rats_on_mars 's review for:

Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

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This book feels pulpy in the best way imaginable, it executes the basic horror formula phenomenally. What had me invested though was the dynamic between the main characters; both trans, both with complicated families, both having loved each other before it ended suddenly 2 years prior to the events of the book. The tension between the protagonists, their complicated emotions towards each other and their clashing transition histories are what ultimately makes this book so enjoyable. The horror elements serve to create stakes, to put the characters in extremes which then allows them to be fleshed out; neither the interplay of the protagonists nor the horror would have worked as well as a standalone but together they become a wonderful and at times devastatingly emotional read.