There is a lack of world-building and character development, I was unable to focus enough on the story. I just kept skimming through the pages. I really loved “Tender is the Flesh” so I was hoping I’d enjoy this too, but it wasn’t for me. I was mostly confused while reading and bored.

Bazterrica hits hard with this post-apocalyptic religious horror with a world that is purely violence and possession. Everyone who lives in this world must be violent or they die. The must be obsessively possessive over the few things they have. Even in the safety of the Sacred Sisterhood, young women are mercilessly cruel to each other in hopes that they will no longer be deemed “unworthy” and will be properly taken care of. Although even that means being mutilated into insanity.

This book was visceral, vicious, cruel, revolting, and infectious. I longed to find out how things were going to turn out. While I’ve obviously ready much more intense horror, I enjoyed this one much better than her previous novel as it was more my taste all around.

There's a lot more I want to say about this incredibly affecting novel, but with it being so far out, I'll keep more of my thoughts to myself until release day. That said, I will confirm the Sapphic nature of the book.

WOW.

This book is not for the faint of heart.

The author has a way of writing short but impactful stories that will make you think about it for a long time. I loved the way we learned the main character's story and the way the past and present unfolded. It was hard to read at times, and I had to put it down to take a breather before being able continue. But this was a good thing for a book that is about uneasy subjects like these.

I loved this book a lot and would definitely recommend it!

Thank you very much to Simon & Schuster Canada | Scribner and Net Galley for the ARC.

Unfortunately I did not like this story. It started off with little context which made me feel confused. I thought I would like the subject matter, but it did not interest me.

Hmm I wanted to love this so badly, I thought Tender is the Flesh was one of the most compelling and horrific (in a good way) stories I’d ever read so maybe I set the bar too high? But this felt bland, uninspired and to be honest like a story I’d read a few times before.

Bazterrica can bring the creep factor ten fold but I need a plot or vibe to help make it all tangible.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an early digital copy all opinions are my own.

Bazterrica’s prose continues to mystify, but the story overall left much unexplored. The emotional weight felt fleeting; the violence grim, but not as engaging as her other work.

A woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood.”

This was one of the strangest read of the year for me. I had a really hard time connecting with the story. I’m not sure if it’s the writing style or the translation or lack of important information.

We are thrown into a bizarre dystopian world with no mention of why this world is at it is or what happened before. We follow an Unworthy (a lower class member of the Sacred Sisterhood) in a convent called The House of the Sacred Sisterhood who’s run by one male Godsend and Superior Sister. We get tidbit information that the outside world is destroyed and infected and that the only thing the Unworthy can eat are harvested crickets. The Unworthy we follow writes her journey on everything she can find and hides it (because it’s forbidden). She keeps talking about the Enlightened (which I still don’t get).

There’s a lack of world-building as well as character development. It’s filled with religious aspect torture scenes that feels like fillers for the story.

I was looking forward to this book but was left unsatisfied and exhausted.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC copy

I live for books steeped in religious history and trauma, and The Unworthy has both in spades. They just, hit all the right places in my head.

A dystopian, mind fuck that still manages to be incredibly beautiful.

Thank you so much to the publishers for the arc.

Publication date: March, 2025

I think that I will never be disappointed by a book written by Agustina. This was everything I expected even more.

The writing is absolutely phenomenal. Nothing wrong to say about this really. The story was one of the craziest i've read but damn was so good. And the sapphic twist? perfect.

My only critic is that I wished the last 5 % were not that rushed, I feel like it should have been longer, the scenes were almost cut and I couldn't sense that it was right. Only confused me because the rest of the book was in a pretty slow pace.

Thank you for this arc copy! 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the egalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

This made for an excellent arc for Halloween, which is when I finished my read.

Atmospheric and haunting, without ever giving much detail about the setting. Detail was reserved for scenes depicting torture, which is what the hierarchy of the Sacred Sisterhood—headed by the Superior Sister—is best at.

The Unworthy make up the lowest tier of this hierarchy—except for servants—and some hope to be selected to become Enlightened. But not the narrator of this tale who tries to demystify the workings of the sisterhood and the world outside the doors of the convent.

Most of the time, I had no idea what I was reading which was a departure from the bleak and straightforward world of Tender is the Flesh. But I enjoyed it.