Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Maeve Fly

Hey, quick question— what the fuck was this?

Oddly enough, I did kind of like it though. Not the gross shit but the overall story I suppose. The ending made me a little sad for Maeve but I didn’t really expect a happy ending for her. Definitely not a book for everyone, I don’t think there’s anyone I would ever recommend it to. But I am interested in reading something from this author again!

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mxpringle's review

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dark medium-paced

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

2.25

This is probably one of the most depraved and bizarre books I've ever read, which is definitely saying something. I feel like I could've used more background as to how the events that happened in Maeve's life or thoughts she had led her to doing certain actions in the book, because a lot of the actions she did just seemed so off the rails that I couldn't see any human reasoning behind it anymore. It kind of felt like the things she did were just like trying to get a reaction out of the reader rather than being authentic character development. However, this was still overall a really interesting/enjoyable read (though very dark and depraved).

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gretaslittlelibrary's review

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

4.25/5⭐️

“Men have always been permitted in fiction and in life to simply be what they are, no matter how dark or terrifying that might be. But with a woman, we expect an answer, a reason.”

The more I sit and think on this book, the more I enjoy it. Maeve cleaved her way into my brain and won’t leave. I crave more Maeve (someone please pick up the rights to a movie, it would crush as a movie) or CJ please give us a sequel, or a prequel about grandma??

This book was raunchy, gory, entertaining, and horrific. However, it was also so much more. The above quote really resignated with me and was a pretty major focus of the book. It was nice to see a FMC just be terrible. I saw some reviews that say she actually wasn’t and that her trauma from her grandma showing her what she did when she first got to LA. But I didn’t get that from the book, in fact Leede writes it so we know that Maeve was terrible before she got there, it’s part of what helped her bond with her grandma. It was nice to just feel her rage, annoyance, confusion, and sense of loss. There’s also a ton of other things you can look into this book for such as psycho-sexual nature and misanthropes, but I don’t feel the need, or want, to dive farther into it right now. It was a fun and dark read and I just want to enjoy it and continue to think about it. Maybe I’ll reread and dive deeper into the themes at a later dated.

Relating to the raunchiness, goriness, and horrificness: I know a lot of people talk about the eggs, but for me it was the teeth. I don’t like teeth things to begin with so that almost threw me off this book, but I’m so glad I powered through. I do wish there was a little more of the gore and horror in the beginning of the book, prior to the pool table scene, but I get why (I think) the author didn’t do it it. It let us get to know Maeve and then let us witness Maeve’s world turn when Gideon entered the picture.

A few other things I loved about it: the twist ending, the Halloween incorporation, and the descriptiveness of places around LA (as someone whose never been, I felt like I was there with Maeve).

My biggest dislikes: The ending felt a little rushed and ended with no resolution. Teeth things! And the Johnny Depp/Bartender scenes, if anyone’s read this and can explain the reasoning for these other than it’s a place Maeve calls her own, please let me know!

Please check trigger warnings before reading, some big ones I can think of is body horror, sexual assault, descriptions of violent murder and torture, mutilation, etc.

Content Warnings