‘The Woods All Black’ follows Leslie Bruin, a nurse sent to serve the small community of Spar Creek, an ultra religious township in rural Appalachia. From the beginning, Leslie faces hardship in the form of transphobic religious zealots, though that seems insignificant compared to the terror waiting in the woods.

From the very beginning ‘The Woods All Black’ has such lush atmospheric descriptions and I was drawn in immediately. Every mention of the woods or the increasingly hostile behavior of the townspeople made me so claustrophobic (and reminded me of my own queer religious trauma). I flew through this book on the edge of my seat.

Mandelo’s queer rep is by far some of the best that I’ve ever read. The hardship his characters face for being queer is always significant, but not necessarily the pivotal conflict of the story, which is a nice change and keeps his works from feeling like queer trauma p*rn.

The length was great, easily consumable, and I think Mandelo accomplished everything he set out to with the story, though I wish desperately that I had 300+ more pages of explanation for all the weird stuff going on. Mandela has cemented a spot as an auto read author for me.

tight, tense, atmospheric, poignant, monstrous, cathartic. hits all the right notes on the religious small town, bodily autonomy, and historical queer context. monsterfuckers will LOVE this one

I had to breathe sometimes by any feeling from queer characters, that's feels amazing mixing queer horror, queer people of color experiences adding historical fiction reading it all at novella.

I don't think I've ever read something like this?... In a good way. Slow to start, but once it got going, it REALLY got going. Trans angst, survival, tension, romance, and monster reveal? Delicious. I don't typically read romance, either, but this was such a different, great horror read for me. I'll be looking for the author's other books for sure.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

An interesting piece, really. It took a moment to really get into, but then it took off. Like wow.

Leslie is a former army nurse, now working for the FNC and is sent to a small town for vaccinations and the care of pregnant women and young mothers. What he doesn't expect is to find a young boy like him. One born into the body of a woman. Though through the town's and especially the die-hard preacher's damning judgement, neither of them can really live out what they are without putting themselves in danger. And while Leslie plays polite and adjusts to keep himself safe, Stevie really doesn't seem to care about danger. Except to become it.

I really enjoyed this, once I got into it. Sure, the ongoing transphobia towards the main characters is uncomfortable, but timely, and, after all, it is what this book is about.
The ending is just so perfect in my eyes, and fuck, i did not expect spice in this? But damn, it was so good?
The writing style kept me hooked the entire way through, and somehow, this story managed to make me feel like simultaneously nothing and everything was happening.

Good, queer horror, and a satisfying story.
A clear recommendation from me.

❤️‍🔥Trans romance, but add MONSTERS❤️‍🔥

Pals— this is a book you need.

The Woods All Black is like Jackson’s “The Lottery”— except with teeth, claws, and the end we all wanted. No, correction: it’s beyond what we could have ever imagined.

The Woods All Black is a trans romance set in 1920s Appalachia, where the Church’s word is law and contraception is the devil’s work. It will gnaw your soul raw as you read it deep into the night. It’s just so, so good.

Thank you to tordotcom and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy to review.

lee mandelo never fails to deliver queer stories that are strange, haunting and will have you thinking ‘what the fuck😀’ by the end of it. mandelo’s writing is immersive and unique, it’s the kind of storytelling that always has me thinking about it for days afterwards (i still occasionally think about mandelo’s previous two releases, they’re THAT good!) this time around mandelo gives us historical fiction set in the 1920s focused on bodily autonomy, reproductive rights and religious influences with a hint of science fiction, which was enough for me finish this in just one sitting. this novella is short, but far from sweet and is everything i could’ve wanted in a story at the moment.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
This is the third book by Lee Mandelo I read (after Summer Sons and Feed them Silence), and somehow, I am still in awe of his prose. His way of describing the Appalachian landscape through the eyes of Leslie Bruin definitely transported me into the era and the (ugly) situation that the character had to live through.
Spar Creek is definitely alive, and there is illness and evil in its guts. I felt it everywhere, even if Leslie was just trying to buy something in the store. I really cared for Leslie from the beginning. A couple of phrases and I knew who Leslie was and what that meant in a place like Spar Creek.
And I totally felt in love with Steve.
Was I expecting some of the scenes? No, sir. Was I expecting the last part of the book? The biggest “no” of the history.
In the end, it was a very intense, short novella I will not forget easily. I did expect more horror, as I just said, I had no idea where the road was taking me, but again, Lee Mandelo could simply write down his shopping list and I would be there to read it.

I recently entered my Appalachian horror era so yes, I read this based solely on that.

Terrifying preachers? Trans angst? Easily led backwoods folks? An overall vibe akin to Midnight Mass? Check, check, check and check.

And let me tell, I YELLED at the monster twist.

What an astounding novella that covers an array of topics like reproductive health, trans individuals, prejudice, imbalance of power and the zealousness and hatred that can come with religion.

I will forever be a fan of Mandelo’s writing and the care that goes in to the story. This was no different. Told from a 1920 perspective in Eastern Kentucky where our protagonist Leslie Bruin, a trans nurse is battling hate towards him, while trying to protect the sick, defenseless and vulnerable. At the same time, he is finding a potential partner, while this darker beastly presence is right on the edge.

I wanted a little more of the “horror” aspect, but it a way, this book deals a lot with the horrors of man, and the way humans can be the worst monsters out there sometimes.

A really solid book from Lee Mandelo.

Beautiful complex work of fiction that combines the vibes of 'True Grit' with queer triumph. Perfect for my monster f**kers. It blends religious trauma with things that go bump in the woods. I really love how we get to see Leslie and Stevie's characters evolve and how their relationship develops in the story.

I was expecting great things from this novella, and Mandelo did not disappoint. It was such a whirlwind of emotions that I was expecting, particularly the rage and hatred that flowed through me during majority of the book. Leslie was such a wonderful character, simple in his desire to be able to bring his experience, passion, and nursing expertise to the village of Spar Creek, specifically the woman and mothers and those similar to Leslie in being 'other'.
As with most small towns, the pervasiveness of the church group and their hatred of anything unfamiliar and unwelcome was expected, but always seems to strike the same chord within me, triggering a bone-deep hatred. This was, ultimately, a cathartic book ripe with the half-realized hauntings familiar from Mandelo's debut, 'Summer Sons'. This goes a step further to allow for a....monsterous climax (in more ways than one) where those 'others' are allowed to raise a middle finger at the town and raze it to the ground, in a way.
I do wish there had been more exploration in terms of the creature and.....how, but for a novella, this did a great job at already fitting a lot into a book that was really much shorter than it felt.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

Honestly pristine fall vibes. Thanks TOR and Netgalley for the ARC! This was pitched to me as a queer gothic revenge horror period piece set in 1920s Appalachia. It is all of those things! It manages to do every single piece of that incredibly well, which is astounding. A round of applause for Lee Mandelo and the artistic skill it takes to pull of this book and for it to be as well crafted and enjoyable as it is. What they didn’t mention in the pitch is that it’s all of those things AND ALSO a t4t monster fuckfest. Some of the imagery was uh…. Not really my thing. The description of river silt alone had me taking a minute. But I still found it super fun and spicy.

I honestly think that the atmospheric horror alone would be worth 5 stars, not to mention the incredible characterization. The reality of small town life and the pervasive power of community leaders (for better or worse) is written with such reverence and intimate knowledge. Mandelo really knows how to pull at threads of tension and weave a whole blanket out of them. Kudos.

This book absolutely sucked me in. Usually I prefer my horror to be of the purely supernatural variety, but the combination of supernatural and all-too-human really got me. I loved how atmospheric and freakin' weird it was as a whole. Mandelo successfully makes the leap to historical (spec) fiction, & he succinctly manages to get a really good story into 160 pages. Def will be recommending!

I freaking loved this book. It's short, it's spooky. It's questioning what is beautiful and what is monstrous. It's set in Appalachia! Trans love story. All the things.

Haunting, moving, just a beautiful book in every aspect. I will be recommending it to everyone, regardless of their favorite genre. There's something for every reader here. I'd love to see more from this author in the future.

This is a great, albeit hard and intense, novella. It was not an enjoyable read, due to its focus on transphobia, homophobia, cisheteropatriarchy and horrifically violent systems and histories of the US, but it had some truly exhilarating moments, and the character work was great.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is a deeply haunting look at the darkness lurking in the corners of small towns. I great appreciated the references provided at the end of the book for further reading, as historical fiction is new for me. The characters were, if not enjoyable, real and fully-fleshed. And Mandelo does creeping horror justice so well.

10,000,000,000,000 stars - beautifully written, creepy, atmospheric, and romantic topped off with a spectacular and well-deserved roaring rampage of revenge. Loved every page from start to finish.