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ccraig1323's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
yellerreads's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ladies and gentlemen - we have my favorite book of 2025 early as hell in the year, and only my third book so far this year. never did i think that my book of the year would be an intense body horror novel but as i write this review, i’m sobbing with my whole chest.
i loved maeve. i loved her with my entire heart and more. she was an iconic character with just an incredible persona and story. i became her when i read her words, and heard her monologue. normally, i am not a fan of the monologue inner dialogue books (namely, my heart is a chainsaw). however, this one was different. it was beautiful and absolutely gut wrenching. i laughed, i gasped, i rooted her on, and most importantly, i cried my fucking eyes out for the last few chapters.
i don’t know what it is about her, but something about her was so different from any other character i have read. she was unique in the best way. she wasn’t obnoxious and annoying. she wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t a typical woman main character. she was something different entirely.
SPOILERS AHEAD
my heart absolutely broke because i KNEW what was about to come at the end and i was begging her not to do it. gideon was just like her. they were perfect for each other. so so perfect for each other and she KILLED. HIM. they could have had everything. and i sat there begging her to just listen to him, not to do it. but she did it. and i cried while she killed the man she loved because he thought he didn’t see her. but he saw her more than anyone. more than even her grandmother. this book is so much more than what it seems. the entire thing is a metaphorical masterpiece of love and loss and pain and growth. i love these characters and i love this book.
i loved maeve. i loved her with my entire heart and more. she was an iconic character with just an incredible persona and story. i became her when i read her words, and heard her monologue. normally, i am not a fan of the monologue inner dialogue books (namely, my heart is a chainsaw). however, this one was different. it was beautiful and absolutely gut wrenching. i laughed, i gasped, i rooted her on, and most importantly, i cried my fucking eyes out for the last few chapters.
i don’t know what it is about her, but something about her was so different from any other character i have read. she was unique in the best way. she wasn’t obnoxious and annoying. she wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t a typical woman main character. she was something different entirely.
SPOILERS AHEAD
my heart absolutely broke because i KNEW what was about to come at the end and i was begging her not to do it. gideon was just like her. they were perfect for each other. so so perfect for each other and she KILLED. HIM. they could have had everything. and i sat there begging her to just listen to him, not to do it. but she did it. and i cried while she killed the man she loved because he thought he didn’t see her. but he saw her more than anyone. more than even her grandmother. this book is so much more than what it seems. the entire thing is a metaphorical masterpiece of love and loss and pain and growth. i love these characters and i love this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Eating disorder
fictionalfabrication's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There was one point in this book that physically brought me to my knees in the middle of my work day. It was vile and disgusting and brutal and beautiful. I've never been so horrified and enamored in my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder
redrumia's review
dark
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
2.5
Nonostante abbia compreso l'intento dell'autrice, penso riesca solo in parte a raggiungerlo. Vuole essere edgy e provocatorio ma accenna solo alla violenza promessa per la maggior parte del libro, esplodendo giusto nella parte finale che è infatti secondo me quella meglio riuscita. Dopo 200 pagine che mi hanno lasciata titubante, la fine arriva a esplorare la protagonista nel modo in cui avrei voluto facesse fin dall'inizio. Ho provato parecchia pietà per lei, ma non sono sicura di poterne attribuire il merito all'autrice. Il romanzo nel complesso mi è sembrato acerbo e poco equilibrato. Leggerò comunque il resto, della stessa autrice, ma con meno entusiasmo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
selendrea's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I have a bone to pick with whoever decided to market this novel as "feminist" literature. Is the feminism in the room with us??
Maeve Fly has a lot to appreciate within its covers. Its antiheroine is unique and and deliciously depraved, and Maeve's descriptions of Los Angeles' ethos are interesting and thought-provoking. The contrast between working as Disney princess but moonlighting as a psychopath is a wonderfully macabre idea for a book. Too bad this book goes virtually nowhere with that idea.
Leede is talented at writing prose, point blank. She uses words like a skillful dance, constructing sentences that provoke emotion and vivid imagery. I was impressed by how well-written some of the paragraphs were. Unfortunately, at times, it felt over written, as if the author was trying too hard to come across as intellectual. Some run-on sentences started to drag on, requiring me to re-read them a handful of times to fully process their meaning. Additionally, the repetitive use of the wolf/monkey metaphor was more cringey than it was impactful or artistic.
On that note, the tone of this novel is the flavor of pseudo-intellectual that I would have loved as a teenager, and that's not a compliment. Maeve is insufferable. I could forgive an unlikeable protagonist if they have other redeeming qualities, if their flaws are making a statement, or if their character development goes anywhere. Instead, Maeve remains generally one-note, and spends her time belittling other women for their interests and motivations. I got the sense that Maeve took herself vastly too seriously while also being a bona-fide Disney adult with a Halloween fetish. Competing with other women over men's attention, purposefully making people - especially other women - uncomfortable, sexually assaulting multiple people, and viewing yourself as better than them for your "unique" tastes is not feminist - it's internalized misogyny to its core. I was hoping that Leede would expand on the metaphor of women having to put on a costume to survive in society, like Maeve dons the Elsa costume, but this connection is mostly left unspoken.
Moreover, finding yourself through a man is not feminist. Maeve does this both bygetting closer to Gideon, which helps to awaken this "wolf" inside of her, as well as being inspired by Patrick Bateman and literally copying one of his murders. The driver of her character development is not herself, is not her grandmother. It is primarily the influence of men.
Despite this novel's long list of content warnings, I found it to be particularly devoid of the gory, action packed scenes it needed to really solidify itself in the horror genre. I didn't hate the ending, but felt it was that same overused trope ofthe protagonist overreacting instead of communicating with their love interest. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but Maeve Fly is an example of such wasted potential that I find to be incredibly disappointing.
Maeve Fly has a lot to appreciate within its covers. Its antiheroine is unique and and deliciously depraved, and Maeve's descriptions of Los Angeles' ethos are interesting and thought-provoking. The contrast between working as Disney princess but moonlighting as a psychopath is a wonderfully macabre idea for a book. Too bad this book goes virtually nowhere with that idea.
Leede is talented at writing prose, point blank. She uses words like a skillful dance, constructing sentences that provoke emotion and vivid imagery. I was impressed by how well-written some of the paragraphs were. Unfortunately, at times, it felt over written, as if the author was trying too hard to come across as intellectual. Some run-on sentences started to drag on, requiring me to re-read them a handful of times to fully process their meaning. Additionally, the repetitive use of the wolf/monkey metaphor was more cringey than it was impactful or artistic.
On that note, the tone of this novel is the flavor of pseudo-intellectual that I would have loved as a teenager, and that's not a compliment. Maeve is insufferable. I could forgive an unlikeable protagonist if they have other redeeming qualities, if their flaws are making a statement, or if their character development goes anywhere. Instead, Maeve remains generally one-note, and spends her time belittling other women for their interests and motivations. I got the sense that Maeve took herself vastly too seriously while also being a bona-fide Disney adult with a Halloween fetish. Competing with other women over men's attention, purposefully making people - especially other women - uncomfortable, sexually assaulting multiple people, and viewing yourself as better than them for your "unique" tastes is not feminist - it's internalized misogyny to its core. I was hoping that Leede would expand on the metaphor of women having to put on a costume to survive in society, like Maeve dons the Elsa costume, but this connection is mostly left unspoken.
Moreover, finding yourself through a man is not feminist. Maeve does this both by
Despite this novel's long list of content warnings, I found it to be particularly devoid of the gory, action packed scenes it needed to really solidify itself in the horror genre. I didn't hate the ending, but felt it was that same overused trope of
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Excrement and Vomit
welsh_witch's review
I loved this from the first sentence, and I read about 3/4 of it, but Maeve got too disgusting and disturbing for me and I put it down, intending to DNF it. But I kept thinking about it… Had to go back and finish it off. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the ending (starting with the drugging, torture, and murder of Andre and Liz, which is where I tapped out) was as good as the rest of the book. Anyway, not for the faint of heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Excrement
sam_pocketrockbooks's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
I am of two minds about this book. The horror of it is captivating and sick, but I'm not sure what to ultimately think beyond the shock factor. I will probably return to review more after I think on it 🤔
Disney Adult x Hockey Player disguised with a extreme gore and erotic focus.
Disney Adult x Hockey Player disguised with a extreme gore and erotic focus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
treeleaf8's review
dark
fast-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
2.25
This was really bad to me. I enjoed the prose, and how the novel was structured, but the characters were all insufferable (and not in a fun way). This felt like it was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek woman version of American Psycho, but it read as a worse copycat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Torture, and Murder
theld17's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
That was a wild ride of Maeve's decent into madness as her world crumbles around her. It's compelling and disturbing at the same time, and definitely not for the faint of heart or squimish. This book mixes old Hollywood glamor with classic horror flick to make the Frankensteins monster of a book. While the prose may be off-putting to some as it's a bit long winded and Maeve has a superiority complex, it makes the book seem so much more surreal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Racism, Excrement, and Vomit
stangerine712's review
dark
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder