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messy678's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
lizunfair's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
thehutonfowlslegs's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
[Read as an ARC through Edelweiss]
I’m constantly searching for books and movies in the horror genre in an attempt to adequately scare myself (which has proven difficult), and this book surprisingly accomplished that. There were scenes that had my hand forcefully pressed to my mouth, and some of the twists had me audibly gasping.
Though a bit long, I felt like the slow burn horror was done really well. It perfectly built up to a tense, climatic ending. The writing was mildly experimental at times, and I really enjoyed the fictional quotes, articles, and book excerpts; however, I wished they had been a bit more spread throughout the novel rather than stuck at the end, as it felt a tad awkward to suddenly jump to that.
Another thing that I didn’t totally enjoy was the main character’s voice. While I loved her characterization and absolutely revel at unreliable narrators, Mary’s particular voice was just a bit too forced and cringe-worthy at times. Occasionally, there were some things directly spelled out that could’ve benefited from being implied, allowing the reader to figure things out and assess the themes on their own.
I’d also highly recommend reading the afterword, as the author discusses some important topics. Plus, I actually went 😮 when the writer revealed he’s a cisgender man. The female characterization was great, and he explained how in-depth his research was in order to accurately portray such a real yet neglected topic in fiction.
Overall, an excellent exploration of serious themes while properly giving me the creeps.
I’m constantly searching for books and movies in the horror genre in an attempt to adequately scare myself (which has proven difficult), and this book surprisingly accomplished that. There were scenes that had my hand forcefully pressed to my mouth, and some of the twists had me audibly gasping.
Though a bit long, I felt like the slow burn horror was done really well. It perfectly built up to a tense, climatic ending. The writing was mildly experimental at times, and I really enjoyed the fictional quotes, articles, and book excerpts; however, I wished they had been a bit more spread throughout the novel rather than stuck at the end, as it felt a tad awkward to suddenly jump to that.
Another thing that I didn’t totally enjoy was the main character’s voice. While I loved her characterization and absolutely revel at unreliable narrators, Mary’s particular voice was just a bit too forced and cringe-worthy at times. Occasionally, there were some things directly spelled out that could’ve benefited from being implied, allowing the reader to figure things out and assess the themes on their own.
I’d also highly recommend reading the afterword, as the author discusses some important topics. Plus, I actually went 😮 when the writer revealed he’s a cisgender man. The female characterization was great, and he explained how in-depth his research was in order to accurately portray such a real yet neglected topic in fiction.
Overall, an excellent exploration of serious themes while properly giving me the creeps.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit
enchantressreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“There’s a corpse in the bathtub.”
What an opening sentence.
The town of Arroyo, Arizona has a strange vibe to it—the residents seem slightly strange, and there’s a giant house in the center of town where brutal murders took place. Mary Mudgett was born the day these murders took place, and returns to Arroyo near her fiftieth birthday. Mary is a strange woman. She doesn’t have a lot of friends and prefers the company of her porcelain dolls, or her Loved Ones. She can’t look women in the eye, because if she stares too long, their faces begin to melt into terrifying effigies of themselves.
The plot of Mary is fascinating. I love any book that has a strange small town with some secrets, but Mary herself was really frustrating. She’s supposed to be a fifty year old woman, but she seems more like an overgrown teenager. (Further into the story we learn some other things that make this even worse, but those are spoilers.) I understand that she’s a flawed character with some trauma, but it really doesn’t explain some of the choices she made. I’m glad she had some character growth, but by the end, I really wasn’t a big fan.
I also wish we could have seen more about the original murders. I knew they weren’t the main point of the story, but maybe a little more background would have helped me get into the story before Mary was introduced. Even though I’ve given Mary a three star rating, I still recommend it to anyone who loves a nice small town with secrets they hide from outsiders. There’s also a haunted house, and some creepy kids.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the chance to read this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.
CW for animal death, murder, blood, gore, body horror, misogyny, animal cruelty, sexual assault, sexual violence, racism, and homophobia
What an opening sentence.
The town of Arroyo, Arizona has a strange vibe to it—the residents seem slightly strange, and there’s a giant house in the center of town where brutal murders took place. Mary Mudgett was born the day these murders took place, and returns to Arroyo near her fiftieth birthday. Mary is a strange woman. She doesn’t have a lot of friends and prefers the company of her porcelain dolls, or her Loved Ones. She can’t look women in the eye, because if she stares too long, their faces begin to melt into terrifying effigies of themselves.
The plot of Mary is fascinating. I love any book that has a strange small town with some secrets, but Mary herself was really frustrating. She’s supposed to be a fifty year old woman, but she seems more like an overgrown teenager. (Further into the story we learn some other things that make this even worse, but those are spoilers.) I understand that she’s a flawed character with some trauma, but it really doesn’t explain some of the choices she made. I’m glad she had some character growth, but by the end, I really wasn’t a big fan.
I also wish we could have seen more about the original murders. I knew they weren’t the main point of the story, but maybe a little more background would have helped me get into the story before Mary was introduced. Even though I’ve given Mary a three star rating, I still recommend it to anyone who loves a nice small town with secrets they hide from outsiders. There’s also a haunted house, and some creepy kids.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the chance to read this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.
CW for animal death, murder, blood, gore, body horror, misogyny, animal cruelty, sexual assault, sexual violence, racism, and homophobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
brucethegirl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Mary is reaching middle age. Turning 50 in a few short weeks, she is dismissed as peri-menapausal when she goes to a doctor for help. So begins this very feminist, very familiar story. Mary is called home by her ailing aunt, and what she thinks is a quick trip soon turns into a life altering experience. Cults, ghosts, serial killers, This book really had a little of everything.
I loved the themes of feminism and the inherent misogyny in society, how women are only ever valued in their usefulness to the men around them. The way it permeates from the youngest ages. To always be more pretty, and then when pretty is no longer an option to be more quiet and invisible. The healthcare scenes in particular hit such a strong chord with me, someone who suffer from chronic illness and pain. The way concerns are dismissed and ignored. When we say we know our bodies and know when something's wrong and its dismissed as hormones or in our head. It was so prominent throughout the book, and I felt honestly so seen.
I will admit while I loved so much of the book, at the end of the day it was a bit overly long. At one point I thought I had to be coming upon the climax because there's no way anything else could happen. Only to find I was only around 20% into the book. And sure enough, the majority of new information from that point on was unnecessary. Then there was the mythology aspect that was.... I don't want to say pointless because it plays such a vital role in the end of the book. But it was not handled well and was poorly introduced/explained. A lot of this book had many points where the scenes served no purpose or could have been executed better and as a result fell flat and felt like a waste of time. Which is sad considering how great so many of the pieces were. They just fit together like a poorly made puzzle. Yea you can see the picture it was going for, and you might have even had fun putting it together, but at the end of the day it just doesn't quite work together.
That said, I do want to read this again. There were so many amazing lines through the book, and the constant references to Kate Chopin's The Awakening (a favorite book and such a perfect book t0 be referenced here) make me really want to go through again to better appreciate the prose. I almost feel like I could write a thesis on the feminism and place of women in society just using this book. The fact that I feel so seen in a book written by a cis white man really says something to his ability. I just think it could have been better executed/edited.
I'll end with my favorite line from the book:
"The real curse of womanhood is that we never get to forget we have a body"
I loved the themes of feminism and the inherent misogyny in society, how women are only ever valued in their usefulness to the men around them. The way it permeates from the youngest ages. To always be more pretty, and then when pretty is no longer an option to be more quiet and invisible. The healthcare scenes in particular hit such a strong chord with me, someone who suffer from chronic illness and pain. The way concerns are dismissed and ignored. When we say we know our bodies and know when something's wrong and its dismissed as hormones or in our head. It was so prominent throughout the book, and I felt honestly so seen.
I will admit while I loved so much of the book, at the end of the day it was a bit overly long. At one point I thought I had to be coming upon the climax because there's no way anything else could happen. Only to find I was only around 20% into the book. And sure enough, the majority of new information from that point on was unnecessary. Then there was the mythology aspect that was.... I don't want to say pointless because it plays such a vital role in the end of the book. But it was not handled well and was poorly introduced/explained. A lot of this book had many points where the scenes served no purpose or could have been executed better and as a result fell flat and felt like a waste of time. Which is sad considering how great so many of the pieces were. They just fit together like a poorly made puzzle. Yea you can see the picture it was going for, and you might have even had fun putting it together, but at the end of the day it just doesn't quite work together.
That said, I do want to read this again. There were so many amazing lines through the book, and the constant references to Kate Chopin's The Awakening (a favorite book and such a perfect book t0 be referenced here) make me really want to go through again to better appreciate the prose. I almost feel like I could write a thesis on the feminism and place of women in society just using this book. The fact that I feel so seen in a book written by a cis white man really says something to his ability. I just think it could have been better executed/edited.
I'll end with my favorite line from the book:
"The real curse of womanhood is that we never get to forget we have a body"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Torture, and Murder
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