288 pages
English language
Published June 6, 2023 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom, Tor Nightfire.
I walked into this book completely blind - it was included in a bundle of horror stories and I picked it randomly without reading anything about it. I... Liked it? I guess? It's deliciously messed up. I don't know if you can call it gratuitous if it's part of the point. I went back and forth on it. In the final tally, I think it's good, but I can totally see people really disliking it.
Maeve looks like a princess and has monsters under her skin.
She works pretending to be a princess while the things inside her scrabble around her skull. She has friends and family. She knows about all the authors and characters in the canon and she has opinions about them. Maeve doesn't make great long-term choices. Maeve enjoys hurting. Maeve isn't broken, this is how she is. Maeve is part of her society, and it's not a dream.
A beautiful bookshop find!
To start, I'd like to thank Tor Nightfire for the ARC.
This book gripped me on page one; I didn't want to put it down, and when I had to, I found myself wandering back to Maeve and her horrifying yet fascinating personality.
Leede's writing is brilliant. She really captures the essence of a late twenty-something in Anaheim, CA with the notion that they are other, superior, a lone wolf. Her descriptions were visceral and disgusting, and I mean that in the best way possible. Though the book isn't overflowing with gore, there is a fair amount of it, and it is done with finesse and tact.
While I enjoyed the story, I would have preferred the ending to be less obvious. However, despite being predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed Maeve's journey into madness and debauchery from beginning to end.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers set in …
To start, I'd like to thank Tor Nightfire for the ARC.
This book gripped me on page one; I didn't want to put it down, and when I had to, I found myself wandering back to Maeve and her horrifying yet fascinating personality.
Leede's writing is brilliant. She really captures the essence of a late twenty-something in Anaheim, CA with the notion that they are other, superior, a lone wolf. Her descriptions were visceral and disgusting, and I mean that in the best way possible. Though the book isn't overflowing with gore, there is a fair amount of it, and it is done with finesse and tact.
While I enjoyed the story, I would have preferred the ending to be less obvious. However, despite being predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed Maeve's journey into madness and debauchery from beginning to end.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers set in California and female serial killers.
