I liked this. It’s fast paced, kinda campy and puts an interesting twist on a possession story. There were some really gruesome body horror moments but also some head scratching moments that didn’t come together for me. I enjoyed the flash backs to the MCs childhood and thought that was a strong aspect of the book. I almost wish we had more of that. The book really starts off quickly and I almost needed more time to get to know the characters so I could actually care about them.

The book also lost me during some parts that just kind of seemed thrown in there. Overall I enjoyed this book enough to say if it sounds interesting to you it’s worth a shot.

A bit like Sundial, A House with Good Bones, or Just Like Home for religious trauma. What worked best for me was the horror of helplessness in the face of what was happening to Dylan. I think it could use more polishing, but all in all, I liked it and I'll recommend it.

As soon as she could, Brigid cut ties to her extreme Christian family and left her past behind to start again. But when her daughter Dylan starts displaying violent behavior, Brigid can't help but remember how her uncle performed an exorcism on a girl when she was young... and wonders if he might be Dylan's only hope.

This book was a quick read - I finished it in a couple of hours. It's fast-paced and never lets up on the disturbing action taking place. I've found that I'm a big fan of religious horror lately, and this was a solid entry to the sub-genre. The ending got wild and went in a direction I wasn't anticipating at all, but it was still immensely satisfying. Overall, I enjoyed this one!

There are a lot of dark topics that are covered in this book, so do check content warnings before you dive in.

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CW gore, body horror, violence, religious bigotry, homophobia, incest & rape (off-page but discussed)

As we all know, I am a huge fan of religious horror. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book that does possession exceptionally well, and this one definitely did. It was grotesque and dreadful, taking turns I did not expect. It was honestly kinda unhinged, and I’m so here for it. I also enjoyed the sapphic nature of this book. Zandy was easily my favorite character.

I’m not a parent, so take my next thoughts here with a grain of salt. I thought the way this portrayed difficulty of navigating your own trauma as a parent, while trying to do better for your child, was really well done. It was nice to see Brigid make mistakes (lots of mistakes) as a mother and acknowledge that they were wrong. I liked seeing her work through the way she initially responded (or wanted to respond) to the circumstances and try to do her best for Dylan. She was by no means perfect (like really, not at all) but I thought it was an accurate account of how it must feel as a single parent dealing with their own trauma.

Overall, this was another great read for me.

This one was messy, bold, and absolutely drenched in emotional discomfort, in a way that mostly worked for me. The horror is less about jump scares and more about what’s been festering under the surface of family, religion, and guilt for decades. There’s some brilliant imagery and one scene that genuinely made me stop and say, “oh no.”

But I had mixed feelings. Brigid’s voice is strong, but her choices? Frustrating. She pushed me out of the story more than once, and I never fully came back. I’m all for complex characters, but hers felt more careless than complicated. And while the book builds toward some truly haunting reveals, parts of it dragged or felt emotionally uneven.

Still, I’d recommend it to anyone who likes their horror tangled up with personal history, queerness, and the kind of discomfort you don’t shake off right away. It won’t be for everyone, but it has teeth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I am in two minds about this book. I feel like, to start, the entire concept of strong queer horror and, indeed, strong queer families is definitely one to be championed. We simply don’t see it enough in media, and I do think that Brigid and Dylan bring at least some semblance of a strong mother/kid relationship, and I feel like Zandy made it even stronger.

I really enjoyed the fact that Brigid and Zandy ended up back together after so long as well, and that Zandy was such a strong support (even though Brigid could be a lot- unfortunately, in some cases, too much). Their relationship was lovely, and while I did worry for a bit about ‘Bury Your Gays’, things came out alright in the end.

The horror element was also strong. It’s perhaps a bit confused at the end, but it does go into territory that most exorcism horror and demon horror doesn’t tread in, which is always a good sign. It’s nice just to see something different being done!

On the less positive side, I found Brigid maddening. She just did not come across well, and she was absolutely horrid to her daughter and to her partner. It just felt like she was written to be less sympathetic than she could have been, and while I don’t want a martyr, I do want someone who I can relate to.

There are a few plot holes as well, and I don’t feel the final act was wrapped up as well as it could have been, but for the sake of queer horror (which, horror has always been queer, but let’s go with *explicitly* so) and for the fact it does something new and exciting, this one is well worth the read.

This Is My Body brings a new spin to the possession/exorcism subgenre, exploring generational trauma and the cycles of abuse we may perpetuate. King-Miller has a detail-oriented and descriptive narrative style that created some strong metaphorical imagery, however, the pacing and characters left a lot to be desired. In particular, I struggled to connect with Brigid, who was so unlikeable for me that it hurt my reading experience.

As I mentioned, the characters left a lot to be desired - for the most part, many of them felt a little one-dimensional to me, which was a shame considering the themes of the narrative. The story had a lot of focus - both subtle and outright - on behavioral patterns, family connection (or lack thereof), and the fine lines between help and hurt. This could have been a ripe playing field to explore those deep themes via Brigid, Dylan, and Adelaide, but King-Miller skimmed the surface, only really focusing the narrative on Brigid despite the other characters’ presence.

Brigid was one of those characters that just rubbed me the wrong way - I’m all for flawed and imperfect characters, I have no need for protagonists to be moralized, however, Brigid was just a gross person to me. Her selfishness and manipulative behavior prodded at things that really bother me, personally, so it was really hard to care about her when it seemed that she never cared about anyone else. I’m not sure if I was being hypercritical, but effectively trying to baby-trap someone is a huge red flag for me.

Outside of the characters, the pacing was another aspect that didn’t quite land for me. I was growing a little bored in the first half of the book, and although I was intrigued by the discovery of Adelaide’s journal and Angus’s past, the remainder of the book left me simply whelmed. That seems strange, considering how much happened in the last 50 or so pages, but something about the development of the story just didn’t click for me.

But again, King-Miller has a narrative voice that’s wonderfully descriptive, which can be both a good and a bad thing. In this circumstance, it was a mixed bag, but I nonetheless have to compliment how she weaves her words. The way that she described the feeling of something under one’s skin was fantastically gross, and the scene in which Brigid thought she might have killed Zandy after they hooked up literally made my jaw drop (though that was another mark against Brigid for me, but I won’t get into it).

All in all, I can’t quite say I enjoyed This Is My Body, but I also can’t say that I disliked it - the only aspect I didn’t like was Brigid herself, unfortunately. I appreciate the exploration of Catholic and family trauma, of unhealthy cycles, and the lengths one is willing to go to for loved ones, but the narrative and characters just didn’t compliment these themes to me.

TW/CW: Language, bullying, fighting, toxic family relationships, gaslighting, toxic relationships, blasphemy, homophobia, animal death (not graphic), death by suicide, death of parent, rape (not graphic), abortion (mention), incest, miscarriage, gory scenes, blood, violence

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Single gay mom Brigid always thought that cutting ties with her extremist Catholic family was the best thing she could have done for her daughter, Dylan—and for herself. But when Dylan starts having terrifying fits of unnatural violence, Brigid can’t shake her memories of a girl from her childhood who behaved the same way . . . until Brigid’s uncle, Father Angus, performed an exorcism.

Convinced that her daughter is suffering from demonic possession, Brigid does the thing she told herself she’d never she goes home. Father Angus is the worst person she knows, but he’s also the only person who can help her daughter.

But as Brigid starts to uncover secrets about Father Angus, that long-ago exorcism, and her family’s past, she realizes that she and Dylan have never been in more danger.
Release Date: August 5th, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Easy to read and understand what's happening
2. Loved the writing style
3. Liked the ending
4. Gory scenes
5. Greatest acknowledgements ever

What I Didn't Like:
1. Brigid's weird hallucinations
2. Some plot holes

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
Why would Brigid open a new age store if she doesn't believe in what they sell? Seems like an odd choice.

Her daughter later asks this question (why would you open a store for things you don't believe in?) and Brigid answers that it was in irony from her religious days her and her ex thought it would be funny. Imagine having the money to open a business out of irony and spite just because. Plus, how long does the irony last when you've own the store for at least 14 years?

Wow Brigid tried to baby trap Gwen. No matter how many times Gwen said she did not want a baby and that she was not ready for one it's like Brigid didn't want to hear her. She went off and got pregnant without ever letting her know what she was doing. It's so sick the way it's described and she acts like Gwen should stay and she'll have a change of heart. No dear I'd be out too. She sounds like you have some issues. I wish we could have had a better understanding of why Brigid wanted a baby so much. The only thing that Brigid mentions about why is that she feels like it'll tie her to Gwen more and make them a family. So, I guess in the end they wouldn't be a family since Brigid did her own thing and had her own experience without Gwen.

Okay now Brigid has found this weird collection of dead eaten Birds in Dylan's room so now we're getting the first hint that maybe there's something wrong with Dylan and why she's behaving the way she's behaving.

I like Zandy. She's refreshing from the chaoticness that Brigid is. Honestly Brigid isn't a great person. She's bombastic and annoying at times.

The worst thing about Brigid is that she is so self-absorbed and anytime that Dylan approaches her to talk about something serious Brigid ends up telling her we'll talk about it later or we don't have the time for it right now. She shuts her down so many times that it's heartbreaking. I know that Brigid has past issues from her childhood I just really think you should listen to your child when they come to you. When a teenager comes to you to talk about something that means that they are valuing your opinion and trusting you so when you shut them down why would they keep coming to you if you're someone they can't talk to? It drives me up the wall how many times she dismisses Dylan's thoughts or feelings because something else is going on. Maybe this is Brigid's way of having avoidance to an issue because she doesn't know how to handle a problem since she has no coping skills from her own childhood.

Brigid's mother is the one that told Father Angus that she had been kissing Sandy. Brigid asked why she told on her but I think we know why she did. Brigid's mother lives in a kind of cult like status with her brother. It's common in cults for other members to tell on each other as a sort of loyalty to them. And yeah this is her daughter that she did tell on but in a sort of way she's getting a kind of perk back from her brother by telling him what her daughter did.

I'm so curious why the demon wanted rigid to go to her uncle's house. Because the demon says take me to the old man.

Dylan and Brigid go back to the uncle's house to have her exercised and there's a scene in the kitchen that kind of got on my nerves. Dylan starts insulting Brigid for not being there when her mother dies by suicide and not knowing that she left a note. It's so hard to know if this is the demon inside Dylan talking and saying these mean things to her mother or if this is just how Dylan is. If this is how Dylan is I honestly would leave the kid behind cuz she is terrible. She says the meanest things to her. And I know that teenagers are horrible humans but she's just saying things and she doesn't even know what happened between Brigid and her mother. Omg and Angus telling Brigid to go for a walk had me boiling. Who is this abusive jerk to tell her what to go do.

This is so weird to me that Dylan would want to stay with this man she literally just met. Why would she want to stay with this guy that she didn't even know existed in his house? I would feel so uncomfortable hanging out with some guy that I know nothing about and that my mother never talked about. I would wonder why she never talked to him and maybe there is a reason why they stopped communication. It's just so odd that a teenage girl would rather hang out with an old man that she never knew about. Now she's over here threatening her mother saying she'll tell the cops that she's the one that cut her tongue. I'm sorry but I would just leave Dylan behind then. So she can see what Brigid had to deal with day in and day out. That girl is being a total brat.

So much has happened. Zandy called Serafina and found out that really she had had a miscarriage and she believes it was because of the exorcism done to her. That was the blood on the mattress that she had under her. Now she's saying that Angus put in a demon inside her that made her actually kill her parents and she tells Brigid to get over there and rescue her daughter or else something will happen to her. So Brigid is on her way out of the door to go save Dylan but then Sandy stops her and tells her to think which I agree yes let's think this out you can't just rush her into a house. Dylan calls to say that Angus is acting weird and she wants to go home. She's all tears and crying. I'm over here wondering if Dylan is setting a trap to get Brigid to come over and they're going to trap her. Honestly I don't know at this point what is going on. Oh gosh, she even pushes poor Zandy out of the way rather than listen to her.

Now she's in Angus' house and I am honestly confused. She was upstairs and Dylan is sitting in the room and she's bruised up and she's in bad shape. Brigid runs downstairs to call 911 but then bees start coming out of the phone after she hears the person on the phone say Mom. In an attempt to escape the bees she goes to the laundry chute and somehow fits in it and now she's stuck in the laundry chute because it's endless and there are different things. The house starts changing. At this point I feel like I'm reading House of Leaves.

Oh so actually Adelaide was the one inside of Dylan this whole time and the demon that was inside Adelaide followed her into Dylan's body. I still didn't care for the way Adelaide treated people. She cut Dylan's tongue because she wouldn't let her talk. Ridiculous.

Angus is now dead though and eaten by Dylan's demon thing. Ew that was gross!

Final Thoughts:
I just had a lot of questions I feel like at the end mostly why who called Brigid to come to the house? Was it Adelaide or was it the demon? Why would they want her there? And I get that Dylan is tied up now but why wouldn't Dylan have tried to kill Angus when he was sleeping? He's an old man I can't imagine it would be very hard to kill him. Plus they have demon power and they're able to make these hallucinations happen so it could have been too hard to kill them off.

Overall though I enjoyed this read a lot. The story was interesting with Brigid's back and force between now and her childhood. I loved her and Zandys relationship. It was so sweet and wholesome.

This was a fantastic read over the long weekend. You have a woman who survived a shitty fundamentalist upbringing (complete with a stepdad doing "exorcisms") who makes some frankly wild decisions with regards to bringing a kid into the world, and then there's a bit of a time jump as we get to that kid being a teenager, and mom trying her best but also still making some wild decisions. I like that we get it emphasized that she is doing the best she can with a limited toolkit, but that she does get called out on some of her shittier decisions by her potential partner. The resolution to the possession storyline does feel a bit rushed, but it's still a really well done horror. This is getting caught up in the collapse of Quirk Books, so please be sure to pick this up at least from your library, or maybe even a preorder!

This is such a fun and gruesome take on possession horror!

The narrative does a great job exploring generational (and religious) trauma, shame, parental guilt, and motherhood, all the while remaining absolutely unsettling throughout.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style, the pacing, and the character development.

Everyone feels real and though you may question some of their decisions, they do make sense in the grand scheme of the narrative once all the pieces are in place.

I can’t say I was expecting what happened/what was revealed at the climax, which was gripping!

I also loved the gruesome descriptions throughout.

I enjoyed this immensely until the end. It kind of all fell apart for me at the end and isn’t quite what I expected. Definitely a book about familial and religious trauma, so it packs quite a punch. Easy to read, harder to get through. All in all a solid addition to horror.
This will be out in August of 2025! Make sure to add it to your list. Thanks to NetGalley and Quirk for the copy of this ARC

Now this is what I'm talking about. Queer, creepy, twisted horror with just the right amount of romance. I loved the blending of horror tropes and elements (no spoilers, so I won't say more about the specifics). The characters were messed up in extremely believable ways, and I was drawn in to the horror of it all easily. An excellent summertime horror that I think will also work well during spooky season.

There's a little steam in one scene, and the sex was written incredibly well.

Would love to have nominated this for the LibraryReads list, however due to the union-related layoffs, I'm declining to do so at this time. I'm not sure what exactly the union is asking for re: reviews, so I will be holding off on formally reviewing this title, but I am so excited to tell people about it. Lindsay is an incredible author, and I hope that whatever the editorial situation is at Quirk gets cleared up by management soon.

This Is My Body was everything I want in possession horror: visceral, haunting, and deeply personal. Lindsay King-Miller masterfully weaves together themes of queerness, motherhood, and generational Catholic trauma in a way that felt both cathartic and terrifying. I loved following Brigid, a queer single mom, as she confronts the demons of her past (literal and figurative) to protect her daughter. The horror is sharp and emotional, with just the right touch of dark humor. Devastating, defiant, and a damn good time! This book was perfect.

Demons, possession and religious trauma, this book is so horrible from start to finish it will leave you wanting to peel yourself out of your own skin because its so well written. In it we follow queer single mom Brigid as she navigates the terrible teen years of her daughter Dylan. When Dylans behaviour exceeds the norm of teenage moodiness and passes into terrifying violence and inexplicable events Brigid starts to remember events similar from her childhood, from an exorcism she bore witness to.

Having grown in up a very catholic family, Brigid has left the traumas of her childhood and her uncles twisted interpretation of religion behind but when Dylan continues to get worse she breaks the promise to herself that she would never go home and returns to the house she grew up in in search of help. In the maze of hallways that make up the home, secrets come back to the surface, links start being made and Brigid realises they are only in more danger.. From shame to horror and queer representation to religious experiences and generational trauma this book will leave an imprint on your psyche before you are done.

This Is My Body is the exorcism of queer religious trauma for generations of queer. Sometimes we sever the tie with our parents to live our truth peacefully and sometimes that severed tie attempts to bring you back to the dungeons of hell. Explicitly chilling narrative that makes The Exorcist look like child’s play. A possession / religious horror that does not follow the cliches.
Brigid’s name and pagan influence is mentioned throughout the novel. Are we destined to defy our parent’s wishes? This is a novel that dives into what it means to survive regular disfunction. If we are trained to trust our religious leaders and they fail us – then who should we trust? An identity crisis wrapped up with the trope of possession. This was very fast - paced and would have loved to see the end elaborated further.
Initially I was hesitant to embrace this novel because I had a hard time trying to finish King-Miller’s Z Word. After reading This Is My Body I am ready to give the Z Word another shot. She really nails this sapphic romance fighting the brutalities of religious restrictions. Who are the real demons if we are not free to love who we are naturally attracted to? Thank you Net galley and Quirk Books for the advanced digital copy!

Read more reviews and recommendations on https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com

Lindsay King-Miller’s voice is sharp and compelling—her writing style is what kept me engaged even when the content felt difficult to sit with.

That said, this book may not be for everyone. If you’ve experienced religious trauma, particularly within a Christian context, some sections could feel re-triggering rather than healing. King-Miller doesn’t hold back, and while that rawness will resonate for some readers, it may hit too close to home for others.

There’s a lot of potential in this book. I was left in the middle. Some of it seem believable, other parts just didn’t connect with me.

Thank you for the arc. All opinions are my own

I got way into this book. This is My Body had me from page 1. The characters were interesting and relatable. The situation and spiritual occurrences gave me the creeps, and I was suspicious of everyone, including Brigid. If it had been possible, I would have read this in one setting.
The end of the book got a little wishy-washy in parts, which is why I can't give 5 stars, but otherwise, it was a very enjoyable read.
This book was provided to me at no cost by the publishers and NetGalley. My opinions are honestly and freely given.

Demons spread that spread from person to person terrify readers in this newest book by King-Miller. Coming from an oppressive catholic home as a child, Brigid is now the proud owner of an occult shop and single mother to the best part of her life, Dylan. But when Dylan starts acting strangely, her past seems to be clawing its way back into her life forcing her to confront people she swore she wouldn't go near again. But if it's the only way to save her daughter, could her priest of an uncle be her only hope? This story has a very different tone to it than "The Z Word" but the message about shame and fear and religion will resonate strongly with many. Throughout the book, the relationship between Brigid and Dylan shines as the core emotional journey, with Brigid's unreliable narration adding tension to an already terrifying situation. Readers who enjoyed Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle should pick this title up.

This is a book about shame, the kind of shame that's instilled by a one-two punches when you're both queer and a parent. It's also about parenting: the difficulty of trying to be close, but not smothering; to guide but not lecture; to give space for freedom without letting your child fall off of a cliff.

It's really good.

Book Review 📚
Title: This Is My Body
Author: Lindsay King-Miller

I usually don’t care for books/movies about possession. I find it to be boring but this book sounded interesting.

Brigid cuts ties with her very extremely catholic family. But when she’s convinced that her daughter is suffering from a demonic possession she decides she needs to go home. She soon realizes her and her daughter are in danger.

I honestly had a hard time getting through this book. I felt like it was really slow and I just kept waiting for it to get better. I love horror but this one was a miss for me. If you enjoy demonic possession, you will enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Lindsay and Quirk Books for the eARC!

Publication Date: August 5 2025
Rating: ✨✨✨