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Maeve Fly
Winner of the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award!
A Bram Stoker and Splatterpunk Award Nominee!
One of Esquire's Best Horror Books of the Year!
An Indie Next Pick!
"This is gory and brutal and beautiful and painful and terrifying and a pure delight."—Stephen Graham Jones
A provocative and unforgettable debut that is both a blood-soaked love letter to Los Angeles and a gleeful send-up to iconic horror villains, Maeve Fly will thrill fans of slashers and the macabre.
By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess.
By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes.
But when Gideon Green - her best friend’s brother - moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet.
Untethered, Maeve ditches her discontented act and tries on a new persona. A bolder, bloodier one, inspired by the pages of American Psycho. Step aside Patrick Bateman, it’s Maeve’s turn with the knife.
"An apocalyptic Anaheim Psycho." —Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House
A Bram Stoker and Splatterpunk Award Nominee!
One of Esquire's Best Horror Books of the Year!
An Indie Next Pick!
"This is gory and brutal and beautiful and painful and terrifying and a pure delight."—Stephen Graham Jones
A provocative and unforgettable debut that is both a blood-soaked love letter to Los Angeles and a gleeful send-up to iconic horror villains, Maeve Fly will thrill fans of slashers and the macabre.
By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess.
By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes.
But when Gideon Green - her best friend’s brother - moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet.
Untethered, Maeve ditches her discontented act and tries on a new persona. A bolder, bloodier one, inspired by the pages of American Psycho. Step aside Patrick Bateman, it’s Maeve’s turn with the knife.
"An apocalyptic Anaheim Psycho." —Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 6, 2023
1,069 people are currently reading
53.4k people want to read
About the author
C.J. Leede
4Ìýbooks1,538ÌýfollowersCJ LEEDE is a horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She is the author of Maeve Fly and American Rapture. Her debut novel Maeve Fly won the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and Splatterpunk Award, and earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. When she is not driving around the country, CJ can be found in LA with her boyfriend and rescue dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,201 reviews
December 11, 2023
if "I'm not like other girls" was a book
February 3, 2024
what an absurd good time.
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October 25, 2024Maeve Fly is going to be one of the most talked about books of the year for sure!!!
The story follows Maeve, a deeply disturbed, depraved-literature-and-Halloween-obsessed woman in her mid twenties working as the highly popular “ice princess� at Disneyland. She lives with her dying grandmother, an aging starlet known as Tallulah, and her cat, Lester The Cat. The story follows Maeve as she comes to terms with her dark nature, and eventually, embraces it.
The first third of this book is basically a character study into the mind of a very damaged, slightly deranged young woman. It’s filled with dark comedy, and is on par with the dark psychological POV that you’d expect from a Gillian Flynn novel. The rest of the story follows Maeve as she slowly, and then not so slowly, becomes unraveled and madness ensues.
This book is graphic- it’s absolutely filled with violence, body horror, sexual content (some of it very Story Of The Eye-esq 🥚), and torture. There were two full sequences of graphic torture spanning at least a few pages- not quite as graphic as American Psycho (not NEARLY as much sexual violence), but AP is definitely the best comparison (although Maeve is really nothing like Patrick Bateman imo).
I ABSOLUTELY loved the first third of this story. Like I said before, it was darkly funny and ridiculous at times and there was a major creep factor due to a plot line established very early on and I just couldn’t read it fast enough. Then the killings begin, and the book shifted from dark/funny/creepy to dark/surreal/absurd, with an emphasis on the absurdity.
My biggest thing is I wanted SOOOOOOOO much more. I believe this one clocked in at around 240ish pages, and I honestly felt like we could have gotten AT LEAST 100-150 pages more. The ending felt a bit rushed, and it just left me wanting more in a way that was a bit unsatisfying.
But! I do think this book delivered everything it promised. The sex and violence was graphic and cringeworthy (the bus scene ohmyGOD), the comedy was dark and satirical, and the overall vibes were surreal and just over the top in a compulsively readable way.
This book is a trip, and I think you’ll enjoy your time with it if you can handle some extremely graphic descriptions.
Thank you Tor Nightfire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
The story follows Maeve, a deeply disturbed, depraved-literature-and-Halloween-obsessed woman in her mid twenties working as the highly popular “ice princess� at Disneyland. She lives with her dying grandmother, an aging starlet known as Tallulah, and her cat, Lester The Cat. The story follows Maeve as she comes to terms with her dark nature, and eventually, embraces it.
The first third of this book is basically a character study into the mind of a very damaged, slightly deranged young woman. It’s filled with dark comedy, and is on par with the dark psychological POV that you’d expect from a Gillian Flynn novel. The rest of the story follows Maeve as she slowly, and then not so slowly, becomes unraveled and madness ensues.
This book is graphic- it’s absolutely filled with violence, body horror, sexual content (some of it very Story Of The Eye-esq 🥚), and torture. There were two full sequences of graphic torture spanning at least a few pages- not quite as graphic as American Psycho (not NEARLY as much sexual violence), but AP is definitely the best comparison (although Maeve is really nothing like Patrick Bateman imo).
I ABSOLUTELY loved the first third of this story. Like I said before, it was darkly funny and ridiculous at times and there was a major creep factor due to a plot line established very early on and I just couldn’t read it fast enough. Then the killings begin, and the book shifted from dark/funny/creepy to dark/surreal/absurd, with an emphasis on the absurdity.
My biggest thing is I wanted SOOOOOOOO much more. I believe this one clocked in at around 240ish pages, and I honestly felt like we could have gotten AT LEAST 100-150 pages more. The ending felt a bit rushed, and it just left me wanting more in a way that was a bit unsatisfying.
But! I do think this book delivered everything it promised. The sex and violence was graphic and cringeworthy (the bus scene ohmyGOD), the comedy was dark and satirical, and the overall vibes were surreal and just over the top in a compulsively readable way.
This book is a trip, and I think you’ll enjoy your time with it if you can handle some extremely graphic descriptions.
Thank you Tor Nightfire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
July 12, 2023
I'm not like other girls. I am dark and I have a violent wolf inside of me. Blonde girls are stupid and only care about looks. I drink at the same bar Johnny Depp goes and sometimes, we raise our glass at eachother. Super well known Hollywood actresses are jealous of me, and I scare them away by glancing at them with all my wrath. I SA and torture women with the help of this muscular, young millionaire sexy hockey player, who also happens to be the brother of my best friend, who I also want to fuck. But I don't like him, he's hot but he's soooo annoying. Still, I'll spend half the book describing how hot he is and how we fuck all the time.The cops never catch me, I'm too smart. I masturbate while exposing racist women on Reddit. I'm a huge Disney and Halloween fan, but I'm not like all those stupid worthless girls that do too
If you are into manic pixies pick me edgy girl, you'll love this one
It was more of an inserted Fanfic then a book
And yes, the Johnny Depp thing is seriously in it
If you are into manic pixies pick me edgy girl, you'll love this one
It was more of an inserted Fanfic then a book
And yes, the Johnny Depp thing is seriously in it
October 15, 2024
Now what the HELL did I just read???
September 24, 2024
RTC if I can manage to edit my google doc into something worth reading, unlike this book.
March 24, 2025
**3.5-stars**
Maeve Fly is Extreme Horror from debut author C.J. Leede.
In addition to the fascinating cover, I was drawn to this book because the synopsis mentions the main character was inspired by the pages of American Psycho.
Even though I was bored to tears by American Psycho, I still wanted to see what this was all about. It had my attention.
Luckily for me, I enjoyed this much more than AP. I definitely felt the same tone throughout, but I really enjoyed the Feminist twist that Leede brought here.
This story follows Maeve, who is the Patrick Bateman of our story. Instead of NYC, we're in L.A. for this one, where Maeve lives with her ailing grandmother, a former movie starlet. Their secluded mansion is Maeve's safe haven.
By day, Maeve works at a theme park, it's unnamed, but think Disneyland, where she plays a super popular ice princess. Let's call her, Elsa.
Maeve works alongside her best friend, Kate, the only person, besides her grandmother, she feels a real connection with. That is until Kate's brother, Gideon, arrives in town.
Gideon makes Maeve feel things she doesn't necessarily want to be feeling. She tries to avoid him, but the attraction can't be helped. Once they start chumming around, all bets are off. It's no holds bar, gripping, pulse-pounding, exhausting, exploring their darkest and deepest desires.
We're talking dark. Real, genuine debauchery. Maeve has a fetish with eggs. You'll never be able to unsee that. I will never look at an egg the same again.
The narrative style is biting and shocking, as you would expect Extreme Horror to be. It's stream of consciousness from Maeve's perspective and being in her brain is not a comfortable place to be.
I did enjoy some of the ideas that Leede explored in this. For example, Maeve talks about how we have a need to understand why people do horrific acts, but when men perform such acts, it's sort of like, men are aggressive, men can snap, men can be harmful. It's not super shocking, but when the same acts are performed by a woman, it's almost unbelievable to us.
Maeve's thing is, what if this is just me? There's no reason behind it, no justifications or excuses. It's her true being, point blank.
I also liked the dichotomy displayed in Maeve's life. She loves her job, she's interacting with children all day, the epitome of a pretty, pretty princess, but as soon as the park closes and she's free in the world, she's a monster, a predator, an evil being.
That back-and-forth was really well done and I appreciated how Leede set that up. I also loved the ending of this. The final two scenes were my favorite of the whole novel.
Overall, I feel like this is a good book. I think it is smart and visceral. For me, though, I felt a little disconnected with it at times. It was sort of a mixed bag.
I enjoyed a lot of the themes and the ideas behind the creation of the story, but didn't vibe as much with Maeve's narrative voice.
Also, I feel like I am just not enjoying Extreme Horror as much as I used to. That is my own reading journey though, and yours may be completely different, so please keep that in mind when reading this review.
Fair warning: don't be fooled by the subtle-sounding synopsis. This is intense, torture, body horror, fetish acts, sexually explicit content for days, it's all here. If you're looking for a good shock, you'll definitely find it somewhere in this story. I dare you not to be shocked by at least a few scenes. You can't do it. You can't.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I would definitely be interested in picking up more from this author in the future, especially if she continues with the feminist themes that were so well done here.
Maeve Fly is Extreme Horror from debut author C.J. Leede.
In addition to the fascinating cover, I was drawn to this book because the synopsis mentions the main character was inspired by the pages of American Psycho.
Even though I was bored to tears by American Psycho, I still wanted to see what this was all about. It had my attention.
Luckily for me, I enjoyed this much more than AP. I definitely felt the same tone throughout, but I really enjoyed the Feminist twist that Leede brought here.
This story follows Maeve, who is the Patrick Bateman of our story. Instead of NYC, we're in L.A. for this one, where Maeve lives with her ailing grandmother, a former movie starlet. Their secluded mansion is Maeve's safe haven.
By day, Maeve works at a theme park, it's unnamed, but think Disneyland, where she plays a super popular ice princess. Let's call her, Elsa.
Maeve works alongside her best friend, Kate, the only person, besides her grandmother, she feels a real connection with. That is until Kate's brother, Gideon, arrives in town.
Gideon makes Maeve feel things she doesn't necessarily want to be feeling. She tries to avoid him, but the attraction can't be helped. Once they start chumming around, all bets are off. It's no holds bar, gripping, pulse-pounding, exhausting, exploring their darkest and deepest desires.
We're talking dark. Real, genuine debauchery. Maeve has a fetish with eggs. You'll never be able to unsee that. I will never look at an egg the same again.
The narrative style is biting and shocking, as you would expect Extreme Horror to be. It's stream of consciousness from Maeve's perspective and being in her brain is not a comfortable place to be.
I did enjoy some of the ideas that Leede explored in this. For example, Maeve talks about how we have a need to understand why people do horrific acts, but when men perform such acts, it's sort of like, men are aggressive, men can snap, men can be harmful. It's not super shocking, but when the same acts are performed by a woman, it's almost unbelievable to us.
Maeve's thing is, what if this is just me? There's no reason behind it, no justifications or excuses. It's her true being, point blank.
I also liked the dichotomy displayed in Maeve's life. She loves her job, she's interacting with children all day, the epitome of a pretty, pretty princess, but as soon as the park closes and she's free in the world, she's a monster, a predator, an evil being.
That back-and-forth was really well done and I appreciated how Leede set that up. I also loved the ending of this. The final two scenes were my favorite of the whole novel.
Overall, I feel like this is a good book. I think it is smart and visceral. For me, though, I felt a little disconnected with it at times. It was sort of a mixed bag.
I enjoyed a lot of the themes and the ideas behind the creation of the story, but didn't vibe as much with Maeve's narrative voice.
Also, I feel like I am just not enjoying Extreme Horror as much as I used to. That is my own reading journey though, and yours may be completely different, so please keep that in mind when reading this review.
Fair warning: don't be fooled by the subtle-sounding synopsis. This is intense, torture, body horror, fetish acts, sexually explicit content for days, it's all here. If you're looking for a good shock, you'll definitely find it somewhere in this story. I dare you not to be shocked by at least a few scenes. You can't do it. You can't.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I would definitely be interested in picking up more from this author in the future, especially if she continues with the feminist themes that were so well done here.
December 4, 2023
I am baffled by some of the praise going around for this book. "Extreme horror!" Okay, maybe for like, one chapter and half of another one? "Feminist horror icon!" You mean the woman who rapes nearly every victim she takes, finding especially creative ways to do so with the women?
I don't need to agree with a character's actions to like them, but aside from the previously mentioned issues, Maeve is so oblivious that it's impossible for me to get behind her as a narrator. There's a twist in this book that is painfully obvious from a million miles away, yet Maeve is taken entirely off-guard by it in the worst way. Oblivious.
Most of all, Maeve Fly is simply boring for the bulk of its duration. There's very little horror for most of the book, instead primarily focusing on Maeve's internal critique of everyone around her and a whole lotta sex.
The only major hype piece I've heard for this book that actually makes sense to me is comparing this to Palahniuk's writing style, which I'll agree with � Leede's style reminded me a lot of Chuck Palahniuk's style and I can definitely see the inspiration there (though it would be hard to miss it, given how much name-dropping happens throughout Maeve Fly, including many references to Chuck himself).
This was perhaps my single most disappointing read of 2023 so far. I would try this author's work again in the future, but don't recommend this one.
Buddy read with Reg! �
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
� Content warnings for:
—â¶Ä”â¶Ä�
| | |
I don't need to agree with a character's actions to like them, but aside from the previously mentioned issues, Maeve is so oblivious that it's impossible for me to get behind her as a narrator. There's a twist in this book that is painfully obvious from a million miles away, yet Maeve is taken entirely off-guard by it in the worst way. Oblivious.
Most of all, Maeve Fly is simply boring for the bulk of its duration. There's very little horror for most of the book, instead primarily focusing on Maeve's internal critique of everyone around her and a whole lotta sex.
The only major hype piece I've heard for this book that actually makes sense to me is comparing this to Palahniuk's writing style, which I'll agree with � Leede's style reminded me a lot of Chuck Palahniuk's style and I can definitely see the inspiration there (though it would be hard to miss it, given how much name-dropping happens throughout Maeve Fly, including many references to Chuck himself).
This was perhaps my single most disappointing read of 2023 so far. I would try this author's work again in the future, but don't recommend this one.
Buddy read with Reg! �
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
� Content warnings for:
—â¶Ä”â¶Ä�
| | |
June 30, 2023
A little obsessed with Maeve. A little terrified of this author.
June 6, 2023
"This is my story, and you cannot control it. No more than you can the ever-lower dangle of your sex or the warming of this fat, lazy prison rock floating in the semen-splotched sky.
My name is Maeve Fly.
I work at the happiest place in the world."
Maeve Fly is a princess or at least she plays one for her job at the happiest place in the world. When she's not posing and primping for the camera and kids she roams the seedy streets of L.A. taking in the sights, the sounds, always looking for a good time to burn off some of the internal rage that roils through her bloodstream.
Let's just say that our dear Maeve puts the RAGE in outRAGEous! *Shudders*
"Rage does not do it justice.
Fury. Frenzy. Savagery. Madness. Spleen. Bile. Wrath.
There is no word for what fills me."
When her co-worker and best friends brother, Gideon, comes to town something inside her awakens demanding sweet bloody release. Channeling her inner Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) she sets to right the wrongs in the world.
Okay, folks and friends, I can't be clearer about this: This is NOT for the faint of heart. The pages here are dripping in gore and I will NEVER be able to look at an egg the same way ever again. There are just some images you can't unsee and this scene is one of them. 😳 C.J. Leede has scrambled my brain to a pulp in the best way possible. Her writing is sharp as a razors edge and it sliced it's way into the core of my very being. I wouldn't just sip this woman's Kool-aid, I'd guzzle it down by the bucketful satiated and satisfied.
Visceral, unnerving, and wholly disgusting I had a rip roaring good time with this. In fact, I could see this becoming a cult classic in the horror genre. That doesn't mean I'm recommending it to you faithful reader so don't come back here horrified that I would put such filth on your radar. This is a book for the weirdest of all weirdos to enjoy. You know who you are. The rest of you have been warned! 5 stars!
P.S. Credit to Carly Janine Mazur for the phenomenal cover art. *Chefs kiss* 👌
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for my complimentary copy.
My name is Maeve Fly.
I work at the happiest place in the world."
Maeve Fly is a princess or at least she plays one for her job at the happiest place in the world. When she's not posing and primping for the camera and kids she roams the seedy streets of L.A. taking in the sights, the sounds, always looking for a good time to burn off some of the internal rage that roils through her bloodstream.
Let's just say that our dear Maeve puts the RAGE in outRAGEous! *Shudders*
"Rage does not do it justice.
Fury. Frenzy. Savagery. Madness. Spleen. Bile. Wrath.
There is no word for what fills me."
When her co-worker and best friends brother, Gideon, comes to town something inside her awakens demanding sweet bloody release. Channeling her inner Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) she sets to right the wrongs in the world.
Okay, folks and friends, I can't be clearer about this: This is NOT for the faint of heart. The pages here are dripping in gore and I will NEVER be able to look at an egg the same way ever again. There are just some images you can't unsee and this scene is one of them. 😳 C.J. Leede has scrambled my brain to a pulp in the best way possible. Her writing is sharp as a razors edge and it sliced it's way into the core of my very being. I wouldn't just sip this woman's Kool-aid, I'd guzzle it down by the bucketful satiated and satisfied.
Visceral, unnerving, and wholly disgusting I had a rip roaring good time with this. In fact, I could see this becoming a cult classic in the horror genre. That doesn't mean I'm recommending it to you faithful reader so don't come back here horrified that I would put such filth on your radar. This is a book for the weirdest of all weirdos to enjoy. You know who you are. The rest of you have been warned! 5 stars!
P.S. Credit to Carly Janine Mazur for the phenomenal cover art. *Chefs kiss* 👌
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for my complimentary copy.
June 11, 2023
DNF
white women cynicism fantasies are so insane like did i really just read an entire chapter of a white girl getting herself off to exposing a karen on reddit ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
white women cynicism fantasies are so insane like did i really just read an entire chapter of a white girl getting herself off to exposing a karen on reddit ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
March 11, 2025
If Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, then Maeve Fly is the reason they keep the lights on at night. C.J. Leede’s Maeve Fly is a twisted, deliciously deranged descent into the mind of a woman who isn’t afraid to carve out her own story, literally. This is American Psycho with a tiara, a slasher with a songbook, and a grotesque, glitter-drenched love letter to horror’s most iconic villains.
Maeve’s double life is something straight out of a demented fairy tale. By day, she’s the perfect princess, making dreams come true for adoring children. But once the sun sets over Los Angeles, she trades her glass slippers for something sharper, prowling the city with the cold detachment of her literary idols. When Gideon Green enters the picture, he doesn’t just shake up her routine, he gives her permission to be exactly what she was always meant to be: unapologetically monstrous.
Leede doesn’t just flirt with the dark side, she grabs it by the throat and drags it into a feverish, blood-soaked waltz. The prose slices through like a well-honed blade, alternating between gorgeous, poetic reflections and stomach-churning brutality.The violence? Unrelenting. The humor? As black as Maeve’s soul. The ride? A nightmarish delight, like a haunted carousel spinning out of control.
This book is not for the faint of heart, nor for those who prefer their horror with a safety net. Maeve Fly embraces the extreme, revels in the grotesque, and never once asks for forgiveness. It’s a symphony of violence, a requiem for restraint, and a gleeful reminder that the darkest stories are sometimes the most intoxicating.
If you like your fairy tales grim, your villains victorious, and your horror served raw and unfiltered, then step aside, Patrick Bateman, Maeve Fly is here to reign.
Final Verdict:🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰 five out of five flys! A demented masterpiece with a crown of entrails.
Maeve’s double life is something straight out of a demented fairy tale. By day, she’s the perfect princess, making dreams come true for adoring children. But once the sun sets over Los Angeles, she trades her glass slippers for something sharper, prowling the city with the cold detachment of her literary idols. When Gideon Green enters the picture, he doesn’t just shake up her routine, he gives her permission to be exactly what she was always meant to be: unapologetically monstrous.
Leede doesn’t just flirt with the dark side, she grabs it by the throat and drags it into a feverish, blood-soaked waltz. The prose slices through like a well-honed blade, alternating between gorgeous, poetic reflections and stomach-churning brutality.The violence? Unrelenting. The humor? As black as Maeve’s soul. The ride? A nightmarish delight, like a haunted carousel spinning out of control.
This book is not for the faint of heart, nor for those who prefer their horror with a safety net. Maeve Fly embraces the extreme, revels in the grotesque, and never once asks for forgiveness. It’s a symphony of violence, a requiem for restraint, and a gleeful reminder that the darkest stories are sometimes the most intoxicating.
If you like your fairy tales grim, your villains victorious, and your horror served raw and unfiltered, then step aside, Patrick Bateman, Maeve Fly is here to reign.
Final Verdict:🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰 five out of five flys! A demented masterpiece with a crown of entrails.
Read
May 1, 2023MAEVE FLY by C. J. Leede (debut novel)
Release Date: June 6th, 2023
General Genre: Extreme Horror
Subgenre/Themes: City Life, Gross Out, Human Monsters, Psychological, Feminist, Strong Women
Writing Style: First Person, Brisk Pacing, Cinematic, Bret Easton Ellis(ish)
What You Need to Know: You need to go into this one with your eyes wide open. "Inspired by the pages of American Psycho" is not an exaggeration, so if you've read that book you will be equipped to handle this and if you tapped out of it (like I did) or skimmed parts of it, or have avoided it, you should proceed here with caution. There are also a lot of references to a French novella titled, Story of the Eye (French: L'histoire de l'Å“il) written by Georges Bataille in 1928 "detailing the increasingly bizarre sexual perversions of a pair of teenage lovers" and yes, I see the influence. The MC, Maeve, is quite enamored with that book for reasons. I'm always a little hesitant to use current, bookish buzzwords but the protagonist here is "unhinged". This is her descent into depravity.
My Reading Experience: Wow. This was quite unexpected. I mean, the synopsis does a great job of setting early expectations but still, nothing can really prepare you for the kind of unapologetic sex and violence prioritized in Maeve Fly.
These are unsympathetic characters. The whole cast. So, if liking protagonists is important for you, I'd steer clear of this one. These twentysomething-year-olds are self-sabotaging, un-relatable, and off-the-rails (except for Maeve's obsession with Halloween and good music-I could relate)
"inside my room, I turn on Billy Holiday. There are only two kinds of music in my world. Billy Holiday and Halloween songs."
Friends, Mave, and Kate's day job are to dress up as the most recent/popular cartoon movie princesses at the iconic theme park. An unwholesome duo representing beloved princesses--it's brilliant and uncomfortable.
Our narrator, Maeve, lives with her grandmother an Old Hollywood Starlit who now spends days on her deathbed--her healthcare is managed by a caretaker named Hilda. Maeve passes the time entertaining and pleasuring herself in a variety of shocking activities.
"Men have always been permitted in fiction and in life to simply be what they are, no matter how dark or terrifying that might be. But with a woman, we expect an answer, a reason."
For the first 30% of this book, I felt like the author establishes Maeve's narrator's voice and lifestyle. Nothing remarkable "happens" just character-driven inner mind chat revealing Maeve's unbalanced worldview. around the halfway mark, plot, tension, and conflict present themselves as we escalate toward the climax/finish.
"I have tried the way of the misanthrope, the way of the deviant, the philosopher, the observer, the pretender. But there is one road I have not seriously considered walking down, have not permitted myself to. Perhaps it is time."
It's definitely entertaining. C. J. Leede knows what she's doing in this space, I just feel like I went through a long phase of devouring messed-up extreme fiction and burnt myself out on it a little bit. I skimmed through some of the longer sections of graphic violence, gratuitous sex, and homicidal mania. I loved everything in-between. I'm fairly certain that readers who hunger for extreme horror will absolutely devour this book and it will be a new favorite. Readers that share my current mindset will appreciate the writing chops and skillful character development. It's a wild ride.
Final Recommendation: Definitely pick this up if you are a horror fan who enjoys leaning into the dark side of extreme horror. A deep dive into the mind of a woman who comes face to face with her true nature and unapologetically acts upon it. Graphically violent, unfiltered sexual exploits, and dark comedy make for an entertaining read that is wildly untamed. Dirty, rotten, bananas.
Comps: American Psycho, Story of the Eye, Marquis de Sade, Ottessa Moshfegh, Valley of the Dolls, Natural Born Killers (film), Dark Romance
Release Date: June 6th, 2023
General Genre: Extreme Horror
Subgenre/Themes: City Life, Gross Out, Human Monsters, Psychological, Feminist, Strong Women
Writing Style: First Person, Brisk Pacing, Cinematic, Bret Easton Ellis(ish)
What You Need to Know: You need to go into this one with your eyes wide open. "Inspired by the pages of American Psycho" is not an exaggeration, so if you've read that book you will be equipped to handle this and if you tapped out of it (like I did) or skimmed parts of it, or have avoided it, you should proceed here with caution. There are also a lot of references to a French novella titled, Story of the Eye (French: L'histoire de l'Å“il) written by Georges Bataille in 1928 "detailing the increasingly bizarre sexual perversions of a pair of teenage lovers" and yes, I see the influence. The MC, Maeve, is quite enamored with that book for reasons. I'm always a little hesitant to use current, bookish buzzwords but the protagonist here is "unhinged". This is her descent into depravity.
My Reading Experience: Wow. This was quite unexpected. I mean, the synopsis does a great job of setting early expectations but still, nothing can really prepare you for the kind of unapologetic sex and violence prioritized in Maeve Fly.
These are unsympathetic characters. The whole cast. So, if liking protagonists is important for you, I'd steer clear of this one. These twentysomething-year-olds are self-sabotaging, un-relatable, and off-the-rails (except for Maeve's obsession with Halloween and good music-I could relate)
"inside my room, I turn on Billy Holiday. There are only two kinds of music in my world. Billy Holiday and Halloween songs."
Friends, Mave, and Kate's day job are to dress up as the most recent/popular cartoon movie princesses at the iconic theme park. An unwholesome duo representing beloved princesses--it's brilliant and uncomfortable.
Our narrator, Maeve, lives with her grandmother an Old Hollywood Starlit who now spends days on her deathbed--her healthcare is managed by a caretaker named Hilda. Maeve passes the time entertaining and pleasuring herself in a variety of shocking activities.
"Men have always been permitted in fiction and in life to simply be what they are, no matter how dark or terrifying that might be. But with a woman, we expect an answer, a reason."
For the first 30% of this book, I felt like the author establishes Maeve's narrator's voice and lifestyle. Nothing remarkable "happens" just character-driven inner mind chat revealing Maeve's unbalanced worldview. around the halfway mark, plot, tension, and conflict present themselves as we escalate toward the climax/finish.
"I have tried the way of the misanthrope, the way of the deviant, the philosopher, the observer, the pretender. But there is one road I have not seriously considered walking down, have not permitted myself to. Perhaps it is time."
It's definitely entertaining. C. J. Leede knows what she's doing in this space, I just feel like I went through a long phase of devouring messed-up extreme fiction and burnt myself out on it a little bit. I skimmed through some of the longer sections of graphic violence, gratuitous sex, and homicidal mania. I loved everything in-between. I'm fairly certain that readers who hunger for extreme horror will absolutely devour this book and it will be a new favorite. Readers that share my current mindset will appreciate the writing chops and skillful character development. It's a wild ride.
Final Recommendation: Definitely pick this up if you are a horror fan who enjoys leaning into the dark side of extreme horror. A deep dive into the mind of a woman who comes face to face with her true nature and unapologetically acts upon it. Graphically violent, unfiltered sexual exploits, and dark comedy make for an entertaining read that is wildly untamed. Dirty, rotten, bananas.
Comps: American Psycho, Story of the Eye, Marquis de Sade, Ottessa Moshfegh, Valley of the Dolls, Natural Born Killers (film), Dark Romance
January 29, 2025
“I see you.�
🔥Maeve is a riot!! X-horror/splatterpunk books are so much damn fun to read! And a therapeutic outlet I never knew I needed till I joined Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. lol Shout out to all the x-horror/splatterpunk Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ authors - we thank you for your creations. Please keep them comin'! Woooo!
“A lifetime thus far of being alone. Of knowing I would be alone, forever. To stand in a full room and know oneself to be apart, that invisible barrier between you and them to be in every way uncrossable. To find the will to exist in a world so wholly unsuited for you.�
🔥Maeve is a riot!! X-horror/splatterpunk books are so much damn fun to read! And a therapeutic outlet I never knew I needed till I joined Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. lol Shout out to all the x-horror/splatterpunk Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ authors - we thank you for your creations. Please keep them comin'! Woooo!
“A lifetime thus far of being alone. Of knowing I would be alone, forever. To stand in a full room and know oneself to be apart, that invisible barrier between you and them to be in every way uncrossable. To find the will to exist in a world so wholly unsuited for you.�
January 13, 2023
"A horrible murderer who tortures and abuses women -- but she's a woman!" is not inherently clever or feminist. This reads like American Psycho fanfic. But that book came out over 30 years ago and this doesn't feel like it's evolved past it in any way.
January 10, 2024
3.5 stars
I love the idea behind this novel. The problem is that it doesn't deliver on its promise, seeing as Maeve is never truly monstrous.
She ruins some lives, but always those of bad people. She kills, but only because she feels like she has no other choice. She threatens to horribly disfigure someone, but unlike her idol Pat Bateman doesn't go through with it.
I guess the book proves its own point: unlike men, fictional women simply aren't allowed to be unreservedly monstrous.
I have never understood, and still do not understand the notion that a woman must first endure a victimhood of some sort—abandonment, abuse, oppression of the patriarchy to be monstrous.
Men have always been permitted in fiction and in life to simply be what they are, no matter how dark or terrifying that might be. But with a woman, we expect an answer, a reason. But why would she do it? Why, why, why?
I love the idea behind this novel. The problem is that it doesn't deliver on its promise, seeing as Maeve is never truly monstrous.
She ruins some lives, but always those of bad people. She kills, but only because she feels like she has no other choice. She threatens to horribly disfigure someone, but unlike her idol Pat Bateman doesn't go through with it.
I guess the book proves its own point: unlike men, fictional women simply aren't allowed to be unreservedly monstrous.
February 3, 2023
Sometimes horror is purposely shocking. Sometimes it has good reason to do this. Sometimes it really, really doesn't. Sadly, this book is the latter, shocking for no reason except to shock.
I generally don't find violence in novels too distressing, something about not having to see it makes it much easier for me to tolerate. Only a handful of times has it gone past what I can tolerate and this is one of those times. I had to skim more than once because the level of violence was trying so hard to be gross, to be horrific, and again, for no real reason. In particular there are a few scenes of sexual assault that are some of the most awful things I've ever heard of in any context. That, to me, is where the book went from possibly just gross-out-fun to across the line. I will not tell you what these things are because just describing them in the most basic terms is enough to turn most people's stomachs, and I just cannot do that with sexual violence.
Beyond the violence, there's not a lot else that got me in this book's corner. I was down for the concept, the juxtaposition of our protagonist being a Disney (never named but obviously) princess by day and extremely messed up individual by night. But the concept didn't really work, it's never clear why Maeve loves Disneyland, why she loves being a princess, why she loves her coworker. It feels more like a device than something rooted in the character, especially when Leede is trying so hard to show us just how brutal this character is. I do not believe a person who is delighted to say hello to toddlers all day long is just happily not murderous during those times and then a switch flips. The relationship with her grandmother was the most believable but unfortunately Grandma is in a coma for most of the book. The romantic relationship was way too predictable for a book that's trying to be edgy.
There were some scenes here I thought worked really well and it's a shame that Leede couldn't walk that line. There's a sex scene in an ice rink that really nailed the visceral S&M kind of vibes, that was brow-raising without pulling you out entirely.
The torture here (and it is absolutely torture) is just so try-hard, so over the top, like it's got something to prove. It's too bad there's nothing worth proving here.
I generally don't find violence in novels too distressing, something about not having to see it makes it much easier for me to tolerate. Only a handful of times has it gone past what I can tolerate and this is one of those times. I had to skim more than once because the level of violence was trying so hard to be gross, to be horrific, and again, for no real reason. In particular there are a few scenes of sexual assault that are some of the most awful things I've ever heard of in any context. That, to me, is where the book went from possibly just gross-out-fun to across the line. I will not tell you what these things are because just describing them in the most basic terms is enough to turn most people's stomachs, and I just cannot do that with sexual violence.
Beyond the violence, there's not a lot else that got me in this book's corner. I was down for the concept, the juxtaposition of our protagonist being a Disney (never named but obviously) princess by day and extremely messed up individual by night. But the concept didn't really work, it's never clear why Maeve loves Disneyland, why she loves being a princess, why she loves her coworker. It feels more like a device than something rooted in the character, especially when Leede is trying so hard to show us just how brutal this character is. I do not believe a person who is delighted to say hello to toddlers all day long is just happily not murderous during those times and then a switch flips. The relationship with her grandmother was the most believable but unfortunately Grandma is in a coma for most of the book. The romantic relationship was way too predictable for a book that's trying to be edgy.
There were some scenes here I thought worked really well and it's a shame that Leede couldn't walk that line. There's a sex scene in an ice rink that really nailed the visceral S&M kind of vibes, that was brow-raising without pulling you out entirely.
The torture here (and it is absolutely torture) is just so try-hard, so over the top, like it's got something to prove. It's too bad there's nothing worth proving here.
July 5, 2023
DNF-ing at a skimmed 59% because if I roll my eyes one more time I'm going to pull something.
This is badly written, edgy MFA dreck, and trying so hard to be American Psycho it's embarrassing (ETA: Looking at the reviews mentioning that she later literally finds a copy of it and starts imitating it... Oh my god, how did this get published? The bad references were bad enough!), and utterly pointless. It gets stuff wrong about LA (I have got to stop reading books set in LA written by people who aren't from there), about the Disney parks, about like... how human beings speak, think, and interact. It thinks an NHL hockey player can afford a house in the Beverly Hills flats and that an enforcer would punch another player in the face during training camp. (If Leede wanted to write a bad hockey romance, she could've just done that. I'm sure Fifty Shades of Ice or whatever would make bank.)
If Leede wants me to believe this woman's greatest, most persistent desire is to successfully put an egg inside herself and walk around with it, that she wants to commit aimless, pointless violence, that she truly feels there's a dark wolf inside of her, I need to be able to believe the rest of the world she lives in and not one second of this felt real or plausible. And not in the Los Angeles ~artifice way Leede desperately thinks she's being clever about.
Like, I have the greatest ability to suspend disbelief in the world! People have remarked on it repeatedly! But I can't, shan't, and won't believe that somebody who lives in an old Hollywood money house on Sunset is driving to fucking Anaheim to make $20 an hour playing Elsa no matter how much they're committing to some kind of bit. The friend who wants to be an actor... sure, but come on.
Anyway, I honestly could not tell if Maeve was stupid or the author was, but either way I am thrilled to be done trying to figure it out.
This is badly written, edgy MFA dreck, and trying so hard to be American Psycho it's embarrassing (ETA: Looking at the reviews mentioning that she later literally finds a copy of it and starts imitating it... Oh my god, how did this get published? The bad references were bad enough!), and utterly pointless. It gets stuff wrong about LA (I have got to stop reading books set in LA written by people who aren't from there), about the Disney parks, about like... how human beings speak, think, and interact. It thinks an NHL hockey player can afford a house in the Beverly Hills flats and that an enforcer would punch another player in the face during training camp. (If Leede wanted to write a bad hockey romance, she could've just done that. I'm sure Fifty Shades of Ice or whatever would make bank.)
If Leede wants me to believe this woman's greatest, most persistent desire is to successfully put an egg inside herself and walk around with it, that she wants to commit aimless, pointless violence, that she truly feels there's a dark wolf inside of her, I need to be able to believe the rest of the world she lives in and not one second of this felt real or plausible. And not in the Los Angeles ~artifice way Leede desperately thinks she's being clever about.
Like, I have the greatest ability to suspend disbelief in the world! People have remarked on it repeatedly! But I can't, shan't, and won't believe that somebody who lives in an old Hollywood money house on Sunset is driving to fucking Anaheim to make $20 an hour playing Elsa no matter how much they're committing to some kind of bit. The friend who wants to be an actor... sure, but come on.
Anyway, I honestly could not tell if Maeve was stupid or the author was, but either way I am thrilled to be done trying to figure it out.
August 31, 2024
I See You...
MAEVE FLY by CJ Leede
No spoilers. 5 stars. You do not need to first become a victim to become a monster...
Maeve worked as a princess at the happiest place on earth along with fellow princess and coworker Kate...
Maeve and Kate are BFFs...
The only woman, besides Kate, who exists in Maeve's world, is Grandmother Tallulah, who took Maeve in to live with her in her Hollywood Hills mansion...
Tallulah, an old one-time film star, is slowly dying of cirrhosis of the liver and has slipped into a coma...
Maeve has 2 years...
Before her grandma dies and her BFF Kate
becomes a Hollywood movie star. Then Maeve will be alone...
Maeve finds pleasure in routine. It makes her life bearable. She doesn't throw away the few good things she has on...
Empty promises and girlish dreams...
At night, Maeve puts on porn and visits chat rooms and ruins random lives for sport...
Grandma Tallulah always said...
In order to know virtue, we must first acquaint ourselves with vice. We all seek beauty knowing it is only a facade for the decaying in the dark...
Tallulah liked quoting the Marquis de Sade...
Maeve drives Tallulah's classic 1967 pink Mustang, and she is a serial killer who has already killed 3 people...
It's Halloween, Maeve's favorite time of year. Some come to Hollywood for the sunshine, some for the lights of the soundstages...
And some for the dark...
Maeve has met a man she's attracted to, and there is a thing growing inside her that's not rage or spite or fear or pain...
But it's all-consuming and all-exciting...
Grandma always said: Don't ever let someone in. You are what you are. A wolf is only ever a wolf...
If you let someone in, they will see you...
This was a riveting thriller similar to AMERICAN PSYCHO by Bret Easton Ellis. The storytelling is well worth 5 stars, but a warning is due here about the graphic sexual content.
MAEVE FLY by CJ Leede
No spoilers. 5 stars. You do not need to first become a victim to become a monster...
Maeve worked as a princess at the happiest place on earth along with fellow princess and coworker Kate...
Maeve and Kate are BFFs...
The only woman, besides Kate, who exists in Maeve's world, is Grandmother Tallulah, who took Maeve in to live with her in her Hollywood Hills mansion...
Tallulah, an old one-time film star, is slowly dying of cirrhosis of the liver and has slipped into a coma...
Maeve has 2 years...
Before her grandma dies and her BFF Kate
becomes a Hollywood movie star. Then Maeve will be alone...
Maeve finds pleasure in routine. It makes her life bearable. She doesn't throw away the few good things she has on...
Empty promises and girlish dreams...
At night, Maeve puts on porn and visits chat rooms and ruins random lives for sport...
Grandma Tallulah always said...
In order to know virtue, we must first acquaint ourselves with vice. We all seek beauty knowing it is only a facade for the decaying in the dark...
Tallulah liked quoting the Marquis de Sade...
Maeve drives Tallulah's classic 1967 pink Mustang, and she is a serial killer who has already killed 3 people...
It's Halloween, Maeve's favorite time of year. Some come to Hollywood for the sunshine, some for the lights of the soundstages...
And some for the dark...
Maeve has met a man she's attracted to, and there is a thing growing inside her that's not rage or spite or fear or pain...
But it's all-consuming and all-exciting...
Grandma always said: Don't ever let someone in. You are what you are. A wolf is only ever a wolf...
If you let someone in, they will see you...
This was a riveting thriller similar to AMERICAN PSYCHO by Bret Easton Ellis. The storytelling is well worth 5 stars, but a warning is due here about the graphic sexual content.
May 28, 2023
4.0 Stars
Video Review:
It's always a pleasant surprise when the marketing buzz actually fits the novel. In this case, I can confirm that this book gave me American Psycho vibes.
I normally dislike novels set in Los Angeles but this one worked because it was intentionally highlighting the horrible side of Hollywood culture. I liked the unlikeable main character because she had such a strong, intentional personality. The plot is bit uneven and I wished the ending had a bit more punch. Yet overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend this one to readers looking for a literary horror story.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Video Review:
It's always a pleasant surprise when the marketing buzz actually fits the novel. In this case, I can confirm that this book gave me American Psycho vibes.
I normally dislike novels set in Los Angeles but this one worked because it was intentionally highlighting the horrible side of Hollywood culture. I liked the unlikeable main character because she had such a strong, intentional personality. The plot is bit uneven and I wished the ending had a bit more punch. Yet overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend this one to readers looking for a literary horror story.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
June 17, 2023
Things I loved:
Women can be psychotic, torturing murderers too! Feminism.
The first line/opening page. It was very strong and memorable.
Maeve loving Halloween/soundtracks, and loving her job as a princess
That there is a cat in this story who doesn't end up like every animal in a horror novel
Egg fetish. One of the most wholesome things about this novel, tbh
Ice skating is fun and such a cute date, even when the participant is a psychopath
Things I didn't love:
The narrative voice. It felt like there were certain phrases and ideas the author wanted to include but some of the execution felt excessively wordy and purple and didn't really fit with what was being said. It just felt like words added that didn't really add value, they just sounded "cool" or extreme. It kept taking me out of the story. I also didn't really connect with Maeve because she felt like such a pretentious edgelord for a lot of the book, until she just unapologetically goes for it. (I did like when Kate basically called her out for this though.) The constant feeding of rage, wolf and monkey metaphor, etc also got repetitive.
The pacing. I was pretty bored the first half, and then the second half involved some pretty heavy torture porn, which is not my cup of tea when it comes to the horror genre.
Kate's character, and her brother Gideon. They felt weirdly flat? They're like a pale echo of Maeve. It's hard to explain but really only serve as devices for Maeve to play off, and all the sections they are in are boring. The sex scenes I found just kind of fever dreamy, I don't know.
The grandmother. The tone was sort of weird around her and we don't actually care about her health or anything, so despite her relationship background with Maeve being a bit mysterious, the ultimate reveal of how they bonded is kind of lackluster because I didn't feel tension was built very well. A lot of it just felt like a more well-adjusted character taking care of a dying relative. So the end felt a bit like "well, duh" and anti-climactic.
Anyway this book wasn't for me but I seem to be an outlier. if you like Chuck Palahniuk, the Hostel movies or (obviously) American Psycho you will enjoy it probably.
Women can be psychotic, torturing murderers too! Feminism.
The first line/opening page. It was very strong and memorable.
Maeve loving Halloween/soundtracks, and loving her job as a princess
That there is a cat in this story who doesn't end up like every animal in a horror novel
Egg fetish. One of the most wholesome things about this novel, tbh
Ice skating is fun and such a cute date, even when the participant is a psychopath
Things I didn't love:
The narrative voice. It felt like there were certain phrases and ideas the author wanted to include but some of the execution felt excessively wordy and purple and didn't really fit with what was being said. It just felt like words added that didn't really add value, they just sounded "cool" or extreme. It kept taking me out of the story. I also didn't really connect with Maeve because she felt like such a pretentious edgelord for a lot of the book, until she just unapologetically goes for it. (I did like when Kate basically called her out for this though.) The constant feeding of rage, wolf and monkey metaphor, etc also got repetitive.
The pacing. I was pretty bored the first half, and then the second half involved some pretty heavy torture porn, which is not my cup of tea when it comes to the horror genre.
Kate's character, and her brother Gideon. They felt weirdly flat? They're like a pale echo of Maeve. It's hard to explain but really only serve as devices for Maeve to play off, and all the sections they are in are boring. The sex scenes I found just kind of fever dreamy, I don't know.
The grandmother. The tone was sort of weird around her and we don't actually care about her health or anything, so despite her relationship background with Maeve being a bit mysterious, the ultimate reveal of how they bonded is kind of lackluster because I didn't feel tension was built very well. A lot of it just felt like a more well-adjusted character taking care of a dying relative. So the end felt a bit like "well, duh" and anti-climactic.
Anyway this book wasn't for me but I seem to be an outlier. if you like Chuck Palahniuk, the Hostel movies or (obviously) American Psycho you will enjoy it probably.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2023
This book is a little bit a missed opportunity in my eyes as I think the blurb/synopsis gives away a major point, the mention of Patrick Bateman, which otherwise would have made a smashing turning point in the plot. There are still many many elements I enjoyed immensely to even the rating out, still I somehow lament the joy I would have had if American Psycho had been mentioned inside the book only. The parallels between the two works are eminent!
Maeve does all kinds of crazy things � she impersonates the sister of a certain ice queen at a theme park for a living, attends LA parties only to sit in a corner with a book, ruins people’s lives by initiating shitstorms, watches movies nobody else wants to see, has the craziest sexual relations, and has deep inside her a deep darkness, a bloodthirst. When she meets her best friend’s brother Gideon, she firstly feels put off by him but soon sees in him the potential to find her match.
It is rare that such a complex, likable in her unlikability a character comes across. Although Maeve Fly was in parts seriously over the top and extreme, radical almost, I personally understood where she comes from and felt amused by her little stunts. I felt she was smart and creative and I like the books she reads, I made a little list out of them for myself.
There is one thing though, that drives me crazy in movies/books and I moaned in frustration when CJ Leede decided to end her book on that maddening note: I absolutely hate when that happens, and it happens here.
My highlight was what Maeve does to film director Dereck’s eyeball with the cocaine spoon. I liked that.
Maeve does all kinds of crazy things � she impersonates the sister of a certain ice queen at a theme park for a living, attends LA parties only to sit in a corner with a book, ruins people’s lives by initiating shitstorms, watches movies nobody else wants to see, has the craziest sexual relations, and has deep inside her a deep darkness, a bloodthirst. When she meets her best friend’s brother Gideon, she firstly feels put off by him but soon sees in him the potential to find her match.
It is rare that such a complex, likable in her unlikability a character comes across. Although Maeve Fly was in parts seriously over the top and extreme, radical almost, I personally understood where she comes from and felt amused by her little stunts. I felt she was smart and creative and I like the books she reads, I made a little list out of them for myself.
There is one thing though, that drives me crazy in movies/books and I moaned in frustration when CJ Leede decided to end her book on that maddening note: I absolutely hate when that happens, and it happens here.
My highlight was what Maeve does to film director Dereck’s eyeball with the cocaine spoon. I liked that.
September 12, 2023
this might be on my top 10 of the year, a new all-time fave, and definitely one of the best horror books I've ever read. it was so unhinged i had so many moments where i wasn't sure whether i wanted to laugh or what, but it was SO well-written on so many levels, and that ending frustrates tf out of me but it was fantastic lmaooo. this book was like mindfuck series meets a certain hunger with a splash of disneyland hahaha i loved it so fucking much i can't even form coherent thoughts.
May 27, 2023
TW: sexual assault, sexism, animal death, bullying, gory scenes, language, drinking, sex workers, scat, urolagnia, domestic abuse, violence, dying family member, racism, classism, rape
SPOILERS
About the book:By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess. By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes. But when Gideon Green - her best friend’s brother - moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet. Untethered, Maeve ditches her discontented act and tries on a new persona. A bolder, bloodier one, inspired by the pages of American Psycho. Step aside Patrick Bateman, it’s Maeve’s turn with the knife
Release Date:
Genre: Horror
Pages: 288
Rating: â�
What I Liked:
1. Oh that cover
What I Didn't Like:
1. Starts to feel like an obsession to Story of the Eye
2. Not what it advertised for
3. Not like every girl vibes
4. Maeve
5. 50 mentions of Halloween
6. 37 uses of wolf/14 uses of wolves
Overall Thoughts:
My kind of debauchery soils not only my body and my thoughts, but also . . . the vast starry universe, which merely serves as a backdrop. —GEORGES BATAILLE, STORY OF THE EYE
A quote from the Story of the Eye, a book I hated and was totally messed up 👀.
![](https://media.tenor.com/njxCskNFeIIAAAAM/crack-some-eggs-fear-city-new-york-vs-the-mafia.gif")
Is it weird that shortly before reading this book I had acquired Story of the Eye from the library, read it, and hated it. This book feels like one huge obsession of that book so much so that it reads to me like a school report from some teenagers excitement of stumbling onto this book and now it's their whole identity.
This book tries to be over the top extreme but is more dialog than actual shocking things. Yeah, some stuff happen - she poops and pees into a man's mouth but that just seems so random. Even the death scenes are off screen and we just back up with after she's committed the crime and cleaning up. There's another scene where Maeve is threatening to use a curling iron on a girl and turn it on but then that fizzes out and it doesn't happen. What a let down.
It just feels like there are times when the author takes us to the edge of the cliff only to push us back before we fall off. Take us for a leap dear author and don't hold yourself back.
I hated all the characters. Pretentious annoying young people with a main character that thinks she's one of a kind special. Manic pixie girl.
Final Thoughts:
Something is just missing from this book for me. It feels like you're going to get more but like I said before the author holds back. The sex is tame.
I hated Maeve. Maeve is painted as this hardcore woman but she tries way too hard to be cool, weird, and edgy. She causes her own terrible life and then acts bitter against others blaming them for all her stuff. She's not cool. She's annoying. She's the most LA self centered character. She is one of those basic girls that obsessed with Halloween in August. Starbucks pumpkin spice latte in July. So yay to the author that for getting that down.
This book tries so hard to be other books. It reminds me of when you hang out with a girl whose parents don't pay attention to her so she's out to get attention doing all the bad stuff but the bad stuff is just surface level bad.
I think this is a good first start for the author.
The book just takes this weird turn away from what the book says it's about. It paints itself as this story about a Disney princess type that is moonlighting as a killer.
Ends in some kind of Psycho Norman Bates being told what to do through her grandmother. Is any part of this book original?
Recommend For:
� American psycho
� Story of the Eye
� Manic pixie girl lovers
|
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
SPOILERS
About the book:By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess. By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes. But when Gideon Green - her best friend’s brother - moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet. Untethered, Maeve ditches her discontented act and tries on a new persona. A bolder, bloodier one, inspired by the pages of American Psycho. Step aside Patrick Bateman, it’s Maeve’s turn with the knife
Release Date:
Genre: Horror
Pages: 288
Rating: â�
What I Liked:
1. Oh that cover
What I Didn't Like:
1. Starts to feel like an obsession to Story of the Eye
2. Not what it advertised for
3. Not like every girl vibes
4. Maeve
5. 50 mentions of Halloween
6. 37 uses of wolf/14 uses of wolves
Overall Thoughts:
My kind of debauchery soils not only my body and my thoughts, but also . . . the vast starry universe, which merely serves as a backdrop. —GEORGES BATAILLE, STORY OF THE EYE
A quote from the Story of the Eye, a book I hated and was totally messed up 👀.
Is it weird that shortly before reading this book I had acquired Story of the Eye from the library, read it, and hated it. This book feels like one huge obsession of that book so much so that it reads to me like a school report from some teenagers excitement of stumbling onto this book and now it's their whole identity.
This book tries to be over the top extreme but is more dialog than actual shocking things. Yeah, some stuff happen - she poops and pees into a man's mouth but that just seems so random. Even the death scenes are off screen and we just back up with after she's committed the crime and cleaning up. There's another scene where Maeve is threatening to use a curling iron on a girl and turn it on but then that fizzes out and it doesn't happen. What a let down.
It just feels like there are times when the author takes us to the edge of the cliff only to push us back before we fall off. Take us for a leap dear author and don't hold yourself back.
I hated all the characters. Pretentious annoying young people with a main character that thinks she's one of a kind special. Manic pixie girl.
Final Thoughts:
Something is just missing from this book for me. It feels like you're going to get more but like I said before the author holds back. The sex is tame.
I hated Maeve. Maeve is painted as this hardcore woman but she tries way too hard to be cool, weird, and edgy. She causes her own terrible life and then acts bitter against others blaming them for all her stuff. She's not cool. She's annoying. She's the most LA self centered character. She is one of those basic girls that obsessed with Halloween in August. Starbucks pumpkin spice latte in July. So yay to the author that for getting that down.
This book tries so hard to be other books. It reminds me of when you hang out with a girl whose parents don't pay attention to her so she's out to get attention doing all the bad stuff but the bad stuff is just surface level bad.
I think this is a good first start for the author.
The book just takes this weird turn away from what the book says it's about. It paints itself as this story about a Disney princess type that is moonlighting as a killer.
Ends in some kind of Psycho Norman Bates being told what to do through her grandmother. Is any part of this book original?
Recommend For:
� American psycho
� Story of the Eye
� Manic pixie girl lovers
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Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
June 29, 2023
"Men have always been permitted in fiction and in life to simply be what they are, no matter how dark or terrifying that might be. But with a woman, we expect an answer, a reason."
A female protagonist who loves Billie Holiday and Halloween music instantly becomes a likable character for me. This book was vile, gory, raunchy, unhinged, and I loved it.
The story follows Maeve, a young woman who works as a theme park princess at "the happiest place on earth" *wink wink*. In her spare time she enjoys reading in sketchy bars, pleasuring herself while slandering strangers online, and she has a bit of a suppressed dark side that only her bedridden ill grandmother sees and understands. When Maeve's best friend's hot brother Gideon moves to town, he awakens something hungry and monstrous within her.
A large chunk of the book is author C.J. Leede letting readers get to know Maeve, her desires, her sadness, her anger, her love for Halloween and her contentment with working at a theme park. But then as the book progresses, we're teased with some dark circumstances that eventually escalate to downright violent and graphic displays of pure horror. Maeve is a complex character, a delightfully lecherous woman whom I personally found compelling because as she herself points out in the story, why must only women have a reason for their depravity?
This book might not be for everyone but it was certainly for me. If you enjoy very flawed female protagonists, American Psycho, feminine rage, a bit of dark romance, erotica, and unhinged violence...you might want to pick up this book!
A female protagonist who loves Billie Holiday and Halloween music instantly becomes a likable character for me. This book was vile, gory, raunchy, unhinged, and I loved it.
The story follows Maeve, a young woman who works as a theme park princess at "the happiest place on earth" *wink wink*. In her spare time she enjoys reading in sketchy bars, pleasuring herself while slandering strangers online, and she has a bit of a suppressed dark side that only her bedridden ill grandmother sees and understands. When Maeve's best friend's hot brother Gideon moves to town, he awakens something hungry and monstrous within her.
A large chunk of the book is author C.J. Leede letting readers get to know Maeve, her desires, her sadness, her anger, her love for Halloween and her contentment with working at a theme park. But then as the book progresses, we're teased with some dark circumstances that eventually escalate to downright violent and graphic displays of pure horror. Maeve is a complex character, a delightfully lecherous woman whom I personally found compelling because as she herself points out in the story, why must only women have a reason for their depravity?
This book might not be for everyone but it was certainly for me. If you enjoy very flawed female protagonists, American Psycho, feminine rage, a bit of dark romance, erotica, and unhinged violence...you might want to pick up this book!
Read
August 24, 2023I'm not bothering to rate this one. I like dark stuff but this one is just weird. I LOVE the whole working as a princess thing while you are an evil little heifer but the rest of it sucks balls. It felt like the book was trying way too hard to be torture porny.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
December 31, 2023
*Edit* After time I did change my rating from four to five stars because I still think about Maeve and recommend this book all the time :)
After reading a series of disappointing books with cookie cutter plots and bland characters, Maeve Fly felt like a breath of fresh air.
The writing flowed easily and naturally. At no point did it feel forced or contrived. The book was on the shorter side and I could have done with a little longer story, but we get what we get and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved Maeve with all her strengths and faults. She was a vividly imagined character, as were many of those surrounding her.
The only thing that kept me from giving this book five stars was that I hated the love interest and the storyline surrounding him. Simply because I think Maeve deserved better than a mundane romance plot.
Hopefully we will get another story with Maeve but with no romance at all. Because all forms of media and storytelling need to start understanding that not every female protagonist needs a damn love interest. Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine that is clearly growing into annoyance.
Anyway!!!!! I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read whatever the author writes next.
After reading a series of disappointing books with cookie cutter plots and bland characters, Maeve Fly felt like a breath of fresh air.
The writing flowed easily and naturally. At no point did it feel forced or contrived. The book was on the shorter side and I could have done with a little longer story, but we get what we get and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved Maeve with all her strengths and faults. She was a vividly imagined character, as were many of those surrounding her.
The only thing that kept me from giving this book five stars was that I hated the love interest and the storyline surrounding him. Simply because I think Maeve deserved better than a mundane romance plot.
Hopefully we will get another story with Maeve but with no romance at all. Because all forms of media and storytelling need to start understanding that not every female protagonist needs a damn love interest. Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine that is clearly growing into annoyance.
Anyway!!!!! I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read whatever the author writes next.
June 10, 2023
The author’s GR bio says that she is a fellow Trekkie, and I respect that. I wish the best for her in general. Live long and prosper!
That said, I think I went into this book with expectations that were too high. I wanted to love it so badly, but it just didn’t work that well for me personally. :(
The things I did like:
- The concept that women shouldn’t have to endure trauma before they turn violent; she points out that men do this in literature but women are expected to suffer first.
- All the vivid descriptions of Los Angeles and Hollywood. It made me feel like I was back there and made me miss living there.
- Maeve’s job at Disneyland, (Disney’s California Adventure to be more specific), and the fact that she genuinely loved it.
- Maeve’s grandmother, a classy golden-age Hollywood actress, and their relationship. Because with a character like Maeve it’s very important to have solid, human relationships if you want her to come across as multi-dimensional. This also applies to Kate, who played the Anna to her Elsa at the park. Loved their dynamic.
- I was going to put Maeve’s love of Halloween on this list, but it gave off pretty strong “I’m not like other girls� vibes, and she was kind of obnoxious about it.
The Negative: I came here for violence and murder, but a lot of the book was the spicy story of Maeve and a romantic interest. It’s fine if you’re into that, but it’s not what I ordered.
My biggest complaint: this read like American Psycho fan fiction. (I mean, I GET it to a point; that novel is prob in my top 3 of all time.) But this copied that book WAY too much, from direct quotes to mimicking the style to directly re-enacting one of the scenes. One reference would’ve been a cute tribute, but all of that is just too much. Maeve was a simp for Patrick Bateman. I facepalmed at one point.
A lot of suspension of disbelief was needed and I couldn’t tell for sure if Maeve was meant to be an unreliable narrator. It seemed like we were supposed to believe her. There’s a LOT that happens that’s very hard to take seriously, especially near the end. Maeve would’ve been thrown in jail immediately if this were real life, on at least four separate occasions. (It appears as if authorities are falling all over themselves in this story to ignore what she’s doing.) If she’s imagining things a la Patrick Bateman, it didn’t come across that way, so as a result certain scenes feel overly ridiculous.
I didn’t care for the ending, either. It felt like something Colleen Hoover would write. (She just doesn’t do it for me. I’m so sorry!) I would personally recommend reading American Psycho instead. A lot of people do love this, though, so I’m probably wrong! Read it for yourself and find out. (I DO still recommend giving it a read to form your own opinion.) Either way, definitely a bold debut. Respect for that, seriously.
*If there’s anyone out there who actually loves both Colleen Hoover AND Bret Easton Ellis, this could become your new favorite book of ALL TIME.
There are a LOT of TW but the biggest ones are sexual assault, graphic gore, bodily fluids and substances, drugs, animal harm
That said, I think I went into this book with expectations that were too high. I wanted to love it so badly, but it just didn’t work that well for me personally. :(
The things I did like:
- The concept that women shouldn’t have to endure trauma before they turn violent; she points out that men do this in literature but women are expected to suffer first.
- All the vivid descriptions of Los Angeles and Hollywood. It made me feel like I was back there and made me miss living there.
- Maeve’s job at Disneyland, (Disney’s California Adventure to be more specific), and the fact that she genuinely loved it.
- Maeve’s grandmother, a classy golden-age Hollywood actress, and their relationship. Because with a character like Maeve it’s very important to have solid, human relationships if you want her to come across as multi-dimensional. This also applies to Kate, who played the Anna to her Elsa at the park. Loved their dynamic.
- I was going to put Maeve’s love of Halloween on this list, but it gave off pretty strong “I’m not like other girls� vibes, and she was kind of obnoxious about it.
The Negative: I came here for violence and murder, but a lot of the book was the spicy story of Maeve and a romantic interest. It’s fine if you’re into that, but it’s not what I ordered.
My biggest complaint: this read like American Psycho fan fiction. (I mean, I GET it to a point; that novel is prob in my top 3 of all time.) But this copied that book WAY too much, from direct quotes to mimicking the style to directly re-enacting one of the scenes. One reference would’ve been a cute tribute, but all of that is just too much. Maeve was a simp for Patrick Bateman. I facepalmed at one point.
A lot of suspension of disbelief was needed and I couldn’t tell for sure if Maeve was meant to be an unreliable narrator. It seemed like we were supposed to believe her. There’s a LOT that happens that’s very hard to take seriously, especially near the end. Maeve would’ve been thrown in jail immediately if this were real life, on at least four separate occasions. (It appears as if authorities are falling all over themselves in this story to ignore what she’s doing.) If she’s imagining things a la Patrick Bateman, it didn’t come across that way, so as a result certain scenes feel overly ridiculous.
I didn’t care for the ending, either. It felt like something Colleen Hoover would write. (She just doesn’t do it for me. I’m so sorry!) I would personally recommend reading American Psycho instead. A lot of people do love this, though, so I’m probably wrong! Read it for yourself and find out. (I DO still recommend giving it a read to form your own opinion.) Either way, definitely a bold debut. Respect for that, seriously.
*If there’s anyone out there who actually loves both Colleen Hoover AND Bret Easton Ellis, this could become your new favorite book of ALL TIME.
There are a LOT of TW but the biggest ones are sexual assault, graphic gore, bodily fluids and substances, drugs, animal harm
January 19, 2024
Wow this was hauntingly beautiful and disturbing. Loved every piece but has a lot of body horror (which creeps me out a bit). Definitely recommend this to horror fans. It is like a version of American psycho just make it with a Disney princess girl 🥹(that’s her job in the book).
I still can’t believe the ending —they should make this into a movie.
I still can’t believe the ending —they should make this into a movie.
August 7, 2024
The was a buddy read with the insightful @bads_libraryof_horror
This book was skillfully written, the strong and smooth right and flowed wonderfully throughout this book making the sentence scenes clever characters easy to picture and follow.
This book was not what I was expecting, from what I had seen of this book before reading it. It seems like it was gonna be quite the gory slasher book, well it definitely was a slasher and definitely had some gorier moments it seems strange in this book being reference as splatter punk. They gave me a bit of disappointment to find that this was not the book that I thought I was gonna be reading.
Still was able to find a lot to enjoy here, especially once I realize what kind of book I was reading. The main character Maeve Fly, is very self-aware and has a set of particular morals that she follows. It’s been a lot of time in her head and it gives you a good understanding about what she’s going through once she does what she does and more on her driving force than what you would get with other slasher books.
It was fun to follow her around on her day-to-day adventures and unique new hobbies, and although I found the slower parts were longer than they need to be I like how clever and smart Maeve was and to see what her thought process was when she did some pretty horrendous deeds.
I’m not sure if I’ll reread this one or or not, but I would definitely want to read more by this author.
This book was skillfully written, the strong and smooth right and flowed wonderfully throughout this book making the sentence scenes clever characters easy to picture and follow.
This book was not what I was expecting, from what I had seen of this book before reading it. It seems like it was gonna be quite the gory slasher book, well it definitely was a slasher and definitely had some gorier moments it seems strange in this book being reference as splatter punk. They gave me a bit of disappointment to find that this was not the book that I thought I was gonna be reading.
Still was able to find a lot to enjoy here, especially once I realize what kind of book I was reading. The main character Maeve Fly, is very self-aware and has a set of particular morals that she follows. It’s been a lot of time in her head and it gives you a good understanding about what she’s going through once she does what she does and more on her driving force than what you would get with other slasher books.
It was fun to follow her around on her day-to-day adventures and unique new hobbies, and although I found the slower parts were longer than they need to be I like how clever and smart Maeve was and to see what her thought process was when she did some pretty horrendous deeds.
I’m not sure if I’ll reread this one or or not, but I would definitely want to read more by this author.
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