Welcome to Litsy!

Thinly drawn characters weigh down a cleverly plotted thriller that gets better as it goes. There's a fair amount of sexual content, but violence prevents it from ever being sexy. Danger can be exciting, but this left me feeling sour.

Disturbing

Oliver is totally stupid and everyone in this is kind of horrible. But I am always here for crazy sauce drama & was very entertained. 🍌🍌🍌🍌

4⭐
In the beginning, I was confused as to what his motivation for cheating was…but that is answered circuitously by the end of the story, for the most part, anyway. What starts out really slow eventually picks up and while you‘ll definitely guess some of what‘s up in this you‘re not likely to guess the full extent of it all.

I did find it a bit easy to see the twist that waited around the corner, but I enjoyed the other elements of this psychological suspense so much that I didn‘t mind what felt obvious to me. P.J. Vernon knows how to tell an exceptionally unsettling story and I look forward to reading more of his work.

My full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4573057375

This was a great thriller. I think the author tried to make it seem new & "edgy" by making the characters gay, which was unnecessary, in my opinion. I also thought it was kind of a bummer that it cast bath houses in such a negative light. Nothing like a good ol' shaming. Otherwise, it was twisty & dark & all the uneasy feels that you could want from a thriller novel.

Do you know that thing that many modern domestic thrillers do where the characters are ridiculously dumb and self-destructive and keep making dumb decisions while being about as unlikable as possible? This book does that… only with gay characters, which I will admit was a welcome concept that put this book on my radar.

I was annoyed quite a bit and laughed a lot (I don‘t think I was meant to), but still enjoyed the juicy twists enough.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

At times this was an awkward book to be listening to at work, especially when you realize that your headphones aren‘t connected 😂 I sort of guessed one of the main twisted, but all in all I really enjoyed it! Dark, but thrilling! 🖤

#TeamSlaughter #scarathlon2021 #littenlisten @aperfectmjk #spookoweenreadathon @TheSpineView #screamathon @4thhouseontheleft #bfc21 @wanderinglynn #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

I‘m about half way through this one, and hope to finish it tomorrow if possible. If work gets too crazy, I brought some graphic novels as an alternative to read between patients. Gotta get those #TeamSlaughter points somehow! 👻

Goodnight everyone!

While his wealthy boyfriend Nathan is out of town, Oliver goes to a bathhouse and ends up having a violent encounter. He lies to Nathan about his bruises and discovers his assailant may not be done with him. I really enjoyed how this thriller peeled back the layers and added complexity as it went. Well done!

DNF at 45%. Too slow for me.

🎧 I loved the audio!!! There are two narrators. One for each MC. The chapters flip back and forth between Oliver & Nathan.

VERY ADULT!!! VERY LGBTQ+

Trigger warning: A little bit of everything.

Fast paced! Edge of your seat! Read it in a day!

I loved hating Oliver! Nathan was milk toast. There‘s some interesting character development.

This is definitely not for the squeamish. I enjoyed it BUT you know I like odd. 😁

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

This book is good so far! Have you read it?

“You‘re a stripper don‘t you get it!!!”
“I‘m a dancer!!!” If you laughed at lines like these in the movie, Showgirls, lines that were probably meant to up the drama and empathy but instead inspired laughs and some eye rolling, this might be for you. It is salacious as all get out. Like Maury Povich wrote a gay thriller but without the paternity tests. I laughed a lot. But I read it all so there‘s that. Rich people and addicts behaving badly. 🧠🍭

These characters were violently unlikable. I don‘t have to like characters, but these men literally turned my stomach. I felt nauseated the whole second half. (The first half was just okay.)

Did the twists keep coming? Yes. Was it interesting to have a gay domestic thriller? Sure. Would I ever under any circumstances recommend this book to anyone? NO!!

I need a shower y‘all and definitely not at Bath Haus!

19% in and this is already INTENSE! Really interested to see where it goes! …taking a break for a minute…

I don't think it's the right moment for this, I'm at the 50% mark and no part of me feels compelled to finish before it's due in two days. I'm not the type of person who needs only likeable characters, but I wish they'd give us *something* to make Oliver seem less obnoxious while he's doing self destructive things. It ticks a lot of boxes on paper though, and definitely has a "skin crawl" creep factor, so maybe I'll revisit later. Or not ??‍♀️

Woah, what a ride this one is. It‘s not for the faint of heart; in fact, it‘s incredibly unsettling. It‘s not for readers who need likable characters because you‘re NOT going to find them in this book. And it‘s definitely not a book I‘m going to pass onto my mom 😅 but it is one heck of a read.

Just finished this one with no time to spare! Its due back tomorrow! Im not sure how i feel about this book. I had a hard time because i wasnt getting the personality from the characters that im used to. The story did keep me intrigued but then all of a sudden the ending was all over the place! It honestly made me feel like i read the whole story for nothing because the ending felt so disconnected from the entire story! It felt chaotic!

It suffers from the typical flaws as any domestic thriller, but the "make it gay" gimmick may make it feel like something new to typical domestic thriller readers, including the the bathhouse shaming.

🖤🖤🖤

I hope this book is as good as it‘s cover!

Afternoon reading spot

One of the many holds i have came in!

Excited to start this one!

Straying gay men. Some sadism. Very rich folk. Drug addiction. Not one appealing character. Once again, I kept reading to see whodunnit at the end, squirming the whole time. Oh yeah, the dog is appealing.

This is one of the most chilling and disturbing books I‘ve read but I loved it! Not for the faint of heart, it details Oliver and Nathan‘s relationship which seems perfect until Oliver visits a Bath Haus and things quickly spiral out of control! Ultimately, its about relationships, deceptions, addiction, and living your best life when you can be true to yourself.

Bath Haus is the thriller that made me want to forget the world until I got to the last page. As many reviews say, this book is JUICY!! You are thrown into a terrible choice leading to a terrible situation, and then Vernon manages to keep you thrown as addictions, lies, past trauma and mental health issues begin to tear the characters apart. I did figure it out, but questioned myself. Vernon was throwing me until the very last page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Picking up my last LGBTQ read of the month (and my TBR pile 😳) .... guess this just means I‘ll have to buy more! 😉

JUICY!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘ve been anxiously awaiting this book and my library hold came in quick! Happy Friday!