Reviews with content warning for Blood - Mary: An Awakening of Terror

He said the thing about cats you have to understand
Is they are predator and prey
They can hunt and pounce and kill
But they're small and light and probably
Delicious
So they take some things very very seriously

I was a little girl when he said this
But when I became a woman in this world
I understood what he meant.

What. A. Book. Mary: An Awakening of Terror was not the book I expected to be, and I'm okay with that. It turned out to be so much more. At its core, this is a novel about the horrors of womanhood, with a slew of genuine terror, humor, and emotional moments thrown in-between. I found the style of writing to be nearly impeccable - the prose flows wonderfully, the metaphors are vivid, and the gore is so deliciously described. Among many horror novels I've read recently, Cassidy's descriptions of body horror felt the most powerful.

The characters here are also standouts. Mary, the titular perimenopausal character is so incredibly unique. She will simultaneously elicit pity, disgust, anger, sadness, and laughter from you. She is easy to hate, but also easy to love, which caused an uncomfortable dissonance in me, but one that I didn't mind sitting with. She is often sweaty, sticky, and unhygienic, but underneath the grime and anger, she had something worth rooting for. I wanted so badly to know how her story ended. Her aunt, Nadine, can receive an honorable mention as well for her sheer wit that makes you love to loathe her.

While I loved the plot overall, this was not a perfect novel. At times, I felt that the book was just a tad too long, and certain parts could have been culled back to allow the pacing to flow a bit better. Additionally, I think Cassidy takes on a few too many directions at once: ghosts, reincarnation, metaphysics, cults, body horror, psychological horror, etc. This mish-mash becomes convoluted near the middle of the book. I think with a more narrow, tighter plot, many readers could focus a bit better.

Regardless, Mary's biggest triumph is in its layers, and the message it doesn't spoon-feed to its reader. So often, I took a breath, put down the book, and had to think about the complexities of my interpretations.
Here are a few of those interpretations:

1. Most obvious, Mary's body horror and her growing disdain for her physical form mirrors (no pun intended) how difficult it can be to feel comfortable in a body that changes and betrays. This is reflected in her struggle to look into mirrors, but also her reclamation of her own nudity at the end of the book. Even as a younger woman, these allegorical moments hit too close to home. I would argue that this theme is most reminiscent of this work's inspiration, Carrie.
2. To me, Damon's voice represents internalized misogyny. Even as women, we may pick up the tendency to belittle and degrade ourselves through societal messaging. That undervoice, Damon's, represents that very real voice that works against a woman's own confidence and self-interest.
3. Damon's victims being relegated to the shadows and forced to be ignored and forgotten reminded me of the idolatry of serial killers in our society. So often, it is the violent man who is pushed into the limelight, while his (often) female victims are rarely given the same consideration. This is also echoed in Eleanor's podcast, which I would argue is a commentary on the exploitative nature of true crime in general. There may also be an underpinning of commentary on worshipping false idols and religious zealotry here, as well.
4. Mary has an opportunity to be idolized herself, but only if she allows Damon to have more power. In other words, Mary's chance to gain social power in the hierarchy and "fit in" comes from her proximity to a man. Again, this reflects real-world cultural systems in which proximity to the hegemonic majority (men) is often the simplest way for women to have control. We can also see this theme in the women of the cult, who are willing to sacrifice victims of their own gender and take part in an unethical system, partially out of the desire for safety.

I had an excellent time dissecting this book overall. If you enjoy a twisting tale with a unique female protagonist, dark humor, and a healthy amount of gore, I think this one is worth giving a shot!

Content Warnings

mad_maeven's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

stacym's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

gerrakay's review against another edition

Go to review page

I cannot stand to listen to this any longer. I have not enjoyed this book. The brief glimpses of what could become an interesting plot are completely eclipsed by how unbearable the main character—and the voice with which she is written—is. Mary's narration could be reduced to be, hell, at least a third less dense and it could approach being bearable, but then I'd still have to slog through the Feminism 101 postulations on womanhood. I appreciate the effort in fore-fronting women's issues but I'd appreciate adequate editing more.

Those glimpses of plot we do get imply a very dull one. I read other reviews, including spoilers, and I was correct in assuming I guessed the story line from the start (which frankly I think was intentional since it is so overt, but that would suggest that the journey is the point, and the journey drags because it's so fucking long and the main character sucks so bad that it's just an exercise in misery).

Hate to be a hater but I hate it.

Content Warnings

luvbg1031's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Nancy got thr short end of the stick! Phucked up!

Content Warnings

eclipsingyou's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Mary surprised me in many ways. On its surface it seemed the exact kind of book I’d like, something dark and twisted with a female lead, and while I have read quite a few thrillers, this was true horror writing which was exciting.

Unfortunately a few things weren’t quite landing for me and I still don’t really know what it was - I enjoyed the plot to an extent and everytime i picked up the book I was waddling through fine, but it took me soooo long to actually push myself to finish it. This was meant to be a halloween read and I’m only finishing it now mid-December. I think I was just univested and the story felt like it wavered in too many directions. ALSO!!! absolutely fucking hated the whole cactus thing. I get it, horror should be gross and disturbing and we should be appalled by the actions of the group and the treatment/ownership of women’s bodies but yuck.

Negatives out of the way, I thought this was a great horror. So many times throughout I found myself flinching and making disgusted faces at the descriptive writing. I very often enjoy an unreliable narrator (especially when we’re aware of how whacko they are from the get-go) and it made it engaging trying to figure out what the fuck was going on with Mary pre-reveal

of her being Damon reincarnate

… and actually post-reveal too.
Thought the ending was great also and locked in for the last 30% in one sitting.

Ngl, I was feeling a little hmmm-ish about a man writing on such woman centred topics of menopause, female aging, societal views on women, etc. but it seemed very well researched and the afterword actually delves in on the author’s own discussion of his place and I liked that.

Content Warnings

kshertz's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book was incredibly scary and also had very good humor and timing. I really enjoyed the author’s preface talking about his experience with his mother and Steven King and Carrie. I also appreciate the caretaking with the story for Mary and her background. I especially appreciate the afterword where the author does address my only concern with the book which was that he was a male writing about a female who is pre-menopausal having hot flashes. Great book, great idea, and great execution. It would be five stars, except for that I do think it was a little bit too long.

Content Warnings

alinalou's review

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

More...