The Monster of Elendhaven

By: Jennifer Giesbrecht

Elendhaven is a city on the decline. The streets are slick with oil, the sea is black and toxic, and a stench of rot hangs in the air.

On these streets prowls a killer with no name. He lives only to take what he wants and kill the people who give it to him. But when the killer meets a young nobleman who is the last of his line, the monster will join him on his quest for revenge with glee.

If you choose to read this novella, the good news is it’s short enough that you won’t have wasted too much of your life. This story is a cluster fuck of a fever dream with a violent gay romance that makes no sense and has no reason for existing. I’m all for LGBT books, but this was the absolute wrong way to do it.

When I bought this book, I was excited because the story sounded interesting and the cover was absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t wait to crack it open. Don’t be like me. Don’t waste $17 to buy this. You know what? Don’t even rent it from the library. This isn’t a story you want to try to figure out because there isn’t anything to discover. This story is just a pure example of bad writing that some editor let through because…well, I don’t know.

This story isn’t scary. It isn’t thrilling. It isn’t romantic. I’m not even entirely sure I would give it credit enough to call it twisted. This story is nothing and meaningless.

What makes me really sad is that the story had so much potential. With more world-building, character development, and plot structure, this could have been a book that knocked my socks off. I really believe that. But instead, this was a story that died right after the beginning and did nothing to win me back. I don’t even think it tried.

The story tries to revolve around a pointless magic system that lacks explanation or much thought. You will be left with more questions than answers, and I hate books that think they are clever by doing that. It’s not clever. It’s just irritating.

Also, the author ripped off Jack the Ripper. Who does that?

Overall rating: 1