Thanks to St. Martins’s Press for an e-ARC of The Cut! Here are my thoughts.

Sadie is newly pregnant and on the run with her 3-year-old daughter. She is fleeing an abusive relationship and finds herself at a hotel on Lake Erie. She finds a job and begins saving up to start her new life. But there is something strange going on at the hotel, the people are odd and some are going missing. Not to mention the tentacles…

It might be challenging for me to spin this into a positive review. I was so hyped for this book. It was on my most anticipated list and the cover was creepy as heck. I was disappointed. It took me a long time to read this 300-page book because I couldn’t get into it.

Honestly, Sadie’s domestic violence situation was the most horrifying piece of this book, where I was expecting a bit of a creature feature. I found the character Sadie, made unrealistic decisions such as leaving her child on a whim while stating she would never do things like that. The beginning of the novel was riveting, and I had high hopes, but the next 200 pages or so were a struggle to get through.

The ending bit was better. We get some resolution, and the action picks up but to be entirely honest I still have no idea what happened. I was left with a whole bunch of questions and not like fun open-ended conclusion type questions, but moreso how things happened or why.

I want to end this on a positive note, but I’m drawing a blank. I mean, tentacle dogs are pretty cool I guess.

This was a really unique horror. I’m glad I read it for sure. Something about horror that takes place at an old motel always hooks my attention, and this one was done well. You didn’t know who to trust, everything felt a bit eerie, and there were unlikely heroes.

The Cut by CJ Dotson is a suspenseful and eerie slow burn. Taking place in a creepy old hotel, it gives off The Shining vibes with its atmosphere. During a lot of the buildup we get to know more about our main character Sadie, and how she struggles with the fear of her abuser finding her while trying to navigate pregnancy and taking care of her child. Unfortunately for her she gets stuck dealing with all of these emotions on top of dealing with working and living in the creepy hotel. Her paranoia only grows as more events begin to happen and I did enjoy the reveal of what all of this ends up leading into.

I really enjoyed the creepy hotel atmosphere this story provided (very much giving The Shining vibes). I felt the story was a just too slow for me, it didn’t really start to ramp up until 65% of the way in. However, that’s not to say that the first half of the story isn’t a bit on the eerie side! I just prefer my books with a bit more going on. Sadie, our main character, is very determined throughout the story not only to find out what the people of the hotel are hiding, but to protect her daughter, her unborn baby, and herself from an abusive ex; I found myself admiring her determination. I will say, the word “stinker” was used so many times I never want to hear that word again for a LONG time.

I enjoyed my time reading this book, and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys slow burn story with creepy elements.

What do you do when you have nowhere else to go? The Cut by C. J. Dotson honed in on the horror of knowing something isn't right (even if you're not sure what it is) but being stuck with where you're at. Sadie is working as a single-parent raising a toddler with another child on the way. Things are already difficult with an estranged family and hiding from her very abusive ex, but it becomes overwhelming when guests go missing at the hotel Sadie works at and things start climbing out of the pipes.

This book was a ride and I felt anxiety for Sadie in every chapter as she tried to navigate how to protect herself and her children. Thank you very much to the publisher and author for the early access to this book.

DNF at 21%.

Unfortunately, this title just fell flat for me in terms of both character and writing style. The style felt quite amateurish and uninteresting with a very slow buildup. The protagonist, Sadie, also read like a cardboard cutout. The domestic abuse side-plot even felt shoehorned in, despite it meant to add to the characterization of Sadie. I think it's safe to say that if this book couldn't grab me within 1/5th of the way in, it would just not be able to meet my expectations.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Fleeing an abusive partner, Sadie Miles finds temporary refuge at an old hotel bordering Lake Eerie. With her young daughter in tow, she begins the arduous process of adjusting to life as a single mother with a baby on the way. However, Sadie is plagued by more than domestic issues when people in the hotel begin to go missing. Coupled with disgruntled and creepy townspeople, Sadie suspects there are secrets lurking in the historic hotel.

Although billed as horror, there is little to horrify in this book. Rather, the plot is bogged down by tedious character interactions, a lackluster subplot, and little action. While Dotson creates a sympathetic character in Sadie, the rest of the characters fell flat and the story was unredeemable. The beginning was promising, but fell flat as the narrative continued in a meandering path to a disappointing conclusion.

This book turns an ordinary beach side hotel into a nightmare gone bad. Sadie decides to leave her abusive fiancée and try to start a new life with her daughter. The hotel where she interviews for a housekeeper job gives off weird vibes right from the start. I guess when you are in a precarious situation, beggars cannot be choosers. Not only did she get the job but she had a place to stay and someone to watch her little girl. I for one, thought it odd that all these solutions to her problems seemed to line up suspiciously and Sadie did not really question these ideas. I do believe that Sadie was just scared and anything would be a better idea than staying with her abusive ex. I do not think what would occur in the upcoming weeks were anything Sadie could have been prepared for. She went from one unsafe situation to a deadly disaster. The creatures/monsters in this book were just too horrific for my imagination to accept. Needing money or not, I would have been gone. All the things Sadie went through were beyond anything she had endured with her fiancée. She just needed to get out of there quickly. But then there would not have been this truly frightening book for readers to enjoy.

"Gertie gave a soft laugh. 'Hotels aren't like houses,' she said at the end of her quiet mirth. 'They're like people. You can't know all their ins and outs, but you can get used to 'em pretty well, I guess.' "

Sadie Miles finds herself at the L'Arpin Hotel. She is in hiding after fleeing an abusive relationship with her fiance, Sam. With no help or support from her family, Sadie is pregnant and alone trying to fend for herself and her three-year-old daughter, Izzy. Sadie is able to secure a housekeeping job at the hotel that includes a room for her and her daughter to live in for the time being. Sadie meets an elderly woman, Gertie, who lives in the hotel and graciously offers to watch Izzy while Sadie works. Soon, Sadie starts noticing strange things happening at the hotel and the nearby beach called the Cut on Lake Erie. And Sadie is already on edge looking over her shoulder constantly expecting Sam to have found her. She finds herself not being able to trust any of her coworkers, but is stuck where she is until she can make enough money to move out. And what are the constant weird, wet and slapping sounds heard throughout the hotel and in the drain of the bathtub in her room??

This novel had an interesting premise. The atmosphere was creepy and haunting in the beginning, and Sadie being on edge about being found by Sam added to that suspense. But, after about a third of the way into the story, it began to drag. By the time it was revealed what was going on, I had lost interest in the story. I did enjoy the author's writing, but the story did lose its initial suspenseful and mysterious atmosphere. and just fizzled out until the end. I did not figure out what was actually going on at the hotel before it was revealed, and I enjoyed the way the descriptions of the reveal were written. But overall, I don't think this story will be very memorable to me. As this was a debut novel, I would be interested in seeing how this author's storytelling skills progress, and I'd like to read future publications.

Thank you to NetGalley, C. J. Dotson, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book.

Content Warning: Violence, Abuse, Toxic Relationships, Child Abuse, Child Endangerment, Dark Water/Things Beneath Water, Gaslighting, Unreliable Narrator, Pregnancy, Death, and Mental Illness.

Note: DNF’d at 44%

“The Cut” by C.J. Dotson had a lot of promise. The idea of a freshly single mother trying to overcome her past while taking care of her three year old toddler–and expecting a baby as well–thrust into a horror filled hotel. The premise really caught me, making me what to read what happens.

Sadie, the protagonist of “The Cut,” came off to me as an unreliable narrator. Yes, I believe she was abused. I believe her family was horrible to her, that her fiance was an abusive person. However, once she arrived at the hotel and started to encounter suspicious puddles and of the like, her character became less believable. The way she acted made me feel she had a sort of hidden hero complex, though it often meant exploring weird sounds and sights while leaving her daughter alone in their hotel room.

She acted very guarded when it came to her daughter, but she still allowed a complete stranger to watch her during her shifts as a cleaner at the hotel. Sadie also had a tendency to want to snoop into every little thing–including things that had no logical connection to the noises and weird things she was experiencing. This often put her in danger or ended up with her being injured in some manner.

My frustrations with Sadie were nothing, however, when compared to how I felt with the pacing of the book while reading it. It is slow. There are points in it, yes, where there is meant to be action or tension, but for me, it all just fell flat. The characters were unbelievable, so it made everything they did or witnessed unbelievable, too. I know there is supposed to be a suspension of disbelief for fictional novels, but “The Cut” just doesn’t make it possible.

I wish the author had focused more on a sort of creeping horror instead of the lackluster jump scares of something being in the water. There is a good idea here, but with the cast being soulless and the threat being boring, I’m afraid that I cannot, in good faith, recommend “The Cut” by C.J. Dotson.

I love this book! It is so weird and creepy. I can't reveal much but you basically start out doubting our protagonist but then things change. Also the "bad guys" are not what you expect either. It is amazing.

Some parts of this book had my interest but the majority just dragged.
It had some suspense and mystery that I enjoyed especially at the beginning, but it went downhill pretty fast (for me) with the infuriating choices that the MC kept making. As much as I tried to connect with Sadie, I just couldn’t.
It got really repetitive and in my opinion, the ending was quite a letdown.

2.5⭐️ rounded up to 3.

As always, this is MY opinion and if the book interests you please do give it a chance.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC, opinion is my own.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

After fleeing an abusive relationship, Sadie Miles, with her toddler, Izzy, in tow, ends up at the L’Arpin Hotel, a historic property on the edge of Lake Eerie. She's not there for rest and relaxation though, she's there for a job. When she's offered a position as a housekeeper, which includes a free room at the hotel, she jumps at the offer. She's beyond desperate.

We follow Sadie as she tries to navigate her new circumstance, having to do things that make her uncomfortable, such as leaving Izzy alone with an elderly woman she just met, so that she can get her work done. It's not just those necessary actions that are making her uncomfortable though, there's a lot around the hotel that is odd; including, but not limited to, the people.

Individuals go missing, and there's definitely something in the water, or the pipes, or food. The higher-ups seem to be covering-up, but what? And what about the man from the power plant, always yelling and carrying on, like she's done something to him. What is going on here?

Sadie, like many great Horror characters before her, isn't willing to let any of this stuff go. She's determined to figure out the truth behind the hotel, even if she needs to put herself in peril in order to do so.

I had fun with this one. The Cut has a great set-up, and it did succeed at keeping me guessing and compelled to move forward with the unsettling narrative. It reminded me of one of those Creature Feature movies from the late-70s/mid-80s, that had like ants that had grown to the size of houses and ate entire towns. Were they super logical? No. Did they keep you entertained on a rainy Saturday afternoon? Absolutely. This is the vibe I got and I'm not complaining about it.

This is solid B-Horror, and don't take that as an insult, because it's not. I love B-Horror. It's pure entertainment, that doesn't take itself too seriously. It tells a story, gives you thrills, chills, and keeps you at the edge of your seat. I will say, Sadie's daughter, Izzy, drove me absolutely nuts. I would have enjoyed this even more if she hadn't been in it. I know that seems mean, but it is what it is.

Overall, though, this was a fun ride. It had some issues, but at the end of the day, I didn't really care. I actually Buddy Read this and it was a fun one to try to guess what was really happening. Which by the way, I was no where near guessing.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copies to read and review. I highly recommend the audio format if you have it available to you. The narration was a great fit for the tone of the story!

This one started out strong. A pregnant woman flees an abusive relationship with her young daughter and finds work and lodging at an historic hotel. Things seem good at first but soon there are unexplained disappearances, creepy sounds, and things in the shadows. And then the book stalls out. For more than half the book, that’s all that happens - creepy noises and shadows until the end of the book. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

I was excited for this horror novel, but it fell flat.

A mother flees her abusive ex after finding out she's pregnant again and checks into a hotel. Of course, spooky occurrences start to happen and she's determined to get to the bottom of it. Classic horror setup.

Unfortunately, I'm left feeling like this novel is forgettable among a sea of horror media just like it. Nothing happens for the vast majority of the book and I don't think the payoff is worth the build up. Things felt repetitive and ultimately boring. If you're used to reading intriguing horror, I would skip this one.

Thanks SMP and Macmillian Audio for the ARC.

Respectfully, Dotson, what the fuck was that.

This story was both a horror story, but also one where a woman reclaims her strength and stands up to monsters, both literal and metaphorical. I loved that she learned to rely on herself, and her own strengths, instead of those around her. The mystery around the hotel and the tentacle things was so well done, I was grossed out in parts.

Definitely never showering in a hotel again.

The Cut is a supernatural horror novel, written by CJ Dotson, and published by St. Martin Press. A slow burn proposal that follows a woman and her daughter fleeing from abuse and landing in a haunted hotel, with a great set-up that reminds of classical horror movies, playing with the atmosphere and keeping the reader in suspense until the very end.

After finding she's pregnant, Sadie flees from an abusive relationship with her toddler, having to accept a job as housekeeper at the L'Arpin Hotel; but soon she realizes there's something wrong with the hotel and the personal, starting to see water puddles and slimy creatures, even if nobody believes her. The longer she stays at the hotel, the more paranoid Sadie becomes; but she needs this job to maintain afloat her precarious situation, despite the danger that seems to predate her.

Sadie is a well-fleshed main character, one we can empathize with; she's a mother trying to get out of an abusive relationship, and caring for her daughter. The paranoia she feels can be partly linked to the anxiety she feels for being found by her ex; and the whole hotel atmosphere doesn't help to it.
The rest of the hotel characters are quite peculiar, a bit reminiscent of the classics of the genre; all have small details that make you suspect about their real reasons to act, and it ends paying off at the end.

The setting is one of the biggest selling points of this novel: not only we have a decadent hotel where some guests disappear, but also the own natural environment, with the Lake Eire in the background also contributes to the atmosphere. The pacing is a bit slow for my taste, but it is balanced with a great characterisation; and the great finale pays off for this kind of slow-burn.

The Cut is a great cosmic/supernatural horror novel, perfect if you are looking for something with a familiar taste but with some novelty touches; a debut that puts CJ Dotson in the list of authors to follow in the coming years.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my copy of THE CUT.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but then it got super slaggy and boring. I figured it out pretty soon, and then the horror left much to be desired. I don't recommend this one.

3/5

Okay… this is a HARROWING story about a domestic abuse survivor trying to make ends meet and build a new , better life for herself, her toddler, and unborn baby. That part of the book was so good and this found family aspect (even though it got creepy) was such a good little touch. HOWEVER, I forgot this entire book was suppose to be about these weird creepy crawly leech alien things that form a parasitic attachment and take over…. There were so many build ups to it but SO MUCH FELL THROUGH. It’s got frustrating because I really wanted these things to be something. When they finally came I was more concerned about the abuser and the baby than I was about the leech aliens. There was potential but it just did not get there. But I always say every book could be someone’s new favorite so don’t hesitate to give this one a go. Thanks for letting me read this one!

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Cut. This is a mix of mystery and horror. The book starts slowly building to a very low scary vibe.
A woman on the run goes to an old hotel with her daughter. She gets a job and suddenly realizes that she’s not going back to her old life but she’s not sure what she’s going to do about an ex husband who keeps trying to make her come back. But she also sees this hotel is not what it seems to be and she doesn’t know if she’s safe or is this her imagination.
But things do change for her and not necessarily for the better. 3 stars

Who knew that escaping a bad relationship could only be made worse by going to a scary hotel. Strange things happen and the story takes the reader through some mysterious events. Great read!