Okay, honestly this was so unhinged and crazy. But like in a well written way?
I did listen via audiobook, and while the narration was done extremely well, I think I would’ve enjoyed the book more if I eyeball read it.
But still- like wtf did I just read?

3 stars

Eeeewwwww. That's not a bad review since it's the point.

Kinsey has a pretty intriguing role as a team lead at a desert outpost. Her team members are all typical folks until Kinsey starts making wild choices...like bringing a "specimen" into their habitat. Things do NOT progress typically at all.

There's a bizarre and constant sexual nature to the relationship between Kinsey and everyone and everything, and because I'm apparently a 10-year-old trapped in an adult's body and healthspan so far, I found this simultaneously gross and hilarious. Mostly the former. The happiest readers will be those who are okay with some body horror, some lack of control over the body, and some untraditional representations of sexuality. The mixing of all of these things is a lot at times, but overall, this was an intriguing trip.

I'm always interested to see what I'll get from this author. This wasn't my favorite, but I still appreciated it and know many folks will go wild for it.

I should have known based on the title.

This was a short “spicy” horror. I personally couldn’t connect with any of the characters and thought Kinsey was extremely odd, which is probably why I didn’t particularly enjoy this audiobook. I didn’t feel the creepy dread that I expected from this book. It wasn’t particularly spicy, it wasn’t particularly scary, so it was mediocre for me.

It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t for me.

Holy ****!

This is intense, weird, and so so good! Thank you to the team at Macmillan Audio for the chance to read and review an early copy of the audiobook. Sarah Gailey is absolutely brilliant for this, as strange as the concept is believe you me this is a one sitting read. I absolutely could not stop once I’d started. The characters and setting are captivating and the horror really truly creeps in and makes your skin crawl as you see where the plot is heading. I’ll be recommending this for sure!

Sarah Gailey’s Spread Me is a compact but deeply unsettling horror tale that clings to your subconscious like the very mold at the heart of its narrative. Known for their sharp prose and dark imagination, Gailey once again demonstrates their mastery of body horror and psychological tension in this Amazon Original short story.

The story’s horror doesn’t rely on gore or jump scares. Instead, it’s the slow, creeping kind — the kind that gets under your skin and festers. Gailey’s writing is sparse yet visceral. Every sentence feels carefully chosen to evoke discomfort, and they have an uncanny ability to describe the grotesque in ways that are almost poetic.

What makes Spread Me especially chilling is its emotional depth. There’s a loneliness in the protagonist that mirrors the way mold thrives in the dark and damp. Gailey uses the fungal metaphor not just for physical rot, but for emotional and psychological corrosion. The line between human and non-human blurs disturbingly by the end, leaving the reader with lingering questions about autonomy, desire, and surrender.

While the story is short, it’s packed with haunting imagery and lingering dread. It’s not a tale for the squeamish — especially if you have issues with body horror or infestations — but for fans of intelligent, emotionally grounded horror, it’s a standout.

I love both this author and the narrator. I went into this thinking it was going to be a story about a strange scientific discovery where the being infiltrates and contaminates… and yeah. It sure is…

Had this been marketed better, I would have read this and enjoyed it when I was in the mood for sci-fi smut. I saw another reviewer call this horny horror and that was a fitting categorization. There was a lot going on in the story. The unsettling factor kept me reading, but I didn’t like the MC. I know this book will find its audience and be enjoyed, but I feel like the synopsis should have alluded to the contents a little more.