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sestout's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
nickoliver's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m usually not good at picking up bigger books, so I’m quite proud of myself for finally having done it with this one. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it also had some parts that really annoyed me.
The atmosphere in this book was honestly great. Especially the scenes that were supposed to be creepy really were. Not necessarily in an ‘I am going to have nightmares about this’ way, but I will definitely not be able to look at wasps the same way anymore. (Not that I’d liked those aggressive fuckers before, but now even less so.) I was also grossed out a few times, but it wasn’t gratuitous or just there to gross you out.
While the book didn’t put me in a reading slump - which part of me was worried about just based on its sheer size -, it was rather slow-moving and sometimes didn’t have a pay-off. You would wait like 300 pages just for the movie to start being shot, and then you didn’t even get to experience it up close and personal. It was a bit frustrating how much on the outside you were kept sometimes - especially when it came to the movie, because the build-up to it was so detailed and loving that it made it all the more frustrating how we only got glimpses afterward.
It didn’t help that the cast of characters didn’t completely work for me. Basically, there were two different timelines: the present, where they shot the movie about Brookhants and its curse, told from the perspective of three women (Audrey and Harper who were in the movie, and Merritt who wrote the book the movie was an adaptation of). And the past, set in 1902, which told the story of what exactly had happened. Those chapters had two POVs: Libbie, who was the principal of the school, and her lover Alex, with whom she lived with and who also worked at the school.
For the most part, I preferred the past chapters just based on the fact that it felt like there was more happening there and some scenes in the present just didn’t interest me. But also, I really didn’t like Merritt. She was very judgmental, jealous, and just overall unpleasant - she felt like a 80-year-old woman stuck in the body of a 21-year-old with the way she dismissed people immediately based on completely unfounded grounds. And while I was supposed to believe that she changed and, more importantly, became friends and lovers with Audrey (who she’d hated at first sight for no discernible reason), I didn’t get to see that. All of a sudden, she and Audrey liked each other, without there being a believable build-up (or any build-up at all, really). While not every chapter was obviously told from her perspective, she was always there, and that just sullied the present chapters for me at times.
What made Merritt even more unbearable was the writing in her chapters. It was so cringey that it made me feel embarrassed. It’s possible that that was on purpose to emphasise Merritt’s personality, but it just felt like the writing of an edgy teenager trying to be cool and unfazed. Outside of Merritt’s chapters, the writing was sometimes awkward and cringey too, but it just went really off the rails in her chapters.
All main characters, by the way, were sapphic - Harper and Alex were lesbians, Audrey and Libbie were bisexual, and Merritt I wasn't sure about (she was only shown being interested in Harper and Audrey) -, and the relationships were very focal in the story. Though, again, they weren't developed much on-page, at least when it comes to the chapters set in the present. That was disappointing. But Libbie and Alex's relationship was explored a lot, and I was generally just thrilled to read a book that was so distinctly about queer women and put the men on the sidelines a little bit.
The side characters were okay. They weren’t incredibly fleshed-out, but they had just enough meat on their bones that you could call them characters. However - and I don’t know if that was because there were simply too many characters or if it was because they weren’t developed enough -, there were a few people I kept mixing up with each other. Specifically ones in Harper and Audrey’s lives. I kept forgetting the relationships they each had with their mothers - I think that was also because it was kind of a similar one? Harper and Audrey both also had a queer male best friend, and I could not keep those two apart in my brain to save my life. I would be in Harper’s perspective waiting for Noel to show up just for Eric to make an appearance, because he was her best friend and not Noel. It didn’t help that they were very similar in personality (pushovers with kind of a bad influence and zero empathy) and had a seemingly identical relationship with their respective friend.
The story itself was intriguing, yet also confusing at times - especially in the latter half of the book. I was suddenly confronted with plot twists and reveals that I wasn’t even aware I was supposed to expect (for example, everything involving Hanna and Madame Verrett caught me way too off-guard to have made any lasting impact on me), and there were some characters whose importance and place in the story I didn’t really realise until way later when Danforth literally spelt it out for me. Maybe I am just stupid, or maybe I was expected to see some sort of mystery, but none of those things had the intended effect on me - I was mainly just confused and couldn’t keep up.
Now, let me go back to the writing again. The book had an interesting format - it was told from a narrator after the fact, and you were very much made aware that what you were essentially reading was a book. As in, the narrator was the actual author of the story, and they inserted themselves into it frequently. They often addressed the readers and made certain quips about themselves, the latter of which honestly didn’t land that often. For example, when the narrator promised something, why should that have mattered to me? I didn’t know who they were in relation to me or the story. I didn’t know their personality or how likely it was that they would keep or break a promise. So I didn’t like those parts. I honestly think it would’ve been more interesting if the narrator had hinted throughout the book who they were, exactly - not necessarily with a reveal at the end, but just little hints to keep it interesting. I also wasn’t a fan of how the narrator kept telling me how I was supposed to feel. For example, at one point, Merritt and Harper went on a date, and beforehand, the narrator said, ‘I bet you’re exciting to see the date and what happened there!’, except it happened right after I spent an entire chapter reading about Merritt being judgmental and nasty to Audrey, so why should I have wanted to read more about her? And that happened several times, where the narrator told me to feel or act a certain way about something, and it almost never lined up with what I actually felt. And that made it just annoying.
What I did like about the writing, though, were the footnotes. I’m generally a big fan of footnotes, and the ones in here were often very entertaining. Admittedly, there were a few that were so random and unnecessary that I laughed more out of disbelief than actual amusement, but overall, they made the story more entertaining. The only part I mildly disliked was how tiny the asterisks were that led to the footnotes - I often didn’t realise there was a footnote at all until I was at the end of the page, and then I had to spend several seconds just hunting for the asterisk to figure out what the narrator was commenting on.
So, overall, I liked the story. It didn’t completely use all its potential - the writing could’ve been better at times, some of the characters could’ve been fleshed-out more, and parts of the story were too confusing to be enjoyable. The narrator also didn’t let us up and close as much as I would’ve liked, especially in the present chapters. But it kept my intrigue and didn’t put me into a reading slump, which bigger books nowadays often do, and the creepy scenes were done really well. Wasps definitely feel even scarier now.
The atmosphere in this book was honestly great. Especially the scenes that were supposed to be creepy really were. Not necessarily in an ‘I am going to have nightmares about this’ way, but I will definitely not be able to look at wasps the same way anymore. (Not that I’d liked those aggressive fuckers before, but now even less so.) I was also grossed out a few times, but it wasn’t gratuitous or just there to gross you out.
While the book didn’t put me in a reading slump - which part of me was worried about just based on its sheer size -, it was rather slow-moving and sometimes didn’t have a pay-off. You would wait like 300 pages just for the movie to start being shot, and then you didn’t even get to experience it up close and personal. It was a bit frustrating how much on the outside you were kept sometimes - especially when it came to the movie, because the build-up to it was so detailed and loving that it made it all the more frustrating how we only got glimpses afterward.
It didn’t help that the cast of characters didn’t completely work for me. Basically, there were two different timelines: the present, where they shot the movie about Brookhants and its curse, told from the perspective of three women (Audrey and Harper who were in the movie, and Merritt who wrote the book the movie was an adaptation of). And the past, set in 1902, which told the story of what exactly had happened. Those chapters had two POVs: Libbie, who was the principal of the school, and her lover Alex, with whom she lived with and who also worked at the school.
For the most part, I preferred the past chapters just based on the fact that it felt like there was more happening there and some scenes in the present just didn’t interest me. But also, I really didn’t like Merritt. She was very judgmental, jealous, and just overall unpleasant - she felt like a 80-year-old woman stuck in the body of a 21-year-old with the way she dismissed people immediately based on completely unfounded grounds. And while I was supposed to believe that she changed and, more importantly, became friends and lovers with Audrey (who she’d hated at first sight for no discernible reason), I didn’t get to see that. All of a sudden, she and Audrey liked each other, without there being a believable build-up (or any build-up at all, really). While not every chapter was obviously told from her perspective, she was always there, and that just sullied the present chapters for me at times.
What made Merritt even more unbearable was the writing in her chapters. It was so cringey that it made me feel embarrassed. It’s possible that that was on purpose to emphasise Merritt’s personality, but it just felt like the writing of an edgy teenager trying to be cool and unfazed. Outside of Merritt’s chapters, the writing was sometimes awkward and cringey too, but it just went really off the rails in her chapters.
All main characters, by the way, were sapphic - Harper and Alex were lesbians, Audrey and Libbie were bisexual, and Merritt I wasn't sure about (she was only shown being interested in Harper and Audrey) -, and the relationships were very focal in the story. Though, again, they weren't developed much on-page, at least when it comes to the chapters set in the present. That was disappointing. But Libbie and Alex's relationship was explored a lot, and I was generally just thrilled to read a book that was so distinctly about queer women and put the men on the sidelines a little bit.
The side characters were okay. They weren’t incredibly fleshed-out, but they had just enough meat on their bones that you could call them characters. However - and I don’t know if that was because there were simply too many characters or if it was because they weren’t developed enough -, there were a few people I kept mixing up with each other. Specifically ones in Harper and Audrey’s lives. I kept forgetting the relationships they each had with their mothers - I think that was also because it was kind of a similar one? Harper and Audrey both also had a queer male best friend, and I could not keep those two apart in my brain to save my life. I would be in Harper’s perspective waiting for Noel to show up just for Eric to make an appearance, because he was her best friend and not Noel. It didn’t help that they were very similar in personality (pushovers with kind of a bad influence and zero empathy) and had a seemingly identical relationship with their respective friend.
The story itself was intriguing, yet also confusing at times - especially in the latter half of the book. I was suddenly confronted with plot twists and reveals that I wasn’t even aware I was supposed to expect (for example, everything involving
Now, let me go back to the writing again. The book had an interesting format - it was told from a narrator after the fact, and you were very much made aware that what you were essentially reading was a book. As in, the narrator was the actual author of the story, and they inserted themselves into it frequently. They often addressed the readers and made certain quips about themselves, the latter of which honestly didn’t land that often. For example, when the narrator promised something, why should that have mattered to me? I didn’t know who they were in relation to me or the story. I didn’t know their personality or how likely it was that they would keep or break a promise. So I didn’t like those parts. I honestly think it would’ve been more interesting if the narrator had hinted throughout the book who they were, exactly - not necessarily with a reveal at the end, but just little hints to keep it interesting. I also wasn’t a fan of how the narrator kept telling me how I was supposed to feel. For example, at one point, Merritt and Harper went on a date, and beforehand, the narrator said, ‘I bet you’re exciting to see the date and what happened there!’, except it happened right after I spent an entire chapter reading about Merritt being judgmental and nasty to Audrey, so why should I have wanted to read more about her? And that happened several times, where the narrator told me to feel or act a certain way about something, and it almost never lined up with what I actually felt. And that made it just annoying.
What I did like about the writing, though, were the footnotes. I’m generally a big fan of footnotes, and the ones in here were often very entertaining. Admittedly, there were a few that were so random and unnecessary that I laughed more out of disbelief than actual amusement, but overall, they made the story more entertaining. The only part I mildly disliked was how tiny the asterisks were that led to the footnotes - I often didn’t realise there was a footnote at all until I was at the end of the page, and then I had to spend several seconds just hunting for the asterisk to figure out what the narrator was commenting on.
So, overall, I liked the story. It didn’t completely use all its potential - the writing could’ve been better at times, some of the characters could’ve been fleshed-out more, and parts of the story were too confusing to be enjoyable. The narrator also didn’t let us up and close as much as I would’ve liked, especially in the present chapters. But it kept my intrigue and didn’t put me into a reading slump, which bigger books nowadays often do, and the creepy scenes were done really well. Wasps definitely feel even scarier now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident and Lesbophobia
celery's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sauvageloup's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
glad to have read this, because the concept is fresh and interesting, and I need to read more wholly sapphic books. but it tried to do too much and didnt pull it off.
this review on tumblr by flying-elliska has all my thoughts well said:
https://www.tumblr.com/flying-elliska/672822130083233792/and-now-for-sapphic-reads-time-the-sequel-tm?source=share
pros:
- the setting was a fleshed out character in itself and I loved that. the orchard apples, the tower, the orangerie, the beach, etc.
- I liked the story of the original woman, simone, who lived on the land.
- some imagery was definitely creepy and disturbing, especially eating wasps.
- the main characters were interesting, and I liked that they became a poly triad rather than a love triangle.
cons:
- too many characters, too much rambling, too meta, too plotty and just too long.
- I never really got truly creeped out. it just didnt sink deep enough into that and there wasnt enough real danger. the deaths were distant and over fast. didnt feel that sad at any of them.
- more interesting to see more flo and Clara for sure.
a different read for sure and I'm glad I read it, but disappointing and a bit slow too.
this review on tumblr by flying-elliska has all my thoughts well said:
https://www.tumblr.com/flying-elliska/672822130083233792/and-now-for-sapphic-reads-time-the-sequel-tm?source=share
pros:
- the setting was a fleshed out character in itself and I loved that. the orchard apples, the tower, the orangerie, the beach, etc.
- I liked the story of the original woman, simone, who lived on the land.
- some imagery was definitely creepy and disturbing, especially eating wasps.
- the main characters were interesting, and I liked that they became a poly triad rather than a love triangle.
cons:
- too many characters, too much rambling, too meta, too plotty and just too long.
- I never really got truly creeped out. it just didnt sink deep enough into that and there wasnt enough real danger. the deaths were distant and over fast. didnt feel that sad at any of them.
- more interesting to see more flo and Clara for sure.
a different read for sure and I'm glad I read it, but disappointing and a bit slow too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ekmoore11's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Forced institutionalization
matcha_cat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
aseel_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I absolutely adored the narrative style, having it break the fourth wall was super engaging. I liked the switch between the two time periods and having a mix of horror and the occult in it. I really enjoyed the rawness of the characters, especially merit and I liked how queer the book was. I think the ending could have had a more shocking event, which would have tied the story more holistically.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
callikat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think the premise is extremely cool. I love the movie set twist, the haunted location, and the wlw romances. However, I do not feel it met my expectations.
First of all, it is LONG. I almost DNFed it 150 pages in, because nothing had happened yet. And for so much character exposition, the characters themselves didn't feel very authentic. We got glimpses of their insecurities, feelings, and secrets but it never went past the surface. I think that's why the climax at the end didn't work for me -- you expect to get emotional over all of the betrayal, but then no one has any reaction and everything just ends.
I also didn't really like the switch from different time periods. One part of the book takes place in modern day, as they film a movie about these two girls who died under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Flo. The other part of the book takes place in 1902 - the time period the girls actually died. However, while we learn about the two actresses (and the writer) in modern day, we never really learn about Clara and Flo, because the 1902 scenes are not about them -- they're about the headmistress and her partner. And to be honest it's hard to get interested in their story when the girls in modern day only talk about Clara and Flo. I wish the 1902 scenes had been about Clara and Flo, and then we could learn more about the girls in modern day/how they connect to the original heroines.
It was still a good book, I really did like the plot. I guess I just wish there had been a clearer point to it all, I wish we had gotten to know the characters better, and I wish we could have seen more of the movie being filmed!
First of all, it is LONG. I almost DNFed it 150 pages in, because nothing had happened yet. And for so much character exposition, the characters themselves didn't feel very authentic. We got glimpses of their insecurities, feelings, and secrets but it never went past the surface. I think that's why the climax at the end didn't work for me -- you expect to get emotional over all of the betrayal, but then no one has any reaction and everything just ends.
I also didn't really like the switch from different time periods. One part of the book takes place in modern day, as they film a movie about these two girls who died under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Flo. The other part of the book takes place in 1902 - the time period the girls actually died. However, while we learn about the two actresses (and the writer) in modern day, we never really learn about Clara and Flo, because the 1902 scenes are not about them -- they're about the headmistress and her partner. And to be honest it's hard to get interested in their story when the girls in modern day only talk about Clara and Flo. I wish the 1902 scenes had been about Clara and Flo, and then we could learn more about the girls in modern day/how they connect to the original heroines.
It was still a good book, I really did like the plot. I guess I just wish there had been a clearer point to it all, I wish we had gotten to know the characters better, and I wish we could have seen more of the movie being filmed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
lisa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book was unlike anything I have read before. I was bored sometimes and sometimes I didn't know what exactly the author was trying to do but all in all I did really enjoy it. I think if you want to read this book you have to like the creepy vibes it has. It is not a horror of creepy book at all but it does have a few creepy aspects throughout the book. It is creepy but also just a lot of talking and descriptions of film production, meetings and just day to day activities..
I think the only way to enjoy this book is to just take the time and not expect anything to happen. It will take you on a ride through different times, perspectives, stories and deaths.
This book was definitely weird. In a good way but still quite strange..
And also suuuper queer! Like pretty much every important character was a queer woman. I enjoyed that but it got to a point where it was a bit ridiculous (but also it fitted into the story perfectly and made total sense)
My favourite thing about this book is the formatting. I love the different fonts and especially the footnotes! (I love to see footnotes in books)
Also the illustrations are amazing! The yellow jackets were so cool and gave the book that extra something.
The narration was interesting but I did really enjoy it. It felt like a weird friend writing down a story for you and also like some Jane Austen esc writing.
My biggest problem was the length of the book. Especially in the middle it got quite boring and I wanted to quit a couple of times. Also the ending confused me. I mean it is a kind of open end and you can keep thinking about it which is cool..?
I don't think the book could have been shorter and still be the same. The whole feeling came from the whole mixture of it all. Still I get that this is definitely not for everyone.
There are also so many different perspectives. There are quite a lot of jumps between time and people. Also it's kind of about a movie about a book about a legend about a book.
I would say reading this is definitely an experience - and one you have to want. If you want to read a very sapphic book that is also a bit spooky and has some great illustrations: this is the book for you. Be warned though as it is very slow paced and it has a LOT of unanswered questions at the end.
I think the only way to enjoy this book is to just take the time and not expect anything to happen. It will take you on a ride through different times, perspectives, stories and deaths.
This book was definitely weird. In a good way but still quite strange..
And also suuuper queer! Like pretty much every important character was a queer woman. I enjoyed that but it got to a point where it was a bit ridiculous (but also it fitted into the story perfectly and made total sense)
My favourite thing about this book is the formatting. I love the different fonts and especially the footnotes! (I love to see footnotes in books)
Also the illustrations are amazing! The yellow jackets were so cool and gave the book that extra something.
The narration was interesting but I did really enjoy it. It felt like a weird friend writing down a story for you and also like some Jane Austen esc writing.
My biggest problem was the length of the book. Especially in the middle it got quite boring and I wanted to quit a couple of times. Also the ending confused me. I mean it is a kind of open end and you can keep thinking about it which is cool..?
I don't think the book could have been shorter and still be the same. The whole feeling came from the whole mixture of it all. Still I get that this is definitely not for everyone.
There are also so many different perspectives. There are quite a lot of jumps between time and people. Also it's kind of about a movie about a book about a legend about a book.
I would say reading this is definitely an experience - and one you have to want. If you want to read a very sapphic book that is also a bit spooky and has some great illustrations: this is the book for you. Be warned though as it is very slow paced and it has a LOT of unanswered questions at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
maryy_r0se's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
“Don’t find yourself regretting this. You’re much too young to haunt your own life.”
In the early 1900s, a series of gruesome deaths occurrs at the the Brookhants School for Girls. Speculation runs rampant that these deaths are somehow connected to The Story of Mary MacLane, a radical new book that has several of the students transfixed. Headmistress Libbie Brookhants and teacher Alexandra Trills are stuck trying to protect the girls (and trying to protect themselves.) In present-day, Merritt Emmons’ book about Brookhants is being adapted into a movie starring queer superstar Harper Harper and former child actress Audrey Wells. The women go to Brookhants to film and find its history is still alive.
This book was incredibly ambitious, and to me it more than succeeded. Despite being over 600 pages, I found myself wishing it was even longer because I enjoyed it so much and would have loved to learn even more about the school’s lore. The narration style and use of footnotes was so unique, and I fell in love with the characters (Audrey and Libbie were my personal faves!) After hearing this book somehow combined gothic, horror, comedy, and dark academia (and had all sapphic main characters), I had very high expectations, and I was elated to find that this book surpassed them. The tone is very unique and it certainly takes some getting used to, but I had such a fun time with this one.
(Aside from the content warnings mentioned below, this book also has a lot of horror surrounding wasps, so if you have any sort of wasp or bee phobia you may want to tread carefully!)
In the early 1900s, a series of gruesome deaths occurrs at the the Brookhants School for Girls. Speculation runs rampant that these deaths are somehow connected to The Story of Mary MacLane, a radical new book that has several of the students transfixed. Headmistress Libbie Brookhants and teacher Alexandra Trills are stuck trying to protect the girls (and trying to protect themselves.) In present-day, Merritt Emmons’ book about Brookhants is being adapted into a movie starring queer superstar Harper Harper and former child actress Audrey Wells. The women go to Brookhants to film and find its history is still alive.
This book was incredibly ambitious, and to me it more than succeeded. Despite being over 600 pages, I found myself wishing it was even longer because I enjoyed it so much and would have loved to learn even more about the school’s lore. The narration style and use of footnotes was so unique, and I fell in love with the characters (Audrey and Libbie were my personal faves!) After hearing this book somehow combined gothic, horror, comedy, and dark academia (and had all sapphic main characters), I had very high expectations, and I was elated to find that this book surpassed them. The tone is very unique and it certainly takes some getting used to, but I had such a fun time with this one.
(Aside from the content warnings mentioned below, this book also has a lot of horror surrounding wasps, so if you have any sort of wasp or bee phobia you may want to tread carefully!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Pregnancy