When I first heard about this book, I was immediately hyped for it. I’ve been reading a lot of happier queer books lately, and I’ve loved so many of them, but I also love books that feature queer rage, and it seemed like this book was going to do just that. I mean, the synopsis literally states “a furious, queer debut,” of course I was going to be excited about this!

While this book didn’t quite reach 5-star heights for me, it was still a fantastic read overall. It delivered on the anger and the queerness, and explored so many intense issues, often relating both religion and being queer. I think the amount of religion in this book made it harder for me to get into, as I’m personally quite distanced from religion as a whole and don’t have a personal connection to or experiences with religion. However, I did really enjoy how everything was interconnected, and the additional layers that religion gave to the apocalypse.

I think my favorite aspect of this book was the discussion around whether people saw Benji as a human or not still, even after he begins mutating into a monster. It made for some interesting conversations and moments, both between Benji and others, but also between Benji and other monsters. I also liked how it mirrored the conversation around Benji’s gender identity as well, since there was also a secondary debate over whether people saw Benji as a guy or not (it was largely religious cultists denying his transition). In the end, almost every aspect of this book felt extremely layered and well-thought-out.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book, and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for future books by this author! I also really appreciated the author’s note and trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, especially for a book as heavy as this one.