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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My feelings toward this book are a little complicated. I felt that the horror elements (by which I specifically mean the supernatural elements) could have been fleshed out in a way that was more coherent and purposeful. The pacing was also a little wonky, and a lot of time gets spent questioning the supernatural mechanics of something that turns out to be a nonissue. From a horror perspective, I was tepid toward the storyline.
I really like the characters, though. Max isn't always likeable, but he's certainly consistent, and you can see where his anger comes from. Erin is more emotionally stable, and her sense of justice is stronger... or at least, she's more willing to risk danger to do the right thing. The book plays around with the idea that this stems from her life being somewhat safer than Max's, whereas he has never really had a safe space. Am I going to give an emotionally nuanced T4T friendship-slash-borderline-romance anything less than four stars? I think not.
It was also nice to read a trans horror novel that wasn't body horror, even though I do love a lot of those stories. Kisner makes some comment about how this might be the only trans horror novel readers have ever encountered, an assertion I found odd since the book is clearly marketed as trans horror, but that's neither here nor there. As someone who has read quite a few books in that category, I enjoyed reading one where the horror is almost entirely external, and where the real monster is transphobia. I mean, there is also a LITERAL monster, but the primary threat of violence is wrapped up in pervasiveness of misogyny and homophobia and general policing of people's bodies. While, again, I felt that the story could have been more deliberate about certain elements, there was a lot in here that I liked, and I'll certainly be recommending it during the next TRR.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. My review is my own and has been left voluntarily.
I really like the characters, though. Max isn't always likeable, but he's certainly consistent, and you can see where his anger comes from. Erin is more emotionally stable, and her sense of justice is stronger... or at least, she's more willing to risk danger to do the right thing. The book plays around with the idea that this stems from her life being somewhat safer than Max's, whereas he has never really had a safe space. Am I going to give an emotionally nuanced T4T friendship-slash-borderline-romance anything less than four stars? I think not.
It was also nice to read a trans horror novel that wasn't body horror, even though I do love a lot of those stories. Kisner makes some comment about how this might be the only trans horror novel readers have ever encountered, an assertion I found odd since the book is clearly marketed as trans horror, but that's neither here nor there. As someone who has read quite a few books in that category, I enjoyed reading one where the horror is almost entirely external, and where the real monster is transphobia. I mean, there is also a LITERAL monster, but the primary threat of violence is wrapped up in pervasiveness of misogyny and homophobia and general policing of people's bodies. While, again, I felt that the story could have been more deliberate about certain elements, there was a lot in here that I liked, and I'll certainly be recommending it during the next TRR.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. My review is my own and has been left voluntarily.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’m not sure I have words for this book. Just know I really enjoyed it.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reads like a slasher movie/final girl situation. Very fun read with some intense moments of transphobia and references to trans women being murdered.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
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
A queer horror where the stakes feel very real.
I appreciate that the value this book places on friendship and community over romantic love
I appreciate that the value this book places on friendship and community over romantic love
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Minor: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Car accident