I love reading books that poke at our tendency to prioritize feminine youth and beauty at any cost. Youthjuice is creepy and pointed. The protagonist is imperfect and fearful. I enjoyed this book greatly.

Upon joining the storytelling team at HEBE, a high=end skincare and wellness brand nestled in New York's chic SoHo district, Sophia Bannion senses an underlying disarray. Despite her seemingly enchanted lifestyle and nearing her thirties, Sophia yearns for greater purpose in her mundane existence and a solution to her relentless nail-biting habit. At HEBE, she discovers both fulfillment and companionship in the form of Tree Whitestone, the magnetic founder and CEO.
Soon after starting this new job Tree gives Sophia a new creme that she just created and to take notes on the effects. It's called Youthjuice. Once she starts using the product things start to spiral and she ends up deeper in the company than she imagined. Discovering things she didn't know existed, all for being young and beautiful. How far will Sophia go to stay youthful and attractive?
Cons: The story was very slow. It was hard to keep my interest at some points of the story. I was going to DNF the book when I realized that there was only thirty minutes left to the story. We get flashbacks to her past with a friend that is no longer and I'm not really sure what that had to do with the story. I was much more interested in her new job than anything else. Sometimes the story would go into a flashback or jump time without warning. For example one minute she's in the office and then the next paragraph she's walking around a party. It was confusing and it didn't make the story flow.
Pros: I love the idea of this story more than the actual story. I liked reading about her coming to grips with getting older. I did do a bit of eye-rolling over hitting thirty then I remembered I hit a mid life crisis when I turned thirty lol
I gave this book 3 stars and that's being generous. One star is because I don't think I was the target audience for this book. Yes it is horror but you don't get any of that until you are more than half way through the book. I do however think this story would make for a great movie.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

Overall a mixed feeling on this one.

On the plus side the premise, cover and language are all really good. The main character has depth and is interesting and some of the undertones of feminism are thoughtful. I particularly enjoyed the exploration of female friendship in the flashbacks to childhood with Mona.

The lipstick naming was also brilliant - both part way through and at the end! Very clever and subversive.

In terms of things that were less appealing, it’s fairly clear from the outset what will happen. It’s also not as ‘dark’ as I think it wants to be - certainly no comparison to American Psycho for me. I think it could take some heavier descriptions and imagery over the implications.

While I appreciate the purpose of the ample descriptions of make-up as someone who has never worn it and was laborious in parts.

The function of Chase was done weakly too in my view.

Narration was solid. Would consider recommending to some of my fellow readers but definitely not for all.

here we go, another entry in the ever-growing pantheon of beauty-related horror books, joining the likes of Rouge, Aesthetica, and so on.

in this story, we have sophia bannion, new employee at a new york-based skin company called HEBE. after meeting the company figurehead tree whitestone, sophia is given a new product to try - youthjuice - a serum that has absolutely incredible impacts.

this story oscillates between two timelines - her current day job at HEBE and hanging out with her ridiculously wealthy addict best friend and beauty influencer roommate dom, then back in 2008 where she and her frenemy? mona discuss boys (a specific line about pete wentz made me side-eye) and try to navigate the world without catching the negative attention of the mean girls in town.

right off the bat, you know that sophia's past is important and something within it contributes to the fact that she's always in gloves; her hands are scarred and replete with self-inflicted wounds. pretty soon into her youthjuice skincare regimen, sophia realizes that the scars on her hands are... healing? no, they're disappearing. what's in that sauce?

you may have heard the name elizabeth bathory referencing this one and if so, you already know where this one is going. (soylent green is people, etc.)

there was some weird, unhinged stuff in this to be sure, especially what's going on with sophia and her roommate in her roommate's bathroom. honestly though, with a comp title like american psycho, i think i was expecting this to go a little bit harder than it did.

i'm a big fan of books like Kill for Love and Boy Parts, both of which felt like they'd have a similar vibe to this book. this book, for me, ended up being just okay, like a thriller author tried to dabble at horror and couldn't quite escape the confines of their original genre. like, don't get me wrong - this is a good book, but i do think that the horror could have been more horrific. i wanted to be surprised. i wanted to be horrified! i was neither of those things and felt like i was calling every reveal before i read them.

let's bright side this, though - if you're not a horror person, this is the book that you need on your radar. you'll get the creeps and it'll work for you. good for me, great for most.

When I saw the description of this book included this quote: "American Psycho meets The Devil Wears Prada: outrageous body horror for the goop generation," I knew I need this book. 🫣😆

This novel is perfect for fans of authors like Mona Awad. It is creative with a interesting fever dream quality and has a lot of similes, metaphors, and other various figures of speech layered throughout as it focuses on the self absorbed and superficial mentality of the beauty industry and its fear of and fight against aging.

However, it was on the slow side for my taste and was not very plot focused, although it did get darker and more disturbing toward the end, it felt a bit bland. I would be interested to read more by this author in the future and see how her style and delivery evolves.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It gave off Devil Wears Prada vibes but with a dark twist! The plot was good, but I would have liked to see a little bit more gore. The ending was good as well, it would have been coo if Sophia became a version of Tree when she became CEO. Overall this book had me hooked from beginning to end and I would listen to it again!

Overall, pretty predictable. A quick and easy read that was entertaining but not groundbreaking.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ALC!

youthjuice follows Sophia Bannion, a 29-year-old who is starting a job at HEBE, a skincare company in NYC. She meets the company's CEO Tree Whitestone and falls deeper and deeper into the world of beauty and youth. youthjuice follows a few recent novels focusing on the horror of the beauty industry and the warped way in which society translates the appearance of women into their worth. It asks the question of how far people will go to achieve their ideal appearance.

I liked a lot of things about youthjuice and found it an enjoyable read overall. I do wish the author had gone a bit further with the horror and gore aspects and at times the writing felt a bit YA. I really liked the ending, however, and this redeemed the story overall for me.

I would recommend to anyone who is fascinated by the beauty industry and the impossible standards it sets!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I appreciate NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to listening Sathue's YouthJuice, narrated by Suzy Jackson.

Jackson's narration style pulled to the forefront the "mean girl" Devil Wears Prada aspects of NYC's SoHo vibe.

Sathue's talent for descriptive writing and absurd metaphors really struck me. I will forever think of the milk-smell-between-the-legs description Sophia came up with to describe her unwashed friend. Story-wise, Erzsébet Báthory's horrendous actions seemed to be a huge influence twisted into today's realm of cutthroat working environments and what pretty privilege can offer a woman there. The desperation to maintain pretty privilege and maintain society's standards of #GirlBossing were key themes in YouthJuice. The fear of aging is a tired topic for horror/thrillers. However, it couldn't be more relevant: Twelve-year-olds are using retinol now.

While this work didn't read as completely new, it was still an interesting concept, especially when we take a closer look into Sophia's characterization--and buried secrets.

Horror isn’t my usual genre, but the blurb for this one was too good to pass up. Definitely read for Glossier gone wrong(er) vibes and a horrifying critique of the beauty industry and our cultural with obtaining a ‘perfect’ exterior.

Premise: a beauty company employee finds herself in too deep - fast - after her boss finds the horrifying secret to eternal youth.

I loved how close to reality so much of it felt, so that the horror felt like something that could exist in a conspiracy theory. This is what fans of the pizzagate/Q fictions wish their stories were, but better told and more fun.

The things I didn’t enjoy were all to do with the genre not being my vibe, so I didn’t take off for them (excessive body horror, so much vomit it’s essentially an additional character, descriptions so graphically disgusting your stomach turns, etc.)

Thanks, NetGalley and SoHo Press, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The audiobook of this was a quick listen with a good narrator. It was a fun dark comedy while also touching on more serious and more emotional things too. I liked the jumping around in time to give the characters more depth while also moving the plot along. This managed to be an enjoyable book even while still being about intentionally unlikeable characters. This reminded me of Repo! The Genetic Opera (especially Paris Hilton's character) combined with a darker Devil Wears Prada vibe. I also liked that the social commentary was very clear without being overbearing or bogging down the plot.

This was wildly predictable and has been done many times. Just by looking at the cover you know what you’re getting. So my only complaint would be that this is marketed as a “mystery thriller” and it’s hard to be thrilled when you know exactly where everything is going at all times. Nonetheless it was fun to read and I enjoyed the characters.

Thank you Hell’s Hundred and Net
Galley for the ARC.

The beginning was a bit hard for me to get into. By the 20% mark it made me want to vomit and that’s when I decided it was a good book. This type of woman terrifies me and is antithetical to what I believe but being a human in America in 2024 I understand how this type of person develops, even if it makes me uneasy.

The point of view is one every young girl understands on some level, the type of person they hope won’t look their way if they’re not already one of them. She is insecure about everything. She notices everything about everyone else. Sathue does a wonderful job of letting us into her world without making her cartoonishly vain or her background unrelatable. We see how she’s become this person and maybe we can understand.

The writing is good. It never feels flat or bland, maybe a bit at the beginning but I was unsure if I was interested in the story at that point. There are a lot of similes and thought they do for the most part enhance the imagery, sometimes it feels like a bit much. Every other thing she notices is like another creepier thing.

Sci fi technology always seems dubious to me. It’s hard for me to suspend my disbelief, but of course an author isn’t going to develop the secret to forever youth. The explanation given though is very hard for me to suspend disbelief about. It’s too obvious and of course it’s an homage to spooky women of the past and the timeless human theme of stealing youth and life force from others. But I might have enjoyed a more in-depth explanation of where the serum came from, an explanation that it’s not just the obvious but an entirely new technology relying on an ancient truth.
It’s also very hard for me to suspend disbelief about where they procure these serums. If a side character can follow the lead to the shady secret why hasn’t a journalist or anyone else? Where are all the ******s going?? What’s their explanation for why they’re all *********ing??

I really enjoy the authors writing and jabs at hollow capitalist liberalism. Literal vampires masquerading as humanists and better than you because they know the right opinions to have, all while being not just anti women but anti human.
The ways Sathue shows these women reinventing the same misogyny that’s been perpetrated forever in the name of feminism and liberalism is fantastic, and even hints at the fact that they know it’s bs but it’s easier to change the reason than the behavior.
Love love love the allusion to René Magritte. “This is not a person. It’s a photo. Even the real Ashley was more image than human.” It encapsulates the idea and twists it so as not to understand the woman better but to dehumanize her into just a picture. She was flat, barely there, why should I care about her?
Overall I really enjoyed this book. The ending reminded me of The Circle by Dave Eggers in the way things change but they don’t.

'Rouge' and 'Bunny' by Mona Awad mixed with the tales of Elizabeth Bathory and her blood baths and the Devil wears Prada. Sophia starts a new job in fashion and beauty working for HEBE, there prized upcoming product is an anti aging cream. But at what price is the cream made and how far are people willing to go to stay young vibrant and beautiful. Sophia has a troubled past that pushes her further in the depths and striding with ease with what is happening behind the closed doors of HEBE, but for how long and what is she willing to do to keep their secrets.

The story is very well-written, but unfortunately, it's not my cup of tea. It reminded me too much of "Maeve Fly" and "Rouge," two books I couldn't stand, so I think this similarity ruined the experience for me. However, I recognize its quality and rounded up my rating to 3.5 stars for rating purposes.

This one took me back to my college years when reading flippant things about rich beautiful people's problems in New York City, and this is exactly that. Add in some light horror, and a little Season 3 Outlander Witchiness and here you go. This is a break from the more intensive reading I do to work on myself and better understand the larger world.

Is this important? Nope. Is this innovative? Nope. Is it entertaining? I read it in a day, so yes.

This book is exactly what you expect and that was what I needed. AND it works for the “y” prompt in my A-Z Horror Challenge.

"I unravelled, a monster of a girl,"

Starting her first real job, a career, at the exclusive women ran and owned beauty company is a dream come true for Sophia. As someone who's always played supporting character to her glamorous friends, Sophia is finally being seen for the first time in her life and by the enigmatic Tree, her idol, no less.

"I could cry, not from the pain but the exquisite pleasure of being known,"

But behind the sleek offices and the handcrafted ice sculptures is something Sinister, the bright, young interns are going missing en masse and the beauty cream Sophia is forced to take home may not be tested on animals, but it's cruel in a wholly different way.

All white parties and bathtubs of blood, Sophia is soon drawn into a darkening spiral of hollistic beauty.

"The battle of Time is built to be lost. The deck is stacked against a girl she recognises herself in the mirror,"

Visceral and gross at times, this book takes us on a whirlwind trip through the beauty industry and the pressures on women to have it all but still look fresh faced.

If you like unlikeable characters, weird girl books, and can handle a little bit of gore, than this is the book for you.

Make sure to check the content warnings on this one!

I really enjoyed the narrator and the way she voiced the complicated main character in a way that was at times vulnerable while also being a terrible person.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for this eaudio arc. All opinions are my own

With women constantly feeling the need to look younger than their age, this story resonates with trying crazy fads in order to look more youthful. I enjoyed reading about the journey of Sophia in her new job at a skincare company. Clearly things are not as they seem, and it was interesting to watch Sophia's reactions to learning about what actually goes into products in this skincare line. The craziness of what she sees is awesome. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves horror in the beauty industry.

An interesting take on the skin care industry’s obsession over anti aging products. It’s a slow burn for the horror but a good story. I found it hard to sympathize with the main character but over all an entertaining listen, the narrator was good. Finished in one day.

I do not generally read horror. That said, the premise of this was way too intriguing to pass on this one. The “horror” of the book is less horrifying (for lack of a better word) than what I usually think of the genre, but I do think it was classified correctly.

I have conflicting feelings about Sophia. I found it interesting how willingly she accepted the horrifying aspects going on, and her lack of shock or willingness to trust her best friend and talk with her about what she’s observing.

My main critique of this book is that the ending came on quickly, and when I got to the epilogue, I was wondering if I had missed some chapters because it felt like it concluded more quickly than I was expecting. I think the ending could have been wound down a little more slowly, but it didn’t end so abruptly that it was jarring.

Ultimately, this was a fun, different horror novel that makes you think about what people may be willing to do to achieve the appearance of youth. I often listened to this book while doing my own skincare routine, which was pretty funny. I love how this book takes the skincare industry’s practices and asks “what’s the cost one will take for youth?”