Book Review: The Ragdoll

The Ragdoll by Brenda Bailey.


Synopsis: Life hasn't been easy for the fiery-haired nurse, Jessica Newman. When her beloved grandmother dies, she is left with nothing but an old trailer park, and just the clothes on her back...or so she thinks. After inheriting the trailer park, Jessica is thrown into a world she never knew existed. Her aunt, a sex-mad gold digger, who is on the search for money she thinks is hidden on the park grounds. Her lover Dr. Daniel Newman, not only shares her last name, but pulls Jessica into a secret world of heated sex, mutilated cadavers and undermining a scheming medical director for his own purposes. Dr. William Brooks, her employer, who drowns her in sea of blackmail and betrayal. Now follow that with two punk rock renters, an old woman that delves in the dark world of illegal surgeries and an Oriental hooker that stalks Jessica long after she's dead and buried and you have a crazy world filled with suspense, love and sex and plenty of defaced corpses.

This was a self published book that I bought on Amazon, I will admit this was mostly due to the draw of the cover.
I know it may seem like an odd book to start off with, but hey it was a funny bit of horrorotica and one of the first books in that kind of genre that I have read.
Why did I pick it up?
Honestly? The cover really caught my eye.
Anyone that knows me knows that I have a real thing for Frankenstein style stories from Dead Romance to Frankenweenie, heck my love of stitches and pieced together parts almost made it tempting to watch American Horror Story: Coven....almost.
I know they say don't judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you just can't help it.
The summary of the book seemed promising and I was more than certain that I was going to love it.
So did I?
Let's see.

Pros -

1: The cover - I would scream up and down about the cover, I love it. It instantly draws the eye and it's something that has stuck with me, despite it being years since I finished the book. Now I would share an image of the cover, but seeing as it's a copyrighted image and I'm just starting on this blogging thing I don't wish to get into trouble on my first post for adding something without full consent.
2: The synopsis - There was so much to this story that it could have become a self published masterpiece, there's a depth and darkness in the description that pulls you in and certainly does its job of convincing you to purchase the book.
3: The stitches - I'm a stickler for stitches, so naturally that's going to be a plus for me.

Cons -

1: The story - Sadly for me I can't say that the story lived up to its potential. Despite being offered so much in the summary it doesn't fully deliver, you get little pieces here and there that seem to be leading somewhere promising but then it sadly falls short.
2: The horror - That's just it...there isn't any, at least not in my opinion. Everyone has a different opinion on what makes horror, some believe it's the psychological aspect, others it's the gore and despite being a horrorotica book this didn't offer either in enough quantity to keep me satisfied.
3: The ragdoll - The ragdoll itself isn't there enough for me, the whole premise seemed to be focusing on this ragdoll but there was too much filler and time building up to the reveal that ultimately left me feeling let down.
4: The erotica - Not that it's a reason I bought the book, I would have bought it anyway without the promise of heated passion, but there wasn't much to it.
5: Errors - As to be expected with self published works, this book has its fair share of errors that could have easily been avoided with a little re-read, but it's not something you can't look over. I read fanfiction, this is nothing compared to some of them.

Despite feeling unfulfilled by this book I would say it was a tolerable read, it wasn't fully to my taste but I can see why it may be to someone else's as there are parts there that keep you hooked in.
Would I recommend it to a friend?
Possibly, if they were looking for a paranormal quick read I'd give it a mention, but it wouldn't be the top of my list.