A review by jaylajohnson
The Lamb by Lucy Rose

3.0

This was so dark. The opening sentence describing a four year old picking out severed human fingers from the drain was insane. Perfect Hansel & Gretel fairytale/folklore vibes and the gothic horror imagery was really well written that hooked me. I couldn't stop thinking about how the cottage they lived in had to smell HORRIBLE with all the mold, and dust, and blood from butchering the murdered humans and them never washing anything...I was properly disgusted.

I would rate the beginning and end four stars-both captivated me and were the strongest parts of the story.

Spoiler

Having Margot be aware of the lead up to her death was the saddest part and difficult to stomach. I really thought she was going to get saved by the bus driver, but I do appreciate how the ending kept up the overall darkness and wasn't magically better.

The middle did slog and I do wish there was more backstory on the mom on how she become the way she was and deeper feminist commentary that was promised by the book blurb (the motherhood commentary was really good though). The use of cannibalism as a metaphor for love was new to me! I enjoyed the story mostly, but don't think it'll actually stick with me after a few months, besides remembering how nauseous I got from reading.