This was everything that I was hoping for in a supernatural house horror. It was everything that was promised and I really enjoyed getting into the challenge. I had read the creepypasta with a similar premise and this did everything that I was hoping for. I had enjoyed the way The No-End House by Jeremy Bates wrote this and previous books that I read. I thought the characters worked well overall in this story and was glad everything worked together. I'm excited to read more from The No-End House by Jeremy Bates as this was really well done.

This was pretty much what I was expecting. I found thus horror novel to be very unsettling and creepy. This was not a new favorite, but it was creepy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jeremy Bates and Kensington Books for the free ebook in exchange for honest review.

Such a good premise and so interesting until about the 50% mark and then he lost me. I don’t know why or when exactly it happened but I completely lost interest and it just dragged.

I was not familiar with the Creepypasta, but the premise sounded right up my alley. Haunted House/Escape Room challenge gone wrong? Perfect!

Well, not so much. The rooms/challenges were all over the place, and frankly...bad. Not at all scary, just bizarre. Some...extremely bizarre. The very first challenge is ripped straight from a children's party game, and is overshadowed by Joe (the MC) obsessively discussing how large one man was. Seriously. It went on and on, with every derogatory synonym for 'fat' known to English. Revisited regularly in later chapters. Why?

Several of the other room experiences were so vague I didn't even know they were challenges at all. And there is so much walking around, and sitting around in between. Hours of it, dragging the story terribly. And then, at one point, we get the out of left field horrific exploitation of serious childhood trauma, which is then promptly forgotten again. Again...why?

As for the characters...Joe was decent. I had no real issues with him, other than his general denial. Helen was a mess. She is supposed to be 43, but talks and acts like she's 25. She bullies Joe, tries and fails to deliver flirty banter, and is overall annoying. Also, her backstory is baffling...her Jewish grandmother was forced to flee Nazis during the Holocaust, while pregnant with Helen's mother. Helens mother...who is also Senegalese??

Not my cup of tea at all. But maybe people who love weird, acid trip type books will enjoy this.

Sadly I just couldn’t get into this one. This isn’t horror. Nothing scary even happened. The child kidnapping and child sexual assault wasn’t cool. It was gross. The ending was dumb. I had to push myself to even finish this and I really didn’t want to. I thought the premise sounded good but it definitely wasn’t executed well at all. I hate rating books low but I couldn’t find one redeeming thing from this book. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

I have read a few of Jeremy's books and I thought this book was not one of his best, although saying that it kept me interested enough to keep on reading. It was also little weird in places. I thought the end of the book had a good twist. Would I read it again? Probably not.

Firstly I would like to thank Jeremy Bates , Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the novel ' The No-End House' to read in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Due for publication in June 2025 , the book follows the main character Joe who has recently lost his wife in a horrific and traumatic accident.
In order to overcome his grief he decides to embark on a mission to walk around the world , whilst on this epic adventure he meets the mysterious Helen who is working in the area . One night he overhears about a haunted house challenge with a large cash playout for anybody who can complete all 9 rooms . With Helen as company the ' No-End House' is found and that's where everything changes in Joe's life.

I was very excited to receive a copy of this novel as I had read a few of Jeremy Bate's previous novels such as ' the suicide forest ' and ' catacombs' and loved every single one of them . Jeremy has a skill of fictionalising the macabre in such a compelling way with easy to follow storylines that pull you in from the very first page. After reading the synopsis , I entered into this book thinking each room would be very reminiscent of the saw and hostel film storylines full of escape contraptions and gore - I couldn't have been more wrong.
The novel is complex and thought provoking and delves into aspects of psychological horror. Although this book has received mixed reviews , I personally feel this is because the reader was looking for gruesome jump scares . The novel is layered and doesn't need the thrills to weave inside of your mind.

This book is completely unpredictable and had me wanting to pick it up at every given moment . It is certainly one that I have kept thinking about long after the last page had turned. I didn't want it to end and would love a sequel with another group of people being drawn into this perplexing house that feels like a fever dream with no sense of space and time. I cannot rave about this novel enough and have already told friends and family to be at the ready for publication date as I desperately need to discuss this book with other readers. It is certainly my best read of the year so far and is completely niche in terms of concept. Just when you think you have a thorough grasp on the direction the story is going , it changes with another twist and turn . Highly recommended and I cant wait to read more books from this author in the future .

#TheNoEndHouse #NetGalley

Dinosaurs and balloons and fornicating skeletons, oh my!

I don't know what I just read.

My experience with the author's work has been uneven. I loved his earlier stuff and completely devoured it. Some were okay. His Sleep Experiment book was ridiculous and racist.

I just never know what to expect.

This one is weird. I thought I was getting something like the movies Hostel or Saw. What I did get was kind of indefinable.

I would suggest suspending your sense of disbelief entirely and possibly ingesting something psychedelic and maybe you'll come out okay.

I did finish the book. I just didn't like it.

The concept is one of the best I've ever read. I would've liked some deeper characters, they are a bit flat. The pacing is sometimes a bit off too. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was really excited about this book, I’m a fan of the creepypasta that inspired this. Unfortunately this book ended up being just okay for me. I was expecting something creepy but this quickly got pretty outlandish. Also had a hard time connecting with the characters. I will say the ending surprised me quite a bit. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

This started out strong. Sure, some of the backstory was implausible, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the read. At one point I actually wondered how dark it was going to get...and then the plot took a turn for the absolutely ridiculous and lost me completely. The premise behind the house was interesting and I wish the execution would have been better. What's here is fast paced and sometimes creepy, sometimes silly.

Unfortunately this one didn't hit with me - I found the characters to be unrealistic and unrelatable. The ending left me ultimately unsatisfied. Others may enjoy this if they are fans of a more supernatural approach

For me, Jeremy Bates is a hit and miss author and unfortunately this book was a miss. I had no connection to anything, I didn't feel any tension or anxiety for the story, the plot kept getting convoluted, and the dialogue was laughable. It felt like I was reading something a middle schooler wrote at times.

I love this author and this book was fantastic! Super awesome world building, great detail, great character development, and a really cool story that hooked me form the very beginning. I was riveted throughout the whole book and the ending did not disappoint. Such fast pacing and lots of twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat!

Would 10/10 recommend to others!

I couldn’t finish this; I really tried. I got about 30% into it, about 100 pages, but I had to call it quits. The premise was good. I was super excited and intrigued by the synopsis but at 30% absolutely nothing had happened. The rooms I did get to in the house weren’t scary. Nothing horrific happened. The banter between the main characters was irritating. I just couldn’t finish it.

The No-End House by Jeremy Bates
This ARC is my top read for the month of January!
I absolutely loved the plot and the way he made you feel like you were right there in the story.
Ok so what is it about?!
Joe recently lost his wife, in a very tragic way, and not being able to cope with it he makes the decision to walk around the world. Hoping to do some healing in the process.
Three years into his journey, outside of the hostel he is staying at in Spain, he meets Helen.
Helen is beautiful and adventurous, although a bit reckless.
While having coffee, Joe tells Helen about a conversation he overheard talking about a haunted house that will pay you if you can complete it.
Of course Helen jumps at the idea and they set off to locate this house but once arriving Joe takes a lot of convincing to enter and take on this challenge.
What they assumed would be the typical run of the mill haunted house turns out to be a battle for survival. Nine doors, nine tests and you relinquish your souls if you fail.
When reviews compare The No-End House to Saw and Hostel they aren’t kidding, add in some evil supernatural elements and you get a better idea what you’ll be experiencing.
Definitely a must read if morbid and macabre fascinates you.

DNF @ 48% .. I cannot go on. This is disappointing because the premise of this book is enticing. However, its execution is lackluster, confusing and sometimes even enraging. I felt no connection to our main characters which made it hard to even care what was happening to them in the House. Not to mention the House itself … no spoilers but it wasn’t what I expected, in the worst way. The motivations are off, the plot is scattered and the dialogue came off immature at times. I just couldn’t make myself see the rest of it through.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC.

⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2

You can’t win ‘em all. I’ve had a good run recently, and then I read this book. It seemed to be going alright, but then dinosaurs and Jason Voorhies showed up, and then it went less alright. I typically have the ability to suspend disbelief to enjoy a fantastical story, but the absurdity in this book overwhelmed, and there weren’t enough other redeeming qualities to compensate.

Themes…
Despite my best attempt to parse through this book and pinpoint thematically relevant ideas, I really don’t think there were any to be gleaned. It was thin.

Character Work…
Oh boy, I couldn’t with these two. Joe and Helen were two-dimensional, hollow cutouts. Their relationship felt unbelievable, and their chemistry felt forced.

Prose…
It was fine. Nothing to remark upon in either direction.

Pace…
I mean this novel definitely moved. It was a non-stop barrage of action, with a few strategically placed flashbacks for character depth. It was well-paced.

4 stars
Bates always delivers a fantastic reading experience! This did not disappoint. A bit of a fever dream, and kept me guessing throughout!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington publishing for the arc of The no End House by Jeremy Bates.
There is one thing I must say when it comes to Jeremy Bates books. You will always learn something new. You can tell he puts a lot of research and work into his books.
Of course with all books there are likes and dislikes. Let’s start with the dislikes. I really didn’t like how the MMC goes to the No End House with a woman he just met less than 24 hours (He seemed to be still hung up on his wife’s death.) A complete stranger and he just decides to go with her. I wish there had been a little bit more of a connection between the two characters before they decide to “ go on this haunted house adventure”. Another thing that I didn’t like was after they made it through to room 5 the rooms took like a 180 approach to theme. It went from haunted murder house to Jumanji. Room 6 was just a complete bust it was weird.
Now to the likes. The merchant I got a resident evil 8 vibe. I don’t know if that was what Jeremy Bates was going for but if he did 10/10 lol. Also I loved how there were I guess you could call it Easter eggs of other books Jeremy Bates has written mentioned in The No End House. Also the reference to Alice in Wonderland was a nice touch.
The ending omg that ending I didn’t see it coming at all. Great ending if I do say so myself.