Slashed Beauties is a dark and magical story of the Venuses, three beautiful anatomical wax figures utilized for anatomical study.

In present day we follow Alys, a tattooed enigma and antiques dealer, on the hunt to track down the Venuses. Alys has a mysterious connection to the Venuses and we want to know how and why. Especially when a rich widow presents one of these Venuses to her, giving her a large sum of money to destroy her in the next two weeks.

We weave between Alys’s POV and Eleanor’s, whose story is set in the 1700s as she navigates life after running away from home to marry the love of her life and live in London with him. Her husband disappears after an argument and Eleanor waits in the pleasure gardens, hoping for his return. Instead, Eleanor meets Elizabeth and Emily, who change her life forever.

You’ll love this book if you love:
-Multiple POVs
-Memento Mori & cursed objects
-gothic historical fiction with a bit of fantasy
-Beautiful women doing bad things
-feminist horror
-body horror

I am ready to learn everything I can about the Anatomical Venus! I had no idea it existed. Thank you, A. Rushby for introducing me to this macabre and fascinating topic. I loved this book. So many of my reading wheel house boxes were checked and I devoured this book in a couple sittings. I loved the complexity of Emily’s character, Eleanor’s love, and Elizabeth’s relentlessness (for better or worse). An excellent read and I’m looking forward to reading more books by Rushby.


Thank you to Berkeley Publishing for this ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you A. Rushby & Berkley Publishing!!!! I will reread this book for YEARS to come. my only qualm with being given this truly magnificent eARC is that I can’t place this on display on my bookshelf…much like a Venus funny enough 😂

This entire novel is SO compelling. I read it truly within about a full day, and I never tired I just kept turning the pages and couldn’t stop.

The plot so perfectly encapsulates putrid terrible men, and the beasts women can become in an unfair world and how those two things combined create the most deadly circumstances that push you to do unspeakable things in search of justice.

Slashed Beauties is probably one of my favorite novels I’ve ever read now. 10/10 will recommend this to everyone, and will eventually have it on display as par for the course 😌

A bewitching tale revolving around three 18th century anatomical Venuses (absolutely fascinating); with a pinch of fantasy, a generous serving of the macabre and a dual POV, it felt like this book was made for me. Honestly, I think I just like books about 18th century sex workers lol.

And while it took me like 75 pages to get into this, I then proceeded to finish it in 2 sittings. Though the present day timeline complimented well with the 1700s timeline, I much preferred the latter...the atmosphere is just SO good.

Lastly: the UK cover is infinitely better and I actually really like the US cover. Also, you bet I snatched up a copy of Harris's List immediately after I finished this.


I am so pleased I got the opportunity to read an advanced copy. Thank you to the publisher, I can't wait to recommend when it's out in September!

This was incredible from start to finish. In a dual timeline story, we meet Alys an art dealer in present day who has just secured the final in a trio of anatomical women (Venuses), and Eleanor a young woman in 1763 who is housed by the beautiful and enchanting Elizabeth, a woman who is just as much her savior as her ruler.

There is a dark story behind these Venuses. Created in the 18th century, these anatomical figures were modeled after sex workers. The story goes, they come to life at night and kill bad men. Now that Alys has the final, Elizabeth, she knows what she has to do. Her family has had a connection to these Venuses and destroying them will sever the link… but as we learn more about them; about Eleanor, her friend Emily, and Elizabeth, the more connections we see between past and present.

Ultimately, this book is about the strength of women. The ways in which they rise up in the face of mistreatment from men and the ways in which they protect themselves when they can take no more. This was a bloody, messy, visceral book and I loved every single moment of it! I couldn’t recommend this book more.

This is one of those books where you can’t look away. The gothic-theme compelled me at first and then couldn’t stop reading. Disconcerting to be sure, but still a ghastly tale.

Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby is a darkly imaginative blend of gothic horror, feminist revenge fantasy, and historical intrigue. With vivid dual timelines and eerie atmosphere, it explores themes of power, exploitation, and legacy through the haunting presence of anatomical wax figures. Inventive, unsettling, and fiercely original.

Wow! What a captivating and emotional ride. The two POVs of Alys and Eleanor blended the story together seamlessly. I especially enjoyed reading through Eleanor’s POV. The author was able to bring the past to life (the good and the bad) and make the reader care deeply for these characters. I was also truly kept guessing just what the outcome would be until the very end and I feel like while this story has its heartbreaks that the overall end is very satisfying.

I really liked the concept of this novel, but it didn’t deliver quite what I was expecting from the description. I found the Eleanor narrative very engaging, but the Alys narrative dragged a bit for me. Overall, it was a good read, but not exactly what I was expecting.

5/5: Slashed Beauties

A Gothic, feminist horror tale of two timelines:

Timeline 1: It's the eighteenth-century in London, and Eleanor is taken under the wing by Elizabeth, a beautiful (and powerful) courtesan. But all that glitters isn't gold; the life Eleanor was promised isn't what she received.

and

Timeline 2: It's the modern day and antiques dealer Alys hunts down the Anatomical Venus' (wax figures used by medical professionals at the time) modeled after the infamous courtesans of old.

....but as their timelines merge, these wax figures might have another secret or two up their sleeves...

My thoughts: hot dam y'all, is this my first 5 star review of the year?! This book is REMARKABLE.

It's a beautiful mix of:
--Historical fiction (incredibly well researched, I might add - I learned a shit ton of actual historical info from this book),
--Feminist fiction (a story of sisterhood, including queer representation),
-- Body Horror (syphilis was terrifying and makes me shudder btw).
--and a dash of Supernatural vibes thrown in to tie it all together

It's not especially scary or creepy, but haunting in its own way.

I couldn't put it down, and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views expressed are my own.

Slashed Beauties
Genre: General fiction
Rating: 4/5

Thank for to Berkeley pub for an ARC of Slashed Beauties courtesy of NetGalley! What a story!! I can’t remember the last story I read that made me truly despair for just about every character involved.

CW: sex work, sexual violence (not graphic), body horror

Slashed Beauties follows a dual timeline through two women connected to the Venuses, famous anatomical wax models that may or may not be coming to life and murdering people: Alys, an antiques dealer connected to one of the Venuses; and Eleanor, an 18th century sex worker on whom one of the Venuses was modeled.

Alys is a bit of a mystery throughout the book — why is she so dedicated to the Venuses? how is she truly connected to them? why is now the time to destroy them? The reveals felt a bit heavy handed in places but the mysteries kept me turning those pages!

Eleanor finds herself abandoned by a lover in a new city and finds refuge with an up and coming madame, and everything goes downhill from there. Her naivety wore a bit on me at the beginning, but her innocence felt right in the end and gave her timeline much needed heart.

Pros:
- I literally couldn’t stop reading — I had to know how everything went down and how everyone ended up where they were.
- Female companionship and friendship — I won’t get into specifics for spoilers, but I really enjoyed reading stories about women’s relationships and not the men that have interjected themselves into their lives.

Cons:
- A bit too much telling vs showing than I really prefer. I do so hate having to take an author’s word for something.
- The magic is pretty hand-wavey there at the end. Not a con for everyone but a bummer for me as someone who typically reads harder magic systems.
- I really wanted to know more about the coven!!

Alright this one was SO COOL! I don’t normally go for horror/body horror genres but this one sounded so interesting and it was incredible! Such a unique idea, executed perfectly. I loved every minute.

This story is giving "Harlots" vibes (TV series), but with a dark, magical twist! I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down!

This was one of the most interesting ideas for a book that I have ever read! Along with that, it was one of the most well-executed interesting idea books I have read in a long time. What I have found recently is that when books have interesting ideas, the author cannot tend to pull through on the fun idea that they've built. However Rushby does an AMAZING job with this title. I would absolutely love to read anything more that this author puts out in the future.