Herculine follows a nameless protagonist, a transgender woman trying to carve out a life for herself after leaving behind a strict religious upbringing. She moves to New York with dreams of becoming a journalist but struggles to find direction. Surrounded by a community of trans friends, she carries both support and envy, while also living with an unsettling sense of being haunted. When she reconnects with her ex-girlfriend Ash, she is drawn into a world that promises refuge but hides much darker truths.

The novel blends themes of identity, trauma, and belonging with elements of horror and the supernatural. It raises questions about the lengths people will go to in order to feel whole, as well as the dangers that can come from misplaced trust.

While the setup was compelling and the concept had strong potential, I personally felt the story pushed too far into outlandish territory and did not fully deliver on what I was hoping for. Some moments felt heavy handed rather than natural, which made it harder for me to connect with the narrative.

This is a book that might resonate with readers looking for an experimental blend of trans identity, community, and horror, but for me it ultimately missed the mark.

WOW okay. Well, I didn't know I needed this for all my catholic guilt, but I did. Though this read started a little slow, I was tangled in its web. Horrifying (positive). Everyone should read this.

Truly a story of the horrors of finding and owning your identity. This was a summer camp from hell, and the issues being navigated by our narrator are very real and very difficult for many.

Herculine is a bold and intimate novel that challenges the boundaries between history, identity, and desire. Byron’s prose is both fierce and tender, giving the story a raw emotional pulse that’s hard to shake. I loved how the narrative blends fact and imagination, creating a voice that feels urgent and deeply human. It’s the kind of book that makes you pause to reread passages, just to soak in the language and meaning. Thought-provoking and beautifully crafted, Herculine is a powerful read that lingers long after the last page.

★★★ ¼

What a fever dream, in the best way possible. Some of my favorite books are the ones that make me feel like I've definitely taken a few things I shouldn't—Bunny by Mona Awad comes to mind here—and I get to explore a warped, nonsensical fun-house-mirror world and be wholeheartedly be swept up in the tide of the book, even when one has to suspend their disbelief a little. I really enjoyed Herculine. Unapologetically queer female, and, more importantly, unapologetically trans, this book—though I didn't relate to all of the nameless protagonist's experiences, what with me being transmasculine and not transfeminine—gave a voice to horror that so often goes overlooked. What is a woman? Can women ever really seek the autonomy they desire without being seen as sex symbols? How does being trans isolate you far before you even realize it? Why are women still misogynistic and entitled even when desiring community, and are they, or is society at large, to blame? Though I wasn't really expecting the horror of straightforward, bona fide hell-demons to be transformative in any manner, I enjoyed the way Byron went about it (even if it did feel a bit corny at times)—and the societal questions the text brought up even more. The prose was also quite fun at times, and though some of the metaphors felt a bit too purple-y and disconnected, I felt Herculine to be a solid addition to the literary fiction genre.

However, the book had some pretty severe pacing issues, with a too-slow beginning and a too-fast ramp to the top, and many of the girls (especially the narrator's friends we're introduced to at the start) felt like much of the same people with little to distinguish them. Not enough attention was given to this, and it made it unclear if the protagonist was meant to suffer from a healthy helping of internalized misogyny/transmisogyny, or if this is something that the author needs to unpack herself, too. To me, this made many of the more harrowing elements—including the climax—fall a bit flat when it mattered, though I found the last few chapters satisfying as I pondered on them for a bit after finishing my read.

Though Herculine possesses many of the common problems of a debut novel, Grace Byron has an incredibly compelling and unique voice; I can't wait to see where more of her works take us in the future.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This should have been right up my alley but unfortunately, I did not like this book at all. I was expecting like a Midsommar type of vibe but make it queer & demonic & I barely got any of that.

Every character was so unlikeable for seemingly no reason?? I could not get into the writing, it felt disjointed & confusing especially a lot of the dialogue. I kept finding myself having to re read sentences because I was lost. It also gets a little repetitive at times, I think the word Ketamine is used like 50 times...I get it babes...you like ketamine, I don't need to be reminded every five pages.

The pacing is uneven, the first part dragged & then when we finally get to the second part & the commune I started thinking " ok, things should definitely start happening " & then it's just having sex & awkward interactions with the other girls that kind of add nothing to the story except to fill up space on pages until the last 25%. The story doesn't build to anything big, when we finally get to the demons running amock & the horror elements of the story I was so bored I didn't even care.

The premise was interesting but the execution was lacking. I was really hoping to love this but it just didn't pull me in like I expected it to.

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. MAN, DID I LOVE THIS BOOK. The writing style, the pacing, the characters, I was devouring it. Every single second I loved, and wanted to know more immediately. I was enjoying following along with the main character, and I was thrilled at the character’s personalities that shone through, the whole time. I would definitely lean towards litfic instead of horror for this book, but I thought it was excellent. I will be reading Grace’s next book for sure!

This review copy was read and used for a book report for Readin' Magazine (https://www.instagram.com/readin.magazine/) written by Karen Mims (to be published on Sept. 1).

This entire reading experience felt like a fever dream. The description of this book has everything I’d ever want in a story, but the pacing of the storyline and writing threw off my reading experience a little bit. I don’t think there was a balance between the metaphorical and physical demons that were present. In other words, the horror part of the book at around the 80% mark wasn’t scary or surprising for me. Despite this, the overall mood, demonic visuals, and theme of belonging kept me reading!

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga for the ARC of this one!!

This beautiful green cover very much let me down. This was not good.

Every character felt like walking stereotypes and had no depth at all. Our MC (and everyone else) had maybe one single braincell that they never seemed to use unless it was to complain. And what makes this so disappointing is that the bare bones concept, removed from the lack luster characters, the writing, and poor pacing, is actually very appealing to me. But even that fell flat with minimal focus on the horror elements. I feel like we brushed past a lot of the more horror centric moments. Additionally, a lot of the horror was happening outside of our main character. Moreso happening to other side characters and our MC was just our viewpoint which left me feeling very far removed from the horror elements and too close to the MC's constant whining.

Not sure I'd recommend this one :(

I really REALLY wanted to love Herculine, but this just did not hit the mark for me. The vibes just weren't vibing... I just genuinely don't even know what to say, Herculine was a wild ride.

😈🍃Herculine🍃😈

Genre: Horror, litfic, LGBTQ+
Page count: 272

"All is fair in love and demonology."

The prime example of if "they're an ex, it's for a reason" and you should never go back. But if the MC would've abide by that, we wouldn't have a story. This story is filled with sex, drugs, finding yourself, demons, frienships, secrets did I mention sex? and of course, a totally-not-a-cult community.

There were red flags everywhere, and our MC was colorblind.

This was a fast-paced fever dream fuled by k*tamine, demons, and lube. I learned a lot of new terms as well of the day to day LGBTQ+ struggles. This book is a little closer to litfic with a good dose of horror, enjoyable, nonetheless, but do check your trigger warnings!

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pacing bogs down a plot that otherwise has Faustian potential. At least this is a trans spin on the "sad white woman in NYC" subgenre.

This book feels like a series of one-liners masquerading as horror, and the greatest offense is that it is simply so *boring*. It feels like the author had a concept for a self-insert fic and in order to spice it up a little, demons were introduced, but the prose isn't interesting enough to be literary and the horror elements aren't big enough to appeal to the scream queens and kings. This is a weird one, since I'm not sure who it is "for" and I can't tell if it's the editing or the style, but the pacing felt jarring and the writing was choppy. Overall a massive disappointment.

Man, I really REALLY wanted to like this more than I did. Demon commune??? sign me up!

I found our protagonist to be very "Not Like Other Gurlz" and very unlikeable for no real purpose of being unlikeable. I also found the pacing on this book to be very uneven, and was left at the end going "that's it?" The book's ending dissolved in a very underwhelming way for me.

There were some themes I liked and I did find the writing to be engaging, but this just didn't hit for me. Also, I found this to have a little too much sex in it for me but I am a prude so I mean?? that's on me.

Although this was a short read the first half of this book felt like a drag to get through. I think the horror elements presented in the first half were downplayed by the main character, which in turn didn't give the reader any reason to feel scared or question what was happening. One aspect I did enjoy was learning the daily life of a Trans-Woman which included a lot of information that I am not aware of which made for a read that kept my interest. Just wish the horror had been sprinkled more throughout.

The second half was well paced and was the best part of the book. One moment (which most might agree) made my jaw drop, but once the card was played, it transitioned too quickly into the subject matter where I would've liked to see it questioned and explored more.

The book wasn't for me but I could see others enjoying this.

I enjoyed this one, but not as much as I expected to. Byron's prose is stunning and a pleasure to read, but I felt that the pacing of the book was off. Once the narrator arrives at Herculine, the plot speeds up to a gallop without letting readers or even the MC herself really get to know the other women there - their personalities, their motivations; even, sometimes, their names (the narrator will refer to some characters exclusively by their physical attributes, i.e. "The Hot Butch" or "The One With Pink Hair"). I would argue that we, as readers, don't really get to know many of the characters, even the "villain" of the story.

While enjoyable to read, this one just didn't quite live up to my expectations. I believe that many of my issues with this book can be chalked up to the fact that it's a debut. With that being said, if the author decides to write more trans horror, I would be eager to read those future works.

I didn't need a herculean effort to finish this novel. On the contrary, time flew by while I read. This was haunting, scary and dark and I loved every second of it.

This book walks into a rave of horror and screams, and refuses to calm down. Our narrator, a trans woman haunted by sleep-paralysis demons and a haunted past, flees NYC for an all-trans commune in the woods. At first it feels like cozy sisterhood… until it’s not. We’re talking disemboweled pigs, cryptic rituals, and vibes so suffocating I nearly tossed my phone into the nearest lake. But damn, when the tension hits? It’s electric—like your teeth are buzzing and your heartbeat’s glitching. The atmosphere is thick, layered, and dripping with paranoia.

Okay, let’s be real—some of the cultish mumbo-jumbo can feel a little extra. A few scenes read like horror bingo: creepy breakfasts, secret whispers, symbolic bookshelves… it’s moody, but sometimes overcooked. And while the narrator’s trauma is raw and vivid, the pacing dips into contemplative swamp occasionally—my adrenaline dipped into a graveyard at moments. Still, I was obsessed enough to soldier on, heart racing and eyes twitching. It’s a messy, moody hymn to belonging, identity, and why you might *not* trust a commune in the woods.

**Verdict:** Horrifically poetic, emotionally loud, and beautifully chaotic. Just don’t expect a neat wrap-up—this one’s a slow, creepy burn.

I really like the premise of this book so I’m super bummed that I didn’t really like it. It should have been a slam dunk for me: LGBTQIA+ rep, culty vibes, religious trauma… I eat that right up!

Unfortunately, I just could not get into it. I don’t need main to be likeable, redeemable, or even relatable, but I did not enjoy reading about this one. I’m kind of unsure how to explain what it is about her I disliked, but I was frustrated by how much she annoyed me. I think part of it was that she made so many assumptions women she didn’t know. Her jealousy is an obvious reason for that, I just didn’t like the way it was done.

I also found a lot of the dialogue very strange. At one point, the MC is talking to an older trans woman at a party, and their conversation is so disjointed, I had to reread it a few times. Neither woman responded to the other one in an appropriate way and it didn’t really make sense - it felt like they were having different conversations. This issue wasn’t limited to that one interaction. A lot of the dialogue felt like the people were talking at instead of to each other.

At about 30%, I decided to do a sort of skim-read because I wanted to know what happened, but I didn’t want to be with the MC any longer. I understand Ash’s motivations and I think that aspect of the story was interesting, but ultimately, the writing and the characters themselves just weren’t for me.

I sometimes struggle to put my thoughts into words when it comes to novels like this. I tend to enjoy books that are a little bit raunchy, and I appreciate lewd storytelling—especially when it centers marginalized groups—because there’s a kind of power in that honesty. This book had some of that, which drew me in.

One thing that surprised me was how late the supernatural element, specifically the demons, came into the story. For about 85% of the book it seemed like the "demons" were metaphorical, representing inner trauma or emotional baggage. When the actual demons appeared, it felt more like an attempt to inject horror into the plot rather than something that added real depth. Personally, I didn’t think the supernatural twist contributed much to the story.

What I did enjoy was the exploration of relationships, especially the one between the main character and Ash, the commune’s leader. I'm always interested in reading about power dynamics, particularly within queer women’s relationships, and this book gave some interesting moments in that regard. The conversations between Indigo and the main character also stood out to me as thoughtful and compelling.

Overall, though, the story didn’t really stick with me. It was easy to put down, and when I came back to it, I often forgot what had happened. The plot wasn’t especially engaging—it mostly centered on a group of queer women with traumatic pasts, all living together and navigating their complicated, sometimes toxic, romantic histories. A lot of their interactions came off as tense or petty, which could be interesting, but here it started to feel repetitive.