Reviews with content warning for Deadnaming - The Woods All Black

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Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

50 reviews

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Lee Mandelo just gets atmosphere. He’s a master of southern gothic. There’s a lot of punch in this short tale, and if you want to see queer love in the monstrous and stick it to that small town religious mindset, this i the story for you.

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crybabybea's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

You know what hell yeah.

This didn't go where I was expecting it to go but it was still fun. It's less monster/eldritch horror and more psychological. Although there is a monster and they do

have sex

. Just so you're aware.

The writing was really well done, and Lee Mandelo crafted a great sense of immersion. The setting was so perfect for a story like this; 1920s Appalachia, small conservative town for our trans main character. Horrifying. I do wish that the horror came more from Appalachian folklore but that's me wanting something completely different out of this book because I misled myself about the direction of the story.

That being said, I felt like the horror elements worked perfectly for the story and the horror imagery tied in well with the themes of queer identity and religious bigotry. I wish this wasn't a novella, and we could spend a bit more time with some scenes and characters, but at the same time the fast pace helps add to the claustrophobic feeling. It felt super cinematic and tense! The main character has an interesting backstory that could have been explored more in a longer novel.

For me the only thing I really didn't like was the age gap between the main characters. That's honestly a minor thing but it bugged me a bit.

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rmnedder's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Lee Mandelo sure knows how to write fantastic Southern Gothics! This was scary, sexy, and unnerving from start to finish. The love for queer history is so clear in this story, and it's such a joy. It's incredibly atmospheric, the prose is razor sharp and super tight, and the main character is so well-written and complicated. I only wish there was more; there were details I wish were expanded upon or backstory I wish we got to learn more of (Leslie's past seems so interesting), but to me, that desire for more is a hallmark of a good story.
It's unsettling, it's erotic, it's everything I could ask for in a queer horror novella. Read the content warnings on this one. It gets intense.

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theowinterwood's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Reads more like a novella-length short story. Subject matter qualifies it for horror/supernatural, but not overall a scary/spooky read in that regard, as that element is largely just hinted at in the background for the first three quarters, while the primary source of tension is the protagonist being alone in an isolated community that treats him with hostility, and the implicit threat of real-world danger that accompanies that.

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amcg2's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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krisreads22's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

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zombecrustacean's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

⭐⭐⭐⭐🐊🐊🐊🐊

While this book has a low page count, I didn't feel that the story suffered at all from the shortness of the novel. I thought we had ample time to learn about the characters, understand the setting, and set up the premise. I will say, it is crucial that you read the trigger warnings before jumping into this one!

The thing that I'll touch on in my review that I really loved was the diverse perspective on the trans experience here. We have trans characters with different ways of describing their gender preference and different representations of how they prefer to engage in sexual activity. That is super important! I feel so often that media tries to push this narrative that to be trans you need to completely convert from one gender to the other; that you must hate the body you were born in. And while that is true for many people, it is not altogether a synonymous experience of the community.

The age gap relationship is what took one star away for me. While it mostly fit with the setting and characterization of our protagonists, I don't prefer it. At least, not to this extent. Freshly 18 with a 30-something? Not quite my vibe.

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