Thank you so much to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for allowing me to read this advanced reader copy and provide an honest review.

That said, what in the heck did I just read? This is one of those horror novels that tries to say a lot about society through the lens of horror, but I feel like there are SO MANY topics, that most just get glossed over. I honestly couldn't tell you the point the author was trying to make.

This novel, which aims to shock and awe its reader on numerous levels (and might just be trying a bit too hard to do so), follows three interconnected stories about three different women. In the wake of the COVID pandemic, a new virus seeks to ravage the world. The level of uncertainty and fear surrounding the new virus certainly brings to mind the early days of the pandemic and taps into that little bit of trauma that we all have. The science behind the new cosmic-horror virus (including the little tidbits of the medical podcast) was wonderful. The mystery surrounding the virus helped to escalate the plot and provide delicious tension.

The first story in the novel was reminiscent of Monster by Christopher Pike; a book I read in my youth that absolutely cemented horror as a genre I enjoy to this day. The second portion, I did not enjoy and almost stopped reading as the reader hangs with a sociopath who has a sexual response to murder. The third portion enhanced the plot and took the body horror up to eleven as the apocalypse draws ever closer, which I enjoyed. Unfortunately, I feel like the plot was incredibly confusing in the end. I am left with so many questions, and not in a good way that makes me ponder these questions on my own. I feel like I don't have enough information to even try. The ending felt rushed and it felt as if the plot was only half-realized. Again, I honestly think it would have been better to expand on the third segment and mostly eliminate the second. I also think that ending the story in the head of the person who knows the LEAST about what is happening was not one that I enjoyed. I did like the end; I love a good uncertain ending in a horror book.

I feel like most body horror readers will greatly enjoy this book, but it was not for me.

Wow! Splatterpunk at it's finest. The book was gory, but it fell flat for me at the end. The first 90% of the book had me hooked, but then it just seemed to be over. Like the author ran out steam or ideas. Maybe there will be a sequel??

WTF what a weird, disturbing story?? I enjoyed it??! I THINK?!?!

What I liked:
- I looooved the plot and all of the weirdness + grossness
- the scifi/horror bits were SO GOOD I was making a horrified face and updating my husband about the plot in real time because I simply had to discuss
- I enjoyed that the eldritch gods/Cthulu monsters weren't explained to death. Let them keep their secrets

What I didn't enjoy:
- What is with all the Dahmer references? It makes me feel like I should give this a three... it felt cheap. I really, really hated it.
- most of the characters felt like they didn't have much to them. they also felt a bit... not lived in? I know some books go this route and it works, but it felt like something was missing when done here

One of the most gross and most weird books I’ve ever read. I loved it. First half was better for me but overall still really enjoyed!

the feminist aspect of the book didn't feel very incorporated. it felt thrown in. the ending wasn't for me.

This book will absolutely not be for everyone.

If you have trigger warnings, they’re probably in here. The author gives us a world that’s stark, grotesque, raw and kind of hopeless. It’s very graphic, with everything that entails, and pulls absolutely no punches.

Yet, it’s also compelling, sometimes rage-inducing, and a very good story.

Apocalyptic with cosmic touches and badass women.

It rocks.

Definitely approach with caution, but for the right reader, it’s kind of sublime.

• ARC via Publisher

I enjoyed the idea of this book, but I couldn't maintain interest. Some of the observations/parallels used to show how society treats women were too glaring for my tastes - I prefer them to be subtly woven into the story rather than expressed overtly by the characters thoughts/speech.

Holy cannoli, I don't know what I was expecting when I opened this book, but I was in for a WILD ride. SISTER, MAIDEN, MONSTER is a post-pandemic, apocalyptic, eldritch horror festival of a book. Think COVID but way... way... WAY... worse. The body horror and slow, creeping sense of your own physical self slowly turning against you is mesmerizing in the best and worst ways possible.

If you're at all squeamish, then this book may not be the best choice for you. But if you enjoy (perhaps "enjoy" isn't the right word) truly visceral horror, characters with strong internal voices, and being thrown for about a million loops in one sitting, I highly recommend it. I was sucked in from the moment I started reading and didn't stop until I literally couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. My brain is still trying to process it. It's entirely possible I may never be the same again.

5 stars. I wouldn't disappoint the Old Gods with anything less.

Big thank you to Tor Nightfire, Lucy A. Snyder, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am absolutely in love with this wild and disgusting book! I'm honestly sad that it's already over - I want more. The descriptions of the horror and gore in this book were awesome. Having three different POVs taking us through this journey and tying it all together in the end kept me engaged in the story from start to finish.

If you're looking for something gross and weird but also incredibly fun - I highly recommend you check this book out.

I loved almost everything about this - the structure, the vicious inventiveness, I slammed through it in a day! However, I do think it needed another editing pass - it seems full of vestigial organs of abandoned revisions, perhaps? It's great but could be tighter. Definitely for fans of Hailey Piper.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

I switched from egalley to the audiobook version of this title. I'll be posting my review shortly for the book. Thank you!!

Is your wildest dream a novel in which an apocalyptic pandemic overtakes society and culminates in a select few completing a transformation into creatures of Biblical proportions? Then buckle up, buttercup because I've got some 'splainin to do.

Sister, Maiden, Monster follows a global apocalypse caused by a virus with several manifestations to varying degrees, some of which are nods to traditional paranormal creatures like vampires and zombies, but the references to biblically accurate angelic creatures are impossible to ignore and, well, I loved that aspect regardless of how horrifying it was. "Fear not!" and all that jazz, you know.

The story focuses on three consecutive protagonists navigating the changes caused by the apocalypse, with their paths and relationships connecting in interesting ways. The book is filled with death and gore, and the body horror is abundant and written well (points added). The social commentary is a bit sloppy, and the character diversity as well as the gender and sexuality representation were present in some ways but still lacking in my opinion . However, what kept fully removing me from the story was the author's penchant for ancient Tumblrspeak (i.e. 'sexy times' and 'did me a concern'- points lost and I'm only mostly joking).

I did, through it all, end up liking the book and I found the characters interesting. The suspense was well written as well as, again, the horror of it all. So many WTF WTF WTF moments, I could never count them all!

I was given the opportunity to listen to an ALC of this book as well as reading an ebook, and I think this one may be better suited to print/page. The audiobook is well-narrated, but the voices are not distinct enough to differentiate the three protagonists and that made things a bit more confusing.

Thanks so much to Tor Nightfire as well as Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of its publication in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thanks you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC of this book!

Another horror book that leaves you saying "what the hell did I just read", but in a good way. Years after Covid, another pandemic hits but this one is horrific and changes the world entirely. The book is split into three sections, each following a woman that is affected in a different way by the disease. Erin's story really pulls you in because you don't know what's going on, and each moment with her just gets more and more terrifying. The last section was what ties everything together and we find out what's happening to the world. I wish there was a little more at the end, and maybe an epilogue of some kind to wrap it up. There is quite a bit of body horror in this, so keep that in mind before picking it up.

The reason I wanted this book was for the cover. I’m not going to lie....

THIS COVER IS FUCKING GORGEOUS!

So I went into the book completely blind and had no idea what to expect. BUT.... I definitely didn’t expect that... THIS BOOK ISSSSSSS CRAZY.

Like so weird and gross and different and interesting. I really liked the idea of this book and I really loved these unpredictable and flawed characters, but I thought it wasn’t given the depth it should have been.

The story is a very similar dystopian world of a pandemic that no one understands how to handle or get rid of. The virus the author has created is SOOOOO INTERESTING. The science behind this book is actually very well researched and makes biological sense. BUT I WANT MORE..(singing in an Ariel voice.) I just want more of everything where this book is concerned because the effects of the virus are so different for all the characters and I just wish it was more explained. It was just so fascinating.

I also feel like these characters were not given the correct amount of read time either.... Especially Savannah. Her role in the story was so interesting and I wanted more. I also felt Mareva’s time wasn’t split up correctly either.... Her role in this apocalypse world was crazy.

I also thought the ending was like.... Huhhhhh!?! THAT’S ALLLLLLL... I need a sequel immediately. I need to see how Mareva is with Georgie.

IT WOULD BE AMAZING.

I really loved this book, but it didn’t feel like a complete story, it felt like a book of novellas within the same world....

I received this as an ARC from Tor Nightfire via NetGalley. My thanks for the opportunity.

And . . . I'm not sure what I just read. This is, quite literally, the most messed up thing I've read in a long, long time. It's hardcore horror that begins with a Covid-like pandemic shutdown, and ends in near cosmic annihilation. In between there's so much blood, gore, and body fluids that I felt as if I need two giant bottles of disinfectant to clean up.

My mind will not be the same after reading this. But I most definitely enjoyed the ride, and I look forward to more from Lucy Snyder. Awesome job!

3.5 out of 5, rounded up. Thank you for the ARC!

"Sister, Maiden, Monster" is a body horror with a cosmic edge, and it made me go "what the EFF" a lot. I read it in one sitting - it's under 300 pages and utterly gripping. While I can say that I was definitely picking up what this book was putting down, I couldn't have actually identified WHAT it was putting down: it was all over the place. Interesting takes on women? Yes! Unnecessary references to Dahmer? Yes! Biblical horror? Yes!

It's split into three sections that overlap; I felt like the first section was easily the most interesting, but I enjoyed all three. If you're a fan of fever dream type horror that you come out of gasping for breath, this one's for you.

I want to start by acknowledging how difficult it is to write pandemic fiction in a world still reeling from a pandemic. This was definitely a much more unique take on the genre than most I have read or heard about since it dealt with a very different kind of virus.

I am torn on this one because I loved the characters of Erin, Savannah, and Mareva. They are all very different types of female main characters and how their stories draw them together is so fascinating. The author touches on so many interesting themes particularly sexuality, motherhood, how women are treated by the medical field, power in relationships, and so much more.

There is also some great body horror in this one for those that typically like that sub-genre.

The first third of this book worked really well for me, and then it all kind of felt like too much was happening. It went from a pandemic story to an apocalypse story, and I was left feeling kind of confused and overwhelmed. I think the plot began to overwhelm the strong character development that had taken place which left me a lot less high on this one than I was when I initially started the book.

Oof this book was not for me. It is VERY strange, and for me strange has to be intriguing not just weird for the sake of it. I didn't feel like the payoff was worth the utterly bonkers. But if that is your thing, this may work great for you

Allow me to introduce you to the weirdest book I have ever read 🤲

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Part pandemic tale part body-horror syfy saga, Sister, Maiden, Monster follows three women throughout different stages of a transformative pandemic.

That's all you're going to want to know about this one. Just know it's a lot of gory fun and weird as hell (in a good way).

QOTD: do you have a favorite pandemic or apocalypse story? I am loving The Last of Us right now and HBO and definitely got similar vibes from this one.