just not well-written. The characters and the dialogue are flat, repetitive, and at times just plain annoying. It's supposed to be adult horror, but it reads more like a middle-grade Goosebumps novel.
On that note, one of the publicity blurbs drew comparisons to the Saw movies, and that definitely drew my interest. But the intensity is just not there. Very limited gore, only mild psychological duress until the latter half of the book, and overall just a disappointment.
There was one brief moment when I thought Bates had managed to pull things together and MAYBE earn a 3rd star or a bit above. If you can be satisfied with a very gray ending that leaves you questioning, then MAYBE you'll be able to make it work for you. But I just couldn't, especially when factoring in the author's uninformed and harmful representation of people healing from serious trauma and suffering from mental illness.
Thanks anyway to the publisher and Goodreads Giveaways.
First of all, the book is just not well-written. The characters and the dialogue are flat, repetitive, and at times just plain annoying. It's supposed to be adult horror, but it reads more like a middle-grade Goosebumps novel.
On that note, one of the publicity blurbs drew comparisons to the Saw movies, and that definitely drew my interest. But the intensity is just not there. Very limited gore, only mild psychological duress until the latter half of the book, and overall just a disappointment.
There was one brief moment when I thought Bates had managed to pull things together and MAYBE earn a 3rd star or a bit above. If you can be satisfied with a very gray ending that leaves you questioning, then MAYBE you'll be able to make it work for you. But I just couldn't, especially when factoring in the author's uninformed and harmful representation of people healing from serious trauma and suffering from mental illness.
Thanks anyway to the publisher and Goodreads Giveaways.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis