
Member Reviews

Young Aoileann has never left the island. Her days are spent caring for her bed ridden mother alongside her grandmother who seemingly has little love or comfort to offer the teenage girl. When a woman and her baby move to the island Aoileann becomes enthralled, an innocent distraction from her mundane existence. This distraction soon turns to an unnerving and bizarre obsession.
Wow is this story layered and disturbing and gave me the ick. This is as bleak as it gets. Every second reading had me on the edge and I had to know how the events would play out. Though I felt a little dissatisfied with the ending; the poetic prose, isolated and dreary atmosphere made this a worthwhile read.
You are inside the main characters head the whole time and forced to experience the world through her emotionally stunted perspective. You feel the raw anger and frustration of this character and how that manifests itself. I am intentionally being vague, there’s way more going on in this story but I suggest going in as blind as possible because there is a lot going on that is better left to be experienced without any indication.
Overall I highly recommend. For all my friends out there who like their fiction visceral and bleak. This one’s for you. But please do check for trigger warnings as there are some content that might be disturbing to readers. You can always DM if you want specifics.
I must not forget to mention that Sophie White’s writing is top tier, I basically highlighted every other passage. Thanks a bunch to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

“I want to stay. I want to watch. I have never seen abundance like Rachel. My mother is desiccated. My grandmother is implacable like stone. Our island is an arid ruin. I want to see how life-giving works.”
Where I End is a somber, strange, and unnerving little novel that enraptured me from start to finish. Due to the manner in which the plot unfolds, there are many questions left unanswered until the final chapters, which kept me flipping pages, desperate to know what would happen. I appreciated the way novel combined psychological and body horror to create an atmosphere of increasing, creeping dread.
Aoileann is quite the complex protagonist, as although she is suffering from her lack of a caring family dynamic and desire to experience familial love, her quickness to resent her incapacitated mother and increasingly disturbing behavior in forcing her way to getting closer to Rachel, the new arrival on the island, she is not always entirely sympathetic. Throughout the course of the novel, Aoileann gradually becomes more sadistic, both toward her mother and Rachel’s baby, both as a way to take out her resentment and unhappiness on someone and to free herself of anything that could hinder her plan to become a daughter-like figure to Rachel. In alignment with the rest of the novel, the ending is quite sad but poetic in a strangely lovely way.
Thank you so much to Erewhon Books and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for review. I thoroughly enjoyed Where I End and would recommend the novel to readers who enjoy exploring the darker side of motherhood and family dynamics, as well as books that employ an eerie and sinister tone that doesn’t fail to make them uncomfortable. The U.S. edition of Where I End is available 9/24.

It's a creepy book I'll give it that but, it's also strangely recognisable. As someone who's lived with a terminally ill parent, I felt the same conflicted feelings that our main character displays. I don't know if this was White's intention but I feel like it was. The book leaves a eery feeling for the average reader but I'd say a dreadful lingering one for those readers that have been in a similar situation.
I think this book displays the idea of "living loss" in the best but most fucked up way possible.
Besides dealing with grief, the book also deals with motherhood, sexuality and island seclusion. If any of those sounds up your alley and you don't mind a bit of skin-crawling horror then I'd definitely recommend this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
Woof. I just finished this and just stared at the wall for 10 mins.
What a wild, insane, heartbreaking and disturbing read. The writing was so beautiful even if it was equal parts disturbing and upsetting. This is true horror and I love how tight the tension was throughout. I feel like this story and main character will haunt me for months on end and I mean that as a compliment. My only complaint and it's a small one because I thought the book still wrapped up really well, I wanted a bigger punch of an ending, which honestly probably would have made it TOO disturbing and sad lol. This was great and I will pick up whatever Sophie White writes next.

A truly disturbing book, oozing dread on every page. This is the horror of existence.
This is a horror story about mothers.
Recommended to anyone that enjoys dark, macabre stories that have a strong vein of reality to them and a strong stomach for the worst that humans can do. CW on everything in this one.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
#netgalley

Rating: 4.5/5
Where I End is an eerie and atmospheric novel. Sophie White knocked it out of the water. You feel the haunt in your bones.
Something is not right with the island. Aoileann has been kept isolated because of a family secret and her bedridden mother creaks throughout the house. In Aoileann's unravelling of these family secrets and newfound hope comes a horrific ending. This book is unnerving, bleak, and unforgettable. The symbolism of loneliness, mental illness, and family trauma is beautiful and poignant. A fantastic read!
**Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC!**

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Sophie White for approving me for my first ever arc in exchange for an honest review! This book has been on my radar for quite some time now and I’m so grateful that I was finally able to read this eerie and unsettling story.
Aoileann lives on a small, isolated island taking care of her bedridden mother who creaks along with the house throughout the night. Aoileann is frustrated with this constant caring for her mother, but will soon find a newfound hope when a fresh outsider arrives on the island and catapults the story towards an intense and horrific ending.
I thought this book was absolutely incredible. This book gave me everything that I wanted and more; expertly crafted horror with a sense of dread that continues to build, elements of surprise as long-held secrets are finally revealed, and a deep amount of complex, underlying emotion. Sophie White does a great job of utilizing quiet and subtle horror to construct a tense atmosphere and a devastating climax. I couldn’t stop thinking about these unlikeable characters even after finishing the book, and I’m sure I’ll be thinking about them for a while after. This is definitely a heavy read and will not be for everyone (check trigger warnings), but if you enjoy deeper books that are dark and disturbing, Where I End is the perfect read. I also recommend this for anyone who is a fan of folk horror, complicated families, and small island isolation. Where I End by Sophie White is publishing in the US on September 24th and I highly recommend checking it out when it does.

I'm sad that I had so many things going on when I started reading this book. It was a bit slow to start, but I really enjoyed the style of writing and the overall story. I plan to finish it soon. I was reminded heavily of Shirley Jackson's work, so I would recommend this if you enjoy her works.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Aoileann, a young woman living in an Irish island with her grandmother and the silent, bed-bound mother she doesn’t know, struggles with her monotonous life, filled with secrecy and resentment. Until a mainlander and her newborn baby appear, and show her a different side of mother/child relationships that Aoileann is desperate for, and will do anything to claim for herself.
I went in expecting to love this book, mostly because of the badass Erewhon Books cover, but it just wasn’t my thing. The overall atmosphere is so oppressive, it seeps out of the writing. The settings are harsh and bleak, the characters ugly and cruel. Aoileann’s mother is described in detail, as is the routine of caring for her, and I mean, her body, the bathing, the taking her to the loo and changing her diaper - everything was so vividly portrayed, I do not recommend reading while you’re eating. There were also things done to people that made me squirm.
And I mean, this is a credit to the author, really! I don’t think this makes it a bad book; it’s just that it was too much for me.
It was definitely an interesting exploration of the uglier side of motherhood, of the pressure on women to not only have children but to love every part of the journey, to ignore every bad feeling; of society’s quickness to judge and condemn instead of offering help; of feeling Othered in your community and even your family; of how “evil” can be made.

This book was devastatingly horrific. This is a compliment. I have not been this enthralled and horrified by a book. It is no wonder that this book has a Shirley Jackson award.
I am so very disturbed.
Well done Sophie White. I'm adding more of your books to my TBR.

At night, my mother creaks. The house creaks along with her.
This was very creepy and atmospheric. I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it to horror lovers everywhere.

I wanted to like this more than I did - it was so very disturbing. I usually don't mind a disturbing book but the abuse in this as well the assault she commits on one of the characters was just too much for me. I very nearly DNF'd it due to disturbing nature.

WOW. just wow. I stumbled upon another review of this one and just HAD to get my hands on an advance copy (thanks, NetGalley!) - and it didn’t disappoint. The first 30% I truly wondered if I would be able to make it to the end- if I was smart enough to read this book. But the reviews are right. Stick with it and after the first 100pages this book FLEW. The ending is not at all what I expected and I truly was horrified 🤣
This book is not for everyone, but is sure is for someone!

This is a dark, devastating, and disturbing look at how isolated communities that are ruled by superstition can cause generational trauma. It is an unblinking look into how withholding love, attention, education, societal bonds, and simple kindness can create the monsters we all fear. It is also a book that I really enjoyed but I am not sure I want to see those things again.

I feel very proud to share a country with Sophie White, whos writing spans from popular fiction, to memoir and more 'high brow' ' literary' events such as this one. Her inimitable writing transcends snobbery and genre divisions, producing a delightful, inviting prose which can shock and surprise with the depth of its horror.

Did it like this book? It was enthralling, highly atmospheric and deeply, deeply disturbing.
I like books that jar me out of complacency.
This novel is rife with trigger warnings. While I’m not particularly fond of body horror, its inclusion in this book was not gratuitous. Instead, the descriptions served to enhance the theme, atmosphere, and characterization.
So, what is this gothic horror novel about?
Aoileann is a teenage girl who is trapped. She’s trapped on a remote island with her catatonic mother and her abusive grandmother. Aoileann’s entire life centres around the care of her mother, and this obligation has turned to hatred (often referring to her mother as "the bed thing".
The hatred is caused, in part, by a family secret…what caused her mother’s state? Both her father and her grandmother refuse to give answers.
Desperate for love, familial or otherwise, Aoileann is drawn to a newcomer, Rachel, a young mother who has arrived as an artist in residence. Aoileann’s desperation for love and companionship drives her to do almost anything for attention. Soon, she begins to resent the time and attention Rachrel has towards her newborn.
Written in the first person, the reader is privy to an uncensored reading of Aoileann’s true thoughts, making her a very creepy, unsympathetic character.
This is in no way a happy book. I needed to hug a puppy after reading it.
The author, in her forward, shares her inspiration for this story.
So, did I like this book? I have been thinking about it on and off since I read it, a sure sign that I found it impactful.
This novel lends itself to high school (stress on HIGH SCHOOL) discussion on genre, theme, definitely atmosphere and the impact of first person point of view.
Thank you to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for the copy.

This read was a miserable experience! (It was designed that way. Mission accomplished!) I had to conquer it in small doses so that my whole day wouldn't be ruined. Mostly because this was an incredibly dark book, with stuff that was very tough to witness. There were numerous scenes of unflinching cruelty that really WENT there, sandwiched between surprising moments of dread that built upon each other with no relief.
Early on in the story, there's a gradual reveal of little pieces of information, like horrific clues to a bigger mystery. It's very well done. The author never gives us too much at once. It makes you want to keep reading despite the awful atmosphere, just to find out what's going on. I could never fully get a handle on the main character that was narrating the story, Aoileann. She has a curiosity and a desire for answers, but at the same time there are terrible aspects of her personality that make her the opposite of sympathetic. (Trying to avoid spoilers, as I think the best way to go into this is with as little plot detail as possible while still prepared for what you're getting yourself into.)
What you should know is the basic gist, that Aoileann is stuck at home "caring" for her bedbound mother that she thinks of as less than human, as she refers to her as "The Bedthing" and treats as such. The descriptions of the feeding and cleaning process are honestly revolting, and Aoileann feels nothing but hatred and contempt. But we don't know the whole story, and as the reader we wonder who we should feel sorry for. The mother? Aoileann? Are there any decent people on this island? And then the story gets way more upsetting from there.
There is very gross imagery throughout this book. It reminded me of the close-up insert shots in a Nickelodeon children’s cartoon where things are suddenly way too detailed and uncomfortable and you don’t want to look at it anymore. (DO NOT EAT WHILE READING THIS.)
I was hoping for more of a big shocking reveal at the end, and there was a small subplot detail or two that I felt were left somewhat unresolved. There was also sort of a mental health aspect that didn't sit well with me, but maybe that was the point? (Women who need actual help being punished and tortured instead, etc.)
I hate the current tendency to compare every book to another book, but I really do get the Ottessa Moshfegh vibes from this one, honestly. (And that's a good thing!) It kind of felt like “Lapvona” but more modern. Absolutely dreadful and gross and upsetting.
Would I recommend this book? Only to those of us who seek out stuff like online lists of "The most disturbing movies or books ever" and then make a note of the ones we haven't gotten to yet. People that are strangely pulled towards art that makes you suffer a little bit. This is for you! I saw that the author, Sophie White, has also written Romance and Comedy Fiction and that is WILD to me. Honestly, props for such a diverse writing ability.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
TW: Lots! The biggest ones would be *harm to babies*, torture, mistreatment of the disabled, bodily fluids/substances, references to sexual assault

Um, family horror? Sign me up! White's voice is devastating, and the she does such a great job exploring themes of isolation, oppression, and loneliness. A disturbing yet interesting read.

Where I End is a suffocating story of being trapped on an island, surrounded by people who hate you-including your family, and bottomless hopeless, rage. I feel as if I must be missing some cultural context, as I can't figure out why Aoileann is treated so poorly by her family and towns people. She was ostensibly the victim of her mother's mental illness, and at 6 weeks old incapable of being the mastermind behind her twins death. The only conclusion I can draw is that, perhaps, due to the forced isolation of her grandmother's home, the distant familial relationships, and the strain of caring for an ill mother she has to pretend doesn't exist, she was a weird kid that the islanders just felt uncomfortable around? It doesn't explain the terror characters exhibit when Aoileann approaches babies though. Either way, it becomes clear that she has not escaped the mental issues her maternal grandmother and mother labor under, which clearly would only be exacerbated by her treatment and isolation. The slow descent into psychosis brought on by Rachel, both an object of sexual desire and a symbolic mother figure is eerie and unsettling, while the physical abuse of the two most vulnerable characters at the habds of Aoileann provokes a visceral response of disgust and horror.

I was really excited for this book and while it was atmospheric and full of dread it was kind of slow.