I got an ARC of this from Berkley (thank you!!) and was excited based on the premise.

Let me tell you: she 👏 did 👏 not 👏 disappoint

Truly the epitome of supporting women’s rights and wrongs, the power of a woman’s rage. It’s incredibly moody - the gothic, 1700’s, anatomical shop, opulent wealth and poverty. That makes it a “fun” read, in terms of weird girl horror. But it also feels incredibly relevant and poignant: a commentary on bodily autonomy and grooming and violence. A commentary on gender.

As a writer, it’s painfully hard to get both right in a book. It’s been a minute since a modern published work held my attention like this!

I was drawn to this book because I saw “a gothic feminist body horror” in the description, and unfortunately I was let down because I expected more horror. That description was the La Croix of descriptions: you maybe got a hint of a hint of gothic body horror. The feminist part did hold true, though.

There were two different timelines flipping in this book: the present (Alys’s) and the past set in the 1700s (Eleanor’s). Eleanor’s backstory seemed to take too long to get to the good part (or what I found to be the good part). And Alys’s storyline was also drug out. I felt like it really got interesting the last 25% or so. But even the ending was a disappointment as it fell kind of flat.

I did like learning about the Venuses and the historical aspect of the book. I think if it was marketed more as historical fiction, I would have adjusted my expectations. However, those that aren’t avid horror readers may find this a little gruesome or enjoy it more. But if you’re expecting pure horror, you will probably be let down, too.

𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑰'𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐:
Historical fiction lovers who don’t mind a bit of body horror.

3.5/5 rounded down

Eleanor finds herself in a rough spot after her so called love leaves her to fend for herself on the streets of London. Elizabeth swoops in promising Eleanor a life of luxury and riches if she will come work in her bordello, but Eleanor soon learns that she is only an object to Elizabeth and finds herself in a seemingly inescapable curse. Jump to present day and a young antique dealer named Alys who is desperately trying to acquire an anatomical Venus of Elizabeth in addition to the one she already has of Eleanor. There is a legend tied to these models, and we soon learn more too Alys’ story as well. The premise of this book is so interesting and original! I loved the story of the past following Eleanor and her journey into becoming a lady of the night that eventually takes a supernatural turn. However, I felt that the story of Alys and the present day didn’t draw me in like the counterpart, and I felt the story was a bit disjointed and confusing. The build up throughout the story ended kind of abruptly and awkwardly at the conclusion of the story. I did enjoy half the story but the other half was a little disappointing. A very original and fresh idea that just missed the mark for me to be an amazing read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Slashed Beauties - A. Rushby
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Synopsis:
Antiques dealer, Alys, has been on a mission to reunite the Venuses: three anatomical wax figures crafted in 18th century England to educate medical students. Legend speaks of a curse that causes these Slashed Beauties to come to life and take revenge on those who have wronged them.

In 1769, we follow the three sex workers the wax figures were modeled after, Eleanor, Emily, and Elizabeth, as they strive for success in a world that has discarded them.

This dual-timeline tale intersects to a startling degree. The legend of the Slashed Beauties is wrapped in witchcraft, and Alys must work with a coven to break the curse on these murderous models.

Review:
“Slashed Beauties” was an enjoyable read. I’m always ready for a dual-timeline. I did find myself favoring the 1769 timeline in this book because I loved the historical London setting and the stories of Eleanor, Emily, and Elizabeth.
I feel the description for this book was slightly misleading, so please note, this book is not a slasher. It reads more like a horror / historical fiction book with elements of magic. If you go into this with the right mindset, I feel it will be a very enjoyable read! I will be keeping my personal dislikes for this book to myself, as you should always draw your own opinions! A reminder: stories are subjective!! This might not have been my favorite book, but I still enjoyed it and maybe it’ll be your new favorite. That being said:

“Slashed Beauties” is out on September 23, 2025!

❗️Content warnings: animal death and cruelty, gore, mention of SA, attempted SA

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and A. Rushby for a ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I do love a good historical horror since it's lesser explored. I just wish the story promised by the blurb didn't take so long to get going. We're so spoiled lately with so many good horror novels, that a story with such a slow start is hard to stick with. That said, it was still worth a read for the concept and vibes.

Possessed. Anatomical. Venuses.

I know, right?

And you thought haunted dolls were bad. Or good. I mean, they can keep burning plantations down for as long as they want, though I would prefer they maybe not take 911 lines down in my state of residence while I live here again.

Out of the gate: this is a disturbing book. There is grooming, implied rape, sexual assault, medical abuse, graphic descriptions of venereal disease, other graphic medical descriptions, descriptions of nausea and vomiting, discussions of pregnancy, graphic anatomical descriptions, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, alcoholism, animal abuse, animal death, murder, and non-voluntary sex work

Why then, would you want to read it?

It is also a book about women supporting women. Finding love in darkness. Finding a future. Realizing how strong you actually are. Realizing your value. About survival. It’s about making the choice to be kind when you could allow the cruelty done to you make you cruel in turn. Learning to forgive when hating would be easier. Trusting when it is the most dangerous thing in the world.

There are also witches. Really cool witches. Crazy spells. An epic magic battle. And did I mentioned the possessed anatomical Vensues?

I like horror with something to say. That’s why I like Stephen Graham Jones and Alma Katsu and Cassandra Khaw. This is horror with something to say. Take the warnings seriously but there’s a reason for what’s in Slashed Beauties. There was one thing I found a bit gratuitous but it’s a spoiler also - HMU in DMs on social if you want to know what it is.

My only real complaint is that I did feel as though the ending was a little rushed; personally, I would have dropped the reveal 20-30 pages sooner, integrated the backstory into some of the flashback chapters, and smoothed the transition out a little more but that is one hundred percent a me thing and the reveal was still fantastic and the ending was still perfect and I would still absolutely recommend Slashed Beauties. It’s also important to note that I read the ARC and a lot of book get another round of editing and polish after the ARC goes out so what you read on September 23rd or after may be a little different than I read (I’ve had this one waiting for a couple months).

Rating - 4 Stars

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

Slashed Beauties moves between two timelines, following present day Alys -a antique collector who is determined to collect three, lifelike anatomical wax models known as the Venuses- and Eleanor -a woman from 1763, and her two companions Emily and Elizabeth, all of whom modeled for the creation of the Venuses.

Mystery shrouds the Venuses. Men are drawn to them. Murder follows them. Magic may bewitch them. Alys seeks to destroy the Venuses once and for all, but the three women may not be so easily laid to rest...

Sometimes, people will read or blurb a book and say it is unlike anything they have ever read. Oftentimes, I dont believe them or find the words to be overblown. But i can wholeheartedly say that Slashed Beauties is, indeed, unlike anything I have read before. I was swept up in the story and setting and transported to London, both past and present.

The characters, much the Venuses, were lifelike and real. I found myself wanting to uncover their every mystery and learn their every secret. The setting was lush and full.

I did enjoy the past timeline a bit more than the present one. But the present timeline chapters were still engaging enough to carry me through the story! And the twists at the end were worth it all!

Fans of Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates and They Never Learn by Layne Fargo might enjoy this!

The elegant gilded cage on the cover makes light of the grotesqueness of the subject, but the title does it justice. Slashed beauties were the anatomical specimens of yesteryear, and the author squeezes out the most oomph out of the macabre pulchritude of them.

The dual timeline plot revolves around three women of the past, trying to make their way in a man's world by plying the world's oldest profession, and one woman in the present, determined to finally set them and their story to rest.

And yes, this is yet another one of those "wronged women fight back against wicked men" sort of book, but that's all the market seems to want these days. Gender dynamics stopped requiring nuance a while back - now it's all about the convenient, easily digestible binary of good and evil.

This was a debut novel, and, as debuts often do, it tried to cram too much into itself. Some things worked better than others for me. The past timeline was much more compelling than the present. The witches thing came across nonsensical and unnecessary. The ending was way overexplained and dragged out. The final twist/character revelation was nicely done. As was the historical fiction aspect.
As a result, the read was a bit of a mixed bag. but overall, the writing was strong, and the book entertained sufficiently. So I'm going to round up my rating.
Thanks Netgalley.

I felt a bit lied to by this description. The premise sounded so cool: wax anatomy figures come to life, murdering sketchy men. That’s not really the story I got. This concept is only briefly mentioned in passing throughout most of the book and only an active plot line in the last quarter.

We follow two alternating POV’s and timelines. Each is frustrating in its own way. The past storyline follows one of the Venuses, Eleanor, but you learn everything that happens leading up to the point where she becomes a Venus and her life is mostly a bad time. Not the experience I was hoping for, considering what I had expected. The present day plot line is narrated by Alys, a mysterious figure who is somehow connected to the Venuses and determined to destroy them. I found her story interesting at first but it was so dragged out that by the time I was finally given some answers I didn’t really care anymore.

It takes a long time and quite a bit of backstory in which the ladies are horribly mistreated before you get to the part where they are exacting their revenge. Eleanor did not deserve any of the things that happened to her. However, I found her profoundly frustrating. She was a dope with stars in her eyes and no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Her love, in my opinion, bordered on obsession. I eventually lost my sympathy for her. She’s the kind of person who, when help is offered to her, slaps it away. Then she complains that no one is saving her. There’s another character in the story who suffers horribly and almost seems to only exist for that purpose and I have to wonder why the book is so mean spirited. 

The writing itself is good, so I was torn about the rating. I wanted a horrific and fun tale about creepy wax beauties slaughtering men and instead I got a very sad story about the loss of bodily autonomy. There’s also a particularly heartbreaking moment involving an animal that is brought up repeatedly, as if I needed to be reminded.

The ending “twist” was not a big surprise and the actual ending scene was a confusing mess, featuring phrases like “I don’t know how she managed to ______, but she did. Somehow.” Really?

I do think this author has skill, but this particular story wasn't my fave, unfortunately. 

Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Sexual Assault, Drunk Driving, Animal Cruelty/Death, Loss of Pregnancy

An absolute banger. I have found myself talking about this book to writers and students since reading it in one sitting. (Well, as much as a person with three young children can have one sitting.) A tantalizing story of the Venuses (a desperate madam and her two protégés who she scooped up from the London streets, who were then turned into enchanted waxworks by a deranged anatomist) and Alys, the character hunting them down to destroy them in the modern era because the bewitch and drive everyone who owns one mad. Alys has a killer family connection to them, and once these women were magically created, they spent their nights stalking bad men. Female rage—it's so hot right now. My only complaint with the book was that the final triumph and antagonist defeat relies on a VERY ACCURATE guess Alys makes about what must've happened that night, but since it happened behind closed doors and was never rendered on the page, it's one heck of a guess that ends up paying off. I wish that readers were somehow included in what happened in the black box, otherwise it feels a bit like hand-waving the solution and tying up a few magical loose ends. The characters were really painted into a corner, which is fantastic for the sake of tension and conflict, and I was really wondering how they'd get out of it. How'd they do it? Basically, the fictional equivalent of "trust me, bro." Otherwise, a truly imaginative speculative horror. I'll be recommending this one for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby.
After reading the synopsis and seeing the gorgeous cover, I was very excited to read this. However, the storyline fell flat for me. The historical sections with Eleanor were a bit repetitive and the chapters were oh so long. Sadly, nothing really happens until you are almost to the end. The idea behind the story was very promising, however the execution was not for me.

2.5 stars. This started off so strong. You’ve got potentially possessed wax figures, women murderers seeking revenge, and witches. But nothing really happens. It’s so boring reading about vicious Elizabeth but Emily and Eleanor aren’t great people either. And the romance between Eleanor and Emily is pointless. Things start to pick up around 70% but by then I was just ready for all of it to be over. Again, such an interesting concept and start but such a slow read. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Slashed Beauties is dark, eerie, and completely addictive. It's a feminist gothic horror that’s about as unsettling as it is empowering. The story weaves between 18th-century London and modern-day Seoul, tied together by three haunting Anatomical Venuses—wax figures with a deadly legend and unfinished business.

Alys’s journey to break her connection to the cursed figures is tense, while the historical timeline slowly unravels a backstory full of betrayal, survival, and vengeance. This book doesn’t shy away from body horror or the violence of patriarchy, but it also pulses with female rage and resilience.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a unique read. Told in dual timelines, a bewitching story about three women in the sex trade in the past, and the woman who wants to destroy the anatomical Venuses in the present. I was drawn in by the cover and immediately grabbed by the first page. Alys is an antique dealer with a mysterious connection to the wax figures who were rumored to come alive at night to murder the men who wronged them. Eleanor ran away with the love of her life only for him to leave her alone and penniless. On her search for him, she meets Elizabeth and Emily who will change her life. Full of secrets, mystery, and revenge this is was such an entertaining gothic read I can’t wait to add to my shelves.

Thank you NetGally and Berkley for this ARC copy.

This book hit the majority of the boxes I had for it. The cover fits the book so well and it wasn't until writing this review that I realized it has such deeper meaning when you read the book -if you know you know- The premise is what drew me in originally and I fell for the characters. The 2 time lines were really interesting as well and the red haring was really well done in this book as well. If you are a fan of 'The Silent Companions' I think you will really enjoy this book. I would have loved to give it 5 stars but for me the ending conflict was over so fast, I wish such a threat had more than a few pages to be delt with as well as for me it wasn't as scary or body horror as it was advertised. Some of the descriptions left me confused on how things worked and how they could be outside of the their bodies and such. Once looking at real life photos of the venues I thought more could be done to make it creepy. As well as the creepy and body horror didn't show up until the last few chapters I wish it was kind of sprinkled through the book a bit more. I really enjoyed the story and will 100% be suggesting it and possibly re reading it in the future

'Slashed Beauties" was very unique. I enjoyed the story, the horror, and the twist. I call it that because for some reason, it just never crossed my mind to happen! The writing is fantastic, but I will say the description is a little misleading. It sounds as if the book is about women taking revenge on men, but that isn't exactly true.

For me, the pacing was a bit slow and the end wasn't very climatic, so I took a while to read it. Also, the magic does get confusing, so I just accepted that things were happening.

Overall, this is a very good and unique read.

Slashed Beauties is gothic horror at its most insidious, the kind of story that seeps under your skin and stays there. What sets this novel apart is not only the premise—three lifelike wax women that may be alive—but the way it confronts the historical exploitation of sex workers and complicates the idea of innocence and guilt.

The Anatomical Venuses were not simply modeled after the bodies of sex workers. They were living women, forcibly transformed in the name of science, profit, and spectacle. That alone would be enough to make this unsettling, but the book goes further, exploring how power can corrupt even those who have once been powerless.

Elizabeth, one of the three Venuses, has a particularly fascinating and disturbing role. Without spoiling too much, she is not entirely a victim, at least not by the end. Her involvement in the transformation of the other women gives the story a layered moral ambiguity. She is both a product of exploitation and, in her own way, complicit in perpetuating it. That tension makes her sections some of the most compelling and uncomfortable to read.

Alys, the present-day antiques dealer, is also caught in this web of complicity. She isn’t just trying to free herself from a curse. She is forced to reckon with the violence these objects embody and her own motivations for pursuing them. The Venuses feel more than haunted. They are a reminder of how easily the line blurs between preservation and possession.

The horror in this novel works on several levels. Yes, there is the question of whether the Venuses are alive, and what they might want if they are. But the deeper horror lies in knowing exactly how they were created and realizing how many people stood by or benefited.

The historical chapters are some of the most harrowing and effective. The men responsible for the transformations are monstrous in their entitlement, but it is Elizabeth’s choices that haunt the narrative long after the last page.

The atmosphere is richly immersive without feeling overwrought. Picture rain-soaked Whitby streets, shuttered galleries, and private collections where the past is never really past.

If there is any critique, it is that the pacing sometimes slows as the narrative delves into the Venuses’ origins. But the writing is so assured and the themes so powerful that I didn’t mind spending time there.

Readers who appreciate feminist horror with moral complexity—think Nat Cassidy, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, or Sarah Waters—will find this deeply satisfying. Slashed Beauties is ultimately about reclamation, and about the rage and complicity that survive when women are reduced to objects.

This is a novel that asks what happens when the exploited seize back their stories, no matter the cost.

Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This one is probably closer to 3.5 because I almost stopped reading it a few chapters in, but something compelled me to keep reading. I'm glad I did. I had no idea what to expect from a description that included "body horror". I thought that I would have to skip over a lot and feel weird and all of that. Not at all! I suppose if you're extremely squeamish you might not enjoy this, but I don't think it would be on your list in the first place.

The story was well told. A few places where the author would remind you of what you had already read, but it wasn't overwhelming. The dialogue was a bit trite here and there.The concept of the story is fantastic and I won't spoil that at all. Nice world building. A protagonist you really rooted for. The author didn't treat me like I was an idiot, and I appreciate that.

If you liked The Night Circus, Night Film and/or My Best Friend's Exorcism, I think you'll find this one enjoyable.

This review contains slight spoilers.



Slashed Beauties is a gothic horror in which anatomical wax figures come alive at night to murder men who have wronged them...or so the synopsis says.

Technically, it is true, but the murders do not come until the third act of the book. I was disappointed to realize how little time would actually be spent with the characters as wax figures, especially considering the length of the book. I struggled to get through it since every scene felt irrelevant to the supposed main plot. Additionally, a lot of the magic was simply explained away as the main characters not knowing what happened thanks to their lack of knowledge surrounding magic or their absence from the room in which the incidents occurred.

All that being said, I did enjoy the book. It was a fantastic introduction to gothic horror and included social commentary on sex work and women's rights in the eighteenth century. I would still recommend this book, but I will be sure to give my own synopsis to my audience rather than sharing the official synopsis as it does not accurately reflect the book.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Slashed Beauties" is. a dual-timeline horror switching between the perspectives of an eighteenth century down-on-her-luck woman in London, and a modern woman trying to destroy cursed wax figurines. It starts off so strong - I read the first 40% in one sitting, really enjoying the story. Unfortunately, the former story was so much stronger than the modern one - the modern one felt very aimless at times, with very little happening, as the main character dithered about how to destroy the figurines. The one in the past was a fascinating story of abuse and seduction, and I was invested in it enough that I felt resentful about having to return to modern times. Unfortunately, when the two stories finally started merging, the plot fell apart completely - a twist that didn't entirely pay off, and some action that just didn't feel entirely baked.