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!

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of THE CUT by C. J. Dotson in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and try to stay safe, sane and happy out there.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Wow I was on the edge of my seat for this ending. About halfway through the book, the pace was so fast and truly SCARY! I may end up having nightmares from this but that’s a sign of a great Horror Novel. I liked the tension and the build up in the first half but wish we got just a little more explanation or maybe an epilogue at the end. A lot of the deaths and resolution was also off page so it made me a little skeptical that it was actually finished.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging. A chilling supernatural horror story.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The writing is well done and I was hooked after the first sentence.

This was a pretty crazy read. A young mother is leaving her abusive partner after discovering she's pregnant. She quickly finds a job at a hotel, but weird occurrences start happening that everyone else seems to write off. Perhaps it's just her anxiety over thinking her partner will find her. This book keeps you wondering why everyone seems to be ignoring all the strangeness and what exactly they are hiding.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc!

I liked the story around the "horror" if it makes sense... I liked Sadie & Izzy just trying to survive without the abusing ex and also how they fought the "monsters" and survived! The "horror" part was less interesting to me, like imagining blobs and tentacles was more difficult and less my thing in horror that I usually read or watch... but it was still entertaining!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review. This book hooked me from the start and was such a fun and wild ride. This is perfect for fans of thrillers and mysteries. I look forward to reading more of this author's books in the future.

The Cut by C.J. Dotson is a supernatural horror "creature feature" debut with a compelling plot full of ominous and tense vibes.

Sadie Miles just found out she is pregnant again and is on the run from an abusive ex with her young daughter Izzy. When she finds L'arpin Hotel she knows she needs to find a job and a place to stay. After interviewing with the manager Sadie gets hired and is given a room to stay in until she can save some money. When Sadie meets Gertie, an elderly live-in of the hotel, she finds an unexpected sort of friendship. Gertie will watch Izzy while Sadie works, allowing her to hopefully get back on her feet sooner than later. But soon Sadie starts to notice some odd things happening around the hotel... Strange dripping noises, a pervasive damp and a briny smell everywhere. Oh, and there's the fact that people keep going missing... What is really going on at L'arpin Hotel??

Usually I am not a big fan of creature feature books but I actually liked this one!! It had such a strong premise and all of the old school creepy vibes of an older horror movie. One thing that was especially well done to me was the creeping sense of paranoia that I felt right along with Sadie. The Cut is a bit of a slow burn and you definitely need to suspend your beliefs a bit but all of the buildup just increases the tension making the resolution satisfying. I will definitely keep an eye out for more by C.J. Dotson!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, C.J. Dotson, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!! Publication date is April 8th 2025.

3.5 stars.

L’Arpin is a historical hotel long past its prime and borders on The Cut, a Lake Erie beach. It’s not Sadie’s ideal place to raise a toddler while she’s pregnant with her second baby, but after leaving her abusive ex-fiancé, it’s the best she can find. A series of unsettling events occur at L’Arpin, leaving Sadie with a sense of lingering unease as the hotel manager seems to be covering up darker goings-on within the hotel. Sadie becomes more and more determined to get to the bottom of these suspicious occurrences, soon discovering that everything isn’t as it seems, but with nowhere else to go, Sadie must keep her wits about her to keep her daughter safe and to make it out alive.

I don’t usually read horror novels, if at all, but St Martin’s Press’ marketing team drew me into this novel’s premise, influencing me to pick up an advanced digital copy.

The premise is mysterious and alludes to strange goings-on within the L’Arpin hotel. The supernatural elements are eerie and chilling, adding tension to the plot. While the story is slow-moving, leaving me to wonder when it will pick up and where it could possibly be going, I was simultaneously eager to know how it would all play out.

Sadie is the main character of this story, and the sole narrator. She is brave, determined, and courageous – taking the steps needed to leave her ex-fiancé and find room and board for her and Izzy, her daughter, and her unborn baby. I really enjoyed her POV, and following along as she dug further and further into the goings-on at the hotel.

As some other reviewers have noted, I found some of the dialogue to be repetitive, which had the unfortunate result of bogging down the story.

The last 15-20% is where the meat of the story truly resides, with the pacing picking up as the grand reveal unfolds, leaving me frantically ‘flipping the pages’ of my kindle to discover what was to come. I was pleasantly surprised by the action and big reveal, having not fully anticipated this outcome. The ending is adequate, closing off the major plot lines and finalizing the story on a satisfactory note.

Do check the trigger warnings, as there are a couple flashback scenes depicting domestic violence.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for the opportunity to read this advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.

First and foremost as always thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

I really wanted to like this one, and as hard as I tried, it just didn’t work for me. I enjoyed the ominous hotel vibes, the Lake Erie setting, and the feeling of things “lurking” just out of sight. The author did a fantastic job giving the setting a sinister vibe, and continued to ramp up the “creep factor” throughout.

That being said, the pacing was very bizarre. The very beginning was fine, but once we got to the hotel things really slowed down and felt monotonous. The character would see/hear something, then get gas lit, then see/hear something, then get gas lit… round and round and round. Until we finally got towards the end, and then things went off the wall. The plot was moving very fast, and the ending got messy. I don’t mind when things aren’t wrapped up with a nice bow, but it felt like a lot of key points were left out. Like why and how?

I also struggled with the main character. I wanted to empathize with Sadie’s situation, but she was just so hard to like. She was pretentious and snobby. She complained when she didn’t get help at times, but then when it was offered to her she was too prideful to take it. She felt lonely at one point, but she had never been nice to any of the people around her and constantly pushed them away. Don’t even get me started on her daughter, the nickname “stinker” and the parenting (or lack thereof) that was done.

If you're the person that likes to scream at the main character during horror movies to make a difference decision, you will love The Cut. This seems to be the year of the haunted house/hotel, and I'm here for all of it. Give me all the paranormal weirdness.. Did I have to suspend a little bit of belief? Yes. Did I care? No, because this is pure escapist fun, and it's a strong debut. I'm looking forward to C.J. Dotson's next book already,

The story started off great as a pregnant mother is trying to flee her abusive partner with their small child. However, the supernatural aspect was a bit out of reach and it doesn’t feel like it fits into the story.

The Cut by CJ Dotson ⭐️⭐️💫

Think 80s cheesy, horror movie, think creepy hotel, think escaping abuse - that’s the vibe of this one. While I did keep flipping pages, I’m not sure it ever all clicked together for me. Here are some of my thoughts:

🪱 A mix of domestic suspense and creature horror - interesting mashup
🪱 Repetitive - between conversations, events, and descriptions, it all seemed to be a big loop
🪱 Not really sure what role the kid played other than just being there and for her mom to repeatedly call her Stinker (endearing at first but then felt a little annoying)
🪱 Characters had potential but just fell flat, didn’t ever know them
🪱 Pacing was good, I did fly through this read

Fans of cheesy horror movies and creepy hotels will enjoy this one!

Unfortunately this was a miss for me and I DNFed at 50%.

I really liked a lot of the elements of this story, and the synopsis sounded right up my alley, but it didn’t capture my attention or engage me. I found some of the elements and writing very repetitive and I was pushing myself to keep reading.

I honestly think there are people out there that would love this, think old school horror creature feature, but it just wasn’t for me.

READ IT IF YOU'RE INTEREST IN OR LIKED- Supernatural/Paranormal horror- Hidden secrets- Creepy hotel- Domestic thriller- Creature feature- Domestic violence situation- High stakes single mom MC

BRIEF REVIEWIf publishers are just looking for storylines that start out with a direction and purpose but then add a bunch of other subplots I'm definitely not going to ever be "big time" published. Again it started off with so much promise. It had moments of being gross. So. Much. Potential. Oh and if you're ever pregnant DON'T stay or take a job in a hotel.

I was really looking forward to The Cut by CJ Dotson. The cover gave me the creeps and I love horror stories that involve pregnancy/motherhood, domestic relations, etc. This, instead, was such a letdown and bore. It started really strong with a great opening, but then I quickly lost interest. For me, without a connection to our main character, I’m fairly indifferent.

Here, I should have had a connection. I should have cared. We have the elements needed – pregnant single mother, escaping a DV situation with her 3 year old daughter. Instead, Sadie just doesn’t fit right. She is alone with a three-year-old and newly pregnant. She’s broke and working as a hotel housekeeper. So why is Sadie looking for 3 bedroom homes to move into? Logically, she’d be looking for a studio or 1 bedroom. Knowing it’s dangerous (if only because of her ex at the beginning,) common sense would dictate she stay put, keep her head down, and do as much as she can until she is able to leave. Instead, she does the complete opposite. So much of her just doesn’t make sense and it threw me off.

The stakes never really felt there for me to make The Cut by CJ Dotson an engaging horror. A lot felt avoidable from the beginning and the creep factor took too long to build up only to feel 80s sci-fi horror.

Sadie is fleeing with her daughter Izzy from an abusive relationship. She starts working at a hotel where people are going missing, the employees are shady, and there's weird worm like creatures only she can see.

This was entertaining but I found all the characters really unlikable. I didn't care for Sadie and her daughter was annoying. I also felt like the ending was rushed.