Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Woods All Black

It was so cool to see all this old timey gay stuff! I had a good time following this war veteran invert through rural town hell. I didn’t really go in expecting erotica, I wish I had, I could have enjoyed anticipating it, but anyway that part was good. The story really ramped up for me, and that climax (ha)! Blood and guts and monster sex!

I do think the build up could have been more effective, the tension with the townsfolk was oppressive but kind of repetitive.

(was kind of wild for the epilogue to put them back in an context I recognized where they weren’t being immediately threatened, it made the age dynamic suddenly way more apparent. not a bad thing for the story, but the more you have to think about it the more uncomfortable it is.)

I did find the inclusion of the super natural elements lackluster. I think what I was feeling is that it wasn’t treated like a mystery. I theoretically liked the characters choices around Leslie’s reaction to it and the monster, but I didn’t like how Little reaction to it there was. Like he finds a horrifying gory scene in the woods and after running for his life in the moment he kinda just does not think about it again. There’s like one mention of it afterwards. I would have been fine with that if it had been a bit more explicit that he was avoiding it because of the shellshock or the more immediate threats, but it just felt unaddressed. Overall I felt like something was up with the presentation of the supernatural horror bits. There just wasn’t much there besides dark descriptions of a forest. (also something compromised for me in how connected Stevie supposedly is to the forest, vs his ending leaving. it felt like there could have been more there)

While it didn’t have me wowed the whole way through, I am really happy this book exists. What a cool thing, an explicit and gory queer trans historical piece with reference material listed at the end. What a comfort

Content Warnings

rachelgreenreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? No

5.0

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

I didn’t know I had a southern gothic trans horror romance hole in my heart until this book filled it. I think I could read this book a hundred times and not get sick of it.

The prose was lush and poetic, while still feeling grounded and deeply personal. The social horror was impeccable. Mandelo uses parallel themes of one person poisoning a whole community: the villain believes such of our main character, that his queerness will spread sin and evil through the holler. While in reality and alongside this narrative, the pastor, relatively new to town, has poisoned the community with his hatred and suspicion. A community that was once “a decent place as any for a child to be strange.”

Mandelo also captures the intense and unique way in which queer people find and support each other, and the many small and large resistances we’ve embodied throughout history.

If you support trans rights, and also trans wrongs, I highly recommend this book.

Content Warnings

faeriefest's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Still deciding how I feel. Definitely a...heavy queer read. It's written better than my review implies; I just have mixed feelings about the contents.

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meagan123's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

sammy357'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? Yes

4.0

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