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breezie_reads's review
dark
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I feel like marketing this as a horror was a little misleading. It read as more of a dystopian fiction than anything else. I also wasn't expecting so much sex in this, mostly BECAUSE it was marketed as a horror. I personally haven't read any horror with as much (or any) on-page scenes as this book. And they all kick you in the face.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
nikorico's review
2.0
I would like to preface, that I am happy this book exists. Queer and trans horror is a category that deeply deserves more love and projects. Gretchen Felker-Martin clearly has some skill writing action, gore, and intimacy. She's clearly going for a new spin on a grind house or a splatter punk style, which I absolutely appreciate. If the majority of the book was as tight and focused as the first and last thirty pages, my impressions would be much stronger.
Unfortunately, I think the biggest problem here is a sense of scope. There's both too little time in the book to dedicate to all the topics the author wants to cover, yet too much space in between actual plot events without enough meaningful character beats fill it. With the frequent time jumps and perspective shifts, it feels more like a collection of short stories that were assembled after the fact to create a whole novel. New characters and settings are introduced, built up, and torn down so quickly that it can honestly be hard to understand or care about what's at stake. Any surprises or twists feel more like arbitrarily determined beats, rather than something that feels natural in the flow of the story. The book is also deeply horny in a way that, while refreshingly honest at times, often feels more distracting than purposeful.
I think the characters themselves disappointed me the most. While I appreciate the nuance brought to characters like Beth and Fran, most of the others are troublingly one note at best. As a genderqueer, mixed race person, I do like seeing diverse representation in my media. But when it feels more like you're marking off items in a diversity checklist, that representation feels artificial and forced. Worse off are the villains who are frequently depicted as viscous sociopaths, but without any of the interiority that makes them feel realistically scary. They're boogie man depictions of real life issues propped up on stereotypes to make their eventual downfall satisfying. There's also an undercurrent of internalized misogyny that pops up into depictions of more femme characters that frankly feels lazy and cruel.
I'm not upset that I read this book. I'm very intrigued to see what this author accomplishes in their next, which does sound a bit more focused and smaller scale. However, I think it is a deeply flawed text and it deserves to be read with a more critical eye. It's okay to admit that something so proudly trans can also be pretty mid.
Unfortunately, I think the biggest problem here is a sense of scope. There's both too little time in the book to dedicate to all the topics the author wants to cover, yet too much space in between actual plot events without enough meaningful character beats fill it. With the frequent time jumps and perspective shifts, it feels more like a collection of short stories that were assembled after the fact to create a whole novel. New characters and settings are introduced, built up, and torn down so quickly that it can honestly be hard to understand or care about what's at stake. Any surprises or twists feel more like arbitrarily determined beats, rather than something that feels natural in the flow of the story. The book is also deeply horny in a way that, while refreshingly honest at times, often feels more distracting than purposeful.
I think the characters themselves disappointed me the most. While I appreciate the nuance brought to characters like Beth and Fran, most of the others are troublingly one note at best. As a genderqueer, mixed race person, I do like seeing diverse representation in my media. But when it feels more like you're marking off items in a diversity checklist, that representation feels artificial and forced. Worse off are the villains who are frequently depicted as viscous sociopaths, but without any of the interiority that makes them feel realistically scary. They're boogie man depictions of real life issues propped up on stereotypes to make their eventual downfall satisfying. There's also an undercurrent of internalized misogyny that pops up into depictions of more femme characters that frankly feels lazy and cruel.
I'm not upset that I read this book. I'm very intrigued to see what this author accomplishes in their next, which does sound a bit more focused and smaller scale. However, I think it is a deeply flawed text and it deserves to be read with a more critical eye. It's okay to admit that something so proudly trans can also be pretty mid.
noahjhammond's review
2.0
An interesting concept that was bogged down by questionable rhetoric. There was good prose at times but I personally did fall in love with the book
baileydb96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A really cool idea/premise but the execution fell short for me. Problems with pacing and POV. Also, the violence felt really gratuitous at times. The list of trigger warnings is a mile long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Deadnaming and Fatphobia
nooneyouknow's review against another edition
2.0
Was looking forward to this one - interesting ideas in an unexpected dystopian/horror setting - but the execution was just disappointing. I didn’t find this one particularly nuanced at all and, in my opinion, it was unnecessarily gratuitous on a number of fronts.
calamitymeat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
evy_rinne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
aydanf's review
4.0
ngl all the perspective-shifting so rapidly did trip my lil adhd brain up but I enjoyed the insights provided by the switches! this is a 3.5 rounded up, my first splatter punk so it was a bit of an adjustment for me but it was interesting!
iqlofty's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Deadnaming, Fatphobia, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal death, Self harm, and Pregnancy