This is a fascinating story, the second in a dystopia. I don't know if it's feminism, I know that the men are not lucky and the new world they see is not one for them.
The question is if they will be able to survive and be part of this new future.
I'm a bit on the edge and I liked some parts and think that some are a bit over the top.
Well written, good storytelling.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Another phenomenal book from Jane Hennigan!!
Was so excited for this book and it did it disappoint. Absolutely loved it. The characters were either absolutely love or loathe them !!
You could really picture the world which they lived.
Looking forward to more books by this author

Moths is an interesting series. In Book 1, Moths, we read about a matriarchal world where men are held captive in special facilities. 50 years before, a toxin either killed all men and boys or turned them into furious, sadistic killers of any women they could get their hands on.

In Book 2, Toxxic, a vaccine has been developed and there is a move to reintegrate men into society, in a controlled way. The women (all of 'society' is now women only) are not in agreement. Those who remember the massacre ask why would they want to risk it. And women who remember the world before the plague, male dominated and patriarchal, do not want to go back to that world.

In both novels, women reminisce about the bad ol' days. It's horrible to read, because it's our world. Where women are, essentially, the [physically] weaker sex, forever at risk of male violence. They're talking about women living in the United Kingdom, and by extension all women in the developed world and, basically, anywhere. Women who live in a constant state if not of fear, at least of wariness. We know all the social codes of how to behave 'like a woman', where we can or can't walk alone, especially at night, how to behave in situations where males might be roused to anger, etc., etc.

There's no doubt that living in a male dominated and patriarchal world is shit. Sure, 'most' men are not like that (blah di blah), many women will never be victims of male violence, etc., but.... Oh don't get me started, it's too damn depressing.

Maybe some younger women are not as triggered by these books, but you don't reach my age without having seen some crap, in your own life, or in your family or wider circle. Male violence towards women is deeply embedded in our culture and daily lives. And now we are seeing women's rights being eroded, again, in the backlash against feminism that is turning nastier by the day, spreading its filth from country to country, like an unstoppable toxin.

So it's hard not to dream of a matriarchal society. Even if it's not ideal and, surprise surprise, if it turns out that women can be just as/nearly as corrupt, power-thirsty and awful as men, when in power. Still...

In short, Toxxic and Moths are difficult books to read. They are fantasy, dystopian stories but, like The HandMaid's Tale (and plenty of other books), there is too much truth for comfort.

It's also difficult to be objective about Toxxic's literary value. Hard to think about plot, characters, dialogue and pacing when emotions are running high. It's beyond me, to be honest.

So how many stars does that add up to? Let's be generous, and go for the full 5, because, well, hell, we women need to stick together.

2024 Book 44 - Toxxic by Jane Hennigan

I received an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

OK, so probably really, really helpful to read the first in this series first - not plunge head first into the second one and wonder why you're so confused? The first, if you're interested, is called Moths.

Post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller. My kind of thing! Except, there was just something about this one that wasn't quite right. Quite a few character perspectives, one which spends a lot of time reviewing the past, some less than elegant dialogue, and possibly not enough depth in the characters for my liking. It's almost like a gender bent Handmaid's Tale, but less eloquent.

Set approx 50yrs in our future, a virus spread by moths has infected all men, killing half instantly and sending the other half completely insane and psychotic - and they take out their rage on women. Women have overcome this, creating institutions that raise the male children and house the adult men, and now one woman has created a vaccine for the virus. But is the world ready for them to be released?

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This was another great entry in the Moths series, it had everything that I was hoping for from the first book. It continued the story perfectly and I enjoyed how the characters felt like the same people. It uses the men becoming crazed killers perfectly and I enjoy the scifi element perfectly. I enjoyed how good everything worked together with the story and enjoyed the overall story in this. It had the characters that I was expecting and glad they worked with the storyline. I enjoyed the way Jane Hennigan wrote this and can't wait for more.

I will just start by pointing out, I took a bit more in reading this book because I didn’t realized this was book two on the series, so I had to grab the first book and read it first to better have a grasp on the story…

while I liked the story and how this was a dystopian society, I didn’t like quite some things… for instance, all the characters have the same speech and therefore the same voices, if I ended a chapter in the middle, more often than not I had to go back to read who the character was supposed to be… we also have some lose ends… for instance the situation with the lady that sells candy apples was with Artemis and Daniel, not with Tony, why did it was latter as if it had happened with Tony, even more because he only reunited with Artemis in Mary funeral…

Other thing that I didn’t like was how extreme the exploration of the violence was, you don’t need to tell all details for us to understand how bad the violence was… and I don’t mean only the first wave… also, the women that wanted to prevent men coming out from facilities are as bad as the men that weren’t infected by the moths…

I got a bit tired of the book and had to have long breaks, but never mind me, maybe you’ll love it, and this book just wasnt for me…


Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

This is the second book in the series, which is set in a world, where a plague carried by moths, and affecting only men has decimated the population.
I requested the book on Natalie UK without realising that it was the second one of the series and decided for completeness that I should read the first novel first. Having said that I think that there is enough of the story in this novel to make it stand pretty well on its own.
I’m big fan of dystopian novels and had missed the moths when it was published. I am very glad that I found Found it and I’ve enjoyed reading these novels very much.

This is primarily Story based novel the set up in the sciences a trifle unbelievable, but I personally don’t mind this in dystopian novels. If you can suspend your disbelief and go with the Story, it is very enjoyable and the world seems real.
The author has a clear easily read, flowing prose style and I read the book in one sitting spending 48 hours in the world of moths
The fact that the plague affects men only allows the author to look in a very different way at sexism, and the way that this changed in a world where women have all the power and a few men left alive were aligned on them to stay healthy. The second book looks at this in more detail , for example, the generation of women who have lived their lives, without men present, adapt to suddenly having men living freely within their society. I found this a very interesting concept and enjoyed the way that the author discussed this. she managed to do this with sensitivity a lightness I’ve left you pondering the issues after you finished reading the book
Jane’s characters are well developed and feel like real people. It was easy to understand why they behaved as they did.
I really think that these books would make a fantastic TV series and wouldn’t be surprised if the rights for this were grabbed up. I would definitely watch a Netflix series based on these.
The novel was published in the UK on the 12th of March 2024 by Angry Robot
This review will appear on NetGalley, UK Goodreads and my book blog bionic SarahS book WordPress.com, Anne And, Amazon, UK.

Just incredibly sad and all too believable. You still have a bad relationships and unkind people, even in this female dominated society. Is humanity the problem rather than biology? Can humanity survive when it is at odds with itself or are we too power hungry, unforgiving or scared to see similarity and love.
Gender dynamics, power struggles, and survival. A thought provoking read with plenty of action to keep you engaged and wanting to find out more, why and who.

I didn't realise this was a sequel until I started reading it. However, I would have wanted this ARC anyway based on the description The opening rnt about men is so good. UGH the stuff about working twice as hard for half the rewards. I loved the world building.
Anyway I felt a lot of empathy for all the characters, which I guess is the point. . This was alright.

I loved this book which is the 2nd book in the Moths series. I love a dystopian gender-based novel where only males are infected with an illness. I absolutely loved the gory parts of this book! There is a vaccine, and I enjoyed seeing the different viewpoints of the pros and cons of the vaccine. This is definitely a series I enjoyed.

Toxxic has a sharp stark cover featuring the bright neon green on a dark background. Theres also the clever use of a hypodermic needle as the “I” in Toxxic. I really like the cover, it fits well with the first book in the series, and would make me pick it up from a book store shelf to learn more about it.
The danger of the Moths and their threads is still apparent so men are still in facilities……for now! There are differing opinions on what should be done with them. There’s those that want the men to live out their days confined to the facilities, yet at the same time complain about the resources needed to keep the men there. Then there’s the other people who want to reintegrate the men into society. A vaccine has been found and it’s decided a small test group will be formed. A man from a facility and a boy from a prep school will be given the vaccine and placed in a home, into a family to see how they cope and how the dynamic works.
Of course, the families housing the males are to be given incentives such as extra land, a scholarship for a member of their family either at agricultural or engineering or a non- resident teacher course. The hosting families are also given training in how to deal with the men/boys along with extra clothing, and more food & travel vouchers. The males are placed within the families in kind of a buddy system, a boy from a prep school and a man from one of the facilities.
Tony and Artemis are two men chosen and they are paired with two young boys Layton and Daniel. The males, both boys and men are to experience life outside and a freedom to move around that they have never had before. They are expected to work and do chores in exchange for a roof over their heads, food and clothing. They are supposed to integrate into the community of Eastor but it soon becomes apparent that not everyone is happy about the vaccine, the males or the families accepting the men in the trial either. Life becomes much harder and dangerous for the males on the trial and the families they are placed with. That’s probably why Evie and Molly become closer as they hare both in the same situation.
Whilst there are those that support the system there are many that oppose it and will go to any lengths to sabotage the experiment. The main underground opposition are the Womens Conservative Society, with its Head Quarters also known as XXHQ on the outskirts of Citadel. All the women that are part of the society are referred to by numbers such as XX104 who joins the movement to prevent males being let out of the different facilities.
We read about the day to day things the women take for granted that the males are now becoming part of. Tony isn’t used to the hard physical work but makes up for any short comings with enthusiasm. Artemis starts off sullen and thinking about running away to becoming attached to both the young boy put with him as part of the buddy system and Evie. The men get to be outside, not looking at the outside from behind glass, they can breathe real fresh air that hasn’t been through a filtration system. They experience friendships and being around females that aren’t staff members for the first time too. There are some really poignant scenes within the book. Of course, the males “mess up” but they do their best to do whatever is asked of them. They also feel responsible when a beloved animal is killed purely because of their presence in Eastor.
There is so much going on in this book, theres the daily interactions between the males and their foster families, the way the foster families are shunned by neighbours for even having males in their homes. Theres also the member of the Womens Conservative Society XX62 who went into a meeting at Chesterford, another area chosen for the male integration trial and blows herself up, injuring many and killing four little boys.
Two of my favourite characters were Mary and Tony. The way Tony wrote to Mary about everything that was happening, he didn’t forget her kindness towards him at the facility. Tony really has a lot to deal with throughout the series, people he thought dead and long gone suddenly reappearing, then the loss of Mary, the hate from the women who think the men should remain in the facilities. I also enjoyed the way the tough, grumpy Artemis softened when placed within a family and tried to nurture the young boy placed with him.
I would have loved a happier ending for Tony, Daniel and Layton, and a way that Evie could keep her child whether it is born male or female. I’d also have liked to know more about Sophia and how/why she has Logan and Nathan. So I’m kind of hoping that there may be a third book?
As soon as I finished reading Moths, I couldn’t wait to start reading Toxxic, I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. There were a couple of occasions when I was slightly confused as the book does jump from the past to present etc quickly. But once you really get into the book its addictive reading, and I did not want to put this book down. I haven’t read two books in the same series back to back like I did with Moths & Toxxic for a long time and I really enjoyed immersing myself into this futuristic, but scarily realistic world and didn’t want it to end!
My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading Toxxic were that the book covered a lot of controversial subjects in a very clever way. The way the males are put away in facilities and women run everything, the way “male born women” were also rounded up with the men and “female born men are told they must live as women. The families just consist of women. The way women were compensated for bearing male babies and handing them over. The way that women go to visitation to have sex just for fun rather than reproduce with males. The book kind of turns “normal society” on its head.
I certainly was not disappointed and honestly would love there to be more books set in this world!

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

Another excellent dystopian thriller in the world of Moths from Jane Hennigan. I think I may have liked this one even more than Moths.

This one picks up slightly after the ending of moths and we see the return of some beloved characters from Moths as well as new voices and perspectives. While Jane Hennigan is such a good writer that you could understand what happened in Moths just by reading this one, I would highly recommend reading them in order to fully appreciate the world building and horror that came with the first book.

This felt like it leaned more sci-fi thriller, whereas moths felt a little more sci-fi horror. We have conspiracies, warring political factions and people caught in the middle. There are some harrowing descriptions of the initial infection event as well as moments of extreme violence happening in Toxxic’s timeline.

This was a worthy sequel to Moths and I’m really impressed at what Jane Hennigan has done with this series. A unique dystopian world seen from the perspective of individuals trying to live their lives and do the right thing in a challenging, and often dangerous situation.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. You should read it!

I find it really hard to write reviews for sequels because there's so many ways to slip up and spoil the previous book(s). So I'm going to keep this very simple and short.
WOW! The sequel to Moths that I've been wanting and NEEDING!! Loved it!
I liked that the story is told from several different perspectives and also the added mystery of figuring out who survived the initial outbreak and who they had become in later life.
There was a great range of characters with people to love and people to hate. I got really invested in the story and really wanted things to turn out ok. And then the twist at the end..... fabulous!

This book is set 44 years after an infection broke out which infected men’s brains and caused them to become “manic”, attacking women. Since then, women have rebuilt society while men were locked away for their safety, and women’s. Now, there’s a vaccine and it’s time to trial integrating men back into society.

I didn’t realise this was the 2nd book in the series, but fortunately this could also be read as a standalone and I didn’t have an issues understanding the context and background of this story.

This book had a lot of positive points for me:
- The characters. I feel like we got to know them (particularly the women) and I loved the family dynamics.
- The dual timeline. It gave us a glimpse of the first infection, which allowed the reader to understand the experiences the women went through. That gave us greater context for people’s thoughts and feelings towards reintegration.
- It was such an interesting look at how a female only society could be built, and how that could impact women’s attitudes towards men.
- I found this story very gripping and I flew through it wanting to find out what would happen next!
- The author did a great job of adding information regarding events that occurred in book one (Moths) it allowed this to be read as a standalone without (I imagine) being repetitive for anyone who read book one.

There were a couple of points which missed the mark for me:
- Some of the science felt a little unrealistic (e.g. the vaccine provided protection instantly).
- The ending felt rushed and unfinished. It completely surprised me that the book was just over.
- Some of the characters lacked character development (particularly Artemis, I felt like we never truly got to know him).

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I rated it 3.5 stars and I would recommend it! If the ending had been stronger, this could have easily been a 4.5 star read for me.

I am unsure if there will be further books in this series, however this book sets itself up well to be a part of a trilogy. I would happily continue this series should another book be released in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this follow up to Moths but it did feel like the middle book of a trilogy. The scene and plot was set and developed well in the first book and this continues the tale. I did feel that there was more to be said and the end of the book did not answer all of my questions in a satisfactory way. Is there more to come ?

I enjoyed this thought provoking thriller that extrapolates the next pandemic that follows covid. I felt invested in the characters and a huge amount of pathos for the situation the world has found itself in. A pandemic had swept the world, transferred by moths, that infected mostly men and elevated their levels of aggression. The bloodbath that followed wrecked havoc on the infrastructure and men were rounded up and institutionalized, leaving women to run the world.

The storyline occurs 40 years later as the government begins to explore programmes to integrate men back into the world. But not all factions are in favour of this change. The chapters alternate between present and the past, which cleverly helps to give context to present day decisions and emotions.

I had not realised there was a book before this but in hindsight it makes sense as there were a few gaps that felt like they were answered too briefly. I suspect the book will work best as part of a trilogy.

Lastly, I cant look at moths the same way and I feel a bit bad for the ones that crossed my path while reading this novel!

This was a hard and challenging read for many plot-related reasons, so I'd only recommend reading Toxxic if you've read and enjoyed Moths (the first in the series) first.

That aside, I also found it compelling and thought-provoking, so it was a worthwhile read for me.

Let's get into the plot: 44 years ago a plague of toxic moths infected all men. Half died almost immediately, while half became 'manic' and killed millions of women around them. Since then, surviving uninfected men have grown up in prep houses and sanitoriums, with meds to keep them calm and shaved heads to enable easy checking for moths. Until (in book 1) a vaccine was found...

The only problem is, after 44 years many women don't want them back. When a fostering programme is introduced for the first few men allowed outside, it's quickly targeted by the 'XX', a group that doesn't want them out at all.

Book one had an empathetic narrator who was a great introduction to the before and after times of the moths. This book has a few narrators who range from the loveable (Tony, one of the test releases) to the interesting (Evie, about to foster) and also a member of the XX, who of course hates all men - because of her very valid experiences when the moths came. She's largely what makes the book a tough read. She is not hugely sympathetic, she talks about men in horrible ways, and her experiences of the world reveal so much incredibly awful violence that you might just want to put the book down. But you have to separate character from author and realise that she is a product of her experience and it makes logical sense. It's also what makes the book interesting but not necessarily enjoyable. I enjoyed the exploration of this particular apocalyptic-style event, but it won't be for everyone.

To an extent, it felt a bit like a middle book of a series, where there is some progress but also some hope lost. I want to read the next book, if there is one, and find out that there's a positive future for these people! So give me more please!

The second in this fast paced dystopian series picks up where the last left off. With a vaccine now known about, a trial is being organised, with men allocated to houses out in the wide world. But some women don't think it's right; some think it's unnatural. And some remember the horrors men inflicted even before the moths, and they want these men to pay for it...

I read this very fast as I badly wanted to know what happened! Having accidentally read these out of order, I can tell you that this one would stand alone if necessary, but with the first one you get a better understanding of the relationships between different characters. This one features more flashbacks to the days everything went bad, so you're not lost with what's happening, and it also, I think, has a better explanation of the world, as it's not confined to care homes like the last one.

My heart broke several times reading this, and I really hope Jane has more planned; I'd like to find out what happens next to our intrepid little band and how they live in this very changed world. Brilliant.

I did not realize that this was sequel to Moths until I kept saying "hmm am I missing something?" Yes, yes I am missing some things it seems. Good job me. Anyways, I loved the idea of this novel and really wish I had of read Moths first .This book was dark for sure, and I've recently read reviews about both books to see if I should read Moths before posting this review, but here we are anyways! I still might go back and read Moths but I enjoyed this books concept and although it was a bit dark for me personally, it was still a good book.