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Cut Here

(The Cut Series #1)

Azzurra Nox (Goodreads Author)

3.48 · Rating details · 29 ratings · 20 reviews

Sixteen-year-old Lena Martin’s idyllic world shatters the night her mother dies due to a hit and run accident. Two years later, her dad relocates her from Italy to Los Angeles to help her put behind the time spent in a psychiatric ward following her mother’s death. But the move only proves to be a fatal mistake. Shortly after her arrival, the classmates of her new private ...more

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376 pages

Published February 13th 2015

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Average rating 3.48 ·

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· 29 ratings · 20 reviews

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Feb 08, 2015 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-new-years-resolutions-challeng, contemporary, death, fantasy, challenges, love-triangle, mystery, paranormal, r2r-complete, read-2015

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author Azzurra Nox.)

“I’ll give you a better life. Join me. You can’t save them. They’re all dead, they just don’t know it yet.”

This was an interesting paranormal mystery story, and I really didn’t guess where the storyline would go!

I felt quite sorry for Lena in this book, not only had she lost her mother suddenly, but she felt guilty like she herself was responsible. It also couldn’t have been easy ...more

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Mar 07, 2015 Dino-Jess ✮ The Book Eating Dinosaur ✮ marked it as never-in-a-million-years

Shelves: y-do-i-do-dis

Did not finish at 17%.

This book did not work for me.

I feel like as a whole, this book was confused. This book did not know what it wanted to be. It is toted as a "paranormal urban fantasy" but it is set in high school, so the premise to me, seems more YA than anything else. I won't lie, I was intrigued by the blurb and had hopes that it would be in the same vein as Vampire Academy but it was nothing like that at all.

Firstly , in the twelve chapters I read, only six of them were from Lena's ...more

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Jun 28, 2016 Sibil rated it it was ok

I think it's more 1.5 stars....

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Jun 10, 2015 Abbie rated it liked it

Shelves: read-to-review

(I received a copy from the author, In exchange for an honest review.)

The characters in this were okay, and I felt sorry for a few of them at points, but I didn't love them.

This started out really interesting, but I did get confused a few times. The story went from one character to another, and it wasn't always made clear who we were reading about until a few lines in.
Around halfway, the story turned a bit strange, so I lost interest slightly.

Overall, An okay read.

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Feb 08, 2015 Marsha rated it liked it

(2.5 Stars)
This book was provided to me for free by the author for an honest review.

When I first read the book summary for "Cut Here" I expecting to read another high school teen drama with vampires or weres. I was delighted to find that the story line for this novel is quite unique and creative like nothing we've seen on the YA literary market. Unfortunately, I had several problems with this book that in the end left me feeling flustered rather than fascinated.

Lena Martin has lived the life of (2.5 Stars)
This book was provided to me for free by the author for an honest review.

When I first read the book summary for "Cut Here" I expecting to read another high school teen drama with vampires or weres. I was delighted to find that the story line for this novel is quite unique and creative like nothing we've seen on the YA literary market. Unfortunately, I had several problems with this book that in the end left me feeling flustered rather than fascinated.

Lena Martin has lived the life of a nomad ever since her mother's untimely death. Her father is a researcher who goes from one research project to another and now she finds herself in Los Angeles, Ca about to attend a private school. As Lena attempts to get acquainted with the students of St. Lucy's she discovers that the school has the typical cheerleading snob type girls and she has her first run in with one on the first day. She also finds herself attracted to a boy named Jon who flirts with her unmercifully until she discovers that not only does he have a girlfriend but she is none other than Amelia, the nice girl who has befriended her.

There is a new horror book out entitled, "Cut Here." It is along the lines of the movie,'The Ring.' When a string of suicides begin occuring there seems to be a connection between the victims and the reading of the book. Additionally, Lena is finding huge black feathers at the sites of a few of the locations and she believes she is seeing a large winged creature. She is even attacked in her bed by the creature she comes to know as Adriel.

As the body count mounts, alliances are made and loyalties are tested. Sounds good right? Unfortunately a plethora of items caused this read to be less than stellar for me. First and foremost, the cast of characters were quite a few unsavory teens who were brats, man-whores, selfish and self centered. Secondly, I began to get whiplash at the way Lena flopped around falling in love from one character to the next. Jon just got on my last nerve and I found that I truly didn't care what happened to him.

There were some problems with the overuse of certain terms in the book as well. The author repeatedly uses the term "en point slippers ad nauseum" to describe Lena's footwear. She also uses the term 'cos' for because but this could be a European expression rather than a mistake. Now, for my biggest issue: the plot. The author tells the story from various characters perspective and goes back in the past to reference events that would bring more relevance to what is occuring now. The thing is, I believe that the plot would have been much better without the references to the Hollywood sign and the infamous suicide of starlet Peg Entwistle. This information felt more like filler rather than substance and added no real value or interest. Finally, there was not enough action, no major battle scenes etc until the very end and I believe this is what hurt the story the most.

Azzurra Nox is an excellent writer and comfortably gets her point across. I just found that the plot needed more editing to flush out the pertinent scenes vs. the ones that added no real value. At times I felt like I was reading one more tale of woe that would lead to one more tragic event with little intrigue or interest. I truly appreciate the author asking me to review her book and I believe it has potential to be really good if the aforementioned items are addressed. ...more

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Aug 16, 2015 Heather rated it really liked it

I grabbed Cut Here after seeing the cover on Amazon. I love that cover so much. I didn’t even read the blurb. I know we aren’t supposed to judge a book by it’s cover but truly, can you blame me?

Cut Here is extremely unique. I don’t think I have ever read another book quite like this one. It’s YA, but as an adult, I really liked this one. It’s set in high school and has your normal teenage drama but then there is a lot of stuff going on that doesn’t happen to anyone in high school.

I don’t know ...more

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Feb 12, 2015 Rivalie rated it liked it

(Received a copy for review, my opinions are 100% my own)

Cut Here follows Lena Martin, a newbie at St. Lucy Academy with a tragic past. Her mother's death shatters her perfect world and her father hopes that the move will put some distance between her and the tragedy, but it seems as if death has followed them from Italy to California. Before Lena's arrival, life at St. Lucy Academy was typical to any other school, but once Lena arrives, the perfect students start committing suicide one by one. (Received a copy for review, my opinions are 100% my own)

Cut Here follows Lena Martin, a newbie at St. Lucy Academy with a tragic past. Her mother's death shatters her perfect world and her father hopes that the move will put some distance between her and the tragedy, but it seems as if death has followed them from Italy to California. Before Lena's arrival, life at St. Lucy Academy was typical to any other school, but once Lena arrives, the perfect students start committing suicide one by one. The only connection between the deaths is the popular murder novel called Cut Here. It's also the book Lena bought moments before her mother was killed. Convinced that something is wrong and the deaths are linked to the novel, Lena sets out to solve the mystery behind the deaths with the help of a couple of her new friends, but she might be prepared for the evil that awaits her.

I just finished the book and my brain is still spinning from what just happened. Essentially, there's this book where a demonic killer goes out and murders broken souls, disguising the murders to look like suicides. After our MC moves into town, her classmates start dying off, one by one and someone makes the connection that the deaths mirror the ones in the book. Are you creeped out yet? To further amp up the creepy factor, the killer isn't exactly human. In fact, the killer from the book is real and the book is a reflection of what will happen. There's a lot of tension and mystery that surrounds the story and the characters as well as a lot of unexpected twists that take you by surprise. In short, this story is seriously messed up.

The characters are just an extension of that statement. Let's start off with Lena Martin. I'll be completely honest and say that I didn't like her a ton. She's first portrayed as this beautiful and enchanting creature that completely captures the attention of Jonathan Russe. At first, I didn't have a lot of problems with that, but then the whole Jon & Lena & Amelia (Jon's girlfriend) thing went down. Okay, I'll admit, I thought Amelia was overreacting, but my dislike started when she didn't do much to heal the broken relationship. Then comes Michael in all his mysteriousness and macho-ness. That's when I started having some problems. Lena goes from standing on her two feet to wavering between two guys. She tells Jon she misses him while crying and begging Michael to not leave because she loves him. While she does manage to come to her own conclusions, it takes a long time for that happen and by the end I was a bit done with her character.

That goes on to say that the guys in the love triangle didn't catch my attention either. Jonathan takes messed up and traumatized to a whole new level. After losing his twin brother when he was younger, he has never been the same and that reflects in his character. On one end, he's wonderfully crafted with his mood changes and his dual-like personality. But on the other hand, he's creepy. I will admit I thought more than once that he was the one behind everything, but he isn't (oops spoiler). Then you have Michael who I kind of just automatically disliked. If you haven't caught my gist already, there's a ton of insta-love in this book. He saves Lena from the killer once and she's basically heads over heels. While he tries to be all good about his mission, he's pretty moody and mysterious and basically made me feel really unsettled.

Okay, enough of that. I want to talk about characters that I did like! First off, I really liked Sydney. She's the daughter of a sex icon of the time, but was born with a bunch of dark birthmarks that marred her beauty. In that sense, it made her less perfect and more real. She had more depth than a lot of the characters and maintained her personality throughout the book. After the three involved in the romance triangle, I had enough with mood swings so reading scenes with her was definitely relaxing. There's also Amelia who I felt really really bad for. She was such a nice and cheerful girl with dreams of a happily ever after. While I did think she overreacted when Jon and Lena kissed at the move theater, she definitely didn't deserve to be completely ripped apart for it. A couple of other characters were Dior who I hated but then wanted to give a big hug, Hope who I really want to give a big hug because she needs it more than anyway, Bethany who I'm still confused over, and Connor who was basically an innocent hero.

Wow this review is getting long, but I just wanted to say a couple more things. I'm almost done I promise! The storyline is creepy, but enticing and just makes you wonder what is wrong with your head. The plot however isn't as completely fleshed out as the characters whom you get pretty descriptive histories. That doesn't go to say that it isn't well written. The author definitely knows how to get her point across incorporating enough scare factor and character development to keep you hooked.

Read my reviews at:
https://extreemeobsessed.blogspot.com ...more

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Feb 09, 2015 Jen Lemons rated it really liked it

Cut Here.

4 STARS

I received a free copy in exchange for a review. (SPOILERS AHEAD)

CUT HERE is a modern, paranormal romance filled with murder, mystery, and celestial fun. The story mostly revolves around two main characters, Lena and Jonathan (Jon). Both attend a prissy private school where the students mysteriously start committing suicide. The only connection is a popular horror novel, CUT HERE.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. The cast was fun and I loved the POV and time jumps. The premise ...more

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Feb 19, 2015 Brittany rated it it was amazing

So...first, I was given this book by the author if I provided a review...with that being said...cool points for sure!
Second...there were a few grammatical errors but I'm not here to be a grammar nazi...I'm here to critique content. On to the review...beware of potential spoilers!
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. Honestly, I'm not sure it's something I would have picked up without the author having reached out to me...but I'm glad she did! In the beginning, I kept turning the pages So...first, I was given this book by the author if I provided a review...with that being said...cool points for sure!
Second...there were a few grammatical errors but I'm not here to be a grammar nazi...I'm here to critique content. On to the review...beware of potential spoilers!
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. Honestly, I'm not sure it's something I would have picked up without the author having reached out to me...but I'm glad she did! In the beginning, I kept turning the pages because I was like what in the world is going on?! Then I kept turning them because I wanted to see where the relationships between the different characters would lead. Now, there were times I got a little frustrated, mostly because I could not completely understand why Lena was so damn appealing to all of these guys! To me, Sydney held more appeal and was honestly a better option for Jon because she was so chill about him being such a jerk at times...and she honestly liked him...flaws and all. I think it's rare to find someone who loves all of your scars...even the visible ones. I found I really liked Jon. I liked his douchebag attitude and chain smoking habit. But I also became really frustrated with him when he couldn't seem to get the hell over Lena who was clearly in love with someone she could never have...and I got fed up with Lena too because I felt she was just keeping Jon on the back burner for when Michael fell through...but I digress. I eventually got over it and while the author never says anything, I'm really hoping Jon and Lena were just really good friends and he went back to Sydney...at least that's what I'm choosing to make the ending be. :)
I liked that there was a nice little twist in one of the ending chapters because it kept me going until the end...I wanted to know who did it!! I also liked that the characters were REAL...in that, I felt I could actually know these people. They each had something fucked up about them like we all do. We all have our burdens and our scars and for me, that made them real...people you could relate to. All just trying to do the best they can with what they've got...just playing the hand that they're dealt.
All in all, I legitimately loved this book and if you're a supernatural fan...READ it! It's a quick read and it held my attention for sure. Who doesn't love a good murder mystery with archangels in it??!!
I would recommend this book and if there's ever another by Azzurra, I'll gladly read that one too! ...more

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Mar 04, 2015 ʙᴇʟʟᴀ.: ☾**:.☆*.:｡. rated it liked it · review of another edition

This book was given to me by the author for an honest review. Real rating: 3.5
What worked for me:
- The descriptions are very well made. The author uses a very extensive vocabulary which I greatly enjoyed.
- I really loved the different perspectives given by several characters.
- The mystery was so good. I honestly felt sorry for the dead characters.
- I loved Jon very much, it was nice to see his thoughts and hear about his past and how deeply it affected him. He is just the sort of male ...more

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Feb 17, 2015 Stina rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, urban-paranormal

**I was given this book in exchange for a fair review**

First off, apparently Ms. Nox had me pegged. Everything about this book appealed to me and after reading the blurb, I knew we were going to have a lovely relationship.

The book plays out very much like an Asian horror flick, which is a fantastic thing. The chapters rotate through several character's view points. I thought only one or two of them were a little unnecessary to the plot, making it a little long in some areas, but I enjoyed them ...more

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Jan 27, 2015 Arkham Reviews rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed-on-blog, book-tours

This novel was actually not what I was expecting from the synopsis. It really is a story of two halves. Part is a competent horror story. It had the feel of a J-Horror story in vein of Ringu or Chakushin Ari, focusing on a sinister object (in this case, a book) bringing disaster to those who read it. However, it was incredibly character driven for a teen horror story, introducing a large cast and taking time to ensure that each of them was thoroughly fleshed out.

Through spending time to show the ...more

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Feb 16, 2015 Erika Zini rated it really liked it

Cut Here è un romanzo decisamente particolare. Ho finito ieri la lettura e sto cercando di radunare le idee per poterlo spiegare al meglio senza svelare troppo o correrei il rischio di rovinarvi la lettura.

Innanzitutto, l'idea ricalca quella di alcuni J-Horror come The Ring, dove un manufatto è all'origine di una specie di maledizione. In questo caso non si parla di videocassette killer ma di un libro dall'emblematico titolo Cut Here. Dopo averlo letto, le persone muoiono secondo modalità che ...more

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Feb 13, 2015 Laura Hernandez (TheVoluptuousBkDiva/YABkDivas) rated it it was amazing

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review here on my blog and and I couldn't be more satisfied.

From the minute I started reading Cut Here I was hooked. A flawless and smooth story line that will quickly endear you to Lena and Jon, both whom have suffered devastating losses in their lives. You'll find yourself getting attached to all the characters and you'll learn truths about Adriel.

This is a fast paced story line with vivid descriptions that grasp ...more

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Feb 19, 2015 Christina rated it liked it

Shelves: book-tours, books-read-in-2015

Cut Here is about a sixteen-year-old student named Lena who has moved to LA to get away from her past and come to terms with her mothers death two years prior. Shortly after she arrives at her new school, students begin to commit suicide in a suspicious manner after reading a cult horror: Cut Here. Lena, along with new friends Hope and Jonathan try to discover what's happening after they all hear loud wings flapping accompanied by a floral scent taking over their senses. The book is a mystery YA ...more

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Mar 03, 2015 Michelle Gaddis rated it liked it

This is my honest opinion I hope it doesn't offend anyone. I believe that the book was all over the place to many characters to keep up with then the jumping from previous time to new time to different characters it just got to much for me to hold my interest. I like the plot and the meaning of the story wish there was a little bit more action involved but other then that that plot of the novel was great. now the characters that I did keep up with where fantastic. Azzurra Nox writes them to make ...more

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Apr 09, 2015 SnoopyDoo's Book Reviews rated it it was ok

Shelves: arc

When I read the synopsis of this book I thought it would be something I would like.
Sadly I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I hoped. The story and plotline were a great idea and I really enjoyed it but the characters and some other things I just didn’t enjoy as much.
For one I though the book was way too busy with characters, too many characters at one point that it often got confusing. Some of the characters were way to over the top with everything feelings and all and then there were some that ...more

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Mar 18, 2015 britt | averagebibliophile rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 16, 2015 Lory Blanco rated it liked it

This book really captured my attention from the beginning. It has a really interesting plot and characters. What I didn't like was that there were many characters so at times it was very confusing and kind of scattered. But other than that it was a very enjoyable book.

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Jun 23, 2015 Laura Salvay rated it it was ok

This was the most painful book to read, as in actually physically painfully bad..
and the worst part isn't even the bad part.. it's the fact that this author is honestly one of the most gifted authors, i don't think i've ever read anything that beautifully written. and yet she completely fucks it up.

The thing is, it was like she had her favorite characters and she refused to give them any flaws, Lena is the most pathetically perfect character ever, i would rather read an entire book with umbridge This was the most painful book to read, as in actually physically painfully bad..
and the worst part isn't even the bad part.. it's the fact that this author is honestly one of the most gifted authors, i don't think i've ever read anything that beautifully written. and yet she completely fucks it up.

The thing is, it was like she had her favorite characters and she refused to give them any flaws, Lena is the most pathetically perfect character ever, i would rather read an entire book with umbridge as the narrator than just a chapter from lena point of view. Honestly, reading the chapters from lenas point of view gave me flashbacks to my immortal (commonly known as the worst fanfiction ever written) it was like all sense of writing abandoned the author when lena had to describe what was going on.

As for jon, i think her was one of my favorite characters, it was like in the first part of the book he was as horrible as Lena, but the suddenly it was like it was decided that he wasn't as good a character for the author anymore so he could have flaws, and then she made him so incredibly unlikeable, he was jealous, he was cruel he was vain, he was everything there should be in a bad person. and it made hin so much more likeable, It came to the pint where i was actually looking forward to the chapters her would be narrating. Because every time there was a flawed character, the authors writing was suddenly absolutely breathtaking.

It was so obvious that the author was so talented because the managed to give every character but lena and Michael an actual personality, with flaws. We only saw Jake in like 2 chapters at most and i liked him from the second one, he was given characteristics, and it was amazing, i think the chapter he had was my favorite,

Sydney was vain, shy, and she was kind, connor was rebellious and vain, Hope was ugly, poor, weird and i still do not quite understand her, she was a pretty good character, though sydney was better.

She had the school bimbo who turned out to have some good her, though she didn't completely erase the fact that she was vain cruel, didn't care about her friends and all the stuff thats needed to make the stereotypical bimbo, and it was so refreshing to read her chapters, like YES a character this flawed, , because the more flawed the character the better the writing.

Sadly the majority of the book was narrated by Lena or had Lena in them, and every god damn time she was in the picture this became a horrifyingly bad book.

And this only the characters, the plot was even worse, it was like she had this great plot thought out, but sadly it was pushed to the sideline to make space for the freaking love- someKindOfFigure, it was terrible, it was like the love aspect of the story progressed to BE the story, so instead of focusing of the suicides i had to endure jon thinking about lena for multiple chapters, and honestly there is only som many times you can describe how pale her skin is of how gothish lolita her sense of style is..

But these were jons chapters, at least they were like slightly, just slightly better written than Lenas, that was honestly just unbearable, Like thank you i KNOW your life is hard.. you have guys who want you, and you want one of them! but the other one just felt so RIGHT! like jesus freaking christ, you have got to be kidding me, do i really need this heated make out session told that graphically, because honestly i think i'd much rather focus on the suicides, but it seems everyone but hope has forgotten about that shit.

If the author ever writes something without the unnecessary love polygon, i will pay all of my savings to get it, because she is so incredibly talented, she just needs to write something without love, and she needs to realize that good characters have flaws, and having a tragic backstory does not count as one. ...more

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YA Buddy Readers'...: Cut Here (The Cut Series #1) by Azzurra Nox - Starting June 23rd 2015	24	14	Jun 24, 2015 09:07AM

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Young Adult

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Romance

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Fantasy > Paranormal

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Fantasy

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Death

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About Azzurra Nox

Azzurra Nox

136 followers

Born in Catania, Sicily, she has led a nomadic life since birth. She has lived in various European cities and Cuba, and currently resides in the Los Angeles area. Always an avid reader and writer from a young age, she loved entertaining her friends with ghost stories. She loves horror movies, cats, and a good rock show. She dislikes Mondays and chick-flicks. CUT HERE, her debut paranormal urban ...more