Genre: Splatterpunk Horror
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Maeve Fly is a beautifully gory book that pulls no punches. I think the book it can be most compared to is American Psycho (directly referenced in the book itself), but while that is very firmly Of Its Time, Maeve Fly is equally a book that wonderfully reflects the 2020s.
The title character works at the unnamed happiest place on Earth, lives with her fading golden age actress grandmother, and spends her evenings drinking in dive bars on the Sunset Strip, judging everyone she comes across. Importantly, not only does Maeve work at the park, but she works as a specific ice princess, becoming close friends with the girl who plays her sister. When said friend’s brother Gideon moves to town and Maeve watches him play hockey, something shifts, and Maeve doesn’t know how far to push Gideon, whether to let him in or keep him locked out.
As a romance girlie, I loved how a lot of the early part of the book, and especially the relationship between Maeve and Gideon, felt like a romance setup with a darker edge. It feels like Leede has read hockey romance, and it almost gives the book a sense that if nudged in a different direction, that’s what it would end up being. But Maeve’s particular character and personality absolutely prevents that; she’s a fascinating character, dark and paranoid and seems to be losing her mind as the book goes on and she begins to lose control over what’s happening around her.
Leede uses the setting wonderfully, crafting a version of LA we can only get through Maeve’s eyes. It’s clear that Maeve loves LA, almost to the point of obsession, not despite of its flaws and grittier, dirtier side, but because of it. It’s a love letter to LA, but a love letter to the fakeness, the glitz and glamor that disappears if you scratch it, and it works wonderfully.
There are some really dark moments in the book, especially when it comes to the romance between Maeve and Gideon as well as the violence that ensues when Maeve tilts completely into her darker side, and I was totally gripped by the whole thing. If you have yet to pick this up, I highly recommend it.
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter: @elleturpitt
Bluesky: @elleturpitt.bsky.social
I received this ebook from Titan Books via NetGalley for review consideration.
