Crawl Space by J.N. Bamforth
18+ Contains Adult Content
Crawl Space is a pitch-black erotic horror that follows Iris, who finds out she has been left a house by her Grandma, whom she had never met. She packs up her belongings and moves into this old, creepy-looking house. Where Silas, also known as the Silent Killer, lives in the walls and the basement. A silent killer, who has become obsessed with Iris, but what if Silas isn’t the only unhinged man obsessed with her?
Fuckinghell. This little demon is beautiful. My fingers itch to crawl inside her skin, to wear her flesh like a suit. I know she’d be warm and cosy, like a soft blanket.You can’t turn people into blankets, Silas.
If you are still reading. Let me reiterate that this is a PITCH BLACK EROTIC HORROR. Check your triggers before reading this book. I don’t really have any triggers…the self-harm/cutting can sometimes be a trigger, depending on my state of mind, and usually I don’t get shocked by much of what I read. I am rather desensitised from watching many horrors and reading them too, but this one had me feeling nauseous and reading with my hand over my mouth, heck if I wore pearls I would have probably clutched them. There will be a rather disgusting quote in this review, so proceed with caution.
•Mute & Masked MMC •He lives in her walls •Black Cat FMC •Extreme Triggers •Virgin MMC •Serial Killers •True Crime Podcast Host •Scarred Anti-Hero •Triple POV •Murder House
•Somnophilia •Child Abuse •Mentions of Sexual Assault •Child Suicide •Murder •Gore •Sleep Medication •PTSD •Vocal Damage •Selective Mutism •Mental Voices •Snuff Films •Stalking •Rape by instrument •Decapitation •Electrical Saws •Body Mutilation •Axes •Dismemberment •Serial Killers •Scalping •Psychiatric Hospitals •Virgin MMC •Self Body Modification •Cream Pies •Spitting •Ejaculation Sharing •Primal Play •Kidnapping •Drugging •Consensual Non-Con •Blowtorches •Baseball Bats •Child Abduction •Cannibalism •Acid Use •Vaginal Mutilation •Sodomisation •Snooker balls in a sock •Hallucinations •Blood Play •Knife Play •Police Force •Mentions of animal abuse •Fermented Semen
Right…where to start with this review.
Okay, so I read Eat Your Heart Out by J.N. last month, and that had me super intrigued about this author and what else she had written. Then, I saw that I had Crawl Space on my TBR as a recommendation from my friend Nicola for my 12 Friends Challenge, and I knew I had to read it this month. I scanned the triggers, and the author note and was like 🤷🏻♀️ okay. Then I saw the warning to refrain from eating while reading and scoffed, I’m a fatty, nothing puts me off food…or so I thought.
WARNING: Please refrain from eating whilst reading this book. Certain chapters of Crawl Space may cause nausea, stomach pain and may, in extreme circumstances, cause you to want to claw your own eyeballs out and rinse them. I wish I was joking, but I’m not. This is your final warning.
So I got comfy in my reading chair, with my Kindle in its holder, my blanket, page turner and tube of Pringles. I started reading and was like, yo, this isn’t bad. Yeah, Silas has issues, but he’s the type of red flag we like. I don’t get what’s pitch black about this. Now, Silas should be seen as bad enough, and he probably is to normal people, haha. To dark romance readers, we like him and think he’s cute. Now for my disclaimer…they are only “cute” in fictional books! Silas is a serial killer, and you get to learn about his past, which makes you understand why he did what he did. It actually broke my heart for him. He only killed bad people, too, so yeah, he’s a killer, but like they deserved it. I really don’t want to spoil this book for anyone, and so I don’t want to say much, but Silas is a damaged young man who has had a hard childhood. Iris sees Silas for who he is, the good, the bad and the ugly. She still loves him anyway.
Now 42% into the book, saw me putting the lid on my Pringles before I puked them back up. I don’t annotate books; I highlight on my Kindle certain bits that I think will make good quotes for my blog reviews, but that’s it, until I read this book. I had to highlight bits and write notes for them because I had to get the words off my chest. Now, were these amazing notes? No, they were simple notes such as “puke” I am going to put a quote below in which I wrote “puke! That is so gross” Trigger Warning: it’s grim.
The sour smell hits me first, like curdled eggs left out in the summer heat. I inhale the scent of my own genitalia, gently pulling the red skin back, clumps of white gather under my foreskin like cottage cheese. Running my thumb over the tip, I use the tart juices to lubricate myself.
Yeah, you read that quote right…Now I’ve never tried cottage cheese, I’m lactose intolerant, and to be honest, it looks disgusting, but I honestly won’t ever try it after reading this. I apologise if you can no longer eat cottage cheese, but I did warn you!
42% into the book, brings us the Watchers chapter, a new character who is unhinged and not in the way we like. He is a vile, disgusting person who should never have been born. I feel like everyone should get to experience the grossness of the Watcher themselves, so I don’t want to spoil him too much for you, but think of the most disgusting person you can, times it by 10, and you have him. The Watcher is obsessed with snuff films and Iris. He dreams of combining the two, which is just terrifying. I read his chapters with my hand over my mouth. He is one fucked up, deranged dude.
I loved Silas and Iris and was rooting for them. I hated the Watcher so fucking much! I liked the pace of the book and the setting of the old, creepy house and the small witchy village. As much as I hated the Watcher, it was good to be shocked and have a true villain who has no redeeming qualities.
I enjoyed the writing style. I read this book in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. I was 100% immersed and blame it for my reading slump this month, haha. Joking I’ve been in a bit of a slump all year. I will definitely be looking at the other books J.N. has written and adding them to my TBR. Looks like I may have found a new author to become obsessed with.
“But I’m a monster, a selfish fucking man and I won’t let you get away from me, not now, not ever. Wherever you go.. I go, and.. I’ll gladly follow you to the ends of the earth.. if it meant that I’d be by your side.”
Overall Thoughts:
This was amazingly dark. I loved the romance between the two MCs, and then the darkness brought in by the Watcher. I really enjoyed the writing style, which had me immersed and connected in every aspect. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes pitch-black horror. The book does end on a cliffhanger, as it is a duet, with the second book due out this year, I think? Even though it is a cliffhanger, it will not make you too mad, and I would advise you to still read it now.
“Yeah, my father did fuck up my face, but it doesn’t stop my woman from sitting on it.”
My note for this quote read “hahaha, yes Silas!!!” I was proud of him lol.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
