I really liked the concept of this story a lot! I loved how unique the plot was. There are so many layers to this story, and the nonlinear timeline slowly revealing everything was very well done. However, the writing style wasn’t my favorite and I found this to be extremely slow paced and hard to get through at times.
I believe that this might be a story that I happened to read at the wrong time and wasn't able to appreciate it for everything it had to offer. With that being said, I can see myself picking this back up when I can be fully immersed in the story.

S.E. Porter's "Projections" is a genre-bending novel that takes readers on a thrilling ride through a world of dark fantasy, revenge, and historical fiction.

The story centers on a young woman seeking vengeance on a murderous sorcerer, her rejection fueling his twisted magic. This sorcerer creates projections of himself, ensnaring women with promises of love before delivering a deadly consequence. Our protagonist is determined to stop him, embarking on a gothic journey filled with strange characters and a magic system unlike anything you've encountered before.

What works:

Unique blend of genres: Porter masterfully weaves together elements of historical fantasy, horror, and magical realism, creating a truly captivating atmosphere.
Compelling themes: The novel explores the destructive power of obsession, the complexities of revenge, and the fight for agency in a world that often seeks to control women.
Vivid world-building: The world Porter creates is rich and detailed, transporting readers to a place both beautiful and unsettling.
Things to consider:

Slow burn: The story takes its time to unfold, which may not appeal to readers who prefer a fast-paced narrative.
Dark and disturbing: The themes and imagery can be quite dark and disturbing, so be prepared for a mature read.
Overall:

"Projections" is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy and anyone who enjoys a story that challenges expectations. With its unforgettable characters, haunting plot, and exploration of powerful themes, this novel will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

Recommendation:

If you enjoyed works by Jeff VanderMeer or China Mieville, then "Projections" is likely to be right up your alley. This novel is also perfect for readers who appreciate strong female characters and stories that don't shy away from complex themes.

It felt very fever-dreamlike! Such a unique concept and the cover was astoundingly beautiful.
While I would not recommend this to everyone, I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t reread it necessarily but I am interested in more work by this author.

This story is seriously twisted, following Catherine, who's stuck haunting her friend Gus after he murdered her in a wizard city. The first few chapters are tough, showing Catherine's agony as a ghost tied to her killer, Gus, who's not satisfied with just one victim. He's out to target women like Catherine.

The book doesn't pull punches—it's a raw look at how women get trapped supporting men and how guys restrict women without even realizing it. It's heavy stuff, so be warned. But once you push through the slow start, it picks up speed. With Catherine and Gus leading the way, the story takes you on a wild ride, ending with a bang in the heart of Nautilus, the city of sorcerers.

There's a whole cast of characters, magical and not, that you'll love or love to hate. Overall, "Projections" offers a unique blend of gothic vibes, fantasy, and mystery.

Thank you Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for this ARC.

This book is such a high mixed bag of things I loved and things I really did not gel with. I loved having the story jumps intertwining the way they did but it was also a bit much and borderline too confusing. I loved the writing style but again found some of the prose to be hard to grasp what was happening. And while I enjoyed the plot unfolding, the book really stretched out so long that it felt a bit unnecessarily lengthy.

After a bit of a slow start, S.E. Porter's "Projections" found its footing and moved much more fleetly than I expected it would at the beginning. The unique premise unfurled at a decent clip after the first fifty or so pages, under the guidance of not-wholly-reliable narrators Catherine and Angus, and by the end - which came cannonballing out of the ether of Nautilus, the central city of the sorcerers' community - the reader was wholly onboard the train towards the oncoming climax. Populated with a cadre of excellently-drawn characters both magical and non-magical (some of whom were an absolute delight, and others who were absolute delights to LOATHE), Porter has created a world of magic and mystery and murder that will make for a great read for anyone looking for something a little gothic, a little fantasy, and a lot unique. (As long as you can get past the slow start.)

I struggled a bit with this one. I love the premise, and the old-fashioned writing style is fun and immersive, but Gus's perspective is hard to take. While I like darker reads, and I see the point the author's making, the misogyny is a bit too much for me right now and I'd decided to DNF. I also found the world a bit confusing -- I might try this one again in the future though, because I really did want to get more into it.

So this is by the author who wrote Vassa in the night and she is coming out with her adult debut with Tor. This is part historical fantasy part horror that was very strange, we’re following Catherine who has been murdered by her childhood friend and the connection that they have keeps her spirit alive long enough to seek revenge. It has like a ghostly murder mystery thriller vibe to it. It was okay I guess? I couldn't get super into it.

Dark and deeply fucked up, this story follows Catherine, who was murdered by her friend Gus and is trapped as a ghost haunting him in the wizard city. The first few chapters are difficult to read, detailing Catherine's suffering as a ghost unable to do anything but scream, tied to the man who ended her life and chance to do or be anything free. Gus isn't content to only kill one bright woman, but schemes to send out the titular projections to find women like Catherine and kill them too. Unsparing and unsentimental, the book rages against all the way women are conditioned to support men, and the ways men restrict women without even noticing or caring. Heavy on the trigger warnings - the emotional abuse is rendered so exactly that it rings deeply and can be hard to shake. Still brilliant and likely to be talked about all year.

This book was quite long and slow, and a little hard to follow at times, but I enjoyed the fantasy and revenge elements. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys multiple timelines/universes and POVs.

3.5 stars. This was compelling to start with but eventually not my cup of tea. I found it exploring very important and interesting themes of misogyny and abuse, but I think I’ve learned my lesson about horror — it just isn’t the genre for me; and I found this to be a bit too graphic for my liking at times. I know it’s a good story for the right reader so I am still rating it semi-high.

DNF at 50%.

I tried after seeing several reviews giving this one 5-stars. I thought maybe I only needed to readjust my reading speed to make the most of it. However, I just wasn’t getting into it (or getting it, for that matter) and I wanted to so much. There are a number of timelines through varying points of view which aren't entirely linear and jump around too much to make sense of what is happening.

I feel bad as it’s rare I don’t finish a book and am still rooting for Catherine to gain her vengeance and have hope that she does! This unfortunately couldn’t capture my attention.

While the concept for Projections sounded amazing, the writing style was difficult to follow and I found myself repeatedly losing interest in the story.

Unfortunately deciding to DNF at 73%. As a horror reader, I was really excited to give this dark fantasy especially with the strong female MC and revenge vibes. However, I really struggled to get my footing with the world building and the various POVs. I feel like this is maybe one of those instances in which this is just the wrong time for me to be reading this book. Even though I'm the majority of the way through, I'm still incredibly confused about the rules of the magic at play and Catherine's plan moving forward. There are certain aspects of this story I did really love that may bring me back to try again one day. I loved the feminist narrative and the author did an excellent job of creating Gus to be so, so unlikable. Again, I feel as though this may be a "me" issue and not a book issue. Thank you again to Tor and NetGalley for access to this ARC!

A gothic, fantasy horror? What more could you ask for from S.E. Porter's newest read Projections.

As with most fantasies, particularly when you're building a new world, the story takes some time to get into. This is a story of vengeance and feminine rage, something that I love regardless of the genre, style, or story. I hightly recommend giving this one a try.

Catherine Bildstein learned the true nature of the man she considered a friend – by being murdered. As a ghost, she’s now tethered to her murderer, unable to speak or move freely between worlds. Where he goes, she has no choice but to be dragged along too as he attempts to find women who will love him as Catherine never did and never will.

Switching between past and present, and with dual POV’s from Catherine and Angus, there’s so much to take in and learn about them and their lives, as well as the other magical world, Nautilus. For me, Catherine was the better POV, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective so much more than I did Angus’s. But, that’s not to say Angus’s POV was boring, it was anything but, I just hated him as a character and what he was doing, and I needed Catherine to get her revenge against him. He was well written, and Porter does an amazing job of writing a character you want to know more about, whilst hating at the same time. The same can be said for the writing of Catherine, it was incredibly easy to empathise with her, to feel her rage and hopelessness, her determination and her pain.

The plot can seem slow at times as this is a very character driven book, but it’s worth it. The switching between time periods can be a little confusing in the beginning, but I found it easy to sink into the world, the writing, and the characters after a few chapters. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before, but the weird, dark and vengeful vibes are everything I loved.

As a dark fantasy book centred around obsession, unrequited love and revenge, it was exactly what I was looking for, and the perfect first ARC of the year. Porter has had me hooked on her work since Vassa in the Night, and she’ll keep me hooked for many more books to come.

Did I like the book? Yes!

Did I love it? Yes!

Would I recommend it? Yes. How does a revenge seeking ghost and a murderous man hellbent on finding love sound?

I think I set myself up for failure with this book. The cover and concept drew me in, and I was excited to explore this world.

I enjoyed that it's a clear chapter-by-chapter POV, and it's clearly marked, but there is a lot of rereading and doubling back to fully understand what was happening. Some of the book also contains flashbacks, to give context and build the story. The magic simple is interesting but complex.

I was strangely confused for a good portion of the book. It's definitely one of those books you need to sit down and commit it, and not read anything else. The writing style is engaging, which is what kept me going.

It's definitely unique - I do recommend giving it a go if you want something out of your box.

I really enjoyed this! I love dark fantasy and horror, and the ghostly revenge plot really worked for me. The multiple timelines were I thought very successful, and while I can see it maybe being controversial for some readers I really enjoyed the period-style writing.

So disclaimer: this book took me a minute to get into. Okay maybe even more than that. That said, once it got going, I found myself very invested in the story. So if you're cool with waiting for the payoff, I definitely think this one is worth it. The beginning was... confusing, and a little bland, and definitely verbose. And I was not sure I wanted to keep going. But at some point, probably around the 30% mark, I found myself reading and not even checking to see if I made progress, so that was a great sign!

And in fact, I had become very invested in this story, and especially in Catherine. It seemed all too real that Gus would murder Catherine, and still blame her for "making him" do it. Like is that not the grossest white guy crap you've ever heard? And you know it happens. All. The. Time. Not necessarily to the extent of murder (though it does happen, make no mistake) but with abuse in general. Anyway, somewhere along the way, I became as invested in Gus getting his comeuppance as Catherine was.

There ended up being a lot of very cool twists and turns, and things connected to one another that I hadn't even thought about, which made the book become very readable. And I found myself quite curious about how Catherine was still hanging around, how the world worked, and what had truly happened in the past, all of which unfurls throughout the story. I am so glad I stuck with this one!

Bottom Line: The start was a little rocky, and it could have been shorter, but man did I get hooked by the story and its characters as it went on!

If you enjoy reading About creepy and horror stories than this book is for you. Unfortunately, I don’t like horror stories. And I still learned my lesson from last year when I come about requesting books. It just wasn’t for me.