I finished this book 2 days ago and still don't know how to express in words how I feel about it.
Body horror, Gore, ancient creatures and an epidemy. It feels like Cronemberg, Clive Barker and the cthulhu myth had a love child.
It is amazing and I loved it!

This was so enjoyable. I was afraid of it being a bit too close to the 2020 pandemic but it was made in such a great way. I loved the three characters and how it all ties together.
I'd definitely keep an eye open for more Lucy A. Snyder books!!

I cannot remember the last time I read a book so completely messed up. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that had me gripping the duvet right over my mouth with a deep sense of disgust and unease because of what I was reading and I mean all this in the absolutely best possible way.

Snyder has taken the experiences of the pandemic and twisted them into an apocalyptic cosmic nightmare. We start with Erin, coming home from work and taking care to remove her mask and wash before joining her boyfriend. But Erin soon falls sick, experiencing strange changes to her body – including the need to eat cow brains. Scientists are seemingly baffled by the pandemic, and those badly afflicted are sent to a centre to recover before being introduced back into society. Gradually, however, the horrors of what they’re experiencing grow, as people become more aggressive and violent. Erin’s transformation is ongoing, as is another main character’s, Savannah’s, and both women find themselves ushering in the new world.

Savannah seeks out someone very special, taking on a unique role in the apocalypse, while Mareva tries to understand what, exactly, is happening to her, as the violence around her escalates. Each of these three women are distinctive in their experiences and roles, but the bulk of the virus itself is witnessed through Erin, as she initially goes through recovery at a facility then tries to rebuild her life in a dying world. It’s a bleak vision, with Erin under strict controls and measures and her life under threat if she puts a slight toe out of line.

One memorable moment is upon her release, when it’s suggested to her she takes permanent measures to prevent getting pregnant – firstly, when she notes that she will not be living with her long-term partner on her release, it’s pointed out to her that it doesn’t matter, as there’s always the possibility someone will break into her home. Erin asks if men are being asked to take the same measures, and the response is, essentially, why would we do that? It’s a poignant moment, underscored by the fact the majority of the novel is spent with women trying to navigate a violent, dangerous world, growing more so every day.

Snyder uses really grotesque moments to underscore the horrors of this world, but there’s moments of humour and times when these women are allowed to just…be women, whether that means sharing sexy, tender moments with someone, or getting angry, or just trying to live.

One of the things that stood out for me is as the world is on the verge of collapsing, people are just going about their daily business. They’re expected to keep working, whatever form their work takes. Even while snipers stand on rooftops ready to take out people acting odd, or when they’re confined to their homes and allowed out only to go to work or get basic necessities – despite the apocalyptic, messed up nature of what’s happening, Snyder has managed to mirror and capture the worst, horrifying moments of the pandemic and strip it away to the elements we should have paid more attention to.

I don’t often have nightmares, but the night I finished this book I dreamt the apocalypse came with monsters, and truly, there’s nothing that drills down more how effective a horror novel has been than that.

When I read in the acknowledgements that this book originally started out as three separate short stories, a lot of my issues with it made more sense. I don't see why the author felt the need to try to interlink these three stories as they never really come together to form a cohesive whole.

On the plus side, I liked the premise, and I loved the descriptions of body horror when we get them.

On the negative side, I found the book to be extremely disjointed in narrative terms and lacking an integrated thematic message. Body horror is a great vehicle to discuss issues of women's bodily autonomy, but the feminist discussions weren't woven into the text; instead, it felt like being lectured to by the author with statistics copy-pasted from Wikipedia.

I have not read the original short stories this book was based on, but the impression I get is that they were probably three strong pieces that have been stitched together like Frankenstein's monster and edited to try to include relevant issues. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC via Netgalley.

I didn’t get on with this book. I found it difficult to read, as the graphic sexual descriptions were too much for me. I’m not new to hardcore horror, but some of the content in this book was, for me, problematic. Not that it was a terrible book because it wasn’t. There were just too many aspects that made me feel really uncomfortable.

The premise seemed a little strange, but I was intriguing and it definitely grabbed my attention. It was set in a different reality to ours, but also similar to mentions of the Covid pandemic coming before this strange new disease. It was a brilliant twist on the horror/dystopian genre. It took common elements and added a unique twist, giving us a highly different story from anything I’ve ever read before.

Another problem was the writing. It felt very simplistic and often felt monotonous. It was rather jarring, and I struggled to follow the story because of it. The writing did, however, completely fit the atmosphere and creeped me out, leaving me wondering what would come next. I loved how fast-paced it was. The author did a great job at building this new dystopian world with an interesting concept, but with still enough elements from our world that it was easy to imagine what it was like.

I couldn’t relate to the characters as they felt one dimensional, and it was hard to put myself in their shoes as they didn’t feel real to me.

By the middle, I was so bored and things just got really weird and not in a good way. I felt like the author was just going for the shock factor rather than the events happening being important to the book: it was such a shame because the book started out quite strong.

Overall, this wasn’t for me, but I’m sure there’s a market out there for this book. Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher, for a chance to read and review this book.

First of all thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for ARC copy of this book.

''A bloody and unforgettable tale of transformation and survival, told by three women surviving in a world devastated by a disastrous transformation from multiple Bram Stoker Award-winner.''

I absolutely devoured this book, it hooked me from page one and I finished it in a day. I was actually slightly nervous going into this that it would be too focused on a COVID type pandemic and that it wouldn't have any true horror to it but I was so wrong, this is definitely an intense graphic horror with plenty of gore and violence as well as having a great plot/story line, I found all three of the main characters stories really interesting and loved the way everything linked together in certain places.

I loved this, I wasn’t expecting as much horror or gore/violence, as I was unsure how much horror it would be, but trust me this is HORROR and I loved it. It’s so well written and will 100% creep you out, if it doesn’t are you a monster yourself ? I don’t think this book will be for everyone as it it very graphic, but I definitely and thoroughly recommend this for anyone who is looking for a great horror story

Seriously suggest reading trigger warnings before you go into this x

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Very well written but more than a little to gory for my taste. A new pandemic has hit, this time there is permanent physical transformation. As victims start to turn into homicidal monsters the world starts to fall apart. The story is told through the eyes of three women, and the first half of the novel sets up a fascinating story of human rights, with a little horror thrown in. For me, the second half just gets too graphic with the body horror and gore.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC! I’m not sure what I just read, Lucy are you okay? This was absolutely crazy in the best way possible!

The book is split into three parts following three women in the aftermath of a pandemic called PVG. The virus causes the infected to develop mutations in their bodies and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Erin, Savannah and Mareva are all to play a critical part in the “new world”.

Yeah so this was a RIDE to put it bluntly. At various points during the book I said “what the f**k” out loud and had to read some lines twice because I couldn’t believe what I had just read. The whole book feels like a bad trip.

I loved the sapphic aspects of the book and the way certain things related back to the plot and how things were explained. The virus itself was well explained and actually seemed realistic…to a certain extent. Where it came from, how it infected people was all well thought out and explained in the book. After the halfway mark it just goes off the rails (in a good way) and I was just baffled with where it went.

Lucy, I want you to know that your brain is absolutely glorious (not in that way I promise! 😂) and I had such a fun time with this!

Guys if you love a wild dystopian horror book and you can handle pandemic themed books (the big C virus is mentioned) then you NEED to read this book. This one was released on the 21st February this year so you can check it out now!

This is definitely one of those books you finish and think, "what the fuck did I just read?"

Sister, Maiden, Monster is a story about three women post Covid-19 pandemic, where a new virus called PVG viciously alters the hosts' bodies and makes them crave brains. The virus PVG, or polymorphic viral gastroencephalitis, is classified into different types. Erin, a Type Three, needs to eat mammal brains to survive and is ridden with violent fantasies. After meeting Betty, a Type Two, they begin an affair but they find their bodies are changing in gruesome ways. Savannah, a Type Five, is convinced the eldritch gods need her to kill people in order to consume their memories. And Mareva, her body a cancer farm before the outbreak, is grappling with her role as the Chosen One when one of her tumors doesn't behave very tumor-like at all. As each woman's story overlaps, they will have to play important parts in ushering in a new world order.

Where it read as pandemic fiction at the beginning, the book quickly evolves into cosmic, Lovecraftian horror and extremly gory body horror. I wouldn't say it was a pleasant experience to read the book, exactly, but I was glued to my seat. With each POV, the story got weirder and weirder and while I didn't necessarily 'get' all of it, I found the development interesting.

The themes were perhaps the strongest part about the book. I enjoyed the exploration of sex and sexuality, and female reproductive rights. It also portrayed injustice in the medical system well. For example, women who get PVG and turn into brain-craving zombies are told to get IUDs while men are not told to get vasectomies. To me, queerness in horror is something I greatly appreciate, so I found the link between queer sex and body horror here interesting. Another thing I appreciated was that, while Savannah is a complete psychopath, her profession as a sex worker is never treated as less than, say, Erin's work in IT.

While I both liked Erin and Mareva, Savannah might have been my favorite character because she's such a horrible person, delighted by the complete annihilation of humanity and literally getting off on killing people. While here POV included a very tasteless mention of Dahmer's victims, I still found her personality the most fascinating out of the three just because she's so unapologetically awful. The character studies of the three mains was perhaps the best part of the book for me aside from the social commentary. Mareva's story was equal parts touching and nightmare-inducing. The religious imagery, especially in Erin's POV, as she turns into kind of biblically accurate angel is something I would reread the book for and analyze.

The body horror was, to be honest, absolutely disgusting. Graphic and unnerving, Snyder didn't shy away from detailed descriptions of violence. This included cannibalism, tumors and about every bodily fluid and I will say this is not for the faint of heart. There was also pregnancy as horror which might have been the most grueling aspect to me. I think especially people who dislike or are afraid of hospitals will find this book very nightmare-inducing. Do check the trigger warnings before reading.

All in all, a disturbing read with great social commentary and a fascinating exploration of bodily autonomy and sexuality. Sadly, I only ended up giving it three stars since the ending was a bit too weird for me and the body horror was a bit much for me.

I found the first 30% a bit slow but omg did it pick up after that ,it was seriously weird and disturbing full of blood, gore ,violence, cannibalism and some monster smut which I honestly wasn't expecting but loved.The only negative is the ending left me wanting more as ive so many questions so hoping for a sequel and i would have liked maybe a chapter of two from the pov of Gregory.If your a fan of The Last of Us , zombies and body horror then this is the book for you, but do check out the TW first as this book is chocked full of them.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Thank you to @netgalley and @titanbooks for my arc in exchange for review.

🧟‍♀️ sister, maiden, monster by Lucy A Snyder 🩸

Thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.

Wow wow wow. This is definitely a horror book. I don’t really want to go too much into the plot but if you’re a fan of non-traditional apocalypse books, this one is for you!

Lines I like:

“Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.”

“… I realise I can hear the old gods whispering to me from their thrones in the dark spaces between the stars.”

“We will use the blood of this world to write dark, beautiful poetry across the walls of the universe.”

“It’s a terrible thing to become a living god.”

I absolutely loved Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A Snyder!
It was really well written and It definitely creeped me out in some parts which was great!
While i don't think this book will be for everyone as it it does have graphic body horror.
I would still definitely highly recommend it for anyone thats looking for a great horror read!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book... is so f**ked up. Beyond imagination. I would love to know what the author was going through when they wrote this book.

This books was disturbing - to the point of making me feel physically sick at times, and yet, I enjoyed the bizarre story very much. It was incredibly readable and is a quick read. You absolutely cannot ever predict what is coming next but it never seems totally farfetched within the scope of the story that has come before.

(I would also quickly like to warn anyone who has lingering pandemic PTSD not to read this one as it does centre around another pandemic)

My one complaint might be that the ending seems to leave the possibility of a book 2 open, and I personally would have enjoyed this as a stand alone. Not sure my stomach will ever allow me to reread this but if you enjoy gorey horror books, pick this one up this year!

Firstly, I'll say I was really intrigued by the concept of this book – the experiences of three women living through a virus-induced apocalypse. I was expecting a lot of social commentary about the way the world dealt with Covid-19 and other pandemics, and some exploration of the dark side of the female experience, both of which I felt the book delivered cleverly.

However, while I was also expecting some graphic body horror and cosmic horror, I wasn't quite prepared for the extent of the gore, discomfort and shock. For the first 40-50% of the book it feels as if that's all there is, even at the expense of moving the plot along or answering key questions the reader has. I highly encourage you to check trigger warnings before picking it up. It's as if the story is testing the boundaries of how depraved the characters can get, to show the absolute darkest sides of humanity, which I personally found hard to keep reading through.

I found the final quarter of the book a lot more engaging as glimpses of a dystopian future were threaded in and interesting choices were made, but then the tale abruptly ended, and I was left with a lot of questions, wondering what I'd missed.

So in summary, sadly this book was not for me, but I can appreciate that it is well-written and well-researched and will probably be well-received by hardcore horror fans.

A really interesting and fun read! People that adore the body horror genre will surely enjoy Snyder’s “Sister, Maiden, Monster”. However, I had a hard time getting into the story and the characters were a little flat. Otherwise, the book was very enjoyable and amazingly creepy!

What a delicious novel, set in a future pandemic, where if you get infected, you turn into a monster. I kind of wished it went a bit further, and the author held back a bit. I definitely wanted more

This is going to be a very hard review to write.
I've waited a week to attempt it, stupid really since my memory holds less than a sieve.

Sister Maiden Monster is INCREDIBLE.
I cannot stress that enough.

Before you even consider reading it you must be warned. Every content warning you'd expect to see in a horror novel is screaming from this title. I honestly put it down a few times to puff out a breath and try to settle my stomach. I haven't read body horror like this since Nick Cutter's The Troop and I absolutely loved it.

The format is very clever. Separated into three sections I initially thought we were getting three different accounts of the pandemic from three different women; the onset, the spread and the result. What Snyder has done is written in first from the perspectives of three women who each have a role to play in the apocalypse. Their stories come together beautifully in a tale I could never have predicted.

We've all felt the fear of a pandemic and the ensuring control that our governments can assert. Snyder takes this to a whole new level of terror before diving head long into a fantastical and downright disgusting endgame. To balance the scales Sister Maiden Monster tells of a heart wrenching sapphic love story, a kind caregiver and a fiercely loyal protector that serve up emotion and beauty to contrast heavily against such brutal horror.

I cant say more without tip toeing around spoiler territory so I say only this:

Go in blind and be ready for anything.
I only wish I could read it again for the first time.

Unfortunately this was a bit disappointing, the blurb made it sound really interesting but the plot was lacking

From start to finish I never knew where this book was taking me, but it kept me gripped the whole time! It's about a virus pandemic post-covid which is much much worse than anything the world has had to deal with before. The story is told from the perspective of 3 women whose lives are woven into one another's through the events of the book. It's gruesome body horror with Lovecraftian vibes that get stronger as the book progresses.
The body horror is intense, gruesome and very in-your-face. It will probably only be tolerable for people who know they can handle that sort of thing!
The writing itself is really well done, I was fascinated throughout and always looked forward to when I could pick the book up to continue reading.