The Spirit Bares It's Teeth is set in an alternate Victorian London where those with purple eyes can open the veil to the spirit world. Women are forbidden from accessing the veil but the society of the Speakers uses them to throw out purple eyed sons by marrying purple eyed girls to their sons. Purple eyed Silas was born in the body of a girl. He'd give anything to be a surgeon but instead, he's sent to a creepy sanitarium/finishing school to become the perfect wife for the head Speakers son. With murderers afoot, hijinks ensue.

This book is heavy - definitely check the content warnings for this one. The supernatural element takes a bit of a backseat with horror being the central element to the story. Whilst there are classic horror aspects throughout the story, it's often the experience of the trans and female characters in a male dominated Victorian world that is scariest. The suspense is immense and coupled with the main character's fixation on describing aspects of life in relation to surgery, the book is visceral.

It's ⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me. Though a great book that kept me hooked, I can't say that I fully enjoyed it. I felt for the characters throughout, their fear and hope, but ultimately the unease was too much for me to rate it five stars. Then again, for a horror story, is there a better compliment than that?