Nothing says "Hey Amanda, read outside your comfort zone!" like an adult Southern Gothic horror novel. I mean it when I say this is probably pretty far from what I typically read, and yet I was still invested in this story. This book was making its rounds on Instagram last fall, and honestly, I was intrigued. A weird time of year to read it, but what are you going to do.

The essential premise of this book is Andrew's best friend, Eddie, appeared to die by suicide, but Andrew thinks it was murder. The two of them are involved in some supernatural curse related to Eddie's family, and as Andrew investigates what happened to him, nothing is really as it seems. Especially with the friends Eddie made along the way.

Part Southern Gothic horror, part dark academia, the premise of the story is interesting and Madelo fleshes out the characters pretty well. While overall, some of the mechanics of the supernatural aspect of the story aren't super clear and the plot gets pretty messy at times, (which tracks with Andrew and his general life), there are some great lines and the description was 100% there. I should have written down some of the lines that impressed me, because there was some great descriptive imagery in this book.

All in all, even though this is definitely not what I typically read, I was invested until the end. This is a great addition to any spooky queer list, and would definitely be a perfect choice for spooky season. Or you know, read it whenever if you like spooky season year round.