Maeve Fly gripped me from the start, and refused to let go until the bloody end. The fact the Maeve was the exact character she so craved to see in literature was an amazing fourth wall experience for me. I have often lamented the tired trauma plot device to catapult female characters into action, as if female strength only manifest in the wake of male violence. Leede skillfully crafted Maeve to be a shockingly brutal character while somehow making her vulnerable. I found myself rooting for the serial killer, worrying over her well being, and ultimately bereft at the losses she experiences. Despite her psychosis she embodies the human condition; the need to connect and be seen, to find validation and acceptance, to live as your true self. Maeve is the secret desire of all women-to be able to move through the world as a wolf and not as sheep. I found myself revisiting the story in the night, as I lay sleepless, and I think it will be with me for a long time to come. Maeve Fly deserves nothing less than five stars and a place among feminist fiction on every shelf.

This review will post on Instagram on 4/17/2023

This is my new favourite book.

It has unhinged woman, it has revenge, it has romance, it has gory body horror, it has Disney, Halloween... I truly feel like this book was written for me and i'm obsessed.

This story follows Maeve. A "park" princess with icy hair and icy eyes. She's obsessed with Halloween and uses books to cope with life's problems. Her grandmother - who has also been her caregiver for most of her life - was a Hollywood starlet and Maeve worships her and all that she was.

Understanding there was always something a little different about herself - and her grandmother - Maeve works hard to keep her "wolf" hidden. Until she loses her job, loses her best friend and doesn't know how to carry on.

Once she figures it out...people will pay.

btw she figures it out...and people pay...and it's amazing.

I would be Maeve's best friend. I wouldn't get on her bad side...like not even jokingly or by accident...but i'd want her to have my back 100%.

Love this book. Love this character. This was an easy five stars and moved onto the list of favourite books.

Thank you Tor/Nightfire for the opportunity to read and review this digital arc.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am really grateful for the opportunity to review this ARC, but unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. Maeve Fly by CJ Leede is a very, very dark horror book that includes violence and torture. The story revolves around Maeve, who works at a Disney-like theme park as an ice princess. While that is her day job, what she does at night is very different. Sometimes, the world makes Maeve want to go kill someone.

Here is a dark excerpt from the opening chapter:

"You do not need a moral and noble story to do what you want. You do not first need to be a victim to become a monster. Your loved ones need not be taken from you so that you might drink and brutalize and chase the sublime.
...
This is my story, and you cannot control it.
...
My name is Maeve Fly.
I work at the happiest place in the world."

Overall, Maeve Fly is a very dark horror book that will appeal to fans of American Psycho. One highlight of this book is the premise. I like that it is a twisted take on Disney-like costumed princesses. I also enjoyed the comments on the dark side of America, commercialism, and Disney.

I took off 1 star because it was just too dark for me. It includes sex, drug, and violence, which I can handle in moderation, but not in excess. I took off another star because the protagonist is really messed up and unrelatable, which may be why the narration is so confusing. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of horror in general, you can check out this book when it comes out in June.

Many thanks to Tor Nightfire for the advance reading copy of Maeve Fly 🪰💚 As one of my fave books of the year, I recommend grabbing a copy as soon as it releases this June!
Review:
Maeve Fly hooked me from the start. Leede introduces the book’s narrator and sadistic leading lady as she acts as a princess in a Disney theme park. Maeve appeases park goers and families with her unique charisma and talent, which only elevates the disturbing nature of the darkness conveyed throughout the book. As many reviewers have stated, Maeve Fly presents as a gender bent American Psycho. However, Maeve is equal parts Patrick Bateman, American Mary, and May (amongst others). Leede blends these iconic characters and their unsettling desires to make one of the most original killers in the genre today. As a bonus, readers will find some familiar kills that are given a creative twist that sets Maeve Fly apart from the crowd. Enjoy a soundtrack of Halloween classics alongside “murders and executions” with this story of love, loss, and bloodlust.

I was so close to DNFing around the 40% mark because the book was just moving along sooo slowly but I'm glad I hung in there. The last 30% more than made up for it!

In it, we meet Maeve - ice princess at a famous theme park by day, depraved murderer by night. No, seriously. She spends her evenings sexing it up with men she meets in California dive bars, and brutally mutilates people from time to time to satisfy her inner "wolf". It starts with Hilda, the home aid who upsets Maeve when she tries to convince her that it's time to let her very ill and comatose grandmother go. She tricks the woman into following her down to the basement and swings a mace into her skull. Then she meets her work-bestie's brother Gideon and falls into a twisted and violent relationship with him. And it just gets grosser and gorier from there.

File this one under extreme horror - prepare yourself for pipes and mice, curling irons as sex toys, and dangling eyeballs, for starters. This will most defintely not be for everyone. But for those of you who it IS for... I see you.

I finished this book a week ago and I still do not have a definitive response to it. There were aspects I liked but overall I found the main character pretentious, narcissistic and generally uninteresting. I really enjoyed the last 80ish pages but up to that point it didn't really hold my attention. I almost DNF'd but was determined to finish it. I'm glad I did ( this last few pages were really good) but it was a struggle for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!~

4.5/5 stars, rounded up to a 5

"We are what we are, after all. And I am a dead Playboy bunny and I am a fly and I am a wolf, and I am any wise man's worst nightmare."

Character - 9/10
Look, this is one of those books where you say you love the characters and people start giving you strange looks. So, let's just say I think of these characters often lol. Maeve is a face character at "the happiest place on earth", she also has her own dark passenger. Kate, Maeve's best friend, is her face character's little sister. and just as much trouble, if I do say so myself. Tallulah, Maeve's beloved grandmother, is the star of this show. With a presence like Jessica Lange, you know Tallulah was and still is a true badass. Liz, her overbearing boss, could not have been crafted any better. I literally went to school with someone, also named Liz, that is this very exact person. When she was described I literally screamed out loud. Gideon, oh man, Gideon. Definitely my favorite out of this group. I could go on and on about all of them but you'll have to pick this sucker up if you really want to know who they are.

Atmosphere - 7/10
The setting is pretty solid, this takes place in Los Angeles, but we have a few locations in particular that we really spend our time in. Obviously, we get quite a large portion of this book starring "the happiest place on earth" and Leede delivers. I'm not certain if she's worked there herself or not, but I practically felt like I was on the park grounds myself. Gideon's towering mansion, barely furnished, as it is far too big for one person to live in. My favorite part of this house is certainly the "sex dungeon", lovingly crafted. Or perhaps it's the locked room at the end of the hallway, the one you need to use the tiny key for. And last, but certainly not least, Tallulah's house. We learn the interworking of this house more than any location - my favorite either the Halloween decorations or the cellar.

Writing - 10/10
I initially didn't know if I was going to like Leede's writing style. It felt very vulgar and blunt, aggressive and sexual, but then again that's what this book is to a tee. After about 15% I really got comfortable with the style and it really pulls you in. She has a way of writing spicy scenes in a very intoxicating way and when you're least expecting it, a twist that leaves the reader feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. Hahahah, the sex scene on the ice really had me before I turned the page. I really hope this debut isn't the last we hear from CJ Leede.

Plot - 8/10
Maeve Fly definitely parallel's the vibes of American Psycho, but the female perspective really ups the ante here. Maeve is unhinged - raw, a wolf, a fly. Maeve is lonely, save for her beloved grandmother, her best friend Kate, and maybe Kate's hot brother, Gideon. Maeve is living life, doing what she has to to keep herself happy and the wolf from howling. One day, Tallulah's nurse says that it may be time to say her goodbyes and that's when everything changes for Maeve. Watch a downward spiral that you don't want to look at, but like a tragic accident, you can't bring yourself to look away from. Watch her run through her favorite book personas, until she takes it just a little too far and does something she will never be able to undo.

Also experience a wild game of Pretty, Pretty, Princess.

Intrigue - 10/10
The only reason I didn't finish this book in one sitting is because I didn't want it to end. I could barely bring myself to put this one down. I would have it pulled up when I was waiting in long lines, on my lunch breaks, as soon as woke up, truly whenever I could get the chance.

Logic/World-Building - 8/10
Takes place in real life so logic is pretty straight forward on this one. The only thing that is a bit suspicious is how easy it seems to be to get away with murder in LA.

Enjoyment - 10/10
I freaking loved this book. I really wish I could wipe my memory and read it from the beginning again. It made me horny, sick to my stomach, and absolutely devastated. Finishing this left me feeling like I left a part of myself in the pages (or perhaps those were just tears). Being lonely is such a devastating thing to be, both for yourself and especially for those around you.

Overall, I would give this an 8.86/10 or a 4.5/5 stars!

If you like really weird body horror, you're gonna like this. If the thought of Maeve doing exactly as the cover illustrates is not something you think you can stomach, then this is not the book for you lol.

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede is a horror book that begs the question, what would happen is you mixed Elsa with Patrick Bateman? The answer? A gory romp around Anaheim. I saw a few early reviews saying that this book was pretty wild and I am happy to report that it absolutely is and I loved it! It’s also a hard book to recommend because for a certain group of people, this will be a highlight of the year but it’s hard to say if it will appeal to a larger audience.

I loved being in Maeve’s mind through this book. She becomes increasingly unhinged and you just have to be along for the ride. I did enjoy the first 30 percent of this book just getting a feel for the writing style and the characters and then from 30 percent on, the story really takes off. There were paragraphs were I would laugh out loud and then cringe in disgust.

This book is surprisingly thoughtful at times as well. I found myself rooting for Maeve despite the fact that what she was doing wasn’t exactly the right thing. This story is the exact right length for what it wants to do as well. Any longer, and it could have been too gratuitous. It’s hard to go further into detail without possibly spoiling the book and this is one that is best gone into blind if you are okay with a lot of gore and violence. I would say this book really sits right on the line of horror and extreme horror so it could be hard to stomach for some people.

This book will be compared to American Psycho a lot and you definitely get that vibe reading this. Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of its release. This was such a different horror book than a lot of other stuff I have read and I look forward to picking up a physical copy!

Maeve Fly is the story of a princess that is slightly askew. It highlights a strong female character and emphasizes her familial ties. It feels like a feminist American Psycho. However, the story felt slow to build and it struggled to hold my attention at times. It was full of over the top gore and glamor but it had too much of a focus on the gore without enough forward progression at times. I found the gore to be some what gratuitous and highly disturbing in some scenes.

Leede creates a creepy story with Maeve and her inner monkey and wolf. The dichotomy of a Disney Princess and a serial killer existing in one character is intriguing and really plays on the thought of how “normal” a person appears is not always the best judgement of character. Overall, I enjoyed this book but left with more questions after the final page.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

I read this based on one of my favorite horror booktokkers recommendations and was pleasantly surprised! I read it in one sitting. It was really well written and the plot really didn't stop til the very last second.

What a wild ride. This was gross, fucked up, insane and I couldn’t put it down. A woman who works as Elsa at Disney Land has quite the dark side. The fever dream plays out from there. I’d say it’s best to go in this one blind.

This fucking book. Fuck this book. I can’t wait to re-read it. It was so good. I was hooked by the 4th chapter. CJ Leede is someone to lookout for if you love horror leaning towards the more extreme side.

*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the EARC for review.

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede is a shocking and grotesque story that delves into the mind of a troubled and disturbed woman. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart.

CW: gore/gratuitous violence, sexual violence, torture (and probably more I can’t think of at the moment)

Maeve moved to Los Angeles years ago to stay with her grandmother. Maeve works at the “happiest place in the world” where she plays a popular princess. But Maeve is not like other women. She has deviant thoughts and killer urges that she sometimes acts on. Maeve soon meets a man who makes her even more crazy and turns her world upside down.

I read Maeve Fly a few weeks back, but I had to sit with it and think about it before I wrote a review of it. The cover of this book definitely drew me in and made me want to check it out, it’s just such an awesome and strange cover. Also, the comparisons to American psycho made me intrigued since I liked that book, but I read it many, many years ago, so I don’t really remember much about it to be honest. I was hoping I would love this one, but it just wasn’t the book for me.

Even though I don’t mind films with gore, I could not take the gore and gratuitous violence in this book. I guess I am not a fan of reading extreme horror. I should have known going in that I wouldn’t enjoy those parts. Most of the violence/gore is in later parts of the story. There is also sexual violence that I did not enjoy reading about.

I did love the author’s writing and the story did hold my interest. I found the main character to be extremely interesting and I kept reading to find out what she would do next. I thought her character was very well written. I also loved the setting of the book. I used to live in L.A. years ago, so I could definitely picture some places in this book.

Definitely be aware of the content warnings before going into this one. I would recommend this book to lovers of extreme horror. I did love the author’s writing and the story kept me reading. If you loved American Psycho, you will most likely enjoy Maeve Fly.

This is story was super creepy and really kept my attention throughout. I have been in a massive slump and loved how this book was really able to pull me out of that and get back into reading horror. The story was dorky, funny, and emotional which you don't see a lot in the horror genre. I love that the main character is so unlikeable but at the same time you cant help but love her. Shes dark and screwed up but the connection with me as the reader was there.

This book is a delightful, disgusting fever-dream. Maeve Fly is a book that disgusted me, and that's the highest praise I can give a book. As a huge fan of body horror and despicably awful women, I'm going to make sure my library purchases this book. I'm also going to be purchasing a physical copy for myself when available.

My only gripe with the book is actually stupid. The "nobody dies at Disneyland" thing has always annoyed me. Nobody is pronounced dead at Disney because they can only do that at hospitals, not theme parks. That took me out of the story because Maeve seems like the type of person that would know that. I loved all the little tidbits and nods to Disney Parks lore and the behavior of Disney Parks visitors. That's more of a dumb personal opinion than an actual issue I had with the book.

CJ Leede is an author to watch. I'm excited to see what else she writes. This is going next to Boy Parts by Eliza Clark in "books about unhinged women I accidentally recommend to my therapist." Stunning.

3.75 stars!
Wow, I haven't read horror books in such a long time and this caught me off guard LOL. This short book really had some intensity of gore and it really through me off. I went into this book blind and let me say, you are going to be in for a roller coaster ride. The graphic details are like actually detailed and there were gore events from left to right. One thing that I was not a fan of is the spice scenes LOL.

TW: Not for people with work hearts FRRRR like FRRR

Thank you so much @tornightfire for the free copy 🪰

CJ Leede’s MAEVE FLY is a shock to the system, but the kind of shock I enjoyed. In this 288 page book, there is violence, blood-soaked gore, gratuitous sexual content, brutality, and utter depravity. The LA California setting is the perfect compliment to the front-row-seat debauchery. The characters are not likable or relatable, but they are captivating, and well written - especially our narrator Maeve. We begin with a more character-driven story of “getting to know” Maeve, then as the story progresses, it goes from intense to insanity. Maeve’s thoughts, perspective, and subsequent actions turn into the thing of nightmares - which is the most powerful aspect of the book. The music and literary references along with the feminist rage are my love language. The author’s mention of Dostoyevsky is…chefs kiss.

“Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” comes on the speakers. The Bartender heads to the back to get something, or more likely, to avoid us.“

As I said earlier, as the story goes on, Maeve makes (almost a crystal clear) decision to lose all moral compass. Pretty much where this killer quote lies: “I have tried the way of the misanthrope, the way of the deviant, the philosopher, the observer, the pretender. But there is one road I have not seriously considered walking down, have not permitted myself to. Perhaps it is time.”

The extreme nature of the cover art should give you a clue about its inner contents. Not to mention, as it states in the synopsis, the story is inspired by Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho - these two things combined should be more than enough to tell you if MAEVE FLY is for you. I am a big fan of American Psycho, so I wholeheartedly appreciate a protagonist of the female kind. But just to clarify, the two are not the same book - however the inspiration is there. The vivid imagery of Leedes’ descriptive prose remind me a bit of Natural Born Killers and Chuck Palahniuk (especially, my personal fav, Haunted). MAEVE FLY is extreme in every sense of the word, so enter at your own risk.

I have a terrible - terrible! - habit of not reading the books summary before starting. A lot of times, it is good because it's such a lovely surprise as to where the book is going. How do I pick books? Idk, covers mostly. So the vibe I thought this book was going to have versus the vibe the book had was miles apart.

...I thought there was going to be a giant monster that attempted to take over the city okay but that's on me.

What is not on me, is once I actually read the description, that I was still confused. See, I took until maybe 60% to see read the plot, but that was because I was lost as hell as to where the story was going. And once I read that this is supposed to be like ... an american psycho, I guess I got it? But I have to admit that I've never consumed that piece of media but also...

I did not vibe with this book. There were parts that were gross in a way they didn't have to be. the main character was off and not in a weird or strange way but I felt like I never connected or was truly disgusted by her, even when she did disgusting things. I wanted to know more about the side characters but at the same time I didn't care. The book delved into so many things I wanted it to go into deeper (canceling people, the princess aspect) but it mainly only touched upon it only to be whisked away into something else.

I wish I had more coherent thoughts about this book, but I don't think I had many thoughts about this book at all. It happened. It definitely was a book that happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for a chance to read and review.

I was given an ARC of Maeve Fly in exchange for an honest review.

A must read for fans of horror, the dark and disturbed, and a delightful dose of feminine rage. Maeve Fly is what I picture the outcome would be if American Psycho had a love child with a hockey romance and raised said child on old-school slasher films. Which might sound weird, but it works. So. Well.

This is definitely one of the best horror books I've read in quite a while. The cadence between introspection, real life emotions, and true horror was phenomenal. I adored the narration style, and I loved being along for the ride as Maeve slipped deeper and deeper into depravity (and psychosis).

While the only word I can think of to describe my experience with this book is delightful, please note that it does toe the line of extreme horror in some instances, and despite Maeve's day job at the happiest place on earth, this is not a book of magic, true love, or morality.

I was so excited by the premise of this book, but ultimately, it fell short for me. :(

While I really enjoyed the overall campiness of the novel. In some ways, it almost felt like a satire of extreme horror in a way that made it almost funny, and really enjoyable, to read. In others, I felt there were scenes that depicted depravity in a way that was almost gratuitous.

Because of my overall feelings of indifference to a lot of the scenes, I skimmed through some of the scenes of graphic violence and weird sex scenes. Normally I don't do that with horror, or any genre, as that's where the "good stuff" lies, but a lot of the scenes here felt overly produced and unnatural, even for being so dark and depraved.

Overall, I think there will be readers that this book resonates with. Fans of campy horror and dark themes might find something here to enjoy and sink their teeth into, but overall, I was looking for a lot more in terms of overall richness of plot and character development.