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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the more insane/intense things I’ve read. I really love the premise of this one. I’ve read a few other books about psychotic women inspired by American Psycho this year and this one has been my favorite so far. Like yessss Maeve Fly there’s something soooo wrong with you!! This definitely screams “I’m not like other girls” but in a way that was amusing and also Very Honest of her. There’s a few things that end up going nowhere but it kind of doesn’t matter because of how much else happens in this book.
Maeve is one of those girls who judges the judgmental and is supposed to be so different from the other girls because she's just so much more edgy and thinks so many cool loner girl thoughts.
We all seek the dream of beauty even as we know fundamentally it is only a facade for the decaying in the dark.
A whole book of that would have gotten old fast. Thankfully, Maeve is more than that. Maeve is also a batshit fucking nutso psychopath.
Maeve works at a place that is never named but that is clearly Disneyland. She works as a character not actually named but who is clearly Elsa. Maeve has two people she truly cares for in her life - her best friend and aspiring actress, Kate, and her currently comatose grandmother and former actress, Tallulah. She is aware that her time with these two will eventually come to an end (Kate will leave her to be a big star and her grandmother will die) but believes she has at least a couple years before she is alone.
But things don't go as planned. Kate gets a big break. Grandma starts going downhill fast. And a new person, Kate's brother, Gideon, enters Maeve's life. And this creates the perfect (?) storm.
The beginning of this is fairly mild. The last 70 pages or so? Unhinged. This book is not for the faint of the heart. It's not for the squeamish. It gets really violent and pretty damn gross. I had to put the book down a few times because I was properly grossed out. Trigger warnings galore for everything that could fall under extreme horror. That aside . . .
I actually liked this writing a lot. This never felt slow to me and had me completely intrigued. I haven't read American Psycho or Story of the Eye, so I didn't have those comparisons to make, although the author mentions both and doesn't hide the likeness. Even if I at no point agreed with Maeve as a character (because again, she is a batshit fucking nutso psychopath who does some truly disgusting and despicable things), I did find the feminist slant interesting. A few examples:
I have never understood, and still do not understand the notion that a woman must first endure a victimhood of some sort—abandonment, abuse, oppression of the patriarchy—to be monstrous. 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. But why would she do it? Why, why, why?
This is a failing of men. This same violence, applied to a woman, she does not ask why it is being inflicted upon her, she only struggles unsuccessfully to free herself and grieves the fact she has grieved her entire life, one that she understands fundamentally and innately. That violence simply occurs.
I lean in close and whisper in his ear. "They're not going to believe you." I smooth his hair down. "No one will believe you. Ever."
3.5 Rounded to 4 Stars
We all seek the dream of beauty even as we know fundamentally it is only a facade for the decaying in the dark.
A whole book of that would have gotten old fast. Thankfully, Maeve is more than that. Maeve is also a batshit fucking nutso psychopath.
Maeve works at a place that is never named but that is clearly Disneyland. She works as a character not actually named but who is clearly Elsa. Maeve has two people she truly cares for in her life - her best friend and aspiring actress, Kate, and her currently comatose grandmother and former actress, Tallulah. She is aware that her time with these two will eventually come to an end (Kate will leave her to be a big star and her grandmother will die) but believes she has at least a couple years before she is alone.
But things don't go as planned. Kate gets a big break. Grandma starts going downhill fast. And a new person, Kate's brother, Gideon, enters Maeve's life. And this creates the perfect (?) storm.
The beginning of this is fairly mild. The last 70 pages or so? Unhinged. This book is not for the faint of the heart. It's not for the squeamish. It gets really violent and pretty damn gross. I had to put the book down a few times because I was properly grossed out. Trigger warnings galore for everything that could fall under extreme horror. That aside . . .
I actually liked this writing a lot. This never felt slow to me and had me completely intrigued. I haven't read American Psycho or Story of the Eye, so I didn't have those comparisons to make, although the author mentions both and doesn't hide the likeness. Even if I at no point agreed with Maeve as a character (because again, she is a batshit fucking nutso psychopath who does some truly disgusting and despicable things), I did find the feminist slant interesting. A few examples:
I have never understood, and still do not understand the notion that a woman must first endure a victimhood of some sort—abandonment, abuse, oppression of the patriarchy—to be monstrous. 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. But why would she do it? Why, why, why?
This is a failing of men. This same violence, applied to a woman, she does not ask why it is being inflicted upon her, she only struggles unsuccessfully to free herself and grieves the fact she has grieved her entire life, one that she understands fundamentally and innately. That violence simply occurs.
I lean in close and whisper in his ear. "They're not going to believe you." I smooth his hair down. "No one will believe you. Ever."
3.5 Rounded to 4 Stars
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really excited when I first picked up this book the stark contrast between Maeve’s day persona as a Disney princess and her killer side was an interesting twist on that theme. As the book continued, it started to feel like too much was going on. It got boring, confusing, and messy once Kate’s wishes and her family history got brought into it. Not to mention the tacky obsession with Halloween that had me rolling my eyes. In the end, I understood why the author attempted to include so many details but I wish they would’ve just focused on two or three instead of literally everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a wild, bloody ride! This book follows Maeve Fly, a young LA woman who is a Disney princess by day and a sociopath by night. She lives with her grandmother who gave me big Marilyn Monroe/Pam Anderson vibes and her grandmother’s cat- Lester the Cat. We follow Maeve through a depraved breakdown of her psyche revealing her deeply disturbed true self.
This book took me on a journey, I really enjoyed Maeve’s character immediately. The first and last third of the book were my favourites in the way of character development and action. I really liked her inner monologue and I found myself to be frequently entertained by her way of seeing the word. This read is violent, bloody and the ending had my jaw on the floor.
I recommend this book to all extreme horror lovers who are looking for an engaging, short and sick read.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire for this opportunity to read the ARC!
This book took me on a journey, I really enjoyed Maeve’s character immediately. The first and last third of the book were my favourites in the way of character development and action. I really liked her inner monologue and I found myself to be frequently entertained by her way of seeing the word. This read is violent, bloody and the ending had my jaw on the floor.
I recommend this book to all extreme horror lovers who are looking for an engaging, short and sick read.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire for this opportunity to read the ARC!
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book? Not what I expected — at all.
Maeve Fly isn’t my typical read, and I won’t lie — it wasn’t my favorite. But I couldn’t put it down.
I read most of it poolside over a few days with my boys. And maybe it was the heat… or maybe it was Maeve’s brain.
Because once you’re inside her head, you’re stuck there. It’s graphic, chaotic, unapologetic — and somehow, disturbingly tender.
As someone who grew up playing hockey, the dynamic with Gideon hooked me early. But this book? It’s not a romance. It’s a descent.
And by the time you realize what’s happening…
You’re already too far in.
Maeve Fly will make you feel things you weren’t ready to feel — and maybe didn’t want to.
But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?