a really great thriller! I couldn't put it down. Giving Grady Hendrix vibes

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for this review copy.

WTF did I just read?!?!?! It was soooo good. This felt like an homage to Chuck Palahniuk. Maeve, the granddaughter of Old Hollywood royalty, is a princess in a park that shall not be named. She has a friend named Kate that is trying to work her way to be a full time actress. One day, Maeve just kind of snaps. Is it a snap or is it fulfilling Maeve’s destiny? Whatever it is, it’s bloody and gory. Maeve thinks that she’s a lone wolf. There just might be one other wolf, or fly, to accompany her on her…..adventures….through Los Ángeles.

the hype is REAL. the cover intrigued me and ooh this was GOOD! thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review

Big thank you to @netgalley, @tornightfire, and @ceejthemoment for an advanced copy of this book that made my heart beat out of my chest.

Prepare yourself for a journey into the twisted mind of Maeve Fly, possibly the most unhinged protagonist I've ever read. From its dark humor to its exploration of depravity, this book had me captivated and disgusted in equal measure. I loved it.

The story opens with Maeve, who leads a double life. By day, she blissfully dons the role of a beloved ice princess at the happiest place on Earth, but by night, she bar hops and revels in misanthropy and dreams of violence. In between, she cares for her ailing Grandmother, her hero. Maeve's life takes a sharp turn, however, upon meeting her best friend Kate's brother Gideon- where does love fit in a life like hers?

I was hooked from page one of this book, but it is not for the faint of heart. It was disgusting and amazing and horrible and creative and, just, WOW. I've never been so uncomfortable while reading. I have never in my life read something like this and I know it's one to watch now that it's on shelves.

3.5 stars
this had all the ingredients to be my new FAVORITE book, female American Psycho OKAYYYY!!!! but while i really enjoyed Leede's writing of the narrator, it took a longggg time to get going with that part of the story. once it became unhinged I gobbled it up, I just wish it stayed in that lane for more of the book.

This book was weird in all the right ways, but also in all the wrong ways. I wanted to love it, and hated that I liked parts of it, but I also loved to hate it. Literary serial killers, female rage, and roasting Disney adults? Phenomenal. There is something absolutely delightful about a slasher princess that I could easily see on the screen of a summer horror flick. At the same time I found the experience of reading absolutely dreadful. Why? The main character.

Maeve was an unbearable narrator. She’s spooky and “not like other girls,” she is a “wolf” and she is obsessed with emulating literary misanthropes and blasting Halloween music. The number of times the words Halloween, misanthrope, and wolf was repeated in this novel was incredibly exhausting and I couldn’t help but cringe at how edgy she (and her grandmother) were.

Narration aside, the plot is decent, if inconsistent, and there are many parts of the book that are obscenely funny. Maeve’s dilemma is a good one, she has a serious fear of abandonment and she knows she’s losing everyone around her, she’s desperate to hold onto the people she cares about to the point that she pushes them away. She makes some decent commentary about how female killers aren’t allowed to be ruthless without a reason, but then contradicts herself by holding male killers up above female ones as truly deranged and not beholden to sex. It just oozed internalized misogyny.

The book rehashes scenes from The Story of the Eye and later American Psycho, which felt so bland and uninspired to me from a writing standpoint. There is a big difference between making a nod to other works of fiction and relying on it entirely, going as far as to spoil every major plot point of an entire book. The pivotal scene is clumsy, so clumsy I couldn’t tell if it was poor writing or if it was an intentional nod to bad horror tropes, and that’s a writing problem.

I digress, the high points of this book are very high, while the lows are equally low. This book will be entertaining for the right audience, but it will definitely be divisive. There were some truly good ideas here that I feel were squandered. I’ve been really mixed on my feelings about this book for over two months now but it was an okay first attempt. I’d be willing to give CJ Leede another try if she continues to write.

This one wasn’t for me. I don’t know I was expecting something different. You will still get a three star for effort because I’m sure this is a good book. I’m into more psychological horror and this was slow going at first and I just didn’t wanna wait around for it to kick it up.

2/5

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I got about 10% in, enjoyed it to that point, but cannot get past the mental block to finish it. I also requested and tried the audiobook, but still could not get into it. It’s a shame, considering the high praise the novel has received, but I think this one just wasn’t for me.

ohhhh was this book crazy! LOL

I had to space out my reading of this book because it was JUST TOO MUCH! mostly in a good way- HA!

Everyone go and get yourself Maeve Fly and buckle up!

I would like to thank Tor/Forge for a digital copy of this novel via NetGalley. This is a modern horror story with influences from both American Psycho and Psycho infused with tidbits on Halloween media. The narrator is really into Halloween and there are several instances where the narrator comments on specific songs. These instances contributed to the overall experience of the book- which is a mixture of horror with some lighter moments. A large portion of this book shows the protagonist feeling out of touch in the world and her desire to find meaning in it. There is plenty of gore described in graphic detail towards the latter part of the book. Ultimately, this book was a fun ride.

I'm having a bit of trouble finding the words for this one. Just know that it comes with all the trigger warnings and is very gory and very disturbing. Extreme horror is usually not my thing but for some reason I actually quite like Maeve Fly. She is a Disney princess gone wrong; because where else would a psychopath work? There is a fair bit of dark humour and a lot of gruesomeness. It won't be for everyone but if you have the stomach, it is strangely mesmerizing; like an accident you can't look away from. The biggest horror of all is the mundane and dehumanizing nature of working for a paycheck, even at the happiest place on Earth. I actually found myself cheering for Maeve to not be caught while also hoping she would be stopped. Maeve Fly is a crazy, paradoxical, beautiful disaster.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group, Tor Nightfire for providing an ARC via Net Galley for review.

This was a lot, like a lot a a lot. I loved every single second of it. The synopsis is what immediately drew me in, wanting to get to reading as quickly as possible. I devoured this book. The writing and story pulls you in and doesn't let you go.

I know this book has been getting a lot of love, but this was a big miss for me.
I found the book extremely boring and I found Maeve to be a very bland and lacking main character. There’s a big focus on trivia and facts about LA, I’m sure a lot of people find that interesting, but I found it took me out of the story quite a bit.
The second half of the book takes a very odd turn. We finally get some gore in the last 20% of the book, but it felt too little too late.
I’m sure this book has its audience, but it’s not me.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

One thing you should know about me is that I am a horror genre newbie and while I enjoy the most of the horror sub genres, I abhor extreme horror and splatter punk. I unfortunately did not know this book was going to be either and it affected my reading experience a lot.

I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot! The dark comedy aspects really appealed to me, but it was in the second half that things got a little too gory and descriptive for it to be enjoyable for me. This was not my kind of horror novel but if you enjoy extreme horror and splatter punk, pick this one up!

American Horror Story meets Colleen Hoover in C.J. Leede's debut Maeve Fly. Maeve, an LA transplant, is something of an oddball with interests including body horror, and sexual depravity. However, underneath the bizarro fiction façade of this story, there is a love story--albeit an unconventional one. Definitely pick up this unique book if you're looking for something disturbing, gritty, and darkly humorous.

Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐
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This book was... Something. Something very weird. But in a pretty fascinating way. There are a lot of gory and very detailed, gruesome scenes which can be quite unsettling, but enjoyable if that's what you're looking for. A few things were just unnecessary or unrealistic in my opinion. (Specifically some of the fetishes depicted and things that happened towards the end when Maeve "spends a night out on the town".) There were a few times I just felt icky in my own skin and I loved it.
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However I was not a fan of Maeve herself. I like the premise of who she is but it didn't read that way for me. She came across as insufferable and "poor me" most of the time. The other characters (other than Maeve) lack any depth or personalities and were pretty unremarkable. The romantic relationship was toxic AF but it makes sense to the story so was kind of enjoyable.
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The ending pissed me off and part of me likes it but another part keeps saying "If you would've just said something this could've all been avoided"! It's so frustrating. Another thing I noticed was the constant repetition of one analogy in particular. At first it made sense and was interesting and then it just got annoying and lost all meaning to me.
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As a whole if you can stomach this book I would recommend it but only to the right person. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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***Trigger warnings include, but may not be limited to, drugs (including date rape drugs), violence, dismembering/disfiguring, body horror, torture and sexual content (including rape).***

Maeve Fly was a fast paced nightmare - but in such a great way. We follow Maeve, granddaughter of an Old Hollywood star, who also shares a few quirks her grandmother has. Now, she works at the Happiest Place on Earth as the Ice Princess by day while harboring dark fantasies over piña coladas by night. Until she can't only harbor them anymore.

This was fantastic, gory, sometimes surreal. An excellent read.

weird. weird and deranged and dark. one of the first heavy books i’ve read but i really enjoyed it. love an angry girl.

I read Maeve Fly in early June and had originally rated it 3 stars. However, as time passes, I keep coming back to it, so I upped it to a 4.

Reading this was like a fever dream. It was atmospheric, the descriptions made me feel like I was really in Disney Land on a hot summer day.

I loved having a main character obsessed with Halloween!

I really enjoyed the backstories for Halloween songs and the descriptions of LA.

Interesting and weird story all the same time. Maeve lives with her grandmother, a formerly famous actress. There’s bad things inside of them, but they’re not allowed to tell anyone because no one will understand. See what happens when Maeve lets pieces of this out.