I really thought the concept and mix of genres of this story were really cool! However, o wasn’t a huge fan of the characters. I don’t know what it was about them that I just couldn’t connect with. I also felt like the flow of the story felt off. Honestly this was kind of a strange book and I didn’t hate it, but I felt like the journey was just not as intriguing as I was hoping it would be.

Unfortunately, this one just did not do it for me. It started out pretty interesting with a women trying to flee a domestic violence situation and find a job in a hotel where she is allowed to stay in one of the rooms. However, from there it just got wierd and completely unbelievable - for example leaving her daughter with a complete stranger to watch her. I didn' t like any of of the characters and it just went in a very strange direction - and the ending felt abrupt and not fleshed out. It is on the shorter side for a book which made it a quick read but definitely not for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This one was promising. Unfortunately, it fell short and missed the mark for me. I felt like there were many good things to work with, but it left me wishing the author would’ve chosen one thing and built it out a little more.

I think the author had some great ideas sprinkled throughout, so I’d be interested and willing to see what else they come up with in the future.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Unfortunately, this was not good. And the more I thought about it the less I liked it. The cover is 10/10 weird and creepy, and the vibes in the beginning were pretty good, but that's kind of where my enjoyment ends. It didn't make sense to me, it left me with a lot of questions, and I never want to see the word stinker again, opay?

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC copy they provided.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book in time to leave a review before the publication date, and though a review after publication is no less welcome or useful, I feel I do not have the time or space to give this book the attention it deserves.

Though I did not manage to finish The Cut before its publication, I look forward to reading it at my leisure some time in the future.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook and audiobook. This book I was really excited about. I was drawn to the book cover first and then the synopsis sounded very interesting.
I was really into until about half way through and the story started to fall flat and it was just stagnant. Nothing really happened for a long time. This was just a letdown for me. I didn't really find it creepy or scary. :(

Taut, atmospheric thriller that balances gritty realism with psychological depth, effectively building tension without resorting to melodrama.

The Cut

“The conversation petered out after that, dampened by the combination of Sadie's quiet, lingering discomfort”.

If I had to use three words to describe this book they would be, tension, discomfort and distrust. If the goal was to make the reader unsettled and not like anyone, mission accomplished.

The Cut follows Sadie, a woman on the run with her toddler, from an abusive boyfriend. Upon finding out she’s pregnant Sadie answers the push to escape before it’s too late.

Right from the start the reader is left with an overwhelming sense of dread, and this is even before Sadie makes it to the L’ Arpin Hotel.

Lured by the promise of free accommodations while working as housekeeping at the L’ Arpin hotel, Sadie settles in with her daughter in the hopes of saving enough money to get a fresh start on her own. The problem is we can sense something is very wrong at this hotel. Guests seem to be disappearing and Sadie feels like she’s being watched. We’re never sure who can be trusted right up until the end.

The concept and atmosphere are all there. The pace however, was a bit slow and there was quite a bit of repetition. The main character kept calling her daughter “little stinker”, which did get a bit trying.

I LOVED the creature feature feel and execution, although I could have done without the prolonged monologue by the villain. We got all the information missing in the first 95% of the story all in one scene.

I recommend this story for those looking for an old fashion creature story, with a slower pace and an interesting reveal.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eArc.

This one started out with a lot of promise, but ultimately fell short. It ended up being quite repetitive and I found myself skimming just to get to the end. There were too many plot holes and just overall ridiculous things kept happening.

I was intrigued by this one, and I didn't absolutely hate it! The hardest part for me was the pacing- I got stuck at about 25-30% and took a few breaks because I just wasn't feeling interested. When I did push through, I felt like it paid off and I breezed through the rest, but I really struggled at that first third.

The horror itself was creepy and eerie. The monsters didn't turn out to be my favorite type, but I was still interested and enjoyed how it turned out. I think the other thing that brought my rating down slightly was the ending- it felt like there were a couple of plot holes and it wrapped up just a little too quickly.

This one wasn't my favorite, but I would try another C.J. Dotson novel in the future!

The Cut was an interesting read. I found that I flew through a lot of it, wondering what the heck was going on while simultaneously thinking I knew it all. I turned out to be mostly right but I did feel it was a lot of build up for little payout.

I was rooting for our MC, who is running from an abusive husband with her young toddler while pregnant. I really wanted the best for her and I loved how she was a strong woman who would do anything for her children. The cast of characters were all odd, which added to the enjoyment of it and I loved the weirdness of the nauseating, creature things, but somehow it just wasn’t all that I wanted it to be. Still, it was a mostly enjoyable story and I will definitely read more from the author. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my copy. The Cut is available now.

This book was just okay! It is way too long for what it is, which is a B-movie type creature feature. I usually love that kind of thing, and I think if this had been like 100 pages shorter, I would have enjoyed it more. Still a solid read!

Loved the setting. The characters and vibes were fantastic. Thank you for sharing with us. It was nice to follow along and get to know everyone.

I typically find myself really enjoying supernatural based horror, but this one overall felt very "meh" for me. While I felt the story started off strong, the pace quickly dwindled down to feel much slower and it felt harder to keep my attention. Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for my early review copy!

⛧The Cut by C. J. Dotson - I found the story to be interesting, but honestly, not much happened to warrant a book of this length. Sadie cleaned rooms, ran around town, and snooped around the hotel, that’s it. She had shit taste in men and her parents were equally as shitty as her taste which meant she had absolutely no support system so I give her props for 1, getting the courage to leave and 2, finding any means necessary to support herself and her daughter. Even if those means meant getting violated by shower tentacles.

This audiobook is narrated by Jenn Lee

•Thank you to @macmillan.audio

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Netgalley and CJ Dotson for the ARC.

After fleeing her abusive husband, Sadie is left pregnant and with a toddler in a run down hotel on Lake Erie beach. But with her new housekeeping position, the free room is the best Sadie can do. When a guest goes missing, Sadie gets a bad feeling. She doesn't believe her boss, who tells her the guest simply left without checking out. After the mental abuse of her exhusband, Sadie will never let someone tell her what she is seeing isn't real.

Though "The Cut" started off the strong, the pace seemed to really slow down quite a bit, before picking up for the last 25% or so. I like the idea of supernatural horror but I wasn't quite sure what to make of this one. I felt like I was left with a few unanswered questions. But it was still entertaining, and I kept reading because I wanted to see how it was going to end. I would definitely read something else by this author!

I'll be honest - I found myself very frustrated with this book. The main character makes zero decisions that make sense, frequently puts her young daughter in harm's way, and does not seem to take things seriously - I was yelling when she did not burst into the middle of a conversation asking why her boss was lying, personally.

There's also frustratingly little explanation. We understand that Sadie is on the run from an abusive fiancee who is not her daughter's dad. We get little to no explanation on why her parents are so angry with her, or what exactly happened with her first husband, or why she was even with the abusive fiancee. All of which would be fine, except the novel spends so much time doing circles around Sadie's difficult personal life and living situation that the actual "horror" elements are pretty minimal for the first half of the book. Nothing really happens. Then all of a sudden things kick into extreme action, and there is again, little to no explanation for what is causing the issues, how it is happening, etc. I wanted to know way more about the monsters, the plot, the hotel, and it was all rushed through the end. Sadie also manages to somehow be on high alert for danger, and yet completely oblivious to very obvious danger signs from certain characters.

Also, if I had to read "stinker" one more time, I was gonna lose it. Overall, this one just felt really lacking to me.

I went into The Cut hoping to be scared senseless. What I got instead was a lukewarm thriller that felt like it had ambitions of horror but politely declined to actually horrify anyone. It’s like being invited to a haunted house, only to find it’s just a mildly overgrown backyard with a fog machine and one guy in a mask who's clearly just Greg from accounting.

The plot moves along well enough—I'll give it that. The pacing is decent, the characters aren't offensively written, and there’s a consistent tone. But it all feels a little too neat, a little too safe. I kept waiting for the moment that would chill me to the bone or at least raise a goosebump. Instead, I found myself thinking, “This would make a decent movie if they punched up the scares and cast someone broody and hot.” It’s got that cinematic vibe—quick scenes, visual tension, and just enough dialogue to carry a screenplay. But as a novel? It’s kind of like ordering a spicy dish and only tasting paprika.

Dotson’s writing style is clean and competent, but not particularly memorable. There were a few clever lines, and I did appreciate the atmospheric attempts, even if they never quite landed. It's not bad, just... there. Like a middle seat on a short flight. You’ll survive, but you won’t recommend it.

Overall, The Cut didn’t leave a scar. It left more of a faint paper scratch—annoying enough to notice, but not deep enough to remember. Two stars for effort—and for being the literary equivalent of a horror movie you put on while folding laundry.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy for review!

The Cut
By C.J. Dotson
3⭐️

Sigh. I really thought I was going to love this one. It started with such potential. We have Sadie Miles, secretly pregnant and fleeing an abusive ex, with her young daughter. She ends up at a Lake Erie beach called The Cut and takes a position at the L’Arpin hotel as a housekeeper.
Not long after she arrives guests begin disappearing from the hotel and she thinks the manager may have a hand in covering it up.
After that, things not only go down hill for Sadie, but unfortunately, also for the story. There is just so much going on during the second half of the book, the ex- husband, the factory, the water, the monsters, the old lady.
Also, while the book is billed as horror and there are some scary moments, I would say it is more a mystery thriller.
I was disappointed with the ending but I was able to make it through the whole story so I am rounding this one up from 2.5 to 3 ⭐️

Thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and #Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.