Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

111 reviews

slimshaedy92's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

I wish there was more story to this- it feels way too fast and while it does technically tell a complete story I had not arrived at the same page as the characters by the time we got to the
fisting scene
. Also did not expect
giant monster river sex
but that’s on me. Also confirming the huuuge age gap in the romance (I knew Leslie was a bit older having been to war and back but not exactly how much older) really made me check out of the romance completely. I’ve never seen call me by your name, and I’ve never fully understood the appeal of the huge age gap queer relationship even as Luca Gugenheimer makes what I believe to be a SECOND movie about exactly that (Queer)

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ana_vargas's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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jourdanicus's review

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dark hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Whoa 😳 this book was not what I expected. I thought: queer horror. I was not prepared for:
queer revenge horror and oh, monster sex 😀
. Anyway it was really good and I strongly recommend to any fans of queer/historical horror or queer speculative fiction.

As far as horror goes, this one was not terrifying per se. It had the strong sense of place that I find most books set in Appalachia tend to have, and Appalachia can be a spooky place at times. This was more tense than scary, and definitely check the trigger warnings because transphobia is a central part of the plot (but
don't worry bc the ending is satisfying
)!

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rhi_'s review

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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cowbrotherx's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

i wish it had been longer! i wish we got more of a development of
leslie and stevie's relationship
i think there was room to build up more tension between characters.
also, fully did not anticipate
monsterfucking
, but enjoyed the book none the less

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vii's review

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I was recommended this book by my friend who thought it was quite interesting because the MC is solidly secure in his identity as a trans man while the rest of the people in the setting/town just see him as a strange and improper woman. Well, that just sounds like Being Closeted While Trans (the horror!), but I finally read it.

I quite liked the evocative prose and all the historical details, but the plot was a bit slow to unfold (unless you count the inherent horror of dealing with the townsfolk...). I also wasn't expecting it to turn into a rather explicit romance (?) by the end.
Speaking of which, I wasn't really convinced of Leslie and Stephan's relationship considering the age gap and their chemistry... it felt a bit forced.


In any case, I am a fan of indulgent stories where
the monster/monstrous gets revenge on humans doing horrible things, but I kind of wish there was more going on before the ending; Leslie was mostly getting stonewalled by literally everyone in the town for a significant chunk of the book. I bounced off of the beginning a few times and only finished because I was surprised to see this was actually a novella, it felt that long.

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caseyreadslol's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.25

it's been over a month and I still cant stop thinking about how much I hated this

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arlingtonchamberofgay's review against another edition

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

5.0

His first baptism was a violation, but the second was a renewal.
There is so much to love about this story, and it is amazing that it accomplishes all that it does in less than 150 pages. Mandelo presents us with a familiar enough scene: city nurse and former vet Leslie gets assigned to the small, rural, religious community of Spar Creek. Nearly all the townsfolk regard him with an icy demeanor, which only grows frostier when he takes notice of the “troublesome” youth, Stevie. Despite growing threats from the community, lead by the overzealous Pastor Holladay, Leslie knows that he and Stevie share a commonality in their gender — one that’s only further put a target on their backs. But, maybe, you call someone a monster enough times, they’ll show you their claws and you’ll live just long enough to find out how monsters fight back.

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nerdysread's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.75

Wow monster fuckers this is for you. Also reading this book during night time: great idea

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vampandcoffee's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Setting and plot were super cool and the reason why I purchased this book in the first place.
BUT: there are no goddamn trigger warnings anywhere, at least not in my copy. And they are desperately needed! 

Also, tell me why the 30yo protagonist started a sexual (on page!) relationship with a freshly 18yo? WHY? What was the reason to not age up the love interest? (Can‘t be for shock effect cause the relationship is never questioned at all!!!) OH, and also: why did they then proceed to monsterfuck for a second time? For the love of God, add trigger warnings for that next time…

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