This cover and synopsis immediately hooked me and I was excited to check out Comfort Me with Apples. Then I saw it was a 100-page novella and I thought “no way could you do a satisfying thriller story that quickly” I’ve read so many that even after 300-400 pages I needed more. But I’ll here to tell you: Catherynne crushed it. This was a quick read and one you actually want to finish in one sitting.

What really blew me away was the prose. This was one of the best, beautiful writing styles I’ve seen in awhile. The way things were described felt almost shimmery (I don’t know how else to describe it!) or poetic. I could SEE and HEAR exactly how I thought the characters would be speaking. I will definitely keep an eye out for more from this author.

I’d describe this as horror-lite, with some good suspense and eerie-ness. Perfect for a spooky fall read!

Extraordinary, as all Cat Valente's books are. I guessed the twist about halfway through but it was extremely satisfying to see her denouement. Valente's signature lush prose compliments the subject matter perfectly.

4.5 stars (rounding up because that's how math works and I'm not petty)

What an odd little story, one that I think I'll end up re-reading. It's the type of book that I really enjoy generally, but I don't want to get too into it because I found myself surprised by the ending, even while being suspicious of the story from the start. It's such a short, quick read that I'm worried that basically anything will give it away. I do highly recommend it for fans of weird books, and it's perfect for summer time.

I've not read much of Catherynne M. Valente's other works, but I'll definitely be seeking them out in the future.

This book was very different then anything I had previously read from Valente. There is usually a dark undercurrent hidden by a whimsical tone, but this was far darker than I expected. And I loved it. It's best going in blind, but the opening chapter will do enough to show that something bizarre is going on. It reminded me of The Stepford wives mixed with Mexican Gothic. The only complaint I had is with the arc itself. There were formatting issues that made this novel almost unreadable at times. 5 out of 5 for the book. 2 out of 5 for the quality of the arc.

"Welcome to a new world of luxury living in Arcadia Gardens an exclusive, upscale gated community, the ultimate in amenities, privacy, serenity and security...the outside world cannot trouble you here."

The house is luxurious. Sophia wants for nothing. Her world is bright, beautiful...perfect. Her husband spoils her. Often however, she must sleep alone. His very important job requires him to be on call. Sophia doesn't mind. "The world flows in that direction. Him to her. A river of forever...I was made for him." She has perfect neighbors who look out for her.

Sophia will be thrilled when the cellar is completed because it will include a workspace just for her. For now, it is dangerous and she could get hurt. The basement door is locked. It is off limits to her. Sophia keeps a precise schedule. Linens and bath towels are pinned on the clothesline from exactly 11:00 AM to 1:00PM. "Everything she does reflects upon him." She is happy. Her husband is happy. The world is theirs, until it is not. She makes a discovery. Something is off-kilter.

"Comfort Me With Apples" by Catherynne M. Valente is a short novella that begs to be devoured in one sitting. Arcadia Gardens is tightly gated, the HOA rules and regulations are extensive including no overnight guests and tranquility hours after 10PM. Sophia is perfectly lovely, perfectly good, perfectly sweet and perfectly happy. "I was made for him"...but..."she wishes so desperately that she'd never done it...". This creepy, uncomfortable novella will make the reader squirm. A highly captivating read that is highly recommended.

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordot.com and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 rounding up.

This book was weird. I'm not going to give any description because it's short enough that if the name intrigues you, and you regret jumping into it at 20% like I did, it's only 115 pages so it reads fast.

The end happened all at once and by the time I knew what was happening, the book was over. Not a very impressionable one for me.

With that being said, thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Without giving too much away, I have to agree that the previous reviewer who called this novella Stepford Wives meets Bluebeard's Wives is a hundred percent correct! Cat Valente has always been great at atmosphere and description, and while that has on occasion become more of a bug than a feature in a few of her past novels, given the shorter length and high concept of COMFORT ME WITH APPLES it really works to the book's advantage in the case of this novella. Also the cover is beautiful!

I'd describe this as Bluebeard meets the Garden of Eden. It's a quick read, which really works to its benefit. The writing is poetic, and often it's beautiful, though I found it overwritten at times. No huge surprises here, but I did enjoy reading it.

Creepy. Dark. Twisted…and speaking of twisted that twist!!!!! Frickin brilliant! I already feel the need to reread this again!

Do yourself a favor and go in blind because when it all starts coming together your mind will be blown! 😱🤭😳

This is my first book by Valente and it will not be my last. The prose was stunning and fairy-tale-like, with lingering despair. I could not stop reading and I was completely transported into Sophia’s world.

The plot was slightly slow but I liked how it gave me a sense of unease that something is not right at Arcadia Gardens. The tension was built up well, leaving me feeling unnerved until the very end of the novella.
The twist was so well done and I did not see it coming. I am in awe at how Valente was able to convey such an engrossing tale into a mere 112 pages. This is a novella I will reread in the future to pick out the context clues that I have missed.

Overall, I recommend it if you’re looking for a dark tale with tension and mystery. I promise the hours will fly by quickly and once you are done reading, you will be left reeling with shock.

Since this is a thriller, and a very short one, I’m going to keep this review brief so as to avoid spoilers.
I don’t read thrillers. This is not a genre I have any interest in or enjoy. But after how truly amazing The Past is Red was (seriously, go pre-order it) I decided to give this a shot. And within two pages I was completely creeped the hell out. There is a very Stepford Wives vibe to this book, and the writing style is very unique (sort of like a cross between poetry and stream of consciousness). The final reveal of what was going on was not expected in the least, total surprise! I am now a total stan for Catherynne Valente & hereby bow down at her feet.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What a fantastic novella, it’s amazing that so much ominous suspense was packed into these 112 pages! This a strange and wonderful thriller that was flawlessly executed. The writing is fantastic, I was completely enthralled and confused up until the end as it all suddenly made perfect sense. Do yourself a favor and go into this blind, the less you know the better! 5/5⭐️

Thanks NetGalley and Tordotcom for gifting me this eARC. Comfort Me With Apples will be out October 26.

It is the mark of a great writer that can give us one hopeful, heartwarming post-apocalyptic novella and a creepy what-the-hell-is-going-on type novella in the same year. Cat Valente is such a writer and so she not only delivered two vastly different books this year but also succeeded in making them both work really well. If you want to feel creeped out (but not in a jump scare way) or made uncomfortable by a book, if you need something you want to devour in one sitting, then this is for you.

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This novella is only 112 pages long and its wonderful creep factor hinges on not knowing what’s going on, so I will remain very, very vague in describing the plot and characters. In fact, if I’m being honest, I think you shouldn’t read this review at all before you have read the book. It’s best to go into it knowing as little as possible and enjoying how things slowly unravel, how your mind picks up on certain clues, and how it all comes together in the end.
But do make sure you pick this up when you have enough time to finish it. You won’t find a good spot to put the book down. It wants to be read in one go.

So, what’s this about and why is it so great? Well, it’s about Sophia, who lives in Arcadia Gardens, an exclusive luxury residential area where everything is perfect. Sophia loves her husband, even if he’s often away for work, she loves her house and her neighbors, she enjoys her place in society and the life she has made for herself. That is, until something turns up that makes no sense, something that shouldn’t be here, something Sophia can’t let go…

Okay, this is as much as I want to say about the plot because one word more and I might just accidentally burst out something spoilery. But while this is a book with a pretty cool twist, that wasn’t even the best part. What I enjoyed the most was that constant feeling of knowing something is wrong but not being able to put my finger on it. I got ideas pretty quickly, as clues are literally everywhere, but I could never be sure if what I was imagining was the truth or just a theory (I got it right just before the truth was revealed in the book, so yay for keeping me in the dark that long).
Sophia’s story is delightfully creepy, not because she faces monsters or anything – Arcadia Gardens is perfect, after all, how could there be monsters? – but because reading about it feels so incredibly uncomfortable. It reminded me of a certain movie which I can’t mention because that, too, could be a spoiler, but that movie also created this atmosphere of wrongness. If you enjoy being left in the dark for a while, solving riddles, playing with words, and paying attention to little details, you will have a blast reading this. And even if you do pick up on the hints, you won’t necessarily figure everything out by yourself so there is still that final twist.

That reveal at the end had been building up more and more and so it wasn’t this super shocking moment, but it fit so perfectly into what came before that I had to wonder why I hand’t guessed it right away. It will certainly make a re-read all the more interesting. Knowing what to look for, I’m sure I’ll find a ton more hints and Easter eggs that I missed the first time.
Everything falls into place so well, everything suddenly makes sense where before I wanted to shout at the characters “What the hell is wrong with you, why are you like that and what kind of a messed up place is this Arcadia Gardens?!” And while Sophia is certainly a sympathetic protagonist, it was only there at the end that I truly started liking her and felt the impact of what she had found out. It’s amazing to me that I can follow a character with very little personality and then suddenly have a knife twisted in my heart that I didn’t even know hat struck me. Well done, Cat Valente, well done!

I have said pretty much nothing about this book even though I have so much to say. But I don’t spoil books for others and this novella is impossible to talk about in any detail without spoilers. You'’ll just have to take my word for it, pick it up, and read that first page. You won’t be able to put it down until you’re done.

MY RATING: 8.5/10 – Excellent!

As ominously perfect as Stepford Wives and as petrifyingly sinister as Bluebeard’s Wife, this book crawls under your skin and pulls you apart from the inside. Cat Valente could make a grocery list read like a timeless fable and reveals the inherent uncanny valley elements of an HOA like no other could. I could write odes to the ending, but it’s better if you experience it yourself, because it strikes a chord in you that will reverberate for days after you close the book.

I have deja-vu because what...?

How does the author do this to me? First, with Deathless, now with Comfort Me With Apples.

I pretty much inhaled this one and no, not because it's a short one. By the way, I'm not one to read novellas/shorter books but hats off to Ms. Valente, who managed to write one heck of a story in less than 150 pages.

I won't be saying much because man, am I afraid I'd spoil it! So let's stick to as few things as possible.

Remember, while you'll be reading this book - which has such a utopic and idyllic setting, where everyone is happy and they're best friends and everything is perfect, just perfect - you'll be second-guessing everything and everyone. I, for one, was having none of it. As a matter of fact, there's nothing creepier to me than a perfect, idyllic setting in a book. There's no such thing and boy, the things that can be hidden!

So, in a nutshell. Sophia lives in an idyllic community with her perfect husband; she seems to be the happiest with many friends, and she wants for nothing in life.

Or...?

Whatever happens, whatever the outcome you're expecting, this book will manage to give you feels and creeps and have you thinking about it, even after you're done reading it.

I voluntarily agreed to read an early copy via Netgalley and my rating is 5 stars. Many thanks to the publisher for this amazing opportunity!

It was a unique read for sure. The prose was beautifully executed with a vibe unlike others I’ve read. The tale of perfection. This isn’t my type of thing usually I still enjoyed it.

Thank you so much Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this advanced ebook.copy!
I definitely devoured this beauty.

This is one of those where I totally judged a book by it's cover 😬
I thought Comfort Me With Apples was going to be something totally else. (in a good way)

Everything is perfect for Sophia. Her life is perfect, perfect husband.... She couldn't be happier.
The only thing is he works way too much and is always gone!
But things start to make Sophia think. And she thinks weird, crazy thing's.
Like why will he not answer her questions? Why is their basement door she isn't allowed to go in always locked? She tires to talk to her neighbors but they won't even look her way or talk to her!?
Weird? Yeah things start getting wild!

Well guys this book was amazing. I seriously didn't want it to end! Why did it have to end?
This was so compelling, addictive, wonderfully written, amazing read!
I did feel it to be more of a slow burn. Which never took anything away from the book.
The writing.... I mean can ya get any better than this right here? Valente is such a brilliant writer I'm now a major fan of her work!
This book will grab you an suck you in from the first page!
Y'all won't want to miss this amazing, gripping book come October 26th!

I will post to my Goodreads and bookstagram account closer to pub date!

For anyone who likes their creation myths with a dash of arsenic, this tale is full of Valente's dreamlike prose and skin-crawling descriptive style.

A truly stellar if unsettling novels. As always, Valente’s prose is remarkable. I had a hard time getting into the plot but it came around for me in the end.

Comfort Me With Apples is a short story/novella that starts abruptly, but is quite interesting. It took me a little while to understand what was going on, but it was a very enjoyable read.