love as a devotional hunger and an all-encompassing desire to consume can be something so personal. for my yellowjackets and locked tomb fans out there, you know exactly what i mean — and it turns out our dear friend lawrence does too!

i enjoyed the hell out of this, and it also creeped me out quite a bit! at one point, i was reading a very tense/scary moment when my girlfriend dropped something, and i jumped about a foot in the air. i love it when a book can actually scare me, and this one delivered (overall it wasn’t too bad, just a few scenes). it was also really special to me to read about a group of lesbians befriending each other and banding together (i believe they were all mentioned to be lesbians at one point or another? apologies if i’m wrong) — it’s not often that we see so many lesbians at once on the page, especially not the entire main cast of a book, so i just wanted to give a shoutout to that. i loved it! i’m blowing a kiss to the sky for franky, lawrence, stasia, and pippa as we speak.

“Veal” by Mackenzie Nolan is a queer feminist novel that combines horror and some spectacular social commentary on gender, relationships, and the effects of social constructs.
As the story unravels, the readers are kept wondering if the monster is an actual real thing, or something that is simply a manifestation of the protagonist’s mind.
It feels a little disjointed at times but it feeds into the horror elements really well, and the imagery is vivid with details.

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this novel

“Veal” by Mackenzie Nolan skillfully combines elements of horror with psychological tension and social commentary. This queer feminist novel explores deep themes such as gender, the pervasive effects of social conditioning, trust, and relationships.

As the narrative unfolds, readers are kept in a constant state of suspense, questioning the nature of the monstrous presence—whether it exists in reality or is simply a manifestation of the protagonist's troubled psyche.

Nolan's storytelling examines familial trauma and sheds light on the unspoken pain that many women endure. The book offers a sharp and witty critique of toxic masculinity, illustrating how societal constructs can foster monstrosity both within individuals and in broader communities.

Fans of Gerardo Sámano Córdova’s “Monsritlio,” Samantha Allen’s novels, the cult classic TV show “Buffy,” and the film “Barbarian” are likely to find much to appreciate in this work, which confronts uncomfortable truths and ultimately questions the nature of monstrosity. Special thanks to ECW Press and NetGalley for providing the ARC of this novel.