When a pandemic spreads across the US, a religious introvert named Sophie goes on a quest to find her brother. Along the way, she finds friends, a dog, and a new view of the world.

Going into this book, I was hooked from the first page. The first line actually. Something about the way the author writes just pulls me in. I read her other book, Maeve Fly, so when I saw this book on Netgalley, I had a feeling I would love it too, and I do.

She has a way of creating characters that feel so real. The amount of depth she gave Sophie was incredible. The inner despair the reader felt as Sophie juggled between the knowledge she learned from the church growing up and what she learned about the world and life was truly insightful.

I loved nearly every character in this book, and it made some of the scenes real tearjerkers. The ending especially was an emotional rollercoaster.

CJ Leede successfully managed to blend coming of age, family values, religious hypocrisy, a virus scare, and the end of the world into a horror book that not only leaves you on the edge of your seat, but makes you think a lot about society and our place within it as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Enthralled by Maeve Fly and captivated by the work of author Leede, I eagerly devoured their latest offering, American Rapture.

As a fervent admirer of the horror genre, I understand the power and depth inherent in works such as American Rapture. In addition to its chilling elements, this piece offers a poignant examination of the human experience. A young girl is growing up as she leaves her safe, Catholic upbringing and faces the harsh realities of the world, both beautiful and scary.

The seamless integration of wisdom and horror within this literary work will captivate and astound readers. Cj's exceptional talent is certainly worthy of continued attention.

I received a free eARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is, frankly, far more post-apocalyptic than I was prepared for at the moment, but that's on me not the author in any way. Because of that I did end up skimming large sections and at times heavily skipping through a few chapters to avoid the worst of the death, gore, and intense horror. On the whole I found the book to be very solid, but just missing...something. The beginning was strong, very strong. And at times I absolutely loved the prose and the protagonist's voice. She felt very relatable to me, as an ex-fundie. But other parts of the book felt disjointed or overdone, almost. <spoiler>And I especially felt that the death of literally everyone but Ben and Sophie at the end was unnecessary. I stopped caring once I realized that's what was happening. Turned my emotions off. If someone is going to try to get me to fall in love with a group of characters only to brutally kill off all but the love interest... I'm just not here for it.</spoiler> This is not bad book, by any means. But it's not the book I wanted it to be, unfortunately.

American Rapture is really exciting in concept, and it definitely touches on several things I expected it to such as religious guilt and purity culture without being heavy-handed. I really liked the beginning and the setup, but found that the book lost momentum for me and turned into a pretty typical zombie apocalypse story along the way. However, what really matters in those stories are the characters and whether the story has a heart I can get behind, and I could not for this book.

I loved Maeve Fly and while I’d like to think that I didn’t bring high expectations to this book because of Maeve Fly, I probably did. In comparison to the humor, refreshing protagonist, and truly brutal scenes in that book, I found American Rapture to be pretty dull. The virus C.J. Leede depicts is horrifying and I understand the characters on paper, but because I wasn’t invested in anyone, I didn’t care who survived or died. Except for the dog, Berghast, actually.

As a protagonist, Sophie works fine. You can see how indoctrinated these harmful beliefs are in her about sexuality and faith, and it is great to see her unlearn them. It’s not a smooth journey either, but that makes the payoff more satisfying. However, I wish we saw incremental changes with Sophie rather than one big payoff at the end and I wish the narrative had challenged her more.

Outside of the Sophie, I truly could not care about any of these characters, but I found the romance in particular to be grating. I understand Sophie is sixteen and is exploring her sexuality and attraction to various people, but her attraction to a much older man in particular was never directly addressed. I also wasn’t a fan of him being a cop, especially when the story could’ve been the same without that, like, come on (I’m not going to argue with whether cops can be good people or not, it’s just strange for the story to be very much about the violence we allow to be enacted in society and to have one of the big supporting characters be part of a violent institution and never directly address that). Sophie’s other love interest was also as bland as cardboard, unfortunately.

Overall, American Rapture is a bunch of cool ideas, but felt empty at the core. It didn’t resonate with me, even though I really wanted it to, but I do think the aspects involving religion were executed well.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This review will be published on my blog (clearsummers.wordpress.com) and Goodreads on October 1, 2024.

4.5/5

Yeah this is something special alright. It’s left me shaken and stirred with a desire for more. The characters, the story, the pacing, the ending (what an ending!) are all too-notch here. Highly highly recommended.

CJ Leede has written a masterclass in apocalyptic horror. This was absolutely amazing from start to finish. Fantastical and yet so human, just breathtaking. I’ll be thinking about that final paragraph for years to come

This book was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Everything about it had me hooked. I really can't wait for more from this author.

The premise is centered on a teenage girl who grows up in an extremely sheltered religious community. Unaware that a pandemic is spreading, everyone around her is starting to get sick and the last stage of the virus is this lustful, erratic behavior before they die of a fever. So think horny zombies. Without her parents, Sophie decides to find her brother in another city because he might be all she has left.

I’ve never read Maeve Fly so this is my first book from this author and let me tell you that Leede doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. I think the way trauma is portrayed in this book was genius; it felt real and genuine. It’s a nagging feeling that is ever-present, it shrouds reality so you’re only half present, and it’s done so well. Sophie is also waking up from religious indoctrination and guilt; things I myself have gone through when I was younger. I felt pulled into her struggle.

The way that the virus is shown as a frenzied, disgusting lust is unique and ties well with the topic of sexual shaming done by the church. Sophie learning about herself, her sexuality, and how to reconcile with the fact that her entire world belief is crumbling provides an emotional layer to a fast paced, action packed book.

Overall, I really liked it, and I’m glad I read it. It will be a book I think about for a long time, even though there were moments where I needed to stop reading due to how graphic and shocking some parts are.

Do I recommend it? Yes! I might have to read Maeve Fly after this. BUT please read trigger warnings.

CJ Leede delivers an excellent concept but a main character and religious storyline I couldn’t quite connect with. This book wasn’t for me, but it was still solid and I would definitely say others should check it out and will enjoy the hell out of it.

To start, CJ Leede is 2 for 2 in terms of churning out novels. Back-to-back bangers. I was a fan of “Maeve Fly” for its unique voice and general chaos, and her sophomore title — “American Rapture” — with @tornightfire similarly brings a fresh and entertaining take to the horror genre, especially in the End-of-the-World-novel arena. This book is packed with important themes and it puts a lens to and explores some of the most crucial topics of our times; ones we should not look away from. The narrative is well paced and the characters are the kind that stick with you when you put the book down between chapters. I said it midway through and it’s worth repeating: this is a book that unfurls like a very well-plotted — yet poignant — movie, with a cast of folks you’ll be cheering for the whole time. Also, Barghest rules ❤️ Good boy.

I really wanted to love this...this cover is amazing but the contents did not live up to what I thought I was getting. The story just felt like it was getting repetative. It felt like there was something missing but I could not put my finger on it. Overall, I gave it three stars. I will definitely check out any future works from the author.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this ebook!

Unfortunately, this book was just ok.

Overall, I’m gonna give the book 3 stars. I enjoyed the concept of this book, but unfortunately the execution left me empty-handed. The whole time throughout the book, I was waiting for the part that was going to fully hook me and make me excited to find out what happens, and I just felt meh like I wasn’t super angry about the book and I wasn’t super happy about it either just very like, ok this was a story. The only part of the book that I had intense feelings about was the brutal animal death scene.

American Rapture by CJ Leede…whew. I loved Maeve Fly so I was so excited to get an arc of this book. I freakin loved it. I cannot stop thinking about it. This book has a very religious, cult-like element and I love it! There’s a flu outbreak, people are getting sick. Some are getting better and some are not. Some are getting far worse and turning into very lustful beings. Sophie, a very sheltered Catholic school girl has no idea how bad things are until she is forced out of the safety of her sheltered environment. Along her journey, she meets up with others and I became invested in them as well. What I thought was going to be a simple end of days type horror story was really a not so simple end of days type horror story with emotions and themes of survival, found family, morality struggles, longing, coming of age and love.
CJ Leedes is an auto buy author for me now. I can’t wait to get a physical copy of this book to put beside Maeve Fly on my shelf. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for allowing me to read American Rapture early.

Book Review - American Rapture by CJ Leeds
Where to even begin? I guess I’ll start with you should read this book the moment you are able to get your hands on it. I’ve been on quite the religious trauma kick recently, but this one, this was something else. It works on every level you want a book to work on, the characters are wonderfully drawn and three dimensional, it’s action packed, it has fantastic layers of complexity, it is both heartbreaking and funny. It’s really f’ing good.

But what struck me as I was reading it is how much it is a perfect examination of this moment in American History. In 50, 100, 150 years, this will be a book that will help people understand Covid, the right wing frenzy exemplified by Trump and Evangelical furor, the way people that are just trying to live and be themselves authentically are demonized or worse, murdered for who they are. The way people just stand by and watch until it’s way too late. It’s bloody brilliant. I can’t stop thinking about it.

Shortlisted for book of the year for me.

Firstly, thank you Netgalley and CJ Leede for an ARC of this awesome book. This was unlike anything I've ever read. As a horror lover, this book was religious and culty, and it hit me in all the right places. It was a journey of self-discovery, a journey of finding out what you truly believe. I loved going along this journey with the main character, and being able to watcher her grow and change and love. Ultimately, the apocalypse was an added benefit. It was an awesome backdrop to the true story, which was one of love, growing-up, and self-discovery. CJ Leede is definitely a new favorite author of mine. This was the perfect combination of horror, death, and love.

In American Rapture, a virus is sweeping through America, turning those infected into wild, lust-driven creatures.

Our main character Sophie is a devout Catholic who embarks on a journey across the Midwest in search of her family. As she navigates this new and terrifying world, she finds herself grappling with her faith, questioning everything she once held dear. Along her journey, Sophie encounters a ragtag group of survivors who become her new family. Sophie must confront both the world’s descent into madness and her own internal struggles.

I really loved this. It's unique, fast-paced, heart-warming, and gut-wrenching. I laughed and I SOBBED. Highly recommend!

This was so incredible; I couldn’t put it down and I didn’t want it to end. It tore my heart out of my chest, stomped on it, and then threw it back in my face. Easily my favorite of the year so far.

Leede’s writing is excellent, she’s really good at making me feel like I’m having a panic attack while reading. I fell in love with Sophie and every single one of her companions. It’s a little bit of ‘The Violence’, a little bit of ‘The Road’, and a lot of ‘Crossed’.
I cried so hard reading this my cat thought something was wrong with me. And there is something wrong, I’ll never recover.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the e-ARC!

Why would you do this to me?

It's been so long since I last cried over a book... How dare you?
And thank you.

I was expecting something totally different and I am so thankful it was nothing like that.
The meaningful conversations, reflections and relationships... The writing... The emotion behind it all. It made me so sad yet so happy to read it.

Great job.

CJ Leede’s first novel, Maeve Fly, set off a series of seismic shocks in the online circles where I hang out, yet I haven’t managed to read it yet. I have no good excuses, except for the usual so many books, so little time. It’s been on my towering TBR pile for quite a while, and after reading American Rapture, Leede’s forthcoming second novel, I’m moving it way up the stack, because people, you are not ready for this one.

Sophie, the heart of American Rapture, is a teenage girl raised in a painfully repressive Catholic household, a place where paintings of Jesus and crosses hang on every wall, where guilt and sin, shame and repression, heaven and hell, are spoon fed to her on a daily basis. Separated from her twin brother, for the most part closed off from everything outside her home and church, the very insular world she inhabits, Sophie is sad, lonely, wracked with the feeling she’s not worthy of love.

That situation quickly unravels when a mutating virus that turns victims into sex-crazed zombies spreads like a wildfire across the the US, setting Sophie on a brutal, gut wrenching journey in search of her brother and safety. Sophie soon finds herself questioning everything she knows, and discovering everything she doesn’t know, as she fights for survival. Along the way she gathers a found family of sorts, a desperate group of fellow survivors, including the best fictional dog I’ve read in a long time.

I love a good found family story, and American Rapture does not disappoint in that regard. As the ragtag group traverses a midwest hellscape, I found myself cheering for their brief successes, and mourning their losses. Make no mistake, this is very much an apocalyptic novel—think The Road mixed with zombies, with a healthy, sinister dose of religious fundamentalism mixed in. It is harrowing and unsettling, filled with uncompromising violence.

Sophie is a wonderful heroine, brave and terrified, innocent and flawed. When she finds all the notions that have been drilled into her by her parents and her church—things like love, sex, virginity, a woman’s place, blind faith in God—challenged by the maelstrom she finds herself in, she allows herself to confront those challenges head on. All the characters, Sophie especially, are heartfelt creations. Leede writes with heartfelt empathy.

A lot of American Rapture hits uncomfortably close to home, given our current political/social climate. There were moments here when I found myself reading through tears. Tears for what the characters are experiencing, and tears of rage at how truly inhumane humans can be. This is visceral horror at its finest, horror that isn’t afraid to ask profound questions.

American Rapture releases October 15, 2024. Don’t miss this one.

Horrific, beautiful, heartbreaking, suspenseful. Screaming, crying, throwing up AND HERE IS A HOT TAKE: better than Carrie PLEASE READ IT!