inkdrinkers's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"Was she all that remained, the last page of the scrapbook, waiting to be filed away for future generations to ignore?"
Muriel Margaret McAuley, a young woman of only 84, refuses to sell her cottage on the Scottish coast. It's the home where she had her children, where she waited for her fisherman husband to come home each evening from the sea - and she will not see it razed to build a golf course. But when she stumbles upon a creature in the fog one evening, she discovers a way to revisit her past and seal her future.
This was nothing short of incredible. I picked this up on a whim because I needed a palette cleanser and heard that it was body horror + gore + monster romance. It's definitely not the monster romance that is currently trending, but it was so impeccably done I'm in a little bit of a stupor after binge reading it in one sitting. There were so many truly wonderful aspects to this novella and I think I might be forever changed by Muriel and Avalon's story.
I don't want to give anything away about this plot. It's the kind of book I'd encourage you go in blind to. I will say - do NOT pick this up if you don't have a strong stomach. It's absolutely packed full of gore, body horror, description of death and bodies and dismemberment, and contains uncomfortable scenes. BUT I would HIGHLY recommend this for fans of Guillermo Del Toro (Shape of Water especially) and classic horror. It's just so well crafted, cozy and bloody.
Content warnings: Violence, Body horror (so SO MUCH. Do not read this if you cannot tolerate blood and viscera), Death, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization (threat of, doesn't happen), Animal cruelty/Animal death (chickens are murdered), Sexual content (vague/one scene where consent is blurry/toes the line of sexual violence)
Muriel Margaret McAuley, a young woman of only 84, refuses to sell her cottage on the Scottish coast. It's the home where she had her children, where she waited for her fisherman husband to come home each evening from the sea - and she will not see it razed to build a golf course. But when she stumbles upon a creature in the fog one evening, she discovers a way to revisit her past and seal her future.
This was nothing short of incredible. I picked this up on a whim because I needed a palette cleanser and heard that it was body horror + gore + monster romance. It's definitely not the monster romance that is currently trending, but it was so impeccably done I'm in a little bit of a stupor after binge reading it in one sitting. There were so many truly wonderful aspects to this novella and I think I might be forever changed by Muriel and Avalon's story.
I don't want to give anything away about this plot. It's the kind of book I'd encourage you go in blind to. I will say - do NOT pick this up if you don't have a strong stomach. It's absolutely packed full of gore, body horror, description of death and bodies and dismemberment, and contains uncomfortable scenes. BUT I would HIGHLY recommend this for fans of Guillermo Del Toro (Shape of Water especially) and classic horror. It's just so well crafted, cozy and bloody.
Content warnings: Violence, Body horror (so SO MUCH. Do not read this if you cannot tolerate blood and viscera), Death, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization (threat of, doesn't happen), Animal cruelty/Animal death (chickens are murdered), Sexual content (vague/one scene where consent is blurry/toes the line of sexual violence)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, and Sexual content
silverleaf's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Body horror, Ableism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Torture and Forced institutionalization
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