Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Maeve Fly

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede

20 reviews

cspa's review

dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

First, a little commotion for the cover art, crafted by Carly Janine Mazur and Christine Foltzer!!
While reading the reviews on the back page, I found the comparisons to American Psycho quite intriguing. In my review, I will also compare it to the book, considering the existing comparisons and the few references found within the book itself.

While I had previously watched the film and enjoyed it, last winter during a road trip with my partner, we listened to the Audible version of the book. Although I found the body horror, splatter punk, and gore immensely disturbing, especially as a women reader, the book has lingered in my thoughts. In the end, I gave the book 4.5 stars because I do believe it's something everyone should read, yet surprisingly, many miss its underlying message entirely.

In Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, there is a significant amount of satire surrounding Bateman’s character and his social circle. The intention is for readers not to sympathize with him, but rather to critique anyone who finds him relatable. Penned by a gay author, it serves as a criticism on masculinity and how easily abhorrent behavior is overlooked. How many men strive to blend in and emulate other men, aiming to maintain appearances without standing out from the crowd? Your status defined by competing to have the best business card or reservations at high-end restaurants to meet societal norms, only to be confused with several other men who resemble and behave like you- the perfect hiding place for a killer. It always astounded me, particularly after finishing the book, how some men perceive Bateman as admirable.

The essence of American Psycho lies in its writing. I admired how Ellis portrayed Bateman's voice, even in drug-induced states of psychosis. Throughout the narrative, you sense his detachment, obsession, meticulousness, emotional instability, and the absence of empathy. The absence of emotional range highlights his fixation, whether discussing a Phil Collins album in one chapter or describing brutal torture in the next, all in the same detached but precise tone. This repetitive yet shocking style provides insight into his psyche, even without a full explanation. The facade he presents to the world underscores the true horror of this character.

This was the type of writing I was excited to hopefully find in C.J. Leede’s book, Maeve Fly. I was anticipating the main character, Maeve, to have similar qualities to Bateman. And unfortunately, this is where the books did not deliver.

Bateman's outward mask is crucial to his public image, symbolizing the duality and detachment in his life. Unfortunately, the delineation of Maeve Fly did not achieve the same effect. Leede portrayed Maeve as timid, yet in every interaction, she proved to be anything but. It seemed as though this perceived character flaw was forced upon her, with little to no satirical representation of her character. She is a killer, a fucked up girl who really loves Halloween and ruining peoples lives on the internet. She also works as a princess at a theme park and is often referred to as the "innocent" one compared to her best friend, Kate. Maeve has blonde hair, while Kate is described as a promiscuous, fame-seeking redhead. Kate is known as "the mean girl," while Maeve is seen as the "weak-willed sidekick." In a light-hearted moment, they playfully ask the bartender about a job at the local strip club. The bartender replies, "You two are such sweethearts, I could not corrupt you! Especially you with that angel face," he says to Maeve.

Bateman resides in a corporate environment that already promotes toxic behavior, enabling him to act as he does without consequences. I wish Maeve's surroundings could’ve been similarly supportive. I wish this book aimed to satirize radical feminists or TERFs, I might have agreed with the reviews then. (I genuinely don't understand why this book has been labeled as a "feminist slasher" or a "feminist masterpiece.” Because the killer is a woman? Because she believes that woman don’t have to be victims to turn into killers? The crucial element that was lacking for me was the authentic portrayal of a psychotic narrator; I am skeptical that merely being "not-like-other-girls" is sufficient to evoke a desire to become a serial killer.)

When delving into a narrative from a killer's viewpoint, I expect the protagonist to be undeniably psychotic. While the book "My Husband" doesn't involve heinous acts of vilence, the narrator is undeniably unhinged. It's disappointing that “Maeve Fly” fails to convince me of anything it aims to convey.

She was just....annoying. Annoying in her descriptions of LA, “human culture,” how “humans have imposed ourselves on our world, and dominated it,” halloween, how not-like-other-girls she claimed to be. But none of it hit the same as Bateman. His unsettling personality stemmed from his detachment. Bateman fixated on what he believed others valued, striving to demonstrate his superior knowledge to compensate for feeling disconnected and unable to relate to others. He held a delusional belief that he and others were identical, a conviction he maintained until reality shattered it. Maeve has always believed that there is no one like her, and that no one will ever truly comprehend her, which isn’t scary, it’s just exasperating.

The Gore Factor: I'm not a fan of gore. If I do engage in horror or gory content, it's only because the overall context makes it worthwhile. The reward lies in the characters, the situations they find themselves in, the plotting, the character development, the CRITIQUE!!! Gore, especially traumatizing and deliberate displays of hyper-sexualized deaths, are more disturbing then I ever want playing in my brain. I don’t like reading about women dying brutally just for the sake of it, I don’t trust anyone who does. But if you are going to make me read the gore, I believe it has to come with something to say. Otherwise it’s egregious.

Side note, I consider the romantic elements in this book to be rather insignificant and not believable. Right from Gideon's introduction, it was unclear where the attraction between the characters existed, it felt forced. I was prompted to perceive sparks, none were evident until the end when it became her sole emotional connection (and somehow, the climax of the book?).

I wasn't captivated by the book. I had to buy the audiobook to follow along, as I was uncertain if I would complete it without knowing how much more time I needed to invest. Typically, I am drawn to complex female protagonists, those we are not expected to root for but whose minds are captivating to explore. I aim to gain insight into unfamiliar perspectives, yet in this particular book, the main character was simply annoying, offering no new understanding of someone like her, who is, despite her best efforts, just like every other girl.

Content Warnings

shadowykittenwizard's review

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

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

natahoochie's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

WTF. Horrifying. Brutal. Incredible.

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rosynk's review

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

What a deeply disturbing and fantastic book.

Have was such an unhinged character but I somehow rooted for her and was utterly devastated by the ending.

There was a humorous yet strange scene that was definitely an ode to Patrick Batemen watching himself having sex.

This was such a captivating story. It was like a train wreck - I just couldn't look away. Every time I put the book down, it was all I could think about.

It had me physically cringing in disgust and shouting out in disturbance and I loved every moment of it.

This is going to stick with me for a very long time.

Content Warnings

bookishchaos's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was very different from other horror novels I've read. Instead of the book starting with crazyness, we watch our main character slowly desend into madness. Just when you think "she can't get any worse." She does lol.

Content Warnings

fairygodfish's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

Hmm. Could have done without

the sexual assault. It didn’t add anything to the experience and kind of ruined the tone

. Other than that I honestly quite enjoyed it, think the author has a few views on womanhood I don’t quite agree with but would love to talk to them about. Would also love a Tallulah Fly-centric book.

At the end of the day it’s extreme horror and some of it is horror is for the sake of being shocking. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for me,

aside from, once again, the sexual assault

. Sometimes the camp tone feels forced but sometimes it’s kind of awesome. I definitely appreciate the character of Maeve Fly and am glad she’s out in the world. Contained in these pages. Please god, nobody let Maeve Fly out in the world.

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ecn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Points off for the inclusion of (potentially?) Johnny Depp. No thanks

Content Warnings

sarah984's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I picked this up because of the cool looking cover, after seeing it recommended as "feminist body horror" on Likewise. So if you are like me I will save you some time: it's not feminist or body horror. The cover is cool though.

The main character is a woman but she hates and/or belittles all other women (except her grandmother, who is a complete non-entity in this story) and thinks she's unique as a woman due to her misanthropy. The book makes a big deal about it being sexist that stories require women to have trauma to be villains when men can just do what they want, but then gives Maeve villain trauma. The romance is all "oh he was so much bigger than me" straight people crap.

Several quotes and entire scenes are lifted whole cloth from American Psycho but nothing interesting is done with that at all.

I really have to wonder who this book was for. I feel like it was somehow simultaneously too much and too tame, like it's not extreme horror because pretty much everything "extreme" happens off screen, but too much "extreme" content is implied for this to appeal to normies. Baffling book.

Some of the Halloween music trivia was interesting, so 2 stars.

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