A review by thespicelessreader
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

dark tense fast-paced

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

1.0

This one was a slog for me. I did to myself on some level. I knew it was a horror book going in, but the premise was so interesting enough that I thought it was the perfect opportunity to explore outside my comfort zone. 

I think the issues I had with it though, had nothing to do with it being a horror novel, and everything to do with the author going more for shock value and gratuitous gore than any kind of cohesive plot. The characters themselves felt flat, having no other personality traits than "horrific childhood trauma". With one gruesome death after another and no breathing room, even if there had been time to develop any kind of attachment to the characters there is no time to grieve them. 

The timeline jumping back and forth was also particularly confusing. It might have been less so in a physical or epub format, but listening via audio I was all together too easy to miss the one word prompts that indicated a time swap. 

Quite honestly if I had no received this as a review copy I would have DNF'd it around the 20% mark.