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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
There were parts of this I really enjoyed. Sentences, paragraphs, themes. As a whole though this book was disappointing.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
fast-paced
But later, I decided our meeting was just a coincidence. So was everything that followed. Random coincidences that just somehow counteracted the entropy of the universe and set enormity in motion.
2.5 stars. Uhhh... Well, I mean, I do like weird horror, but this was kind of a lot? I don't know what to think about it. Upon reflection, it both seems like too much, almost exaggeratedly gruesome and gory and gross. But also, it wasn't enough. I don't mind that some things remained obscure and we didn't get all the answers, but I'd have liked something more for all the characters, and a more satisfying ending.
This follows three women during a new pandemic in a post-COVID world. This new disease has strange symptoms and effects, but survivors are free to return to their former lives once released from the hospitals, but with a lot of new guidelines and a looooot of changes to their bodies. Body horror and cannibalism are often fascinating to me, especially in a situation like this, where it comes with elements of transformation and change and this weird alien yearning. It was super gross, but also engrossing. Around the halfway point things really went off the rails and I started to see the shape of what this book really might be, but I have to admit, I kinda preferred the first half, with Erin slowly discovering what's happening to her. And I wish we'd gotten a bit more Gregory. Savannah and Mareva's POVs were also interesting to varying degrees. Savannah was... a lot, and the things that happened during Mareva's part were so viscerally and personally upsetting, I couldn't really enjoy it.
The writing was mostly good? But I couldn't totally get into it. Like I said, I appreciate body horror and weird occurrences and obsessive behaviour, and I loved all of that. But there was a casual, almost joking tone to a lot of the prose, and I'm not sure I really liked it? Or well, I'm just not sure it suited the book? Some of the jokes were just too much, even if they were supposed to underscore how terrible the person making it was. Also after the fifth repetition of the phrase 'rat brain', I was fed up.
Listened to the audiobook as read by a cast of three, and really liked it, especially Lindsey Dorcus. All three voices really suited the characters, and did a good job of immersing the reader. The thing is, if you give me a book where Queer Girls Get Weird, I'm bound to like it at least a little. And I did like this; it had a promising start. But by the end, it was just kinda upsetting and just not as interesting as I'd hoped. A good premise, and really fascinating characters! It just didn't quite deliver.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
cannibalism, lots of blood and gore and grossness, murder, decapitation, cancer, illness, forced pregnancy
This book is pure Lucy Snyder. No one else could have written this blend of humor, horror, and sex, with monsters that seem familiar and also completely unique, and an ending that is truly one of the most horrifying I've ever read. If you like horror, you MUST read this!
This story was so very well written. It was intriguing, it held my interest all the way through. That being said, I am not trying to read a bunch of pandemic stories currently but it keeps happening. I wish it hadn’t been that. At least it was a very twisted, gross, and fun version of a pandemic that I can definitely say I haven’t read before. It got a little too sci fi for me at the end, but again, it Snyder still held my interest the whole time which is all I can really hope for with such a crazy story.
I did love the very obvious criticism of our societal structures in the US both during the pandemic and in general. Very good. Overall, it was a mostly enjoyable and somewhat disgusting story that I’m glad I read.
I did love the very obvious criticism of our societal structures in the US both during the pandemic and in general. Very good. Overall, it was a mostly enjoyable and somewhat disgusting story that I’m glad I read.
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Well, that was a wild way to start the year! This was vicious and visceral and it never slowed down for a second. I didn't realise it was about a pandemic going into it and the references to COVID were a bit jarring at first but once the characters' personalities started to show, it didn't bother me too much. The three leads were all wonderful in their own ways. Savannah was my favourite, sorry not sorry.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes horror that focuses on women or just wants a gorey, gritty read that hits the ground running and doesn't wait for you to catch up.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes horror that focuses on women or just wants a gorey, gritty read that hits the ground running and doesn't wait for you to catch up.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced