This is Hailey Piper at her best. Fans of her work will recognize this as the culmination of the skills displayed in her previous works. There’s body horror, incredible monsters, and so much emotion on every page. I love how she writes. (This is devolving into a pro-Hailey rant. Oops.) This one has some mystery, lots of fantasy and lore, skillful use of a diary and multiple POVs, and a conversation with great literature; and it all feels so unique and so full of both rage and love. It instantly became one of my favorite books. Wouldn’t be surprised if this won the Stoker.

I so wanted to love this book. It's a big one, coming in at 447 pages and at times it felt way too long to me. This book has a lot going on between the pages and the central mystery is what really happened to Cabrina Brite.

I found this book to be raw, dark, intense, and deep. This book explores identity, the trans experience, love, friendship, secrets, family, acceptance, things that haunt you, pain, and vampires.

As this is a horror book, there is a fair amount of gore and violent moments. The vampires in this book are not your typical literary vampires and I applaud the author's unique and original take. I did find this book to be beautifully written and well thought out.

Others are enjoying this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖

This is a viscerally grotesque, twisted, and disturbingly heart breaking novel about identity and some of the most terrifying "vampires" you'll ever read about.

Unapologetically queer and deliciously disgusting, this story follows Ivory who happens to be on the beach one morning when the body of a teenage girl is discovered.

Something will follow her home that day. Something hungry and full of malice. But what starts as a haunting soon turns to something much more horrific. And just when you think you know what's going on, you absolutely don't.

This is as much about love as it is the creatures. And love can be selfish and cruel and cut you deep at times. The themes of identity and isolation, feeling as if you don't belong, are dealt with throughout this book but the crushing terrifying narrative begs you to keep reading until the horrible truth is laid bare.

This one is frightening, amazing, and is un-put-down-able. I highly recommend it.

I received this book from the publisher this morning and just finished. That’s how good it is; I could not put it down! This is a must-read for horror fans, especially if you’re looking for something unique. I also appreciated the trans representation done with care and compassion. This is going to be a book with tons of buzz. Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

Wow. This book is powerful, gritty, sad, and scary as hell. Such a completely new look at the way vampires can be portrayed in literature. The trans representation is beautiful in this book as well, and these four main characters will live with me for a very long time. This is an absolute must read for horror fans and anyone that wants to read something that is truly original