Thank you, NetGalley, for the digital ARC!

Maeve Fly is a WILD ride, a heartfelt homage to psychological and body horror classics and golden age era Hollywood.

I was sucked in from the very first page. It is, however, a slow burn, and that took some getting used to, but the character development and well-executed social commentary was worth it in the end. The novel had me think "Good for her" in the most unhinged moments of the story.

It is a very good debut novel that pays a lot of attention to detail and that is something I can appreciate. Although the pacing was a little off during the 25 to 50% mark, I enjoyed my time and the ending was worth the build-up!

Maeve Fly… where do I start? First off I’m a sucker for a creepy cover and this one is 😍 Anyways, I loved this book. While the beginning is unremarkable, stick with it because it’s really setting the mood. Maeve is a disturbed young woman living with her grandmother who is on palliative care in Los Angeles. She’s estranged from her parents and the only person she really has to talk to is her best friend and co-worker Katie. Katie is an aspiring actress who will do whatever and whoever it takes to make it, and it seems like she no longer has much time for Maeve. But Katie’s hot brother Gideon does…

Maeve isn’t really interested in Gideon at first, but damn if he isn’t persistent. When the two spark a friendship, Maeve loses track of time and finds she’s neglecting her comatose grandmother’s needs as well as her job. Her life starts to unravel and she decides to regather herself in an awfully morbid way, but I was here for it. The ending made me sad, but I also liked it because I’m weird 🫠 CJ Leede is definitely staying on my radar and I did see that she has two more books in the works with Tor Nightfire so I’m pretty excited for that. Thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy. Maeve Fly will be published 6/6.

“A provocative 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 My Heart is a Chainsaw and Caroline Kepnes’ You series.”


This book has everything: eggs, Halloween music, Johnny Depp (90% sure), certain princesses from a franchise I can’t afford to mention, hanging eyeballs


Apparently, my favorite thing is to make mortal enemies out of fictional book characters, and Maeve Fly is no exception. Just like American Psycho is a satire of men in corporate life, I'm sure Maeve Fly is a satire of something. How manic-pixie-dream-girl of her to sit at “hole in the wall” bars on the LA strip and read her book, and how out of touch trust fund kid of her to have a job at a theme park for fun and criticize everyone like they are beneath her. And she loves Halloween! Wow! How unique of her to base her entire personality off of the second most popular holiday in the United States. It's a wonder how someone so critical of everyone could fall in love with a dude who has the personality of a donut. All it took was a few soft-boiled eggs and a fog machine for her to become the biggest pick-me for Gideon. With that being said, I love a “down for my people” psychopath who will do anything for their loved ones. And the revenge spree? Chef’s kiss!


I really enjoy the last third of the book, when the madness truly started. The sexual violence was a bit much for me, but the rest of her rampage was done in true 80s slasher film fashion.I like how Maeve’s delusions slowly unraveled toward the end, and it wasn’t the predictable HEA I was expecting.


If you love extreme horror, you’ll love this! (It’s especially suiting for people who are also into dark romance AND horror)


I’m eager to see what C.J. Leede will come up with next!


Thank you NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, Tor Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for the digital ARC & ALC. A special thanks to C.J. Leede! All opinions are my own.

The first 40% of the book felt like a crawl. It took a long time to establish who Maeve is and how she thinks. The middle is gore and sexual violence with some scenes that did not need to be included to move the story forward. Then the last 20% of the book was really good! The pacing was much faster at the end, but felt right.

First person writing makes it seem like there is not a lot a personality to the writing. Maeve came off boring and nonchalant. We are told she loves her grandma (which is why she snaps) yet the flashbacks in the beginning did not read as heartwarming or a close connection so I was confused on why she cared so much all of a sudden. The synapsis states that when she meets Gideon, her coworker Kate's brother, that something awakens. Which is not true as the scene we get early on of how she unwinds at home after works shows that she was unhinged from the start. The scene of Maeve and Gideon with another women felt unnecessary. It was too early into them being together and just made Maeve seem insane and Gideon was not phased at all which made no sense due to the ending.

The time she works a theme park was somewhat interesting to read but I know too much about theme parks as I worked at one. So that made a good chunk of this book read like a creepy pasta. A decent amount of stuff that happened at her work would never have been allowed or even possible. Any type of bleeding at work is a biohazard that is taken seriously.

Overall, it was just not for me. It's a messed up story with an unlikable main character that I just could not root for. It gets 3 stars as the ending was written very well. As this is the author's first book, I am interested to see how her writing will be in the future.

“We all seek the dream of beauty even as we know fundamentally it is only a façade for the decaying in the dark.”

There are so many things to enjoy about Maeve Fly, so many things to devour. While Maeve does have a little of the “not like other girls'' trope, the way in which she is “not like other girls'' is so unique and extreme. I’m not sure we (as in society) would want other women to be like her. I mean there are snippets of her attitude as well as her lessons from her grandmother that are useful. My favorite being “People will try to take what belongs to you. As soon as you possess something worth possessing, someone else will inevitably emerge from the crevices to worm their way in to try and steal it.” But, and trust me on this, we would want to sift through Maeve’s character and personality with a fine tooth comb to find the bits of “good.”

Maeve is an amazingly complex character. She is young and unsure about life while being a complete sociopath and serial killer. Somehow she comes off vulnerable although she can not understand the emotions and actions of others. I found myself rooting for her throughout the entire book. I enjoyed reading about her daily life and interactions with others.

I also really appreciated Maeve’s love for Los Angeles. The way the author describes LA is definitely from the perspective of someone who was either born and raised in LA or someone who moved there and understands LA at its core. When tourists think of LA, I imagine glitz and glamor is what they think of, but LA is multifaceted. As someone who lives in Southern California, I have a love-hate relationship with Los Angeles. It is dirty, congested, and hell to get into, around , and out of. But, it is so full of culture, great food, great sites, and a superb amount of entertainment from the lower echelons to the highest. As Maeve explains, it is “the grime and the shine together.”

Grime and shine can also be applied to a couple of the supporting characters. Outside of Maeve (and her infinitely interesting grandmother Tallulah), there is Kate and her brother Gideon. This was where my interest in the story plateaus. Neither Kate not Gideon are as enticing a character as Maeve or Tallulah. Kate is a “typical” aspiring actress who moved to LA to become a star. She portrays all the negative aspects of that stereotype. She is shallow and self-centered, which may actually be just the kind of friend Maeve needs and deserves. However, she is replaceable, making her fit the aspiring actress stereotype even more. Her brother Gideon, though, is the ultimate in the “taking of the cake.”

Gideon. Hmmm, Gideon. Ugh, Gideon. He could have been such an fascinating character, but he comes off as a total douchebag. He is a typical looking and acting jock. He takes a sexual interest in Maeve, and right off the bat just comes off as not being good enough for Maeve. It’s the approach. It’s all in the approach man. Gideon is set up as a love interest for Maeve, and this causes Maeve to go through a crisis of consciousness, or what I like to call the “Dexter Method.” She begins to question who she is and what she wants out of life. I felt like this storyline weakened the plot a little. How, you ask?

Maeve’s entire narration is built on the idea of women not needing a reason to be “bad.” If she’s a serial killer, then she’s a serial killer because that’s who she is, not because she went through some kind of tragedy and has been changed. “We are what we are what we are.” But, she proceeds to change her life because of some guy she just met. Best friend’s brother or not, that’s a jump, especially for Gideon. He put his number in Maeve’s cellphone under the name “Kate’s Hot Brother” for crying out loud.

Regardless of my straight up dislike for Gideon, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Maeve’s adventures. The compare and contrast of personalities between Maeve and Kate and Maeve and Tallulah really helped to identify who Maeve is. I also appreciated all the Disneyland references and innuendo. The violence and gore were also top notch. Had me mouthing “Eww” and caressing my temples.

4 / 5 soft-boiled eggs

Eww!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for providing me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I first learned of this book on a list of upcoming horror releases. There were references to Disney princesses and American Psycho, and I’ll admit I was cautiously intrigued. My horror reading is pretty limited to King, but I like a good realistic serial killer horror book, and it didn’t disappoint on that level…but boy was this a doozy! Good storyline and pace, but be warned, the violence and the sex sees the line into mature content and rides a vintage mustang right past it into some weird stuff. The Pretty Pretty Princess game will never be the same. There were a few times I thought I’d have to quit, but I had to know what happened! I did appreciate that we get a sadistic female main character, as most main characters in horror are male. Which the story itself makes a point to talk about. I didn’t love the ending, in some weird way, I wanted Maeve to get her own version of a Happily Ever After even though I know how messed up that is! If there was a sequel, I’d probably read it because I want to know what happens next!

Overall, a good quick horror read, but be warned… it’s pretty messed up.

Summary:
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.

My Thoughts: This was everything I was hoping for and more. Make sure to read content warnings as this book contains many. I found it fascinating to see the main character unravel deeper into madness but through it all her intentions were good.

I still cannot put my finger on Maeve Fly. Maeve is the 20-something grandchild to an Old Hollywood starlet, living in LA and working as a princess at Disneyland. She's also a murderous psychopath. She's able to keep herself in check, for the most part, until she meets her best friend's brother, Gideon, an NHL player with his own inner demons. As her time spent with Gideon increases and her Grandmother's health declines, Maeve slowly descends into her inner darkness and embraces her depravity.

This book was a hockey romance shoved into an ode to LA shoved into the mind of a privileged psychopath princess. Maeve was such an unlikeable yet fun protagonist, with a clear voice and unwavering personality. I loved the first third of the book. It was witty and funny and dark and suspenseful. The middle felt as if it were a different book entirely, focusing on character development and backstory as opposed to the creep factor that hooked me in the first act. The final act was a complete 180, rushing through one graphic scene after another until we stumbled into some sort of ending. Ultimately, the book felt like a Frankenstein of ideas that really really wanted people to think it was smart and edgy and cool.

Nonetheless, I am still thinking about it. I flew through it and had fun. I laughed and gasped and cringed. And I'll never look at a soft-boiled egg the same way again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this eARC!

Generally speaking, if a book has a corresponding playlist I avoid it like the plague. I get embarrassed for some reason, especially if the music is bad. And I absolutely will not play a song as it’s mentioned in a scene to “set the mood”. It’s not my vibe.

Until, that is, Maeve came along.

Maeve Fly is your favorite ice princess by day at The Most Expensive Place on Earth, but inside she’s anything but chill. Maeve, you see, is a f*cking lunatic.

When I tell you there were multiple times during the last 100 pages that I was so disgusted and horrified, BELIEVE ME. When I tell you that when the book ended I cried the most confused tears of my life, BELIEVE ME. This book took me on one of the most insane journeys I’ve been on this year. Part of me wants to read it again immediately because during the latter half of it I felt like I was in a hazy fever dream NIGHTMARE and don’t know how much I actually processed. This was only assisted by the playlist in question, a mix of campy Halloween tracks and Billie Holiday, that made it more tangible somehow.

Definitely check triggers, but if a pretty girl deciding to Let it Go and cut her tenuous ties with humanity appeals to you, check her out. She won’t disappoint.

Maeve Fly releases on June 6th.

Thanks to @netgalley and @tornightfire for providing me a copy of this nightmare in exchange for my honest feedback.

4/5. ✨

This book was so gross and I loved it! Maeve is an awful, evil person, but similar to Joe Goldberg from the You series, you can't help but root for her. There were lots of nods to classic horror tropes in this book, which I really enjoyed. The juxtaposition of Maeve's inner dialogue and the fact that she works at Disney was absolutely hilarious. I think you definitely need to have a strong stomach and not be easily bothered to enjoy this book; luckily I am not!

OMG what the actual FFFF did I just read!?!? I will never look at eggs the same way again… iykyk

This was a phenomenal debut! We’ve got a Halloween obsessed Disney princess serial killer, old Hollywood, hockey romance, American psycho vibes, and splatterpunk gore!? What more could I ask for??

I never thought I'd be rooting so hard for a serial killer... but here we are. Maeve Fly was horrific, but also an incredibly deep story.

I cant wait to read more from Leede in the future!

Oh my god. Imagine a love letter to Los Angeles, written by a savage, sociopathic Weetzie Bat; a Takashi Miike film inspired by a series of Lana del Rey songs; a main character who is a Disney Princess channelling Patrick Bateman. Imagine there is also a reference to "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" in these pages. You guys--the perfect book really does exist.

OMG!!!!!! YALLL! The likeness of Tor Nightfire so blesses me. I owe my whole soul to this imprint!
Maeve was hyped up to the max, and rightfully so, because of DAMN. That was amazing. I fully agree that Stephen King delivers accolades comparing our dear MC to a modern-day Norman Bates. Maeve Fly is a serial killer lusty romance, almost giving Romeo and Juliet vibes, because, uh-oh, someone in this playful duo ends up dead... SPOILERS!

Maeve is a wink, wink D I S N E Y princess by day and serial killer by night, following in the footsteps of her ill and soon-to-pass grandmother/ maternal figure. Who's safe from her grasp? Nobody. Why are these people being brutally murdered? Because Maeve can do so. Duh. Do her Halloween decorations look a little too realistic? Maybe, but art is art.

One day Maeve meets a co-worker's brother at a party, and it's lust and loathing at first sight. As sexual tensions begin to peak, the two eventually do the deed but go about their ways of killing and scavenging. When Maeve's grandmother kicks the sack, her life begins to spiral, for all she's ever known has disappeared, and now nothing is holding back her murderous rage. Will "love" settle her urges, or will other Californians suffer a similar fate?

Mave Fly hits shelves on June 6, 2023 and I am so thankful to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Tor Nightfire, and C.J. Leede for granting me digital, audiobook, and physical access to this magical horror flick.

Absolutely loved every second of this book. CJ Leede knocked this out of the park. I appreciate the way she included just enough gory detail to let your imagination take the wheel without going to far. The ending was not what I expected and left me a little emotional.

First off, thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
I was immediately drawn to the cover of this book. The artwork is fantastic and bizarre.
To be honest I’m not sure I liked or hated this book. I feel a mixture of both. It was completely nuts! I think it was pretty chaotic and also kind of boring in some parts. It really was just completely bananas. All in all it’s a 3 star for me in that I couldn’t stop reading it but I’m left feeling confused about what the hell I just read.

If you loved Joan, Irina and Dorothy — wait until you meet Maeve Fly.

Maeve Fly is a Disneyland princess living with her golden-era Hollywood grandmother. Maeve loves Halloween, depraved literature and Los Angeles. She possesses her grandmother’s icy-beautiful looks and her lust for blood.

I LOVED this debut from CJ Leede. I was hooked from the synopsis as I too, love all things Halloween and kitschy LA. Maeve is cold, calculated and vicious. But all her actions seem valid. To me, she is perfect. And when she references Mr. Bateman I was kicking my feet in excitement. As for the unhinged-FMC trope, she is the first of her kind. No motive. No harrowed past. And she’s aware of it. I’ll never look at a hair curler the same again.

This book promised to be weird, and it didn't disappoint. Extremely bizarre and dreamlike. Very very strange. If you love bizarro, this is for you.

I found this book riveting.

Wait, a few disclaimers that I think are important. I don’t think this is a book for everyone. After having read it, I would not have actually recommended it to myself loosely understanding my own reading guardrails. There are many moments of described or implied extreme violence including sexual torture and violation mixed with a heavy dose of depravity and overly described sex exploits. That’s not the recipe of what I’m looking for and there are a few scenes I wish I could scrub from my memory. However I found the writing style interesting in a way that I could not put down. Did I stop reading even when I blanched at the words on the page? No. Was I devastated by the ending? Yes. Will I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author? Yes. Just saying know what you are getting into.

The story is written from Maeve’s perspective so you intimately get to know her. You meet her best friend, her lover, her grandmother, and a variety of people that she passes in daily orbit through her skewed view of the world. She’s a misfit wrapped in an ice princess (literally). She fears being alone, but creates her own isolation. She is a strange mixture of someone lacking empathy but full of unwanted emotion. Where she may have at once taken great care to create an environment of control and routine, that world is disrupted when a series of life events shake up her world (queue minor earthquakes). The first half of the book is where we learn about the inner fears and perspectives of Maeve, the second half is where we see them erupting forth in a series of unhinged decisions. Oh did I mention that in the midst of all this build up and rampage of killing there is an important intertwined love story?

Suspicious - Moody - Panicked - Fevered - Disrupted - Unhinged - Warped - Manic - Vengeful - Destructive

A crazy wild ride of a story that picks up speed like a rollercoaster and then ends in the perfect crash. Thanks to #netgalley and #tornightfire for allowing me to read this. To be published June 6 2023.

Disney princess meets American Psycho. It was a gory and extreme horror read and my only complaint was it felt somewhat rushed at the end and I wanted more!
I won’t give too much away, but it was an awesome blood soaked read. I loved the Los Angeles and Halloween references throughout this book. Maeve also has a great taste in music. This book comes out June 6th and I will definitely be getting a physical copy!
🩸
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for sending an ARC in exchange for an honest review! 🖤

are you looking for a sick and twisted love story set in l.a. with a female serial killer which works as a disney princess/queen by day? then look no further 🔪 this book is literally sex, booze and rock & roll.

layers to explore:
- relationships: familial, platonic and romantic alike
- mental health and trauma
- tons of pop culture references
- the characters complicated experience with the city of los angeles (one of my fav parts of the story)

first and foremost, this is a character study hence the title, and the first half of the book is spent on really getting to know maeve and what makes her world turn. maeve is a complicated character and your relationship with her, as the reader, is more or less the same.
she’s broody with a shady past. she’s had a difficult upbringing - the latter of it, spent with her grandmother, talullah, in los angeles. talullah has an extreme and skewed perception of the world, which we get to explore at length.

c.j. leede leaves no loose ends with this one. once the brakes are off, you’re in it until the very bitter end. the characters in this book are not good people, but by the end of it you kinda don’t care. you’re just as much a part of their warped world as they are, and come to really care about their actions and consequences.

this book will not be for everyone. pls be warned that this is •extreme• horror comparable to the likes of ‘american psycho’ by bret easton ellis. it is very detailed and graphic in its sex and violence.

i shut off my kindle after finishing this one and thought long and hard about my values and virtues for allowing myself to become so engrossed by everything that occurred in this book. 😅 my heart almost broke, i almost felt something, and i hate-loved all of it.

also, halloween is the backdrop for a good chunk of this book so 🎃, you know?