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this is a book about monsters and girls and girls who become monsters and monsters who become girls.

it's also a book i really wanted to like. it has a weird eerie cover! it has weird eerie contents! it's filled with teeth and blood and sex and ghosts! i like books with all of these things. 

in execution, though, it felt uneven, maybe less than the sum of its parts. the stories didn't seem to build on one another, and though their synopses varied, their themes felt unrelentingly the same. it was more cringey than spooky, and generally seemed as though the author's intent may have been beyond the scope of her writing talent.

in other words, a debut!

that being said, i'll definitely read more from this author.

this was the rare short story collection that makes me wish it'd been a novel instead: one synopsis, pursued to the extent of its meaning, rather than many short stories shallowly delving into the same one.

but i found it fast-paced and readable, two things i rarely think about short story collections.

bottom line: this is a review of a book about monster girls written by a girl monster. sorry i'm mean.

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pre-review

...ok fine i'm judging books by their covers again

(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)