Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Woods All Black

The main character, Leslie, is an invert traveling through Kentucky in the 1920s on duty as a nurse, to give vaccines and provide care around childbirth. This begins as more of a historical novel. Leslie is assigned to provide care and vaccines in a small town Appalachian. He receives unprecedented religious pushback in the town, which complicates his job and potentially his livelihood. But there are people he is determined to help before he leaves.

The horror element slowly builds as the woods are clearly more than they seem. So much of the story culminates towards the end, making this a bit of a slower burn, but trust that it ends with a bang.

The blurb promises "historical horror, trans romance, and bloodsoaked revenge" and most certainly delivers on all in more ways than I was anticipating (it gets gruesome and spicy, but also I can see where Madelo's writing style was impacted by the time in which he is writing.).

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aromarrie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

5.0

honest to god, this novella did what it wanted to do and did it fantastically. the author is seriously talented in writing a really good & creepy atmosphere—i already knew that,—so i was genuinely ecstatic to relive that feeling through their eyes.

bonus points for crossing into monsterfucking territory; truly, you don’t get to see this enough in traditional publishing. but this is also just a really cathartic read….and leslie and stevie were absolutely it.

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nostoat's review

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5.0

I feel like a wild horse, a feral beast, a completely untamable creature streaking through a forest. This book starts with the feeling of oppressive humidity and looming mountains, everything crowding close around; too close too close. There's a copper and iron taste, from the biting of the tongue.

This book ends with the tang of fresh red blood and earthy soil, the smell of woodsmoke. The queer laughter of two "degenerates" bouncing through the trees. I can taste this book, smell this book, feel this book on my skin. This book is a bloody middle finger to the insular, backwards-thinking Christian communities all around us. Cheers to Lee Mandelo for this one!

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afternoon_sunshowers's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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? No

4.5

The tension makes this book a little uncomfortable to read, and it’s done so effectively well.

This is a time period and region I don’t know much about, let alone in combination, and Mandelo brought it to life incredibly well.

There’s a monster, but who is the real monster in this story?

It packs a punch in a novella’s worth of pages, and is incredibly satisfying.

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fictionalfabrication's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is the epitome of queer art at it’s finest. He conjures beautiful and unexpected worlds and amplifies the beauty and intensity of queer love through gore and violence. As someone who is not a fan of gore, it is done in a stunning and tasteful way.

If you feel like you need more than that to pick this book up (because yes, you should pick it up) then I will have a full review up on my blog, fictionalfabrication.com on the release date, March 19th 2024.

But seriously, pick this book up. It subverted all my expectations and I still fell in love.

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isaiahh's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The queerly willful creatures of the world had only one another to rely on.

I stayed ten minutes with my pen poised over the paper trying to find a more... professional way to start this review; but it's my review after all, and I'll write it however I please. With that: The Woods All Black is HOT! In both senses of the word.

Set in 1920's Appalachia, this novella follows Leslie Bruin, a FNS nurse assigned to the small town of Spar Creek to inoculate the population and help deliver babies. Unfortunately for Les, this close-knit community led by an infuriating preacher shows only contempt towards him and his queer ways. And as something strange brews in the woods, tensions peak around the explosive behaviour of one Stevie Mattingly, a boy Les has been trying his damned best to help.

This T4T historical horror is everything I could have ever asked for. It's got a rural american setting surrounded by woods and sticky heat (I told you it was hot! I'll let you discover the second meaning of it by yourself, though); queer characters trying to survive while dealing with Frontier PTSD and bigoted religious communities; and, more importantly, MONSTROUS TRANS RAGE (I finished it feeling like I could tear a transphobe's throat with my teeth).
The prose is lush and plunges you right into the skin of Les as he navigates his way around this hostile town for 140 pages; and you will not want to put this book down.

The monster fucking was very unexpected, but entirely welcomed, HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

It's evident Lee Mandelo did a lot of research for The Woods All Black, but it's blended so well in the story, it only serves to make it feel realer. You get a glimpse into the lives of queer folks in 1920's America, and it makes you want to read more of it.

This is a new favourite for me, and a full five stars! Leslie and Stevie will stay with me for a long, long time. I'm also very excited to discover Mandelo's other works.

Thank you so much to Tordotcom and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for a review!

*Just a note to say there IS an age and experience gap between the two main characters, in case anyone is uncomfortable with that!

Content Warnings

booksandteatime's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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