I loved this book. One of my top reads this year!

Maeve sees the world differently. After moving in with her Grandmother in LA she’s finally found her place in the world. She learns to tame her inner wolf and let loose her inner monkey. Everything eventually starts to spiral out of control, as things are ought to do, and Maeve becomes trapped in the world she’s made for herself.

I just adored Maeve. She was a protagonist and antagonist. She was horrific and endearing. I wanted to see her get everything she wanted and more.

The writing was lovely. I especially liked the descriptions of the “park” and her job as the “ice queen”. For someone like Maeve to find joy in the happiest place on earth is ironic and wonderful.

Definitely extreme horror and trigger warnings for BDSM and lots of gore.

And bonus points for her love of Halloween and and Halloween music.

"Maeve Fly" by CJ Leede is a horror novel in the 'giallo' style of film-making: saturated, hallucinogenic, illogical and filled with dread only relieved by prolific violence. The titular character in this book works as a princess at a theme park by day, and relishes in depravity and cruelty at night. When her grandmother's illness takes a turn for the worst, Maeve starts to feel as if she's being stalked by demons, and her latent malevolence changes to homicide.

There's a lot to enjoy about "Maeve Fly": Maeve herself is funny in a nasty way, and as she navigates the seedy underbelly of California's top vacation spot and revenges herself against people she perceived as having wronged her, she's quite the antihero: even if you're not rooting for her, you can't wait to see where she ends up.

And it's actually this that prevents "Maeve Fly" from reaching five-star territory: the ending is very sloppy, and nothing is resolved. I was super into this novel, and was very disappointed in how it ended up: but alas, maybe happily ever after is only for Disney princesses.

That ending will stay with me forever. CJ Leede did an amazing job captivating my attention within the first few pages. The way Maeve progresses to her final horrific form
feels so reminiscent of many sanity lost stories but this one’s sooooo gruesomely hard to forget and will still in the depths of your souls until end of times.

i cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy in a month!!!

THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR THIS ARC

This book was not what I was anticipating. Maeve is portrayed as a person who was born to do nothing but savor death and pain and live in this world as a monster or a lone wolf. This book chronicles Maeve's psychosis and the depravity of humankind. If you are after a read that contains aggressive behavior that involves sexual acts this is that book. I feel that the main character of this story is all over the place and is not consistent in what they say versus what they do and participate in. This book became a "what did I just read" title for me because of the nature of this weird erotic horror love story. I do believe that the intent of the author was to shine light on certain societal views however the way they were presented was traumatic, sloppy, and covered in a lot of visual trauma for the reader. If you are looking for a book with human body horror that sends a deep message I would recommend Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica instead. I would add every trigger warning onto this book so that readers can proceed with caution.

What an absolute messed up ride. We get to follow Maeve as she spirals into who she’s truly meant to be and the depravity she succumbs to.
Anyone who’s a fan of extreme horror, this should be your next read. It will not disappoint!

Unfortunately it just wasn't for me. The writing was good and the characters had some interesting development, it was just too vulgar and gratuitous for my tastes. Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this. Depending on the subject matter, I think I would give the author another try. This book was just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I have no idea what I just read but it was quite a ride! This book is disturbing on multiple levels but I just couldn’t stop reading! A young woman who is working as a “Disney” princess character with an obsession for all things Halloween and very dark side meets the brother of her friend who is also a princess character (and aspiring actress), where they embark on a romance that may be unconventional to most. This book is horror-filled with some astonishing scenes that I couldn’t quite stomach. If you are a horror lover and aren’t squeamish, then this could be the book for you.

Maeve is a theme park Disney princess by day and a Halloween obsessed serial killer by night. When she meets and falls for her best friends brother, she starts to give in to her sinister urges and things get utterly revolting from there. I mean, completely depraved. Like a female led version of American Psycho, this is gonna mess you up for days, maybe forever.

"I see you" - There wasn't a sentence that haunted Maeve Fly more than anything in this world. She was seen, she was understood, but she did not care to acknowledge that. If she stopped for a second, she wouldn't be this haunted for the rest of her life.

She was a Disney princess, a good one. She liked her job. She never skipped a day. But deep inside, she was another person. Call it family trait or nurture over nature, she kept who she was behind locked basement doors like her grandmother. When her best friend's hot brother came into her life, closed doors were wide open and she was not ready for that.

CJ Leede nods to Stephen King in the acknowledgements, but this whole book was one big nod to Stephen King. I loved the imagination, the creativity, and the rawness of the characters. I'm waiting for ore from CJ Leede.

Maeve Fly.. Where do I start?! Theme park princess by day and dark, loner by night, Maeve Fly is struggling to come to terms with her grandmothers decline in health. Maeve begins caving to the side of herself that she's worked hard to contain.. And when she finally snaps under the pressure of losing everything that matters most, Maeve finds out who she really is when no one else is looking.

I loved this one. The first 30% was enjoyable but it was after that when things started to pick up. And that last 30%? Wild stuff. I went from “this isn't bad” to “this is pretty good” to “okayyy i'm loving this”. I can see how this won't be for everyone with the “extreme” horror/violence/gore/explicit sex but if you're a fan of that type of horror – don't miss out on this one. And our little sprinkle of a hockey romance? I can't even explain how this crossed over all of my favorite things. I love you, Maeve Fly.

What an unusual book. If sex and violence is your thing this is the book for you. The beginning is a bit slow but that changes quickly. I enjoyed the dark humor and loved the unlovable characters. If you're a splatterpunk fan pick this up.

My thanks to both NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of this horror novel set on the West Coast, about a young woman, her day job, her night stalkings and the joys of finding someone who gets what you are.

California has always had that lure on people either to make a new start, or to try something new. Usually underhanded. Filmmakers left New Jersey to make silent films in a place that had good weather, different scenery and far away from Thomas Alva Edison and his copyrights on cameras and making films. Cult leaders always find willing people to join them, from Manson, Hubbard and Walt Disney, not his last appearance in this review. Hair metal, murders (Manson reappearance) and lots of weirdness California and the Los Angeles area have drawn those with dreams, problems, aspirations and psychosis sometimes all in the same person. Maeve Fly by C. J. Leede is a story about a young girl, by day a Mouse-Club royalty portrayer, by night something much meaner and darker than any Beast in an animated movie could be.

Maeve Fly is living what looks like the best life, but all is not right in Maeve's noggin. Maeve spends her working day in a theme park in Anaheim, controlled by a very litigious Mouse. Maeve makes children smile and child-like adults feel better about their miserable existence wearing mouse ears and spending money they don't have, desperately trying to capture the feeling of youth they never really had. By night Maeve haunts the dark places of LA, book in hand acting like a French poet before the first of the World Wars, enjoying the fakery and unbelievability of the scene she is in. Meeting her best friend's brother does something to Maeve, she finds that something has been missing and only being a very very bad person seems to make her feel better. And the more bloody and dark she gets, the better Maeve feels, and now Maeve is ready to go.

A love story to the many dark myths of Los Angeles, a bit of romance, and a lot of American Psycho. So a bunch of great tastes, that taste great amalgamated. Leede is a very good, very intense writer with a very good feel for her character and her actions. Nothing, even the most extreme actions seems showy, or wrong. Maeve is both consistent in what she does, and goes at it with a deep passion, that can make people both cheer, and yet feel ill. There is a lot to be ill about. This is a bloody book, and yet a really good one. With romance and characters that also don't seem there, but live, and are interesting. The setting and the atmosphere, plus all the interesting things about working in a Big Amusement place in Anaheim. The little things make the bigger things real, and this is a pretty real story. A mix of horror, a little satire, and a really interesting character in Maeve.

For fans who miss splatterpunk kind of stories like Poppy Z. Brite, Skipp and Spector, or even the Canadian police procedural books written under the name Slade. A bit dark, but very good, with characters that really will stick with you, probably because they are drenched in blood.

I was super intrigued by the cover and blurb and this did NOT disappoint! American Psycho meets Ottessa Moshfegh and Alissa Nutting, for a horror-loving audience who might love splatterpunk but has grown tired of its usual male edgelord lens. This book combined so many things that I love: Halloween vibes, unhinged romance, creative murders, a dark take on The Mouse Company, a scathing yet nostalgic look at Hollywood, and so much more. As the third act kicked off I found myself literally pumping my fist. Devoured it in a day, and definitely will be recommending it to other horror fans.

Really captivating read, finished it in a day. Love the characters and the themes mixed with the glorious gore. Next time I hear ‘let it go’ it will have a different meaning!

This is an absolute masterpiece!
I👏🏻have👏🏻no👏🏻words👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Ok, nah, I have many words.

What do we have? Disney, old Hollywood, hockey romance, splatterpunk worthy gore, homage to some OG camp horror movies, vintage music hits, Halloween, recognition of some of the greatest fringe authors in history. I could go on. And, I will.

I honestly have never read anything like this, and I’m afraid my bar has been raised significantly. This book is written so beautifully. Even during the most depraved scenes the prose were on point! Such a tragic story dealing with identity, rejection, love, family, work - and it’s all wrapped up in a feminine ball of bottled up rage. 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

Thank you NetGalley & Tor for this arc. I’ve discovered a new auto add author.

So, this is a debut novel, and every indication has this one being a female version of "American Psycho" After reading this book it is indeed heavily influenced by that novel. In fact, there is a scene where she happens upon the actual "American Psycho" novel, and it is inflamed by a sun ray. Just like that scene from "Raiders of the Lost Arc"

The first part is just getting into the mind of Maeve Fly. She is a 20ish year-old female living in LA and working at Disneyland. At night she goes out with "friends" and reads her books at the bar. We get into her mind and it's hilarious. Until she goes batshit crazy........

LOL. That's where this book takes off. She either turns into a total psychopath or was just one all along and slowly peeled off the layers until the killings started. And start they did....... This book is a truly gory, horrifying, insane ride of a story. You will never want to get on a bus again.

Usually in my reviews I like to give a really good synopsis, but I don't think I'm doing that here. I went in blind and that is what I recommend. If you like brutal violence and tons of sex, then I say just go for it. I will say books like this aren't normally my thing but this one is done so well that I enjoyed every bloody part of it.

That bus scene though.... I was turning my head like a bad movie!

I really appreciate Tor Publishing Group for giving me an advance reader copy to read for free for my honest opinion and it has a publication date of June. 6, 2023.

This was a horny, brutal, bloody, gory, romantic roller coaster. I’m absolutely crushed it’s over. This book brought me to a precipice and then tore me the f*** down. Visceral in the best and worst ways. I really just devoured this in two sittings. This writer had me in a choke hold. It felt like I was being force fed this book but I loved it. Absolutely horrifying and I couldn’t look away.

You know how when you're watching a disturbing movie and get to a really intense part and you don't know how far they're gonna take it...so you squint and prepare to turn away if needed? That's how parts of this book felt like to me. And I'm not complaining. I loved it!

Maeve is a princess at the happiest place on earth...but she has a dark side. Her best friend's brother, Gideon comes to town and awakens this dark side. There's a slow, subtle buildup to the new Maeve, a bolder, bloodier one inspired by the pages of American psycho.

Maeve is absolutely brilliant, witty, and sadistic. She is now one of my favorite unhinged female characters. The pacing was perfect and how she slowly unraveled. There are literary and Halloween themes throughout the entire book and both were so well done! I especially loved that there was a Halloween playlist sort of sprinkled about. It was weird, dark, gruesome and full of rage. Highly recommend!

I don't get the point of this book. It was unnecessarily vulgar, in my opinion. Other than that, the writing was good. It just felt wasted on this story.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the advanced reader copy!

Maeve Fly is a princess at the happiest place on earth who harbors a dangerous secret. The angel-faced descendant of Hollywood royalty finds herself at home in the darkest corners of LA while taking care of her sick grandmother. When her best friend’s brother comes to Los Angeles, she struggles to contain the wolf among a city of sheep.

Please check content warnings before reading this book, there are some violent and graphic scenes!

“Where is the savagery in women? Where is the barbarism?”

This book was twisted, grotesque, hilarious, and devastating all in the best way. The first part of this book is very character-driven (which I don’t usually like) as we develop Maeve’s character from her strange and disturbing perspective. When she finally reaches the breaking point, she releases all the rage she keeps hidden inside. At this point, there are some pretty horrible and disgusting torture scenes that were a bit much for me, but I think demonstrated the breakdown of her character well.

I found this book darkly humorous and strangely romantic at times, despite some of the gross and horrific content. I think we all want to find someone who sees us for who we truly are without having to hide. I thought the ending was predictable, but no less impactful and jaw-dropping. I was sad when it was over because I felt like the book ended so suddenly and I had more unanswered questions. It could have been so much longer and I would have loved every second of it. I cannot wait for more books by C.J. Leede.

This is the perfect Halloween read if you’re looking for decoration ideas and a music playlist.