3.5 Stars

This book would probably make a pretty cool movie/mini series. I really enjoyed the creepy hotel vibes and all of the reveals. I generally really like books that center around water. This also has a hotel that has some shady stuff going on. I thought the premise was really intriguing, and for the most part this was really well done. I do feel like I had read at least one other book with a similar premise, and I liked that one a tiny bit more. I did not love the ending, and there were a few places that I felt were kind of slow. Overall though this was a fun read. This would be great to read on vacation. It's a pretty easy read with some good reveals.

Thank you, C. J. Dotson NetGalley for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

I'll admit this book took me a long time to read. The book started off slow, and it just didn't keep my interest. The characters are very much likable, and you certainly want to give a few words and a stink eye to others. There are mentions of past abuse in this book, dealings with the abuse, and it's just so sad. There is grief, loss, and depression. The monster is icky and makes your skin crawl. It certainly made me think at many times what it is? Is it a sea monster? Tentacle monster.... a parasite!? But even with all this happening, i had a hard time keeping interest in it.

After escaping her abusive ex-husband, Sadie is doing everything she can to provide for her child. Living in a hotel and being a housekeeper, she has been noticing strange things afoot. Every time she mentions it, the man in charge just shrugs it off or finds ways to explain it away. There is something dark and dangerous here... but what? Sadie must keep both her child and unborn child safe. Will she make it?

Like I said before, I just had the hardest time keeping interested in this book. It might just be how slow it was.

as visceral and sharp as that gorgeous cover, dotson offers a thrilling story that’ll keep any horror lover glued to the page. may be a little slow for some readers, but once it gets going, it gets GOING, unrelentless in every page in the way only good horror can be.

I enjoyed the book it was a fun read, as far as it goes for a horror book.
But the book had a bit too much pages not really adding anything and making Sadie look painfully slow to understand who's behind it all and she never even questions that one person so it was hard not to see how she was never under questions.
About Izzy, i think its nice she's so present because its rare to see a child actually following in the plot but she felt like a hindrance even to the reader at some point and the vocab mistake felt a little forced especially "opay" i dont think i've ever heard a child mixing k and p
Overall i liked it, it was entertained but plot details were really weak and Sadie should have been a little more developed and less focus on Izzy

The Cut by C.J. Dotson is Margaret Qualley's Maid intermingled with supernatural lore and strange happenings in a quiet lakefront hotel.

Fleeing from an abusive ex with toddler Izzy in tow, our protagonist stumbles upon the L'Arpin Hotel, a dated lodging off the bank of a mysterious lake. The conditions are subpar, but through a special arrangement with the stiff hotel manager Mr. Drye, she assumes the position of a housekeeper and simultaneous resident of the musty accommodation. Only, L'Arpin is not the sleepy hotel she initially imagined...

The first 50 pages of this flew by! I loved the set up and really felt for our main character, who was balancing the desperation of resituating her life in unideal circumstances, learning where and where not to lean on strangers for help, and the general atmosphere of the lake and hotel. Her frustration and fatigue felt very real.

Unfortunately, after those initial pages, it felt like the pacing was thrown off. New details were incorporated in ways that I didn't find entirely clear, and many of the characters were flat or overly obvious in their motivations. It was clear that something sinister was happening, but didn't have enough support from the prose or plot points to truly build suspense.

Um, this was fine. The main character's constant on-the-lookout paranoia put me on edge pretty continuously and effectively. Also, it was really slow and eery in the beginning. But once the plot "revealed" itself, I was relatively underwhelmed. I was not as impacted by the ending as I wanted to be, and it was just a bit too ridiculous for my tastes. The child in this story was far too annoying (coming from someone with an annoying toddler myself), and I did not find the parent/child relationship very convincing. The overuse of the nickname "stinker" was wearing on me by the 5th chapter.

2.75 /5

While there were some things about this book I enjoyed, I couldn't help but feel it missed the mark throughout. It could just be a personal preference thing ... It's just that some things were nailed so perfectly, so you can tell the talents are there ... But, I don't know ...
It's like ... There's all the freshest, most high grade ingredients ... But, all adding them together seems to throw one thing off, then you start noticing how every aspect seems slightly off.
And the ending was just ... not great, IMO.
Like I said, personal preference and all that. I can picture many getting a lot of enjoyment from it, so I recommend checking it out. There IS some good stuff here ... Dotson is great with atmosphere.

2.75/ (rounded up) 5

This book was not quite for me as I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Sadie, and could not rationalize a lot of her decisions. This book was creepy, and for sure gave Overlook Hotel vibes which I did enjoy, but ultimately this book did not do it for me. That being said, I would try this author again!

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher’s for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is a fun monster story that takes place in a creepy hotel.

Sadie and her 3 year old daughter, Izzy are on the run, escaping from an abusive relationship. (DV trigger warning!) Sadie gets to L’Arpin Hotel where she gets a job cleaning rooms. But her coworkers are weird, the other guests are weird and the hotel itself has some weird ish going on. When guests start to go missing, the walls start dripping and something with tentacles finds its way out of her shower Sadie starts trying to figure out what tf is going on.

This books was slow to begin with but once it picked up it was a creepy, atmospheric and icky creature feature that I really enjoyed reading. The dialogue between Sadie and her daughter was a bit repetitive but worth getting through to get to the rest of the plot. Overall, a super fun read. The Cut will be released April 8!

This book is a horror book, which is not a genre I typically choose to read. Sadie is running away from her abusive ex-husband with their daughter where they end top at a hotel in Ohio. I thought it was an interesting read, but I just didn't love the way the characters or their relationships were written. I also thought the ending was not satisfying.

this was so slimy and unsettling with a really very tragic and fun backstory that is at its core. two thumbs way up

In The Cut, author C.J. Dotson crafts a chilling supernatural horror narrative that intertwines themes of domestic abuse, maternal resilience, and cosmic terror. Set against the decaying grandeur of the L’Arpin Hotel on the shores of Lake Erie, the novel follows Sadie Miles, a mother escaping an abusive ex-fiancé while navigating the challenges of raising a toddler and an impending second pregnancy. Her new role as a housekeeper at the enigmatic hotel offers refuge, but the sanctuary she seeks quickly morphs into a labyrinth of dread.

From the outset, Dotson immerses readers in an atmosphere thick with unease. The hotel's eerie ambiance is palpable, with its shadowed corridors and unsettling occurrences that hint at a malevolent presence lurking just beyond perception. Sadie's initial experiences—such as the inexplicable incident at the pool—serve as harbingers of the escalating terror that threatens to engulf her and her children.

While the novel excels in building suspense and delivering visceral horror the narrative could use some work. I loved the cosmic horror elements but the pacing and character development leave a bit to be desired. The beginning was almost painfully slow and the characters were difficult to connect with and care about.

"The Cut" by C.J. Dotson presents a compelling blend of domestic thriller and classic haunted house elements, set against the backdrop of a decaying lakeside hotel. The protagonist, Sadie Miles, is a sympathetic character, fleeing an abusive relationship and struggling to provide for her family. This immediately creates a sense of vulnerability and drives the reader to root for her.

The story effectively establishes an unsettling atmosphere from the very beginning. The initial incident at the pool, where Sadie sees a struggling guest who then vanishes, creates a sense of unease and foreshadows the strange occurrences to come. The mystery surrounding the missing guest and the manager's dismissive attitude further fuels Sadie's suspicions, drawing her deeper into the hotel's secrets.

Dotson skillfully weaves together the realistic threat of Sadie's ex-fiancé with the increasingly bizarre and potentially supernatural events within the L'Arpin Hotel. This creates a dual layer of tension, as Sadie must not only protect herself from a known danger but also unravel the mysteries of the hotel and confront whatever lurks within its walls. The descriptions of the unsettling phenomena – dripping walls, creatures in the tub, and things that "squirm in the halls" – are designed to create a creeping sense of dread and keep the reader on edge.

The setting of the dilapidated hotel on a less-than-desirable beach adds to the overall atmosphere of decay and desperation. It creates a sense of isolation for Sadie, emphasizing her vulnerability and making her feel trapped. The fact that she has nowhere else to go amplifies the stakes and makes her fight for survival even more poignant.

Overall, "The Cut" promises a suspenseful and chilling read. The combination of a relatable protagonist, a creepy setting, and a compelling mystery should keep readers hooked until the very end. The blend of real-world danger and potentially supernatural threats offers a unique flavor to the thriller genre, making this a potentially captivating read for fans of both suspense and horror.

The Cut is a fun creature feature horror novel! We follow our FMC Sadie, and her toddler daughter Izzy, as they try to start over after escaping from her abusive ex-fiancée. Sadie and Izzy end up at L’arpin hotel in north western Ohio, just on the shore of the lake. At first Sadie thinks this is a place where they’ll be safe and able to start new lives, until odd things start to happen.

I enjoyed reading this book, especially with my book besties as we discussed live with our buddy read. However, there were a few things that knocked it down from 4 or 5 stars. I had a hard time with how the relationship between Sadie and Izzy was written, albeit I acknowledge it was probably written that way on purpose. I also didn’t care for how the book ended. Ultimately I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a fun and quick creature horror!

This paranormal horror mash-up with a touch of domestic thriller is set in a historic hotel in a small town along the Lake Erie shoreline. Pregnant and fleeing from her abusive fiancé, Sadie seeks refuge with her toddler and secures a job in housekeeping, along with temporary housing in one of the hotel rooms. But from the very first night, something feels off. The hotel is unnervingly eerie, with unsettling interactions from the staff, inexplicable paranormal occurrences, missing guests and employees, and sinister, slithering creatures lurking within the walls and drains. The atmosphere is hauntingly creepy, and the suspense had me on the edge of my seat more than once. I thoroughly enjoyed this chilling read.

Creepy, haunting, eerie from the very start. I loved the nods to 'The Shining.' It was intriguing but it was also quite slow. A faster pace with more suspense would have put this book in the five-star range for sure.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Apr. 8, 2025
Sadie Miles is on the run- leaving her abusive fiancée and their life together behind in hopes of starting over with her young daughter and with a new baby on the way. She finds herself working as a housekeeper at L’Arpin Hotel and when the manager lets her stay in one of the empty rooms, Sadie hopes to have some time to regroup. But things start to happen around the hotel that Sadie can’t explain and, when she tries to explain it to the hotel manager or other hotel staff, they leave Sadie feeling confused and, even worse, crazy. But Sadie knows what she saw and after what she went through with her partner, she is not about to doubt herself again. Especially now, when the lives of her children are at risk. So, Sadie decides to run but it isn’t long until she finds out- Hotel L’Arpin doesn’t want her to leave.
C.J. Dotson’s new horror novel, “The Cut” is a terrifying, addicting and downright compulsive read. Dark, hypnotic and gripping, the Hotel L’Arpin has an Overlook Hotel feel about it, with its run-down structure and things-that-go-bump (or rather, splash)-in-the-night. Sadie, for obvious reasons, doesn’t know who to trust and is just the right amount of desperate to take crazy risks that leave the rest of us shaking our heads.
Dotson’ “creatures” are absolutely horrifying and I loved every spooky tentacle. They are unique and goosebump-inducing, and Dotson’s clever writing brings them to life on the pages. It isn’t hard to guess that something is up at the hotel from the beginning but Dotson brings the terror to the next level.
The novel is told, for the most part, in the modern day with Sadie as a narrator. There is one portion of the plot which touches on a brief period in Sadie’s past when she was still in the abusive relationship, but it is clearly identified and serves a valid purpose. There are some memories that Sadie retells that feature both emotional and physical abuse so, although it isn’t rampant through the whole novel, those who are easily triggered by such topics should tread lightly.
I knew who was involved, but not how or why, but by the end, Dotson had revealed it all, tying it together in a satisfying way. I thoroughly enjoy monster books and “The Cut” had all of the elements I look for- a great protagonist, scary and creative monsters and a suspenseful and haunting plotline.

I though this book was good, but I didn't get as much out of it as I thought I would. I felt that the premise and the setting were really good. There seems to be a common them currently with nods to The Shining and the Overlook Hotel. I don't mind that in stories at all, I love when an author includes some of their favorite horror novels from the past. My real issue with this story was that it was just a bit slow for my liking. I like a horror novel to keep me on the edge of my seat and anticipate the turn of every page. I felt that when I got to the end of this book, I was ready for it to be over. Still, I think the author has great potential in the horror genre and will look forward to more books by C. J. Dotson.

Thank you Netgalley, the publishers, and CJ Dotson for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Some readers may find the content upsetting. Contains spoilers.



Sadie Miles takes her toddler and runs from her abusive fiance, finding herself in a sleepy lake side town in Ohio, looking for a fresh start. In order for her to start her new life, she needs a job. This is where she finds herself a house keeping job at the L'Arpin hotel. From the first night she starts noticing strange things happening at the hotel. Guests mysteriously disappearing, co workers disappearing, and strange tentacle creatures that come from the water. No one believes anything Sadie claims she has seen. Writing it off as paranoia due to her pregnancy. But the truth is, they are all hiding something sinister. This includes Gertie, the kind old lady who took care of her daughter for her while she worked. Sadie finds herself in the fight of her life against the hotel, the tentacle creatures, and her abusive ex Sam(but don't worry, he gets what's coming to him).



I have to say I love this book. I got an uneasy feeling from the beginning, in the best way possible. And what I thought would be a haunted house story, changed into a monster story, leaving me pleasantly surprised. CJ Dotson did a wonderful job referencing domestic violence without being graphic. Proving you can tackle sensitive subject matter respectfully. I would have liked more character development with Sadie, but I suppose can't fault her for not growing, given her situation. Maybe more of an explanation about the lake and the creatures. With that being said, I really did enjoy this book and would read again.



4/5