As an intersectional Feminist I will never be comfortable with Transphobia, especially in the current climate.
Dystopian books are my favourite genre, and yet, I am finding it increasingly frustrating that authors seem to think writing a dystopian fiction with women at the centre gives them a green flag to be transphobic. It absolutely doesn’t.
Disappointed

Wow. Wow. Wow. What an interesting premise and intriguing read. It was very thought provoking and timely in light of current circumstances. I enjoyed the cause and effects displayed and the characters were equally love-able and hate-able.

The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my all-time favorite books, and the idea of a gender-flipped dystopia instantly intrigued me. The style is definitely unique, and the concept is bold — it’s the kind of story that forces you to pause and really think about power dynamics, control, and what society might look like if the tables were completely turned.

There are scenes and moments that genuinely made me stop in my tracks. Some were a bit disturbing, but in a way that feels intentional — like the description of “love cakes” made with roots, chocolate, and menstrual blood, or the discussions around “milking” men for testosterone. Whether you love it or not, these are the kind of details that stay with you.

Overall, I can’t deny that this is a thought-provoking read and I can definitely see it sparking deep conversations.

Some books just aren’t for me, and unfortunately, this turned out to be one of them. I really wanted to love it—especially with the premise being marketed as an inverse The Handmaid’s Tale—but it didn’t hit the mark.

The writing style didn’t vibe with me, and I found it difficult to stay engaged. The multiple POVs felt disjointed, making it hard to connect with any of the characters. While the concept had potential, the execution lacked cohesion, and the open ending left me feeling unsatisfied.

Thank you NetGalley & RBMedia for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This title sounded extremely intriguing but it was just too strange for my taste. It's like a reverse Handmaid's Tale, where society is way more matriarchal and there are maybe 11% of men who are kept in special centers to "service" the women. This story centers on 4 of these women, Medea, Wicca, Eva and Silence. They are linked by circumstances, fate and their pasts.
I'd like to tack on an extra star but the description of an unskilled castration and the horror this poor child endured through her mother was enough to illicit sympathy but not enough to make me recommend this title. The writing is poignant and visceral, however, and may appeal to female rage.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for this digital audio e-arc.*

In this story, all except eleven percent of men are gone—the minimum required amount to avoid inbreeding. They are locked away in special centers for women’s pleasure while women continue to run every facet of the world, including architecture, religion, and law.

The cover pulled me in, and I stayed because this book was advertised as The Handmaid’s Tale meets Black Mirror. This is one of those novels that will make a lot of people uncomfortable. It challenges our current social climate and presents such an intense, radical view on how different our lives would be if men weren’t praised like they are in today’s world. I am a glutton for books that challenge the norms and fell face-first into this world. It’s gritty, ugly, and presents a lot of unique viewpoints on what it means to be fully defined by our gender.

My struggle with this book is its pacing and how nothing really interesting actually happened. I think it’s meant to be similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, where it’s more centered on the shocking world building vs actual plot, but I still struggled to understand the ‘why’ or the ‘how’ behind everything. There are four main characters in this one, and while I enjoyed seeing each of their perspectives, I was left wanting more from their stories.

Overall, this was just an okay read for me. I was hoping it would be an impactful dystopian read that would leave me staring at the wall, similar to how Tender is the Flesh was for me, but unfortunately, I was just left confused and disappointed. I must note that Cassandra Campbell did an amazing job, and because of her fantastic narration, I was hooked from the start.

A special thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for the approval of the advanced listener copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

It's an interesting concept; I loved the interpretation of the religion before and after the reign of men. Now men being only 11% of the population, we are following the story of few convent women, a priest woman, a man-lady and the laws of their new world. It was interesting at the begging but this whole book is one big exposition with no plot. Some resemblance of an intrigue presented at the 56% present but still it dragged so much, that I decided to DNF. The characters were well developed but they were kind of boring and I didn't cared about any of them. The narrator is very good, though, as an audiobook this is quite enjoyable. I would have liked it more if it was more like a fable and less like factorial narrative about the near future. Prepare yourself for a lot of talk about masturbation, orgasms and penises. I dnf-ed at the 56% but feel like this is a 3 star read at best.
Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia | Recorded Books for providing me with the ALC

I was into the premise of this, but it just isn't what I wanted it to be.

Plenty of transphobe vibes and women being awful people.

For once I'd like to read a story of the matriarchy where we do a better job than the patriarchy cause I think it's more than plausible.

truly what the fuck (but in a good way). this was such an interesting dystopian book- it's really gives handmaids tale but reversed. once i started this i truly couldn't stop. it has weird religious groups, menstrual cookies & no men out of captivity.

I was intrigued by the concept but sadly I did not really like any of the characters and it was a really bizarre world, disgusting at times (e.g. "magical" menstrual blood?) but I wanted to know more so I kept at it. of the four women's points of view, I think I liked Silence and Medea best though it was interesting to see how the pasts of all four twisted together to form the oddness of the present which was very modern at times (the centers where they kept the few men and how they got rid of cancer and how it is normal to live past 150), yet also quite medieval (with the Christian priests versus witches). Wicca and Eva's sections had good parts but really dwelt with too much graphic body parts (and the society is also very backwards in treating trans people) So all in all this is an odd book that some people might really connect with but I found it only okay.

Despite the story, the narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life in this very unique society. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook, even if it is not my cup of tea.

A world without men? YES.
This particular world? I'm not sure.

There were some elements that were appealing, such as revamping Christianity to worship a Mother instead of a male figure (the way they worshipped the Mother was odd though). I also liked that they are allowing nature to reclaim the land.

The most prominent takeaway is how odd this world was.
There's an abundance of menstrual blood collecting and consuming.
There are hygiene and cleanliness problems (mainly in the slums I think but this was still a main character living in filth).
There are women living as men and wearing fake penises.
Mothers talk their daughters through orgasms during worship...this part gave me the deepest ick.
This was a very weird, dystopian, glum book world.
A woman's world with zero whimsy.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for Audio ARC!

Wow, this was one of the wildest dystopian novels I've read in a long time! This is a futuristic dystopian novel, in a matriarchal setting, where a limited number of men are kept solely for procreation purposes (and women's enjoyment, under strict supervision, so their testosterone can't get the better of them!) It's told from alternating points of view of characters whose lives all intersect in some way, and as with any story, there are some people you root for and some you want to punch right in the face.

There is a lot of talk about sex and sexual freedom after the men are gone, and really makes you look at how taboo the topic is now. It was a little tough to listen to at times, and I had to ask myself why I felt that way. Part of the answer is definitely that it's awkward for me to listen to that rather than read it on the page! No fault of the narrator, who did an excellent job.

I would have liked a little more resolution for Medea at the end, but otherwise, I thought the book came pretty full circle. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I love Cassandra Campbell as an audiobook narrator, but this story was just too boring to get through in my opinion.