A review by laurenbookwitchbitch
Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I don’t know what I was expecting out of this book but it was…not this. I thought “Sister Maiden Monster,” would be a terrifying cosmic horror with great queer rep. This was a body/medical horror nightmare with barely any good characters or plot. Even the medical horror part wasn’t thought out that well. “What if it was live covid…but worse?” That was the big revelation? Covid mixed with mad cow disease? I kept reading because it was a short book and I was waiting for it to get better. The plot went from ye olde “oh no I’ve been diagnosed with [insert weird gorey plague here]” to religious extremism and then to secret government agency real fast, all with little purpose or tact. As for the queer rep, it was…fine? I guess? I didn’t find anyone super interesting and every relationship in this book was just smeared with nasty over the top bodily fluids and tortured agony. I was not a fan and honestly ended up skim-reading the last half of this story because I just wanted it to be over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Vomit

There’s a line between body-horror and just…gratuitous violence and horror for the “thrill” of it. This book crosses that line. Not a fan. Would not recommend .