Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

The writing in this was beautiful, but it took over where the plot should have been, and left me hoping for more forward momentum than I got.

A cosmic horror from the point of view of the cultists, with healthy doses of alienation/female rage/wanting to belong thrown into the mix. The novel certainly goes into some dark places, and there is some truly horrific imagery here, which only increases the further we get to the end. So why was this SO disappointing and frustrating to read?
Lack of meaningful character growth. Aoife is our main girl, and it is through her fragile eyes that we initially see the cult. We see her fear and wonder, see how the people there connect & work towards freeing the unseen being they so fervently worship. The problem really comes in her final transformation. Aoife really stopped being someone I wanted to read about, and there wasn't anything redeemable about her. It's like I'm supposed to connect or sympathize with something that is more like the creature from The Thing or The Blob. The only characters who I was interested in didn't really seem to matter at the end (like Giulia or Kiera), and were there just for the cosmic entity to play around with.
The pacing is also wildly inconsistent. There were numerous points where it felt like the perfect end point for the book (like the frantic confrontation with the cops at the beach, or finding out the true source of the rot in the commune), but it just kept going. And going.
The gorgeous writing and the cosmic horror vibes weren't enough unfortunately.

Mysterious island and a commune. What could possibly go wrong?

Aoife has just broken up with her boyfriend and is stuck in a dead end job so she runs off to a beautiful island looking for something more. What she finds is a to good to be true commune. She meets Larissa and Giuliana a seemingly nice couple on the island, Jonah the commune leader and she is mesmerized by a mysterious female. But of course nothing is as it seems.

The first 25% of the story drags a bit but do not let that stop you.The author is trying to make us feel complacent and is slowly build us back up for the incoming onslaught of insanity that is headed our way. First a paradoxical experience begins with an exciting feeling of dread. You will actually feel Aoife anxiety build. At about the 55% mark this story kicks off with twists and turns, the WTF moments and the amazing body horror!

I will admit I was worried I would enjoy this at first but once it got going it was an intense and fun ride. If you like beautiful prose in your horror you will love this. At times the vivid body horror descriptions fell lyrical and poetic. The ending, I was like what just happened? It had me questioning what was reality. Overall this was a fun read and well done.

Thank you Netgalley and Page Street Horror for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Hester Steel’s “The Faceless Thing We Adore” is a darkly enchanting descent into identity and the surreal spaces where cosmic horror meets self-discovery. Centered on Aoife who is a woman who abruptly abandons her mundane life after a seemingly trivial moment involving a cookie, and the story traces her journey to a remote island where a mysterious community blurs the line between sanctuary and cult.

At its core, “The Faceless Thing We Adore” is a meditation on belonging and the painful, beautiful chaos of finding oneself. Steel wraps these themes in layers of dread-soaked imagery, lush prose, and a fever-dream atmosphere that reminded me of Midsommar but carves out its own unsettling territory. The book is both wacky and deeply felt, balancing humor, horror, and psychological intensity with striking finesse.

Aoife’s path toward self-realization is filled with jaw-dropping twists, a cast of bizarre and magnetic characters, and a tone that constantly teeters between whimsy and terror. Steel masterfully builds tension, making you feel as though you’re strapped in for a ride toward something unfathomably massive and dangerous. The emotional stakes run high where at times the writing is laugh-out-loud funny and other times is absolutely gut-wrenching enough to provoke tears.

Yet for all its strengths, the book is not without its flaws. The beginning is a bit slow, and stretches of the narrative occasionally collapse under the weight of their own poetic ambition. Still, the book’s originality and emotional resonance more than justify the detours. For those willing to be led into strange and sometimes uncomfortable places, “The Faceless Thing We Adore” offers a singular reading experience that is beautiful, terrifying, and unforgettable. It’s a book that doesn’t just invite introspection but demands it, reshaping how you think about belonging, freedom, and the self.

Overall, I recommend this book for fans of literary horror, experimental fiction, and character-driven stories with a cosmic edge. This book will likely linger long after the final page.

The Faceless Thing We Adore by Hester Steele is a hauntingly original blend of cosmic horror and emotional liberation. With lyrical prose and an eerie, immersive atmosphere.

4.4 stars

Cult, cult, cult, cult, cult, CULT! If you follow me, you know I’m almost never going to let a good cult story pass me by, so here we go!

Aoife (the book tells you how to pronounce it, but I’m still not sure I have it right…..”ee-fe” I think?) is in a miserable relationship and a dead end job when she discovers a postcard from a beautiful island from a girl named Elise in her boss’s office. She impulsively heads to the island and then gets stranded there with no money.

She meets couple Larissa and Giuliana and is drawn to them. She’s also fascinated by the home they describe and asks if she can tag along. Giuliana does not want her to go but she finagles a map from a waitress and makes her own way there anyway.

The Farmstead commune seems wonderful, exactly what Aoife has been dreaming of. However, a darkness emerges in the forms of Jonah, the leader, who tries to explain things to her and a girl who may be held captive. What is this place? And what will become of Aoife?

This description really just touches on what the novel is about, but that’s enough to get you started. At first glance 400+ pages seems long, and the book probably could have been edited some, but there’s a lot that happens, too. The latter part of the book is told from a very interesting perspective which I enjoyed and, overall, I liked this far more than I thought I might. Good, innovative horror. Recommended.

I absolutely love the cover of this book! I don’t think I realized how dark this book would be. I do love horror but sometimes it can be a miss for me. The emotional abuse and gas lighting was tough. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d finish the book. I also found it to be slow.

I’d definitely recommend checking out the trigger warnings before reading this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Michelle, and St.Martins Press for the eARC!

Rating: ✨✨
Publication Date: August 5 2025

Thank you NetGalley, Hester and Page Street Horror for the eARC!!

#TheFacelessThingWeAdorepagestreethorror #NetGalley.

The Faceless Thing We Adore follows Aoife, a woman who feels an inexplicable calling to a remote island after eating a cookie (of all things), and runs away from her insipid life straight into the arms of a professed cult.

At its core, this book is about finding yourself and where you belong, and the choices you make along the way to strengthen your sense of self.

Going in, I expected something inspired by the movie *Midsommar* (2019) or in the vein of *Bunny* by Mona Awad. While there are certainly echoes of those works here, reflected by the appearance of cult, cosmic horror, and a surreal sense of spiraling dread, Steel’s novel ultimately manages to stand in a league of its own.

The book hits many high points; it’s full of tension and wondrous dread, and often reads like a fever dream born out of beachy heat or drugs. Some scenes are sure to stay with me long after I put the book down.

That said, the journey to those peaks is exceedingly long. The story’s beginning drags, and there are stretches that feel vacant, lost in their own literary ambition. At times, the prose focuses so much on being artful that it loses sight of the story, the characters, and the stakes. The book sometimes forgets to book, leaving you admiring page after page of prose as if you were viewing paintings in a museum. Personally, I think it would have benefited from trimming about 100 pages, but I’m not a lit fic girlie, so that might just be my own preference.

In the end, the novel is precious as it is: a unique blend of mystery, horror, and art, and well worth the ride if you’re willing to let it take you somewhere strange and new.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, but the beginning is so slow, and the narrator so invested in the prose that I couldn't get into it enough to enjoy.

This book altered my brain chemistry and I'm obsessed. The beginning was a bit slow, but once it picked up, it got CRAZY. I didn't think the ending would be good since the book just kept delivering and ramping up, but the ending was a m a z i n g. Will definitely be suggesting this book to others.

Thank you Hester Steel, Page Street Horror, and NetGalley for the ARC!