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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
WOAH
dark
emotional
tense
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:
Complicated
Trans-led horror is a gift to the world because it always, always leads to the most phenomenal reads.
I absolutely adored Erin and Max - I loved how they have an unbreakable bond from being the two trans kids in a town, and from their previous time dating. I also loved how the importance of familial acceptance was shown through their different experiences - Max has gone through hell with his family and, therefore, seemingly faced moe abuse outside the home too. Meanwhile, Erin has a mum who supported her transition. Yet, the struggles society imposes upon trans people don't disappear because of that - the importance of family support makes a massive difference but I loved how even then Max had to face that Erin still faces similar problems to him, he just doesn't seem them so obviously as he sees her supposed better experiences.
I also absolutely loved the atmosphere created from the moment they drove into that horrible little town. Every character introduced built up the sense of wrongness and danger, every description was perfectly timed to build up the threat until it was right in our face. Just absolutely sublime work.
I also loved how it leant into the supernatural elements - the beast (of course, but also the stretching of time during the night of the feeding, the house with a second floor that only appears in that night, the way the woods moved and reality slipped from under the characters feet. I just loved how unnerving it was, I just couldn't put the book down.
Just, this was so so good and I loved it, and I loved both Erin and Max. I also thought the ending worked really well for the two of them both as individuals and with regard to their relationship.
I absolutely adored Erin and Max - I loved how they have an unbreakable bond from being the two trans kids in a town, and from their previous time dating. I also loved how the importance of familial acceptance was shown through their different experiences - Max has gone through hell with his family and, therefore, seemingly faced moe abuse outside the home too. Meanwhile, Erin has a mum who supported her transition. Yet, the struggles society imposes upon trans people don't disappear because of that - the importance of family support makes a massive difference but I loved how even then Max had to face that Erin still faces similar problems to him, he just doesn't seem them so obviously as he sees her supposed better experiences.
I also absolutely loved the atmosphere created from the moment they drove into that horrible little town. Every character introduced built up the sense of wrongness and danger, every description was perfectly timed to build up the threat until it was right in our face. Just absolutely sublime work.
I also loved how it leant into the supernatural elements - the beast (of course, but also the stretching of time during the night of the feeding, the house with a second floor that only appears in that night, the way the woods moved and reality slipped from under the characters feet. I just loved how unnerving it was, I just couldn't put the book down.
Just, this was so so good and I loved it, and I loved both Erin and Max. I also thought the ending worked really well for the two of them both as individuals and with regard to their relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to love this, but the flat villians and deep-rooted feelings of hate for trans women made this a bit of a hard read to enjoy. It fed into a lot of stereotypes of different kinds, from the hillbillys with secret murder cabins to the trans masc character being secretly jealous of the trans fem, I found some of these pieces a bit hard to overlook to enjoy the book. Hoping this author steers away from harmful tropes a bit in their upcoming books.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes