A story set in an alternate-Brazil filled with flesh-hungry Guls, age old secrets, a missing friend, and an unlikely romance all mixed in with the vibes of Interview with the Vampire meets Certain Dark Things. Ariadne's life has been surrounded by Guls... Guls who raised her, who held her captive, who ate half of her body... and now Brazil's political climate is being impacted by Guls. Ariadne is a doctor and specializes in treating Guls at the clinic she inherited from Erik Yurkov, the mentor who rescued her as a child and gave her her prosthess and trained her. Yet when Erik disappears Quaint comes knocking at hr door. Quaint is a Gul who is also Erik's oldest friend... and a handsome and charming one who is connected to Ariadne in ways she could never know. Ariadne and Quaint go in search of Erik but their search leads them to truths neither of them expected and as they discover who Erik truly is they also begin to discover what their own relationship with one another means. I absolutely adore Pueyo's writing and the way their stories are crafted. I am so so invested in the characters, in the slow burn romance, and the mystery. This was such a fascinating read and I had a fantastic time! It's part monster story, part healing and found family, and at it's heart, it's a story about finding yourself and growing. I adored the relationship between Ariadne and Quaint so much, seriously, just fantastic. Overall, I just adored this book and can't wait to read whatever Pueyo writes next!

*There is LGBTQ Rep in this book*

Release Date: March 10, 2026

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tordotcom for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A genre defying, nuanced mystery that discusses childhood sexual abuse and trauma, disability, healing and love, while also touching on abuses of political and other power structures, found families, and desire. All this within less than 200 pages and while developing a perfectly built world shared between humans and guls, beings who share a likeness with humans, but are capable of much greater strength and speed, and who subside on human flesh, blood and bones. Ariadne must watch herself and her heart when she teams up with Quaint, a gul in possession of ten sets of bone crushing, flesh slicing teeth, in order to find Erik, the man who pulled her from a pit of mutilated children and created prosthetics for the limbs taken from her. Ariadne faces flashbacks as she encounters guls from the past she'd rather forget, but her path seems to tread directly into that past trauma - this time she has Quaint by her side, but is her desire for him just another echo from the past she must overcome, or something else?

I'd highly recommend this for readers who don't shy away from the darkness, those who are looking for a story that will fully engage with complex and interesting characters. While the novella has elements of speculative fiction, the focus is more on the characters and plot than creatures and supernatural lore, both readers who love supernatural stories and those who don't will find something to grab their interest here. Gore and violence is described, but not in great detail on the page. Readers of Cassandra Khaw, Gretchen Felker-Martin, and Poppy Z. Brite will find similar elements of exploring sexual abuse, trauma, and healing within a dark storyline and often using speculative fiction elements.