I don’t read a lot of poetry but when I saw a collection of body horror poems written by non-binary and women poets I knew I had to read it. Some of the poems weren’t my thing but there were a few with such visceral and powerful imagery that I can’t get them out of my head. “Smile” by Nico Bell and “Broken fingers” by Emma Katherine in particular have gotten inside my brain and will not leave. Definitely recommend for horror fans who are looking for something different than the usual novel or short story collection. I cannot decide between 3 and 4 stars for this one, so I’m going to say it’s a 3.5 and I’m rounding up. (less)

I originally picked this book up because of the cover and description and it succeeded in providing a gothic, creepy atmosphere. Some of the poems I really enjoyed, but others I felt lacked substance. I thought that some of them were too similar and it made me grow a little bored while reading. However, I feel like it would be perfect for fans of both horror and poetry, especially during spooky season.

A 3 start rating.

As much as I love horror and poetry, this book felt a bit repetitive and overall, the poems weren't for me. As much as I love the whole idea behind this project, the pieces felt like they lacked depth and as someone who's been writing poetry for a while now, I felt like the poems were not well structured.
With that being said, some of the poems were so touching i wanted to cry.
Overall, amazing work.

So I’m not normally a poetry person, but I decided to give Under Her Skin a try. This collection of horror poetry specifically focuses on body horror- the distinct process of a person losing control of their body. All poems in the collection were written by women or femmes, so this book is feminist through and through. Although I wasn’t fond of half the poems, I did find some I really enjoyed (Growing Pains, Shed, Betrayer, I become Numinous, Queen, and Dissolving Connections). If you like horror and poetry, you’ll likely be enjoy Under Her Skin

I have always been fascinated by woman fronted horror. The Under Her Skin Horror Poetry collection tickles that urge perfectly, collating some truly brilliant poetry from dozens of excellent poets.

The exploration of body horror throughout the collection gave some eye-opening and heartbreaking realisations about my own relationship with body image. In this filtered and edited Instagram age we find ourselves cutting our bodies up into nice little packages for the amusement of others, ignoring our own wants for the aesthetic. This collection challenged my notions of myself and gave me true food for thought on how I approach myself, others and the influencers we see on tiny screens.

I would disagree that all of the poems are horror, although, as some ring so close to the truth of being a woman in the 21st century. Are we not expected to physically change the essence of who we are to meet the whims of the current beauty standards. One cannot even argue that it is not as extreme as those laid out in the poems, after all with cosmetic surgery rates only rising women are white literally picking and choosing their bodies.

Some highlights for me included Metamorphosis by Caitlin Marceau, which to me embodied how much every woman feels the need to change herself to meet the ever changing beauty standards and These Men are All One Monster by Cassondra Windwalker, which evokes the hardships and persistence all women have.

On a whole the collection has far more hits than misses. It has let me question my own personal body image more than I ever thought a collection of horror poetry could ever give me and has opened me up to being able to think more critically about how I think about myself. It is an easy four star review.

This was an interesting poetry collection. The cover itself is stunning and I liked the idea of this poetry collection. The tone and vibe were cool and you could sense and maintain that throughout. There were times when I felt that all of the poems kind of blurred together because of this similarity in tone, maybe they were too similar? While I enjoyed it, it was not something that moved me enough that I would call it fantastic. Overall I am glad I got to read it!

This poetry collection is brilliant and visceral and filled to the brim with gore and horror and pain. I had to read little bits at a time so that I didn't either get repulsed or numb. The poems are diverse and amazing, ranging from the near-epic to the intimate, and from differing points of view and cultural backgrounds, If you're a fan of body horror, this book will convince you that poetry is an excellent medium for it.

A creepy and yet lovely collection of poems. So many writers tackling the same thing has made me think so much about my body, the beauty industry, what society puts women through and the skin I'm in. With a variety of voices, this horror poetry collection was supremely written and I devoured it quickly. I will meditate on some of the beautiful writing and what it made me think of for weeks to come.

A stunning collection of poignant, resonant, and powerful poetry by women and femmes in horror that captures the essence of body horror in rhyme and verse. From the cover artwork to the interior illustrations, it's easy to see this collection is a true showcase of the very best talent of women in horror poetry.

I received an eARC copy from Black Spot Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Actual rating 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 because of the pretty cover. 


A fresh change compared with the recent flood of Instagram poetry, Under Her Skin presents dark horror body verses that can shake your senses from top to bottom. It screams Frankenstein; it screams Bram Stoker; it calls for shivers and goosebumps. 


Thought-provoking and somewhat heart-breaking, these poems discuss many themes and experiences women, cis, trans women, and non-binary people go through each day, expressing their own personal horrors that others may or may not notice. The variety of these (very relevant and relatable) topics ranges astonishingly from sexual violence, pregnancy, giving birth to self-harm, sexual oppression, and simply surviving life. 


Some of the poems did not quite fit the horror genre, or my expectations were too high. Perhaps what I consider horror isn't what some of these authors had in mind. But putting that aside, some poems gave a repetitive feel, making them look already seen and read, vague. Some lacked depth; some looked like all gory words picked out from a dictionary and put together, hoping they would resemble a poem. There was no connection, no expressiveness, no cohesion; something was missing, and I could not figure out what. 


Having read The Husband Stitch recently, the first story in Carmen Maria Machado's short stories collection "Her Body and Other Parties," I was probably expecting a heavy flow of symbolism, allegories, and metaphors in this poetry collection too. What I got were misplaced and somewhat confusing elements that I could not understand or connect with at times; that gravely affected my enjoyment of this collection. 


One more honest remark - the cover art immediately grabbed my attention; it pulled at me with its invisible e-hands. It speaks volumes; it's gorgeously designed. However, the drawings inside looked very basic and not related to the poems at all. I would have hoped for more elaborate pieces, but that did not come through. 


Nevertheless, it is still a solid collection of poems that lean towards horror, dark, and gory stories for all the fans of the spooky October season.

It was nice to read poems longer than half a page, and many of them had a symbolic depth to them that I don't usually see in published poetry collections nowadays. There is a lot of body horror and symbolic metaphors involving body horror. So, if that's not your cup of tea, maybe skip over this one. For those looking for gritty, messy horror, this isn't what you're looking for, either. This is closer to what I would call Frankenstein horror with its slightly unnerving descriptions and mentality of narrators.

I like to try poetry sometimes, and this was a great collection. It was kind of a greatest hits from all the women included in the collection. Very few that I didn't like. Also, if reading, try to read out loud. I always think this helps with poetry. Will definitely look up several of these women for more. #UnderHerSkin #NetGalley

Like any collection, Under Her Skin has hits and misses. Overall, however, I think it has more highs than lows. Truly moving, powerful, eerie, monstrous feelings move through most of the stories. Favorites include works by Nico Bell, Cassondra Windwalker, Donna Lynch, and many others.

This was a truly wonderful collection! I started it right before going to bed - big mistake. It was impossible to put it down, so much so that I finished it in just two seatings. I absolutely adored the majority of the poems, with only a rare few being immemorable, or just plain good. Most of them were phenomenal, introspective, gruesome, and challenging - many I kept going back to, rereading them just to extend the time I got to spend with them.

I don't typically say this the for e-ARCs I receive, but this one I think I might purchase as well, just to have a physical copy in my library, one I can annotate and highlight and hold and treasure. Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year so far, proving that my decision to read more poetry can be rather rewarding.

A diverse collection of poems from women of all walks of life, that alone called to me but the cover screamed “pick me up!” Being a fan of dark and nearly anything depressing, I had extremely high hopes for Under Her Skin. I fully believe poetry is subjective, and for that I won’t be rating it as I don’t feel that’s fair. I will say that maybe it’s my mood, maybe just that I had high expectations but Under Her Skin failed to evoke the emotions from me that I so hoped it would but that’s does not negate the talent and beauty within its pages. Thank you to the authors, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. Under Her Skin is set to be published in April 2022.

I enjoyed this for what it was, a macabre collection of poems by women in horror.

A lot of the poems went over my head and quite a few just weren’t my preferred style. However I did enjoy this collection overall and I think reading it during spooky season was perfect timing.

I really enjoyed this collection! It was my first time delving into dark poetry, and I will definitely be trying more after this one. The imagery that the words evoked caused me to feel uncomfortable at times because of how vivid it was. I love it when the words give me such a defined mental picture of what is being expressed. At times the symbolism went over my head, but I blame that on being in the last few weeks of writing my dissertation so my brain isn't working at full capacity. All in all, would recommend this to someone who wants to try some darker poetry, or someone that enjoys reading horror fiction.

After renewing my love for books, I must say I’m rather rusty with poetry, and this book was a nice and approachable re-introduction into the genre.

Under Her Skin is a collection of horror poems written by cis/trans women, non-binary, and femme people. The oppressiveness of the patriarchy, self-image, loss, and pregnancy are some of the commentary covered over the range of poems contained in this book.

While not every poem personally compelled me, I think the vast representation and stylization contained in this collection makes this a difficult task.

I think that organizing these poems in a more thoughtful way, perhaps by an overarching idea may have been more beneficial. I also wish the artwork within the book occurred more, because I loved seeing particular poems be brought to life by the same artist.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy so that I could provide my thoughts before this book is released

This is just not for me - I love horror but I'm not the biggest poetry fan and I guess horror poetry isn't my thing. I tried giving this collection a chance but I realized that I wasn't enjoying it and I don't feel like it was doing anything for me. However, I'm sure it will find it's audience. I'm giving this 2 stars because some of the poems were pretty interesting but nothing in particular stood out to me.

The poetry in this volume is amazing but not exactly as advertised by the description. I went into this collection expecting horror/spooky poetry told through a women's lens but instead encountered the average topics of dangerous beauty standards and duplicitous gender norms. While the content itself is easily worth a 5-star rating, the collection itself failed self-imposed expectations.