Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

10 reviews

livlamentloathe's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book had me on edge the whole time but it’s SO deeply satisfying. I grabbed it without knowing much, just cause I’d liked Summer Sons. And oh man did it overwhelm my expectations!!

HIGH recommend to queers, non-cis queer folk especially. Please enjoy this strange, dark tale of justice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Hate crime, Medical trauma, and Transphobia

Moderate: Medical content, Pregnancy, Gore, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Deadnaming

Minor: Abortion, Death, Homophobia, Confinement, Rape, and Physical abuse

This book does NOT bury its gays. There is a lot of triggering subject matter but trust me when I say it’s worth it for the ending.

thegayestghost's review

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I really enjoyed this. My one gripe is I really wish Stevie were older than 18. It makes the sex scenes a little awkward. Besides that it was great!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Misogyny, Gore, Death of parent, Medical content, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Abortion

city_girl_writer's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Not what I expected but in a good way! Preferred the historical horror aspects than the trans romance but still good nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia

Moderate: War, Rape, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Confinement, Abortion, and Sexual assault

hardbackhoarder's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The pacing was a bit off - there was a slow build up for the good first 3/4 of the book with a rush of events at the end that felt jumbled in execution.

Was not expecting furry/beastiality? smut which really isn't my thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Murder, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Deadnaming, Cursing, Cannibalism, Blood, Biphobia, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Abortion, Rape, and Dysphoria

Minor: Confinement and Panic attacks/disorders

thecriticalreader's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

The Run-Down: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is an exquisitely imagined historical horror romance that delivers a gritty, feral catharsis. 

 

Review: 

Lee Mandelo has done the unimaginable with The Woods All Black. In just 150 pages, he has created an immersive, historically detailed trans romance horror story. The novella follows Leslie, a nurse from the Frontier Nursing Service assigned to provide vaccination and other health services to an isolated religious Appalachian town called Spar’s Creek. Leslie puts up with the town’s distrustful attitude toward him in order to help a young resident, Stevie, whom he recognizes as a gender- nonconforming kindred spirit. As the residents grow increasingly hostile toward Leslie and Stevie for failing to act like proper God-fearing women, Leslie finds himself embroiled in a conflict that involves forces beyond his comprehension.

 

It's rare to find a piece of queer historical fiction that does not simply transplant modern ideas about gender and queerness into a historical setting. While there is nothing inherently wrong about this approach from a storytelling perspective, it does promote a rather limited and inaccurate understanding of the past. By contrast, The Woods All Black makes a genuine attempt to reimagine queerness and gender nonconformity as its characters might have understood it. For example, the book’s protagonist identifies as a female “invert,” a sexual identity popularized in the late 1920s that in today’s understanding of gender and sexuality might be most akin to a he/him lesbian or transmasc nonbinary identity. Furthermore, Mandelo’s extensive historical research—combined with his sharp imagination— lends this book a remarkable sense of historical realism. At the same time, however, he manages to craft a story that is both affirming and relevant to the present, and modern queer readers will see parts of themselves represented in these characters. 

 

Despite the book’s short length, The Woods All Black never seems rushed or underdeveloped. On the contrary, its characters come alive on the page with remarkable depth. The steady pacing contributes to the ever-increasing narrative tension, which is released in a brutal, cathartic climax. Mandelo’s writing rejoices in a gritty, animalistic version of trans masculinity—a tender ferocity borne of a lifetime of societal oppression and constraint. The graphic nature of this book won’t be for everyone, but for those who need this narrative, it will be a blessing they didn’t know they needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Homophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Abortion, Confinement, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape, War, and Racism

Additional Content Warnings: Misgendering, war-related PTSD

amandalachelle's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Abortion, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Transphobia, and Rape

Minor: Excrement and Confinement

barometz's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Misogyny, Violence, Animal death, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cannibalism, Abortion, War, Cursing, Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria

Minor: Lesbophobia

corabookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

I honestly thought this book was 5-star worthy for the most part. The writing was fantastic, the historical elements interesting but not boring, the story fast paced, and the plot intriguing. The explicit sex scenes threw me off and, due to personal preference, lowered the rating of the book to 4 stars. But otherwise I really liked it! If you're looking for short, queer horror with elements of religion, romance, monsters, and history, this one's pretty damn good!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Murder, Body horror, and Transphobia

Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Confinement

Sexual assault is referenced/implied multiple times but never shown on page. There are pretty explicit sex scenes, so if that kind of stuff makes you uncomfortable, skip these parts:

pg. 100/65% ish and pg. 132/86%

. There's also pretty gory stuff, which is worst at:

85%/pg. 130ish

fairytalefootnotes's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes, etc: Small Town, Place Personified, Religious Persecution, Revenge, Transgender MC, Transgender Love Interest

3rd Act Breakup?: No

The Praise: This book gave an interesting glimpse into the experience of a transgender man in the 1920s and paired that with eerie horror and sweet romance. It was well-written and I really loved the ending!

The Critique: I would’ve liked to know more about Spar Creek and its whole deal.

Final Thoughts: This wasn’t my typical kind of read but I really enjoyed it! Especially the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Gun violence, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Blood, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Rape, Animal death, Abortion, Confinement, and Pregnancy

bee_likes_books's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I wanted to love this book, and I was so into it for the first 2/3rds that I felt outright betrayed when

the THIRTY YEAR OLD WORLD-WISE VETERAN hooks up with the TEENAGER THAT CAN’T READ. The power dynamic was gross! And, yes, the teenager CAN turn into a terrible forest monster… in that specific forest. Which Leslie takes him away from. It ends with the two having soda floats while Stevie looks around in wonder at normal city things. Leslie (after flirting with someone else in front of Stevie) is like, “there’s a bookstore you might like!” And when Stevie is both slightly saddened by the open flirtation and reminds the main character that he can’t read (with can’t coming out like “cain’t” in a ‘cute childish way’) the MC is just like eh I’ll teach you how. It read like it was supposed to be romantic and aspirational but candidly it felt really gross to me.

. The author didn’t shy away from giving the main character an aversion to the racism or eugenics of the time, so it wasn’t an attempt to be true to the time period either.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, and Transphobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Racism, War, Rape, Pregnancy, and Confinement

Minor: Abortion

Is a scene where Leslie has sex with

Stevie

while the latter is in his monster form.