This book may be small, but it certainly packs a mean punch!

Of all the horror readers I know, I’m one of the few who wasn’t entirely captivated by Tender is the Flesh. While that book’s relentless bleakness left me feeling detached, The Unworthy is an entirely different story—it gleams darkly and brilliantly. It’s like Bazterrica took every theme I adore in horror and wove them into one taut, terrifying masterpiece.

Post-apocalypse? ✅️
Religious horror? ✅️
Body horror? ✅️
Sapphic romance? ✅️
Cults? ✅️

The Unworthy balances its grim themes with razor-sharp storytelling, immersing the reader in a world that feels both alien and alarmingly familiar. The characters’ struggles feel raw and visceral. This isn’t just horror—it’s horror that gets under your skin and stays there, challenging you to think, to feel, and to confront the unsettling truths it reveals.

All of my thanks to Netgalley & Scribner for the ARC! <3

Tender is the Flesh is one of the most haunting books I've ever read, so I was very excited to see Agustina Bazterrica's new book on Netgalley. This is another sort of post apocalyptic story, but this one is significantly more of a horror story. Yes, Tender is the Flesh is about cannibalism and obviously horror, but part of that book's horror comes from how normal cannibalism has become. This book is full of straight up body horror and torture from the jump. The imagery reminded me a lot of this video game called Blasphemous, even though that story is based around Catholicism and the cult in this one is very explicitly anti-Catholic. Likely because of all the flagellations and talk of saints and what not. I really liked the writing style as well. It seems like other reviewers weren't a fan of the stream of conscious style and relatively light plot, but I feel like a lot of modern Latin American horror authors write that way and always enjoy it. Plus, the story is basically the main character's diary, so it makes sense in context. It was wildly dark and depressing, which I'm coming to expect from this author, but I enjoyed it and feel like most people with a high tolerance for extreme religious horror and body horror would like it as well.

I finished The Unworthy, the new novel from Agustina Bazterrica (writer of Tender is the Flesh). It's one of those books that leaves you feeling mentally exhausted - the kind where you need to watch something light after reading a little to reset your brain. Picture another messed-up dystopian world, but unlike Tender is the Flesh, which throws you right into the horror, this one takes its time building out the awful setting by people doing awful things. Most of the book is spent establishing this convent and the nightmare world around it, with all the really intense stuff crammed into the last bit.
It feels like Bazterrica took one of her short stories from Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird and stretched it into something bigger and darker. Not quite the same brutal punch as Tender is the Flesh, but still the kind of story that makes you grateful it's just fiction. If you're planning to read it, maybe have something happy lined up to read after.

Agustina Bazterrica's latest novel, The Unworthy, is a haunting and thought-provoking exploration of religious extremism and the destructive power of ideology. Set in a dystopian future ravaged by climate change, the story follows a young woman trapped within the walls of a secretive convent.

The author's vivid descriptions of the claustrophobic convent and the desolate world outside create a sense of dread and isolation. The narrator's voice is both vulnerable and defiant, as she grapples with her past and questions the morality of the Sisterhood. The author's exploration of themes such as power, control, and the human capacity for both good and evil is both timely and timeless.

While the pacing may be slow at times, the author's elegant prose and the suspenseful atmosphere keep readers engaged. The ending is both shocking and satisfying, leaving a lasting impression.

The Unworthy is a powerful and disturbing novel that will challenge readers to confront their own beliefs and biases. It's a must-read for fans of literary horror and dystopian fiction.

ARC provided by Netgalley


Tender Is the Flesh is in the top five books that I've read this year. I was so looking forward to reading The Unworthy, and unfortunately I feel let down. Agustina Bazterrica is an incredible writer, and she's able to paint such a picture with how well she describes her settings, but I hated the stream of consciousness writing style. After reading The Unworthy, I'm left with more questions than answers. We're given hints about what happened to the world, but I just wanted to know more.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was eager to dive into The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica after loving Tender Is the Flesh. While the book was engaging and kept my attention, it left me craving more depth in terms of world-building and background. The story revolves around a woman navigating life within a religious cult after a climate crisis devastates the world. Though the vivid and brutal details of the cult were compelling, I found myself wanting a clearer picture of the world outside the cult. The narrative briefly touches on a mysterious sickness and the collapse of plant life, but these elements felt underdeveloped—or perhaps I simply wished the book had been longer to explore them further, as the concept was so intriguing. That said, the writing was strong, and the translation captured its essence beautifully. Overall, an interesting and bizarre read that left me wanting more.

The Unworthy has such intense atmosphere and worldbuilding. The characters are intense and complex. Our main character is literate, queer, and questioning of so many things. What she eventually finds behind the carved black door is horrifying.

This dystopian story touches on so many things I wished had been resolved - WHY, was the butterfly real, what's the deal with the crystals? But foremost, how did we get here? Hints are given throughout but I want more!

I also want to know what happens next! But, of course, that isn't possible by the end.

Engaging and so atmospheric, this book kept my attention throughout.

I really liked this book.
It is cruel, heartbreaking, bewildering story of loss and I am here for that!
#NetGalley

3.5 This book is absolutely terrifying. But I really hated the format. The stream of consciousness, journaling was really hard for me to follow or get in to. HOWEVER! This book is definitely scary so if you can get down with the format, I think you’ll love it.

A commentary on climate change and religious extremism. Very unsettling. This book really pulls you in and makes you want to know more about the cult and what happened to the outside world. Fantastic writing that really engages the reader.

Very gruesome and gory (what did I expect from this author) thought this was a powerful compelling story, however i didn't enjoy the animal abuse but that's my only complaint and it's not really a complaint just my preference! Overall this was another gut punch horror that had heavy themes

The Unworthy - Agustina Bazterrica
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Okay, Tender Is The Flesh & Nineteen Claws & a Black Bird were fabulous! This one fell flat to me.

Started off really strong, religion / cults
I liked that I was kind of confused while reading & didn’t really know what was going on.
I did not like how anticlimactic the ending was. ☹️

I love this author & I will read everything she publishes. 🖤

Blurb:
“From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe—cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe.”

Thank you @Netgalley, @agustina & @scribner for this ARC. I was over the moon when I was approved for this one! 🖤

Publication date: March 04 2025

#review #bookreview #arc #arcreview #netgalley #bookish #readmore #readmorebooks #cults #dystopia

I'm sorry I found this book to be incredibly boring. For such a short read it took way to long to get through. It didn't reel me in at all.

I've read Tender is the Flesh so I was hoping that this would be on that level and it fell flat.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars--

This is some truly disturbing feminist horror. I still haven't gotten around to reading Tender Is the Flesh, but it's been on my to-read list for ages. So I was very excited to get an ARC of the author's newest book, The Unworthy. And it was just as fucked-up as I'd hoped. In the best possible way.

The Unworthy takes place in a violent, fanatical cult secluded from a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by environmental and societal collapse. The unworthy are all women. They are given refuge and enough food to live, but are subjected to intense violence and control. Only by being Chosen or Enlightened will they gain greater comforts within the community. However, the Enlightened and the mysterious "He," who leads the cult, are never seen by the Unworthy. Violating the rules, our nameless narrator writes down her thoughts and experiences, sometimes in her own blood. The reader gradually learns more about this gruesome religious order, as well as the narrator's recollections of the world beyond, and it's all stomach-twisting.

Unsettling and grotesque, The Unworthy is a short but intense read.

Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

HOLY MOTHER OF *#^%*. And when I say Holy Mother, of course I’m referring to Agustina Bazterrica Patron Saint of Horror. Tender is the Flesh is a unique and horrifying story blessed upon us from Bazterrica and The Unworthy is truly worthy of standing right next to Tender in the hall of fame of fucked up-ness.

The Unworthy takes us on a journey of total cataclysms and what can stem from that complete destruction. Think, the worst religious cult that stems from a decimated world, a true apocalypse and you just start to scratch the story of The Unworthy.

I don’t want to delve too deeply into the plot but surprisingly this was a story of love. If you read this you may be thinking I’m completely batshit by saying that, but stay with me. What happens when you lose complete hope in everything including humanity? The full rot and desolation of humanity is on full, sickening display here but is also the thing that may well save us all.

We get a disturbing display of events written in the blood of one of our “unworthy” and while there’s about one singular character who is likeable, the desperation and total destruction has you begging for any glimmer of hope. Bazterrica withholds and withholds, but I do have to say it felt like relief finishing this short novel. There are certain authours that change your DNA with their writing and just like Tender is the Flesh, this story will stick with me, whether I like it or not, forever.

“Without faith, there is no refuge.”
I knew from the moment I picked this up I was going to love it. Haunting and absolutely perfect. One of the best dystopian horror I have read.

I wanted to love this book as much as I loved Tender is the Flesh but it just didn’t get there for me. Im not saying it was bad because it wasn’t. It just didn’t grab my attention and keep it like her other book. I can definitely see this being an amazing book for other people but it wasn’t for me

This one was such a wild ride and I absolutely devoured it. I have yet to read Bazterrica’s other books but they are now at the top of my list.

The Unworthy is perfect for fans of Station Eleven and The Handmaid’s Tale. The world has devolved into chaos and just about everyone remaining is feral from their struggle to survive. Our narrator lives “safely” in a women’s convent, serving some vague higher powers.

This one is gruesome and perfect. Preorder now if you love body horror, cults, and dystopian worlds!!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the eARC of this unhinged title!**

4 stars--I really liked it. Content warnings for sexual and animal violence.

Wow. Bazterrica doesn't have much hope for the earth's future, does she? First cannibalism, now complete ecological catastrophe and water wars. (She's probably right.)

I liked this better than her first famous book, Tender Is the Flesh, though there are similarities (mostly the despairing tone). This was brief and intense, all the horror concentrated into a few scenes. The world is nightmarish, with relationships and nature being the only glimpses of hope.

Truly upsetting, in the best way.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

Imagine if The Handmaid's Tale happened during the apocalypse. You'd have "The Unworthy," which features strong female characters who'll do anything to survive.


I was instantly hooked by the premise of this book — an apocalyptic book involving a secretive cult surviving the end of days? Sign me up.

But as soon I got into it, I realized this book was so much more than simple woe and despair. It invokes powerful, potent storytelling and fervent language to weave a world that feels alive.

The main character, who goes unnamed throughout the novel — perhaps representative of the everyday woman — pens her memoir at night in forbidden inks. She’s a member of a religious cult that only accepts female members. But this isn’t a convent full of Jesus-praising nuns. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The women are controlled with torture and pain, and the more they can inflict upon others, the more respect and honor they gain.

While this might sound less-than-ideal, it’s one of the only choices for these women in an apocalyptic world where natural resources are slim. There’s nowhere else to go. And so she feeds into this life, falling prey to the hate and the jealousy that govern everyday interactions in this place.

The moments she captures are scattered, and sometimes fleeting, but the overall effect is like a person pouring out their soul. There isn’t much in the way of plot, so if you don’t like wandering narratives, this won’t be your favorite. But if you allow yourself to buckle in and slip into our narrator’s life, then you’ll feel her pain, her sorrow, her lust. She is both physically and emotionally trapped, haunted by her memories and disgusted in her waking hours.

In this place, pleasure and happiness are forbidden. While the women have a safe and comfortable existence, it’s not really living if you can’t be your true self.

Then, everything changes. But you’ll have to read to find out what I mean.

I love the visceral, biting language that comes from a translation. Foreign authors have a unique way of turning language into colorful melodies, and translating their words creates true magic. Even though the prose in this book is English, it feels otherworldly, with combinations of words and phrases I’ve never seen before, or even thought of.

But for me, I think something that’s getting lost in translation is the meaning behind the words. I think it’s clear the author is using these women and their confinement as a metaphor for something, but the cultural disconnect made it a little hard for me to connect the dots. At least, we’ll say it’s that and not that it all went over my head.

Here’s my take. In this cult, there are different levels. As part of the unworthy, our narrator constantly strives to be chosen as one of the Chosen — or better yet, one of the Enlightened. This constant desire for more is what keeps them all under control. Their insatiable appetites to ascend keep them strictly under the thumb of Superior Sister and the mysterious He. He is never named, but I’m assuming He’s a symbol for the patriarchy — for the man who pits women against each other and laughs as they fall under his control.

Whatever the true meaning of this tale, I’m glad I read it. It was a journey of self-discovery, loss, and the struggle for genuine connection that felt like a true glimpse into the human experience.