vanmeers's reviews
491 reviews

i didn’t absolutely love this but i also didn’t dislike it, i think i would’ve liked this more in a short story collection? 

but it was well written, it dealt with topics on grief and death mixed with a little bit of eco horror! it felt pretty unique to me in that sense and i think if you love to grow your own vegetables you’ll love this horrifying tale 🥦 

// arc courtesy of netgalley. 

i’ve slowly been making my way through the rewind or die books, but with everyone talking about this recently i really wanted to pick this up NOW.

i’m so glad i did! it’s trans/queer horror when it’s best: absolutely disgusting. it’s full of descriptive and gross body horror, bloody details and a completely unhinged sex scene (!!!). 

i knew the gist of the story; a trans woman undergoing a mysterious and experimental gender affirming surgery that goes horribly wrong for her (but so so right for the doctor) but i did not expect for the book to go to the places it did. it was a wiiiild ride. 

it’s definitely well worth it and a must read if you love queer and trans body horror! 

sometimes all you want is for animal abusers to get theirs by the hands of a very committed vet 🫡 

this is short, gross, but pretty easy for newbies when it comes to extreme horror. it also doesn’t focus too much on the abuse the animals receive, which i’m thankful for, so it’s easy to read as an animal lover too! 

this is my second edogawa rampo story and i’m actually obsessed? like it’s genuinely fun listening to them as audiobooks, especially as i grew up loving detective conan and it’s so very clear how inspired the mangaka was by rampo’s stories! 

this one wasn’t exceptional on its own, but i enjoyed the ‘detective explaining the case’ vibes it gave off and the back/forth between the detective and the black lizard! 

this collection absolutely delivers on its promise of tragic queer horror with a variety of different well-written and compelling stories. the list of authors for this anthology are both familiar names within horror but also new (to me), providing a perfect opportunity to familiarise myself with more queer horror authors! 

what i love about this anthology is that it’s a perfect mix of wlw, mlm and trans horror, so there’s something for everybody. this also goes for the horror genres represented, giving you everything from dark romance, to body horror, to fungal horror and so much more. 

anthologies are often a mix of good and bad, but imo this is mostly all above average in storytelling and there weren’t any stories i didn’t like at all, only a few that didn’t hit as hard as i would’ve liked. but it’s all in all a solid anthology full of tragic and sad queer horror stories. 

some of my fave stories were:

but also the story by m.v. pine that kicks this whole anthology off, feels like a literal gut punch and a spit in your face, leaving you in the dirt, making you feel all kinds of horrible. in the best possible way. it’s the perfect beginning to a tragic queer horror anthology. 

// ARC courtesy of BookSirens and the publisher! 

This was definitely not at all what I had expected since I’d imagined a Korean-American female serial killer a la American Psycho style book but this was so much more than that!

The Eyes Are The Best Part isn’t just your regular ol’ gory horror with no substance. 

You’re able to clearly see the threads of Ji-Won’s mental health as it spirals out of control not only from trauma and grief, but also from the constant fetishisation and sexism that surrounds her as a Korean-American woman.

It shows perfectly where her rage comes from, where her obsession with biting into salty blue eyes comes from, and what effect the manipulation and neglect of the men around  her has on her mind. I can’t speak on the fetishisation of asian women, but I do think the parts that clearly shows the sexism at work was masterfully done and oh so accurate. Geoffrey and his nice guy attitude absolutely triggered something in me and I c haven’t been able to stop thinking about all the manipulative guys like that I’ve met. 

This is honestly an amazing book and it’s perfect for anyone who sometimes likes their horror to have some depth. Or anyone who’s obsessed with women’s rights and wrongs — because honestly, Amy from Gone Girl has got nothing on Ji-Won. 

/// ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. 

this is such an incredibly unpleasant but necessary collection of stories and essays on rape culture and sexual assault. 

i listened to the audiobook, which felt a lot more personal as the authors narrated their own stories, and it was also extremely difficult to listen to because of that. the bravery and courageousness of the authors is commendable though.

this is such an important collection and depending on your own experience with rape culture, you’ll be able to see yourself in some of these stories unfortunately. but it only proofs the necessity of this collection.