Of Monsters and Menses showcases girlhood in all its gory deliciousness. This collection of stories, told by girls hiding in a bar bathroom, follows one rule: it has to involve a well-known monster. The retellings were disgustingly fun, Frankenface was my personal favorite.
This book was an absolute attention grabber. The pace was perfect, and it’s such a good Halloween read. Werewolves, frankenstein, ghosts… Everything you need for a feminist Halloween is included.
If you’ve had the experience of chatting with random girls in the bar bathroom, this is for you! It reminded me of all the drunken angels I’ve met. I would die for a second book continuing from where this one left off!

The set-up of this book is campy and most of the stories were also camp, but I liked that a lot. Each story is a unique reimagining of a famous monster. I really enjoyed the humor. There are too media and celebrity references, which works well with the themes. The story I enjoyed the most was The Walking Deadbeat and the one I disliked the most was Frankenface.
My individual rating are:
28 pills later – 3/5 I liked the way it was written
The Walking Deadbeat – 5/5 laughed all the way through
The Antichris – 4/5 This was so funny and I always enjoy an interview style narrative
The White Knight – 4/5 Great vibes, this was a ghost story with a solid ending and a story arc overall.
Frankenface – 3/5 it was okay, but very unbelievable, not like the others aren’t, just in here it was a bit too much
The best gosh darn gingerbread recipe that had nothing to do with all those missing kids - 5/5 Short and sweet, thank you for actually providing the recipe. I wish I could try this but I lack the skills to even boil an egg right
Mummies Mummies Mummies – 3/5 For a cat centered story this fell short for me
How to disappear – 4/5 The most complex story, it was thought provoking, solid story overall
Let me just also say that I was put off by the beginning of the acknowledgments – like, wishing bad on a person who expressed opinion speaks more about you that the other person. It just left a bad taste in my mouth, because it wasn’t even funny.
Thank you to NetGalley and Shortwave Publishing | Shortwave for providing me with the ARC.

★★★★

Of Monsters and Menses was such a fun and unexpected collection. I loved the variety of stories and how each one brought something completely different, from creepy and disturbing to strange, funny, and completely unhinged.

Some stories definitely stood out more than others, which is always the case with collections, but overall I really enjoyed the mix of horror, dark humor, and female-centered themes. It kept things interesting because I never quite knew what kind of story I was getting next.

For a debut book, this was such a strong introduction to Maisie Culver’s writing. Creative, weird, dark, and entertaining. I’m definitely curious to see what she writes next!

4.5⭐ rounded up

Oh, my! (Imagine Takei’s voice there.) This book was an absolute riot! A collection of eight stories plus the current plot of the girls telling the story and you get nine tales of chaotic, humorous horror!

Most of the stories were unique while a couple were spins of existing stories but still fun in their own right. Because these were all short stories, we didn’t get much in the way of getting to know the characters and everything was plot-focused, which is fine by me! The plots were fun and fast.

My favorite story was Frankenface because I love body horror. My least favorite story was Mummies Mummies Mummies which seemed to go on and on. Seriously, it felt like it was never-ending. The Antichris and The White Knight get honorable mentions, the former for being hilarious and the latter for being more on the creepy side.

The pacing of all but the one I disliked was very fast and I got through the book surprisingly quick. I didn’t want to put it down! I would have liked a little more feminine rage included but it was moderately satisfying all the same.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend to all.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC.

Thanks to Shortwave Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC of Of Monsters and Menses by Maisie Culver. I loved this short story collection, and I thought the overarching story connecting them together was genius. Every story had a unique feminist take on classic horror like possession (which was my favorite and so hilarious), werewolves, vampires, and zombies that had me completely hooked and laughing so hard. If you love brilliant weird horror that takes a strong position, Of Monsters and Menses is a must.