What’s the worst thing about this book? That it had to end. What’s the best thing about this book? That it knew exactly how and when to end.

That’s the power of a well-written novella: Knowing what to say, how to say it, when to end it, and how to end it well.

I have made no secret of the fact The Woods All Black was one of my most-anticipated titles of 2024. Lee Mandelo’s Summer Sons has lived in my head rent-free since I read the ARC and I was beyond excited when this title was announced. Historical horror? Trans romance? Revenge? 1920s? There was absolutely nothing about this book I’m not 100% here for and now that I’ve read it I can confirm it was absolutely everything I hoped it would be and more.

Leslie Bruin, a WWI war nurse, joined up with the Frontier Nursing Service after coming home to America to help keep women and children healthy even if he doesn’t quite agree with the Service’s eugenics-based mission. He means to work around the margins as he travels from posting to posting. His latest posting is taking him to a very rural town in the hills of Appalachia. Unbeknownst to him, things in that town have happened between when his services were requested and when he arrived that have triggered feelings of ill will between him and the town’s inhabitants before he even arrives.

Yes, the messaging writ large in this book surrounds transphobia, hate crimes, religious zealotry, queer love, and traditional gender roles and conformity. What’s also of great interest is the guilt-shame-fear culture of insulated communities like you’d find in isolated areas of Appalachia, where you’ve known everyone that lives there your whole life. It’s that tumult of feelings in your stomach where you can’t tell if you feel guilty for your actions or ashamed, but you’ll never admit you might have been scared.

The writing is haunting, erotic, bloody, and vengeful. It’s not a southern gothic ballad but a southern gothic folk song, full of revenge and blood-soaked honor.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Dark Fantasy/Gothic Fiction/Historical Fantasy/LGBTQ Fantasy/Novella/Occult Horror/Own Voices/Spice Level 2/Standalone/Transgender Romance

Lee Mandelo once again brings the reader into a world that is deliciously vibrant and hauntingly visceral. The forest exists as a creeping element to the backdrop of a community slowly escalating towards a boiling point. While much of the story revolves around the horrors that people can inflict on each other - there's the constant lurking of the darkness just beyond the peripheral. Mandelo does an excellent job at bringing the reader along Leslie's journey as Leslie attempts to make the best of a turbulent situation. The slow unwinding of the story keeps a lovely pace and the imagery it invokes keep the reader immersed. I would highly recommend The Woods All Black to anyone looking for a read that is moving, powerful, and ultimately hopeful.

4.5 stars rounded up

Set in 1920's Appalachia, The Woods All Black blends horror, revenge, and erotic romance with a trans protagonist. The tone of this novella is unsettling from near the beginning, and draws on real historical fact to flesh out the world and conflicts. The story follows Leslie, a trans nurse who has been recently assigned to serve a small town rife with religious extremism and fear. He tries to blend in by adopting more feminine attire and attitudes, but the pastor has it out for him and another young trans man being pushed into marriage and "proper" gender roles. But there may be something dark out in the woods nearby...

This was an evocative read that kept me hooked and includes some interesting information about how queer people conceived of themselves during the time period. I'm not entirely sure how I felt about some elements of the ending, but in general it was satisfying and interesting. Definitely worth a look! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Content warnings include homophobia, gender-based violence, sexual assault (off-page), misogyny, death, abortion and unwanted pregnancy, graphic sex including with a non-human form

It's 1929, and Leslie has been sent by the Frontier Nurse Service to the small Appalachian town of Spar Creek, where he is to administer vaccinations and assist with childbirth and other women's health issues. We learn from the first page that Leslie is transgender (or an invert, as he refers to himself in the language of the day), and while the fire-and-brimstone preacher isn't too excited about modern medicine reaching into the town, he's particularly upset by Leslie's "determination to not be a proper lady." Turns out there's another young trans man in town, and Leslie's arrival doesn't seem to be helping his own survival prospects. Oh, and there's a vicious supernatural creature prowling the woods behind the town, which further sets everyone on edge.

The first two-thirds of this novella ratchet up the realistic tension and terror of close-minded people in powerful positions physically and psychologically torturing these trans characters. But the final third of the book takes a turn that's...well, I'm not sure how well it sits with me. Without going into detail, I'm not sure the author's intention of revenge plays out exactly how he wanted it to. And there's definitely a scene that was disturbing in a not-great way. So as much as I was looking forward to this book (Mandelo's Summer Sons was EXCELLENT), I can't say I particularly enjoyed it when all is said and done.

CW: rape (off page), gore, homophobia, transphobia

*SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!*

This was a strange book. I think I've now read most of Lee Mandelo's books and have liked them all (Summer Sons being my favourite by far), and I really like how unique they each are.

I will admit that it took me A WHILE to get into this one. I found it quite slow for the first half and as you can see if you look at my dates read, it took me forever to get through this novella! But once I got into it, I was in.

This novella takes place during the interwar period in the US, with our MC Leslie being a part of the Frontier Nursing Service, and he has been sent to a very small town in Appalachia, where he will be giving vaccinations, assisting with births, and whatever else may be required of him.

I have read several historical books with trans characters, taking place prior to having our current terminology and they have felt quite different to me. I'm not trans, so it's not really on me to say what is and isn't "right" for trans rep in a historical context, these are just my own thoughts on how it came across to me. So, for me I liked how this book spoke about Leslie and how he thought of himself. I also found it interesting that when he meets another trans boy, that Stevie has a different take on things. Leslie is using the terminology that he knows, that he's learned from the queer community, but Stevie, having been raised in this very rural, isolated place, has his own ideas about who he is. I liked that as Leslie and Stevie got to know each other they both, maybe not so much questioned, but made realizations about their own identities. Not so much Stevie, he's pretty solid in how he sees himself, but definitely Leslie, in terms of how he sees himself and how he's been playing a particular role that isn't quite right for him, but it's the one he thinks he's supposed to play. Very good stuff.

This is a horror book, but it almost went along the lines of Chuck Tingle horror, in that the horror is the extremely religious, close-minded rural town, as opposed to anything else. And while there is a monster lurking in the dark woods, this book very much asks the question: who is the real monster?

This is such an atmospheric book. It's dark and foreboding from the start, my absolute favorite flavor. Leslie arrives in a town where he is obviously unwelcome, despite his good intentions toward the health of the community. He's treated more like a devil than a nurse. The tension steadily ramps up until, much like a horror movie, you will want to yell at him, "What are you doing? Get out of there!" I will definitely be reading more from this author.

This was so weird and unhinged, but I really liked it!! I liked the queer representation, the setting was very atmospheric and I loved the writing style! I felt so angry for these characters, so I loved that it was a revenge story! Very satisfying! This book was definitely more social horror than paranormal horror and I was kind of hoping for more of the latter, so thats why it’s closer to a four start for me. Really glad I read it and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

An entrancing historical fiction with a fantastical horror bent, The Woods All Black is, at heart, a queer love story with a tinge of “beauty and the beast.”

Leslie, the main character, is female-presenting but he identifies as male. The story is in third person, so whenever Leslie is talked about by others, he is referred to as female, such as people using she/her or calling him “Miss,” but in his point of view, he’s male, so I will be referring to him by his preferred pronoun. (Just in case anyone is confused by that, though it’s really not that confusing.)

Like the other two Lee Mandelo books I’ve read, this one doesn’t go where you expect. I adored Feed Them Silence, but this one? Wow - this one blew me away.

I love historical fiction, particularly when it focuses on people who never really got a voice back in the day. In this case, Leslie is just trying to live his life and ignore what others think of him. In said life, he’s a nurse who witnessed horrors at the front of WWI and is now tasked with travelling to small towns administering vaccines against stuff like polio, but also trying to impart some marital sex advice as well as midwifery if needed.

This particular small town is lorded over by an uber-traditionalist pastor who wants Leslie out of town. He also wants Stevie, another young woman who is questioning her sexuality/sex/gender, to settle down and get married in order to “fix” her.

The horror aspects of the book are pretty light, in truth; it is not a gothic mystery or a creature feature or anything like that. This book stays very heavily in the historical fiction camp until it takes a wild turn into horror at the end. Yet, it’s more action with a fantastical bent than horror. It’s not really scary, just a bit gory.

If you love historical fiction, this book is chock-full of details and is very well well-researched. Mandelo doesn’t shy away from the grimy, gross parts of life back then, either. He also makes it clear that not everyone in the town believes the same way as a pastor - there are those who agree with the poster somewhat, those who disagree but stay quiet, those who try to warn Leslie he’s getting into danger, and those who make themselves scarce to avoid persecution themselves. It’s incredibly realistic and makes more of a point about acceptance and how societies function than an entirely evil town out to get the queers. It brings up ideas of power dynamics and mob mentality, as well as highlighting the lack of choice women had about contraception and pregnancy.

Now, where is the beauty and the beast aspect, you’re asking? Well. Those of you who are prone to a particular form of romance novels will be pleasantly surprised by something that happens in the novel. I can understand people finding that scene a bit offputting, but I found it, well … I was into it. In fact, I was like, YES!

I also loved the transformative, literally, nature of the horror aspect, and how the book does not fall into a prevalent trope at the end.

I was entranced by this slow, ponderous, rather melancholy story. Mandelo is becoming one of my favourite authors.

A historical queer horror gem!
As a gender queer person from Kentucky, this book sang to me in so many ways. Despite being in 1929, we unfortunately deal with the same mindset today as Les did with Preacher Holladay and his congregation. The scariest, most disturbing, and hardest parts to read for me weren't the ones dealing with a monster in the woods or the details of Les having to help the dying people around him, it was the moments Les was forced to listen to the preacher spout bible passages about a "woman's place" in the world. Horrifying, pointed, and well done.
I can't claim my favorite parts without spoiling the story completely but there is a romance in this book that is beautiful and weird and I love it.
If you have read What Moves the Dead and are looking for more trans and queer rep, especially queer veteran rep, in historical or pseudo-historical horror, this is the book for you.

I'm so torn. Did I love the setting? Absolutely. An atmospheric 1920s Appalachian small-town is what horror dreams are made of. At least, that's what my horror dreams are made of. Unfortunately, The Woods All Black didn't meet my horror expectations.

*** spoilers ahead ***

When I picked up this book, it was tagged as Horror, Queer, and Historical Fiction on Goodreads and Sci-Fi & Fantasy on Netgalley. Other than Queer and Historical Fiction, I don't feel like I got those genres. What I unexpectedly got was a monster romance, which isn't my cup of tea. In addition to the surprise monster sex scenes, I was also pretty turned off by the way the main character called the eighteen-year-old love interest "boy" repeatedly - not because of the queer implications, but because he was calling an eighteen-year-old a pet name that emphasized how young the love interest was.

Ultimately, this just wasn't the book for me. I enjoyed the prose and characters. I really liked learning about the Frontier Nursing Services. I loved the Southern setting and the queer emphasis. It just wasn't what I expected. The Woods All Black has over a 4-star rating on Goodreads, so please take my review with a grain of salt. If you like monster romances or romantic horror/suspense, you might like it more than I did.

sitting down to write this review actually made me google "how much swearing is okay on goodreads" so I feel like that says enough all on its own.

our mc (Leslie "Les" Bruin) is a nurse who is assigned to a small mountain community that arguably did want his help but, after a lovely fire and brimstone speech from the pastor (bc Leslie's visibly female and god forbid he wears pants) they change their mind. Leslie doesn't really take no for an answer and sticks around anyway, determined to at least get some of these unhinged hillbillies vaccinated before he goes. he begrudgingly puts on a dress and goes to church to try and placate the town and ends up meeting Stevie, a visibly female trans man that the church is trying to tear apart to force into a feminine role.

unsurprisingly, these two dudes are very angry. and like, for good reason, the transphobia seeping out of this town is rancid, but anyway they get on together like a house on fire. Leslie is trying to suss out what the hell is happening around here and Stevie is ,,, running around in the woods scaring people, which was a fantastic vibe. when push comes to shove and the town turns on the two of them, Leslie very quickly figures out that Stevie maybe got called 'monstrous' one too many times and decided to just run with it.


I do think that if you are a reader who enjoys queer horror you're going to like this book. if you loved Andrew Joseph White's Hell Followed With Us and want to read something similar (but definitely more adult lol), grab this novella. it's got the same thrumming undercurrent of "hard to misgender a monster, huh?"


google did confirm that I could theoretically swear as much as I'd like in a goodreads review, so here's hands-down my favorite quote.
Stevie spat the tongue out like a mouthful of chaw.
“You thought you were going to fuck me again?” Stevie asked. He unbuckled his belt and thumbed loose his trouser buttons while Marshall scrambled onto all fours. “That’s real fucking funny, you arrogant piece of shit. I’m going to eat you raw.”


rep - trans achillean mc, trans queer mc, side queer characters
thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc ✨

WOW this book.

We follow Leslie, who works for the Frontier Nursing Service as he travels to a tiny town in Appalachia in the 1920s. Leslie encounters a young man who is being harmed by he townspeople as they see him as a tomboy who needs to be brought to heel and marry. All the while, a creature is trolling the dark woods, leaving carcasses and fear in its wake.

I had no idea what to expect from this and it far exceeded my expectations. This story builds into something I did not see coming, and I had a great time reading it and finding out what was in store for Leslie. Best to go into this without reading too much more.

Lee Mandelo does it again! The Woods All Black is an atmospheric, historical horror novella set in 1920s Appalachia where old school religious fervor acts as the ultimate evil. A beautiful and compelling story about trans men, freedom, and T4T love. I would read 1000 pgs about Spar Creek.

This is a historical fantasy set in WWI. I love historical fantasies, they brig a great deal of action and knowledge into the reader.

Immersive and easy to read writing style. Able to connect with the main characters and their segregation from their communities. Isolation and conformation were key themes and I liked how they were highlighted in this book. The plot was straightforward and clean and was quite condensed. This did mean that the side characters lacked some depth. But overall it was well written, emotionally stirring and powerful.

I was unaware that it would develop into a monster romance read. Not sure if it was necessary to the plot, but it didn’t sway me either way.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Tor Publishing group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is short, but very impactful - and VERY surprising! Part Appalachian horror story, part queer love story, there's a lot going on in these 160 pages. Our main character, Leslie, arrives in a small town as a traveling nurse and ends up being faced with more adversity, transphobia, and misogyny than he bargained for. I loved the revenge aspect, and also the focus on self-acceptance. There are certain things throughout this story that could be triggering for folks, so definitely go into it knowing that and looking up content warnings if you need them. This is my first book by the author, and judging from this, I'll definitely be reading more in the future.

When I saw that this book was described by the publisher as “equal parts historical horror, trans romance, and blood-soaked revenge, all set in 1920s Appalachia’, I immediately said yes please, sign me the heck up!!!! And let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint. This was just so, so good. I can’t thank Tor Publishing enough for sending me an ARC!

The Woods All Black follows our main character, Leslie Bruin, who is a nurse working for the Frontier Nursing Service. Upon being assigned to Spar Creek, a town in the middle of nowhere, Leslie finds himself in uncomfortable territory. The townsfolk follow Pastor Ames Holladay and his violent sermons devoutly, and immediately show their disdain for Leslie, who does not abide by their terms of what a “traditional woman” should be. Leslie does his best to curry the favor of the townsfolk, but overall accepts that his time there will be unpleasant at best. But he is determined to provide whatever care he can, and plans to focus solely on this, until he witnesses the violence that has begun to brew against one of the younger townsfolk in particular.

Stevie Mattingly, who also holds the townsfolk’s discontent due to the way that he presents himself, is at the center of the town’s violent demands for conformity. Refusing to believe that Stevie is anything other than an “unruly tomboy”, they focus their attention on trying to force him into submission.

Leslie finds himself drawn to helping Stevie, even at the cost of further disdain from the townsfolk. But as his time in Spar Creek continues, Leslie can’t help but feel that there is something more dangerous, more foreboding in the trees surrounding. As more secrets of the forest come to the surface, and the townsfolk become more emboldened by their violent Pastor, things come to a jarring and grotesque climax, that I can guarantee you will not see coming ( I mean maybe you will, but I DEFINITELY did not).

I absolutely loved this, every second of it. It was dark, scary, and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I think this is a prime example of a novella that felt complete and successful in it’s short parameters, and didn’t really leave me wanting for anything. The story covered so much material, but never felt underdeveloped. Spar Creek was vivid and horrifying. If you know me, you know that a micro-genre that I LOVE, are books that spotlight and call attention to toxic religious cult-like communities, and this was no exception; Pastor Ames Holladay and the complicit townsfolk were more terrifying than anything lurking in the Spar Creek woods.

Even though it was absolutely grotesque and definitely dark, this was a powerful queer story of determination, the fight for bodily autonomy, and an unwavering refusal to be forced into something that you’re not. I will say that this book had a twist that was SO unexpected, and that I think maaaaaay turn some readers off, but for me, I was here for it hehehe

I think some people will love this but it was really not what I was expecting. I don’t do well with on-page sexual violence and I’m also not that interested in monster smut. But for people who are into that, I think this is definitely a book for them!

I have found myself enjoying historical horror more and more lately, and this is no exception. 1920s Appalachia was such an atmospheric place for this trans romance x revenge x small town religious culty story to take place. I would love for this to be longer because I was enjoying the characters so much and would love to see them get even more room to breathe. I hope my branch is able to get copies of this, because it was just so well done and touches on important topics. This was so good!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

I love a good horror, and to have this blurbed as a queer trans horror had me pumped!
this was so atmospheric and detailed for such a short novella, I kind of wanted it to be longer - just so our good guys could have a longer time getting revenge. That would have been good!

I will say I wasn't expecting the spicy scenes, but I loved that it was included - we have too much straight sex in the publishing world, lets have some representation of others to let people feel seen why don't we?

Overall, this was a great read, but comes with trigger warnings:
rape, sexism, misogyny, blood, sexual content, transphobia, gore, religious bigotry, animal death and body horror.