Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

We haven’t been blessed by some incredible superpower from the great beyond, we’re just curious. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

It took me a while to finish this book, but it’s not at all the book’s fault. I have heard so many amazing things about Chuck Tingle and I adore his online presence. I also really like horror and thrillers, so figured this would be perfect. I did expect it to be a little scarier and creepier, but it had it’s awesome moments with a few scares. It heavily contains religious themes (I mean, it’s like a main theme), and as a person who knows very little about scripture and Christianity beyond the basics Norwegians learn in school, I couldn’t relate to a big part of the book. However, I still adored it. The emotion behind it, the struggle with faith, the focus on conversion therapy, they’re all things you can feel and relate to, no matter your religious knowledge and experience.

I thought it was very cleverly written and I kept smiling and internally celebrating when the pieces started slotting into place and explanations were made/understood. The ending in particular was very fitting and satisfying.

“Let’s fuck this duck. Amen.”

Sometimes when I read books like this I’m left with the feeling of being too stupid to really appreciate it, but thankfully that wasn’t the case here. It straddled the line perfectly, not sacrificing any of the author’s cleverness, while also not ‘dumbing it down’ any for people like me, lol. I felt very proud of myself when I picked up on the underlying ‘messages’. At least I think I did, lol.

I’m confident I would enjoy it even more if I read it a second time and could pick up on the clues and the significance of the scripture quoted, both old and new.

Highly recommend. Don’t be scared by the horror genre. Admittedly I don’t scare easily, but still.

Nobody who’s graduated the Camp Damascus program is ex-gay, they’re just even more tormented than before. They’ve been frightened and threatened into submission, a tactic that’s been used against queer people for centuries.


⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
LGBTQIA+
Horror
Heavy religious themes
Neurodivergent MC
Paranormal elements
Sapphic
Queer fiction
Found family
Minor romance subplot

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Heavy religious themes
MC coughing up insects
Death of minor side character
Car accident
MC injured (including burns)
Medical emergency
Medical treatment (eg. pain killers, epinephrine)
Altered state of mind due to pain killers
Themes of conversion therapy
Creature murder with fire (on page)
Drug use (hallucinogenic)
Gun violence
Graphic violence
On-page death of bad guys

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, single
Genre: LGBTQIA+, horror
Pairing: F/F (minor subplot)
Strict roles or versatile: N/A
Main character’s age: 20
Series: Standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 250
Happy ending: Yes


“It’s good to be thoughtful, but when the desire for more knowledge takes over your life, what you’re really saying is, ‘even in the presence of God’s light, I am not full.’ Do you understand?” Dad continues. “It’s a sin, hon. That feeling you call curiosity is fine in small doses, but when you turn it into a habit it becomes gluttony. A hunger for knowledge is still hunger.”

Slowly disconnecting from your community—from your family—is difficult, and while it seems like unearthing their sinister motives and dark secrets might make the process easier, it will never entirely quell the pain.



You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr