Maeve Fly cares only about three things: her dying misanthrope grandmother, her beautiful best friend Kate, and her day job as the ice queen at the happiest place on earth. When her grandmother’s health takes a turn for the worst, and Kate no longer has enough time for her anymore… Maeve is feeling lost but Kate’s brother moves to town and “awakens” another side of Maeve.

Maeve is not a good person, but I understand a lot of her reasoning. And because of this I read this book in one sitting eagerly waiting to see what happened next. This book was so unintentionally funny, but I did genuinely enjoy all of the characters.

I would recommend this book to the people who love a woman vs the void type story, and morally black characters.

Although I will say this book is descriptive of sexual scenes, gore, murder etc. if you have a weak stomach this is not the book for you… considering one scene has Maeve wearing Mickey mouse ears…. Made with human ears…

That being said I think this was one of my favorite reads this year so far.

If you read the description of this book and still want to give it a shot, you will most likely have a good time with it. This book is dark, heavy, and not for the faint of heart.

For readers who grew up on Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat, graduated to Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, and yearned for a hybrid--it's Maeve Fly, a heroine for the ages and the best Disney princess ever. Old Hollywood glamour and modern kitsch rule Maeve's life, and she's happy being her singular self, modeled after her grandmother (an old Hollywood icon) and owning her destiny. The fly in Maeve's ointment is Gideon. There's a difference between having your needs met and being understood, Maeve knows. And she'll never be understood. Right?
Maeve Fly is not for the squeamish, and the book pulls no punches. It's a fast-paced quick read that hits hard and absolutely delighted this reader. The (very successful) ending is why true horror romances haven't caught on in a big way. Can Maeve Fly have everything? It's all in her name. Give this to readers who prefer (old-school) Maleficent to Aurora and prefer their roses with bloody thorns.

After reading this book, I am still sitting here confused the very next day. This book was an experience and is not for the feint of heart. The genre is a mix of romance, sadism, murder, and humor with a Disney Park tossed in for good measure. Maeve lives a very alternative lifestyle and is a princess by the day and a psychopath by night along with her co-princess. I don't really think that this book really took off until the last 25% of the book and then it really packs a punch. In the end, I felt that this book just tried to do too much. The main character has issues, however it ends up being unclear whether they are inherited from her grandma that is in a coma, or where these really stem from. I think a lot of the generic feministic and millennial diatribe actually detracted from the book as opposed to adding any value. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley. I will continue being confused now.

Holy crap thisbook was mond blowing i dont even know where to start. Honestly i liked all the characters even tho some are crazy. But the writing was so good that this book read super fast. I will keep an eye out on this author now because this book is going to be the best book yet this year

Gory and audacious, Maeve Fly is compulsively readable. The writing is highly sexualized and violent and very playful. The way C.J. Leede equates Elsa the Ice Queen with Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) shouldn’t make sense, but it does. Maeve Fly is the perfect Halloween read because most of the book takes place during October and culminates on Halloween night. If you don’t mind graphic sex and violence, prepare yourself for a good time.

When I tell you that this book is the perfect recipe for a good horror/slasher I truly mean it. The mind of Maeve Fly, our main character, is so Dark and deranged yet she is so funny, witty, and intelligent. You know you should hate her but you can’t help but love her. The story is fast paced and I legitimately could not put it down! I wanted to stay in Maeve’s world and hear her thoughts. She is so unique and the story itself is so unique that I myself have never read anything like it. It’s gory and stomach churning, yet Maeve will have you laughing at the same time she is making you feel deeply unsettled by her actions. It’s everything I needed to pull me out of a reading slump and I will read anything CJ Leede writes. Maeve Fly is 2023’s new horror icon. 🪰

Don’t walk, RUN to get your copy when it is released in June, you will not be disappointed.

Deliciously creepy, and un-put-downable. A story that kept building, and building and building in anticipation until it exploded. Absolutely loved it.

This is worth all the hype! Yes! Pick it up! Read it now! Be prepared to be creeped out, you will not stop turning the pages of this book till you have finished the very last page!

Wow, loved this female psycho killer story! Love the irony of being a Disney princess by day-and killer by night. Maeve’s thoughts are fantastic! Really loved the writing style, it sucked me right in! Perfect gory horror read!

“We are what we are”

Maeve Fly is a fast-paced, gory horror novel. Maeve, Princess by day, Patrick Bateman by night, is the perfect narrator for this story. I loved the ending to it.

Wow. I’ve heard author CJ Leede has drawn plenty of inspiration from Stephen King. But I don’t think Stephen King has written something this dark. Maeve Fly throws readers into the mind of a warped Disneyland princess actor. Maeve has everything she could ever want, a best friend, her idol of her grandma, and a job she absolutely loves. But what happens if she starts to lose the things that tether her to sanity? Using incredible references, humor, and twisted description, Leedes has written something truly special for the horror genre. We are not worthy.

Let me introduce you all to a new friend of mine, Maeve Fly. But before you meet her you need to know a few things. For one, she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. So beware, she does bite and it’s way worse than her bark. And yes, she may be a princess at Disneyland but let’s be real at the end of the day, she’s got acting and Hollywood in her blood Just because she works at the happiest place on earth does NOT mean she’s nice girl. Actually, it’s probably safest if you don’t meet her in person at all. Instead you should probably just read about her through C.J. Leedes’ new novel Maeve Fly, it’s safest that way and trust me, she’s gonna be someone soon, just you wait , I’m always right!

Thank you C.J. Leede, this is in all honesty, my one of my favourite books I've ever read! Maeve Fly is the feminist monstrous antihero, I never knew that I needed. A far cry from the final girl archetype, Maeve is a clear decent of Pyscho and the 21st century female version of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman with a love of all things horror and halloween. A feminist take on the monstrous-self narrative told entirely through Maeve, and she simply wants to demonstrate in this dark and bloody tale how one can be monstrous without being a victim, esp. as female. I seriously recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of feminist horror, dark horror or american psycho. This is definitely for fans of blood and gore.

I got this book as an advanced reader copy from Tor publishers through Netgalley, and I loved this book so much, I definitely will be getting a hardcover copy for my horror collection when released in June because Leede's dark, and humorous writing style brought Maeve to life and I fell in love. Never have I related to a protagonist so much (not the murdering part), but the last of connections, isolation and feeling as though one is an outcast and alone surrounded by people who just don't understand you, and the social acceptability of provided to men for their behaviour and gender and social expectations narrowly confine what is deemed acceptable for women.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever wanted to take a utensil to some else's eye!

As a huge Halloween and hockey fan, I think my reading this book was probably like a New Wave fan reading American Psycho in the 80s. The satire worked for me in a way that was more affecting than American Psycho (which is one of the only comps I have for this book) because all of the things in it were so much more familiar to me. Maeve Fly worked on a lot of levels for me, and even though I was sort of conflicted while reading it, once I understood that it was a satire, it was smooth sailing and a fun trip.

DNF, not for me! The book went from meandering to extreme horror which really just isn’t my fave. I also was confused on how this is based on the story of the eye but it’s like story of the eye inception bc the mc is obsessed w the book? Idk, it felt poorly fleshed out and simply not my bag. The setting was cool tho

I did not enjoy this. It's not for me because from the very beginning the one scene that at the Princess park where the one worker is described not waring a bra and that whole disruption left a bad taste and the cherry on top was when the photo was taken and a young boy grabbed her boob and before that looked at the other worker to see if was OK to grab it. The whole thing made me feel icky and I thought it wasn't humorous at all. It just set the whole tone of the book.

I'm disappointed that I didn't like this because I've seen some good reviews and the synopsis sound great.

Thank you for the opportunity of the ARC.

Maeve Fly
By C.J. Leede
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Publish Date: June 6, 2023

Genres: horror, psychological horror, slasher

What you need to know:

Maeve Fly is a pretty princess. Really, her day job is that of a famous children’s ice princess character. Her best friend Kate is also a pretty princess. Maeve fills her days with Kate in the happiest place in the world, and her nights following Kate and her man of the month to strip clubs and dive bars, with her book, on the Strip in LA. Maeve is (dis)content until she meets Kate’s brother, Gideon, who seems to awaken a dark, primal fury inside.

My reading experience:

I was completely blown away by this book and Maeve’s character! The complex personality of Maeve is conveyed so well with her inner talk and her actions. Being a psych nurse I believe I may have analyzed Maeve a little more than the average reader might, but I was genuinely intrigued by her complexities, and truly impressed with how well her personality was developed and shown to the reader throughout. I will not use “unhinged” to describe Maeve, as I don’t believe that she just lost it. I believe Maeve is who she is; what she is.

This book is raw, brutal, and graphically violent and erotic. I applaud such raw honesty in writing.

The ending destroyed me… seriously, I’m still recovering.

I loved this book, I loved Maeve.

Maeve Fly was incredible. We follow the titular Maeve, who is so terrible and cool I couldn’t help but kind of like her (when I wasn’t absolutely horrified by her). This book is going to be a classic- absolutely will recommend it to horror lovers!

"There are many definitions of insanity in this world. One could argue that spooning a man’s eyeball out of the socket and performing carnal acts of religious desecration with it is insanity…"

Seeing this cover will either gross you out or excite you. It was both for me. It took things that are so normal and put them together to create something that will haunt your days. It’s beautiful and had my attention quick. I couldn’t turn my back on something that I knew was going to deliver something twisted.

Patrick Bateman would be so proud.

I am blown away by the craziness that is this book and I'm kind of in love. I keep saying that horror needs more females and C.J. certainly answers my demon-filled prayers. She makes you cringe, turns your stomach, and makes you laugh as she envelops you in a blood-soaked hug from the depths of hell.

The last 30% of this book was bonkers, and so incredibly messed up that I had to reread it. That is what made this book a true gem and highly recommendable.

"You are what you are, and no matter what you think, you cannot change it. A wolf is only ever a wolf."

I couldn’t understand this book. It spends chapters upon chapters on just inner monologue that added nothing to the story. Sad that I couldn’t finish it but ten chapters in and there was nothing bringing me in.