Hot dang, those acknowledgments made me teary! This felt like an extreme, technicolor, Mandy-esque version of my experience, and that of many others, escaping organized religion. This was hard to read at times because of how real (even if exaggerated) so much felt. The religious messaging that our FMC is trying to unravel and unlearn is painful to relive, the extremists in this “dystopian” time feel like groups of people NOW that hurt my brain trying to understand, and on and on. Sophie is a struggle to root for in the beginning, but certainly not by the end. And all of the side characters she meets along the way were lovely. Sophie’s coming of age in the midst of a violent pandemic is still somehow beautiful even though there’s so much hate and darkness around her. This was a really beautiful story, and I FELT it all by the end. But there were times during where it felt a little slow or I was wondering where it was going or I couldn’t get past Sophie’s naivety (even though it’s not her fault). All in all, another banger from Leede with, for me, a lot more emotionality than Maeve Fly but also a bit less fun. As always, check TW please!!

CJ Leede wrote something really special with American Rapture. It's slow, sometimes aching beautifully so, capturing the moments of mundanity as the world ends around our characters. I found myself getting so comfortable, even in their world of fear and uncertainty. I kept having to continue to remind myself that this story, though hopeful, is one of immense sorrow and violence. And yet I loved every moment of reading it. I loved the main character Sophie's journey from sheltered, extremely religious teen to a woman trying to make a better world through the power of knowledge and human connection. I loved the complicated relationships between the small family of survivors Sophie cobbles together. And I loved Leede's prose, her descriptions of gore and violence are second to none here. I'll be thinking about this book for months if not years to come.

I thought this book was well written and interesting. I wasn't even halfway through it when I went ahead and ordered CJ Leede's other offering, Maeve Fly. There were parts of this book that felt a little heavy handed, or even a little repetitive. For a portion of the back half of the book it felt sort of meandering like there was really no clear plot or possible resolution. But even then I thought the writing was good enough and the characters interesting enough that I wanted to keep reading it. The ending was satisfying in terms of resolutions and I was happy with how it wrapped up.

3.5 ☆
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I don’t even know what to say about this book! This was strangely weird, uncomfortable, and a little cringeworthy. I don’t know if I liked it or not. I was highly intrigued by what was going on in this world, but at the same time, it was weird and uncomfortable. Yeah, this book will probably make you lose your mind, lol. Check the trigger warnings before reading this book.
The audiobook was good. The narrator did a good job telling the story and was super easy to listen to and understand.
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Thank you. Netgalley, MacmillanAudio, and Tor Publishing for the audiobook and ebook in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 rating. This one was not for me. I liked the concept and it is well written but boy is it melodramatic. It was like reading a CW show. Everything was so verbose and didn't feel natural. It's very pretty writing but felt like a well educated adult describing everything not a 17 year old sheltered and highly religious teen. Sophie is somehow super naïve and highly intelligent. These aren't mutually exclusive of course but she is written as too smart to think some of the things she does. Her leisurely reading of manuals did make sense but felt a little to convenient in an apocalyptic story. Her struggle with what she has been taught vs how the world actually is, is interesting and a highlight of her journey but even at the end it felt like she was still kind of stuck in a middle ground and had not fully come into her own. Most of the side characters were solid though.

Everything is big, dramatic, horny, and shameful. Some parts if you really think for two seconds about what's happening are tough to read but I like that Leede didn't shy away from the horror a virus like this would cause. The story was too drawn out for me as well. It took a long time to go almost anywhere. At the 50% mark I jumped ahead to 80% to see if I would be lost and I was fine.

I am sure this will hit for some (especially if you have religious trauma), but honestly the fact that everything was so dramatic and an ordeal took me out. Would have loved more quite moments to really bring things home. Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for this Arc in exchange for and honest review.

First of all, WOW. I co-read this book, listening while reading an eARC, and Moniqua Plante does an amazing job with the narration. I strongly recommend the audiobook version.

American Rapture is told as the recounting of 16 year old Sophie, a very sheltered midwestern girl brought up in an extreme Catholic household and already separated from her twin brother Noah as the story begins. Add in a pandemic, in which a virus mutates into a strain that turns people into sexually violent zombies before eventually killing them, and it becomes an apocalyptic coming of age tale as well as an indictment of religious indoctrination and guilt.

American Rapture is also just a damn good Zombie Apocalypse survival story (one of my favorite tropes) and I flew through it, couldn’t put it down. There is fast paced action with an awesome sense of place (Wisconsin) and a group of characters you come to really care about. I was horrified, grossed out, and it made me cry, but in the end the reader is left with a sense of hope. I loved it!

Obsessed is an understatement. The narrator did such a good job, bringing dread into the bottom of your gut with this apocalyptic story. This one truly terrified me! And the pacing was fantastic. It was quick and straight to the point. Highly recommend.

3.5 / 5 stars, rounded up

Sixteen year-old Sophie Allen has lead a very sheltered life in Wisconsin, and particularly ascetic since the night her twin brother Noah was sent away for possessing contraband magazines. Sophie desperately misses her twin and only gets to speak to him once a week on the phone. Usually during these calls she recounts the plot from whatever library book she has managed to slip past her mother. Her home is cold and loveless and she has no friends at school.

Amidst Sophie's naivete and her awakening sexuality, a plague starts to break out across America. The virus causes manic, violent lust as it tries to spread itself from one host to the next. Alone and frightened, Sophie heads out to find her brother to ensure that he is safe. Along the way she forges a new family and questions what goodness and sin truly mean.

I liked this novel, I thought that there were some awesome horror set pieces and moments. As a woman who was also raised in the Church and taught that sex and sexuality were things of which to be ashamed, I appreciated the conversations that Sophie had with Cleo. So, with the big caveat out of the way that I liked the book a lot, I am going to be picky about the things that I felt could have been done better.

Perhaps since the book is told from Sophie's perspective, I did not have a good sense of the other characters' personalities for much of the book. Helen and Wyatt just kind of existed for several chapters without really providing much value to the story. Sophie's character also could have been given more opportunity for choice. At the beginning of the plague, she chooses to leave home, but then her movements are dictated by Maro for most of the novel. I know her motivation is to find Noah, but I wish that had driven more of the action than it ultimately did.

I alternated between the written text and the audiobook for this novel and found myself disappointed in the narrator's choices. I was reading Sophie as very wide-eyed and innocent. The narrator sounded slightly more world-weary and cynical than I thought was appropriate for the character,

Perhaps my biggest complaint about the novel has nothing to do with the author's work, and was likely completely out of her control. The blurb and cover for this book are a total tonal mismatch for the novel. The comparison to American Gods is limited to the use of House on the Rock as an important set piece. Otherwise, no commonalities between the two novels. The sexually-charged pun on the cover also feels out of place for the tone of the book. Yes! I swear! The violence in this book is never portrayed as sexy, or arousing, or funny. If Grady Hendrix had written this book, then that tagline probably would have been appropriate. But it doesn't fit here. Leede has written a truly terrifying exploration of lust, desire, sexuality, sin, and temptation. Please do her the favor of marketing her book correctly.

This one didn't do it for me. The concept is interesting, but the main character is whiny and has zero survival instincts. In most of the high action scenes, she faints. She's kind of just a rag doll that the other characters are forced to take care of. I think this would have been more interesting from Cleo's point of view, or even Barghest's view to be honest. Definitely did not have the same shock factor as Maeve Fly.

This ain’t your mama’s zombie apocalypse. This ain’t your mama’s coming of age story. This ain’t your mama’s well, anything… Leave it to C.J. Leade to create something absolutely brand new. This is an epic, a young woman’s journey in a strange yet familiar land, an allegory for everything awry in the world today. This is a shockingly Good Read.

This heart-wrenching story packs the perfect emotional punch while being truly horrific. In this epic tale of a virus spreading across America, which turns the infected into lusty lunatics, CJ Leede writes insanely lovable characters into a riveting end-of-the-world story. American Rapture is a unique horror story that will stay with you long after you finish and the audiobook narration is top tier!

Sophie is a 16 year old trying to navigate a world in which a virus is quickly spreading across the U.S. that causes those infected to go out of their minds with lust. That is bad enough but imagine trying to do that when you have spent your entire life completely sheltered. Sophie has been raised by very strict Catholics. She is not allowed a phone, she can only read books that are approved by the church, she cant read the newspaper or go online. She is at an age where her body is changing and other people are starting to notice. She feels an immense guilt and is ashamed most of the time because she is questioning everything. So when the virus envelops her small town she is forced to flee and look for her brother on her own.

This story had me hooked from the very beginning. I had no idea what to expect, this was a literal journey filled with so much raw emotion that it is hard to explain. I cannot remember the last time I had an emotional connection with a horror book as i found myself getting teary through certain parts of the book. The story is brutal, frightening, infuriating, empowering and sad. I loved Leede’s first book, Maeve Fly and I loved this one too. They are completely different stories but are filled with Leede’s signature style. To top it off it takes place in Wisconsin, where I live so that was an added bonus. Sophie travels throughout may of the landmarks and places that are home and a perfect setting for many events in the book! CJ Leede has become one of my favorite authors and I cannot wait to see what is next.

The audiobook was fantastic and the authors note at the end is definitely worth listening to.

5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 33% no rating, because I just met the dog and a quick skim of other reviews to the effect of “tw for horrific dog death” is enough for me to say this is not for me. The building tension had been good so far and Leede shows her characterization chops by very believably getting into the POV of a sheltered, Catholic, sixteen year old. Moniqua Plante’s narration was suitable balanced between innocent and horrifies, but the mixing on the audio was a little quiet and I found myself having to turn my volume up much more than usual. That’s neither Leede’s not Plante’s faults though.

My deepest appreciation to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an ALC of ‘American Rapture’ in exchange for an honest review, and my deepest apologies for my inability to complete the novel and provide a full review.

This was a great October read. Nice and creepy. Sophie, raised in a strict Catholic home, has to contend with her own sexual awakening amidst a pandemic that turns people into raving lust machines who kill. I love the group she collects as they navigate their new terrifying world. Against this backdrop, Sophie has to question her upbringing as she tries desperately to find her brother (who was kicked out of their home). I also love a book with a good dog character!
The audio narrator does a good job expressing Sophie's confusion and halting awakening.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook for review.

This book was a wild ride. I am not sure what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't that. It was great! Hard to read at times due to the difficult subject matter. But it was so well done and written.

The constant internal shaming started to get a little repetitive towards the end of the book. It was hard to keep in mind it was only a 8 day stretch and a lifetime of religious trauma definitely isn't resolved in that short time. But it still got a tad old by the end of the book.

The tension was there. The suspense was there. The characters were generally likable. I liked the tense relationships between some of the characters. The ending was definitely hard to read. Overall solid novel that evoked a lot of emotion.

While I enjoyed a good amount about this book, the chopping writing style really ruined the overall reading experience for me. I was lucky enough to have both an alc & an arc so I tried switching back and forth to see if I could enjoy one more than the other. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. The audio intensified the choppy writing with constant pauses in what could have been flowing full sentences. The ebook made me want to skim passed it all, but I didn’t want to miss anything so I ultimately listened via audio on a faster speed in hopes it would run the sentence breaks closer together. That didn’t help either. It was very hard for me to stay invested in the story when I disliked the writing style so much.

I also really wish we would have got some time in the beginning of the book with real meaningful moments between Sophie and Noah. Sophie spends so much time searching for him and I felt like I didn’t even know him. I also think I would have preferred if Sophie had been an adult. The topic of religious trauma, sexual liberation, and finding one’s self could have still been done in someone a bit older and, for me, would have been much more interesting and enjoyable to read about.

I did love the apocalyptic setting though! I’m a huge fan of that sub genre and while this didn’t do anything wildly unique, it had good pacing and stressful moments spread throughout. The violence was effective and the sexual element to the virus made it all the more horrifying to read. The first experience Sophie has with the infected really set the bar high and let me know what I was in for! It made me tense for Sophie & the others as I followed them in their journey, which I appreciate and hope for in this type of novel.

In the best possible way, I absolutely hate CJ Leede for writing this book. This story made me feel all the feels. She is quickly becoming my favorite horror writers.

The main character, Sophie, grew up severely sheltered; raised catholic with very little access to the outside world. She has a strained relationship with her parents and her brother had been sent away to a school for “problem children”. She is essentially alone. That is, until a viral epidemic that causes people to act in depraved ways, surges through the country, forcing Sophie to leave home to find her brother and get to safety.

I loved this story. Besides the fact that Leede can make literally anything sound uncomfortably creepy, she also has a talent for exploring multiple interconnected layers of a given topic. American Rapture is an end-of-world plague story, but it focuses on themes of religion, sin, lust, sexual violence, sex education, and homophobia. Using the idea of a virus as a carrier of sin played out pretty well here.

The characters were all great. Sophie could be frustrating at times, but it made her more real. There is a bit of a found family trope that plays out with the people she meets along the way and it’s fun to see how they all interact with each other. But don’t get too attached to anyone because everyone is fair game.

For the audiobook version of this novel, the narrator was Moniqua Plant. The narrator did a fantastic job. The voice was clear and it was easy to understand when dialogue switched characters.

This book left me feeling a bit emotional at multiple points. It also left me feeling sick and stressed out a few times. It does what good horror is supposed to do; it opens up a narrative to discuss topics that many people shy away from.


*Huge thanks to CJ Leede, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced audio version of this book in exchange for honest review.*

As earnest and emphatic as Maeve Fly was cynical and ironic (and I loved Maeve Fly). As someone who grew up in 90s evangelical land, this one seemed written just for me.

This was unbelievably fking good, wow. I didn't know what I was in for (I feel like that's pretty understandable w this premise), but what C.J Leede delivered will stick with me forever. If there was a way to get proof that this truly is her debut novel, I'd ask for it.

About 30% in, I wrote a note for myself that says "already unsure how there's 70% left, what more can even happen?". A LOT. And every turn was accompanied by provocative examinations of our society and it's relationship with/to religion - whether historic or present-day.

After growing up Christian and loosely attending church, it was easy to identify personally with the restrictions and cruelty that can be religion. My favorite part aspect of this novel is that it explores all of the reasons my doubts of religion crept in. The dualities are too many, too polar. You're stuck in a never-ending dichotomy...for what? To deny yourself of a bunch of stuff that would make life way more awesome? Weird flex, but OK. (sorry to my religious friends, ily still but I'm just not on board, myself, for the moment at least) That was clearly a bit of a generalization, but at the core is it really that inaccurate?

With the conversation of growing up around religion, comes the conversation of virginity. The reflection of myself during my foray into sexual desire was uncanny. It really is like an illness, isn't it? A pandemic, lurking around middle schools and junior highs. The waiting, looking out for an uncovered mouth - not to mask - but to smooch! If the histrionics there bothered you, then this may not be the book for you. If I would have taken it too seriously, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. As cliche as it is, this is a rollercoaster ride of a book. The few lulls mid-way through left time for volleying my own thoughts and regaining some composure, making them more welcome than usual.

Initially, I'd planned on a more intellectual review. With some time to gather my thoughts, I've come to the conclusion that over-intellectualizing beforehand might have dulled some of the spark CK Leede's writing has. Often I didn't even realize I was in the midst of a moral dilemma until it was too late, at which point I'm dyingggg to find out what happens next.

In regards to the audiobook specifically, Moniqua Plante is one of my very favorite narrators, after being introduced to her with All Night Pharmacy. The consistency in quality from start to finish you'll experience here is why. Fair warning though, this is one of those audiobooks that you'll either need to wear headphones for, be cat-like in your pausing reflexes, or be around people you know well enough that they'll believe you when you swear to them that it's not p0rn, "it's for real a mindboggling dystopian thriller, seriously guys!!!"

Come pub day, 10/15/24, I'll be takin my happy azz to whatever indie bookstore near me will have this available! I need a trophy copy!

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, CJ Leede, publishers Macmillan Audio and Tor Nightfire for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!}

Wow I love this. Love the dog. Love the way our girl meets the young cop. This is crazy and weird and scary. I love it so much! Also it is totally gross.
I am a prude but this wasn't like offensive to me.
It gets better as it goes, which I love so much.