Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC! And oof was this an unflinching look at the destructive forces of trauma and desire.

Since I can’t quote directly from Herculine, let me share a quote from Byron’s recent review* of Torrey Peters’s Stag Dance for a taste of the essence here:
“Some actions cannot be reduced to simplistic internal incentives. […] Gender, like art, Peters argues, is not always explicable. The choices we make on a whim can sometimes say more about us than our most calculated attempts at coherence.”

Herculine is in conversation with exactly this incoherence. It is a meditation on the impossibility of qualifying gender, the foolishness of romanticizing lust, and the messiness of pursuing a dysfunctional self-fulfillment. It is anarchic, queer, unpleasant, and funny.

The novel pulls in two directions. There are a lot of thoughts about existing in the world as a white transgender woman haunted by a fundamentalist Christian childhood. Our unnamed narrator delineates the stereotypes, the struggles, the trauma, and the self-flagellating ways she chases love and community and repeatedly fails to find them. She incisively peels away mirages of trans joy and solidarity to expose a rotten core of jealousy and toxicity. Her cognizant critiques here are enlightening and, at times, humorous. This is where the story really stands out with its refreshingly direct musings on establishing not only your existence but your wants and needs in a world that does its best to shut you down.

The demonic all-trans girl commune that ensnares our narrator becomes a sort of external echo of the women’s desires as they trade their humanity for their bodies. The actual story gets a bit muddled: despite some excellently descriptive scene-setting, the blocking is often awkward and rushed, and the narrator tells some truly horrifying events in rather mechanical, superficial prose that does little to capture the atmosphere and emotion of the commune. I wanted a deeper sense of both her paranoia and her feelings for her ex-girlfriend as the plotline approached its climax, but I was left mildly unsatisfied. Still, as a cultural reflection, the horror of the narrator’s encroaching demons and her contentious relationships with other trans women and with herself made this a provocative and invigorating read.

* “Torrey Peters Reimagines Transness in Stag Dance,” Vulture, March 11 2025

This book is an absolute knockout. The story of a seeming Utopia for trans women that is a whole lot darker than that. This is a book whose secrets are so fascinating and horrifying to uncover that I really don’t want to say more about the plot. But the writing is beautiful and assured, I truly am shocked this is a debut. It is such an emotionally raw and powerful look at the trans woman’s experience in a world that is so dangerous and so hateful towards them. I absolutely loved this book.

I was honestly not a fan of this book. The main character has no real sense of self or body, and I wasn't interested in her whatsoever. The ending felt rushed and nonsensical. I will say the sex scenes I thought were hot and authentic to the T4T experience. Overall, it wasn't a particularly good book in my opinion, and I'm not going to recommend it.

“Herculine” is Grace Byron's debut horror novel. The story follows the protagonist, a trans woman, as she leaves New York City and returns to the Midwest, where her ex-girlfriend is leading a commune or cult for trans women.

Initially, this idea appears appealing—taking a break from the harsh realities of city life and reconnecting with one’s roots. However, the narrator soon faces both metaphorical and literal demons.

At a time when trans women are often vilified, Byron takes this societal toxicity and turns it on its head. The horrors depicted in the novel include the cult-like, demonic commune, as well as very real dangers such as conversion therapy, Midwestern politics, liberal microaggressions, TERFs, internalized misogyny, transphobia, and much more.

I recommend this novel to fans of *Yellowjackets*, Torrey Peters’ *Stag Dance*, and Chuck Tingle’s *Camp Damascus* and *Bury Your Gays*. Thank you to S&S Saga Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I would caution readers to check out the CWs before reading.