My biggest gripe is that this is a novella, and not a full length novel (something I didn't notice until I started reading it). This has an amazing premise and absolutely beautiful writing. I love the characters and their relationship, the ritual and horror of religion, and the setting. However, because it is a novella the pacing is so fast that I feel like I never get to connect with the characters. I don't get to sit with them and their internal monologues or feel the stakes of the situation for them. It has a beautifully poetic ending, but it didn't make me FEEL anything because I didn't have time to get to know the characters and their relationship. I also was not a fan of how often and quickly this story switched POVs. I found myself confused at whose internal monologue I was listening to at times. And I think it also humanized both characters too much. Jude is trying to convince himself and the reader that Dante is one way, but because we are also in Dante's head, we know that's not the case. I don't mind dual POV, but it should've been more separated (by chapters, line breaks, etc). This premise and writing had so much promise, it just failed to deliver on a powerful story.

My heart broke a little bit reading this book.
My constant predictions of what was next to come were all entirely shot down and was left reeling over that beautiful, bitter-sweet ending.
I think the pressures of what queer people living in the shadow of Christianity’s oppression was displayed in such an unexpected, yet perfect way.
I was a little confused by the POV in the beginning, but after a few chapters I was able to adapt and catch on.
Dante and Jude’s heartbreakingly beautiful story will stay with me for a very long time in the best way.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All thoughts here are my own.

I’ve been craving a book that deals with supernatural with a biblical theme - this book being about the antichrist - and it gave the atmosphere I was looking for. But sadly, no matter how much I wanted to like this novella, I just felt like it the ending let it down.

Jude is a new pastor for his hometown church, Dante a local teen. The two of them are drawn together and start a relationship together but when both of them start having a similar dream night after night, they come to realize that Dante is the antichrist and Jude is the second beast that will bring the end times.

Jude isn’t a good person, a pastor who is very aware that he’s a stereotype considering he’s sleeping with Dante who is either underaged or eighteen (I could have sworn at the start the book said he was eighteen but at the end says he’s seventeen) which adds to the very toxic nature of him as a character. He also is drawn to violent acts when around Dante even before the dreams start. He can’t explain the urges. Even before the dreams start he chokes Dante even when he’s telling him to stop. I don’t really have any complaints for Dante considering his age, he’s a victim in all of this, even if he thinks he was just as responsible in how their relationship started. The theme continues with a plot point that occurs later in the book. But when he comes into his own as the antichrist he does become a bit more toxic himself as no matter what he asks Jude can’t say no, though it’s unclear if that’s because of some power that comes with who he is or simply because Jude loves him.

Though this book doesn’t glamorize the relationship, it does leave the reader extremely uncomfortable considering the fact this book opens up on a sex scene and most of the book takes place with the two characters in bed together. For me, it was just a little too much.

As for the plot, it’s set up that Jude must kill Dante and bring him to Jerusalem. The dreams drill this into the readers head. And the plot starts to happen only for suddenly, that doesn’t happen at all. It doesn’t make sense how the fact the two of them decide to run away and suddenly the dreams just stop when they do. I don’t understand why location mattered. But instead it gives the two of them anatomy over their fates which is nice but anti-climatic. The fact that when Jude’s body is found before his resurrection no one suspected Judes despite him being found on his property. Nor does it make sense that if Dante is underaged why they can simply run away together without a search for them. I loved the idea of this book, but there was too many pieces that felt half baked and not polished. I feel like it could have been amazing if it had been developed a little more than it was. I think the message of making your own fate is great, though I wish it just didn’t feel like the book went out with a whimper instead of being developed more.

The pacing was uneven and for such an explicit premise, it was a big anti-climactic at times. But overall, I had a good time with this dark and very blasphemous novella.

It's hard for me to say no to dark romance, especially ones with such an uneven power imbalance. (Oops, that's my kink!) So of course I had to read this one.

And let me tell you, this little novella definitely did deliver on those fronts. It was graphic and disgusting when it wanted to be. But the author also managed to balance it out by dialing down at certain points in the story.

I know it's always unfair to say this, but I really wish this novella was longer. As much as I loved the Antichrist symbolism and horror elements, it was difficult to really get a feel for the two MCs and sympathize with them with such a short word count. I really wanted to get attached to Jude and Dante, but it felt like the prose kept them at an arm's length from me.

Don't get me wrong though, this was a great dark romance with dark fantasy elements. So, if you're looking for a quick read based on that angle, I'd recommend this.

I'd love to see what M. Jane Worma has in store for us in the future!

Thank you to CLASH Books and NetGalley for this arc.

This novella completely blew me away! From the very first page, it had me hooked, and I couldn't stop reading until the very end. The suspense was relentless, and there were moments that left me absolutely stunned—jaw on the floor. It’s not often that a book can pull off that level of shock, but this one did it with ease.

The way the author blends themes of queer religious guilt with the darker forces of evil and sacrifice is absolutely brilliant. It adds an unexpected depth to the story and keeps the tension high throughout. The pacing was perfect, never giving me a chance to get bored, and the twists kept me guessing.

If this is the author's debut, I’m even more excited to see what’s coming next. This novella is a true gem in the horror genre, and I can’t recommend it enough.

This book was so good for only 120 pages. Jude and Dante’s relationship through it all. It was already established which really helped the plot. The eeriness was so good. I really liked this horror! No critiques for me!

3.5 stars

A sadistic priest is having an affair with one of his loyal parishioners. After they both begin having similar terrifying dreams, one thing has become clear: Dante is the antichrist and Jude has been called to slaughter him.

Of Beasts is dual POV, but the POVs happen simultaneously, switching back and forth within the short chapters. This led to me rereading a few paragraphs here and there to make sure I was keeping up with what was happening to whom.

Classified as a horror novella, the story almost reads as a parable: sometimes short and succinct, with characters facing a moral dilemma. I do wish this book was a little longer, I would love to have explored the relationship between Jude and Dante a bit more and would love if the tension revolving around the discovery of Dante being the antichrist was expanded upon.

An item of note for readers interested: Dante is 17 and Jude is in his 20s with some graphic sex scenes being depicted. This may deter some readers, especially when Dante is described multiple times as “the/a teen”. Had I known his age going into the book, I likely would not have picked it up as it’s something I, personally, don’t want to read. I did not factor this into my review though, but I do feel it’s important to note for potential readers.

Thank you CLASH Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

4.25 stars!
I loved this!! A priest and the antichrist? Say less. This was right up my alley and it did not disappoint.

Novellas are hit or miss for me but this was a hit. The pacing was really well. The story itself kept me engaged from the first line to the last line.

A very promising debut from this author! I’m interested in more from them. <3

This was a very quick read that had a good blend of horror and religious elements. I wish that it was a little bit loner than it was so we could have gone more in depth on certain topics, but I still thought that it was really well done.

Man this little novella was HEAVY. There’s so much to unpack between Jude and Dante without even getting to all the religious horror that I was hooked from the opening line. The prose, the horror in their dreams, the days of doubting were all done really well.

What a phenomenal read. I loved the characters, the setting, the prose - but most of all the haunting feeling that hung across this novel like a shroud.

I was a bit nervous about it as I'm not usually into horror, but the horror element definitely takes a backseat to the religious and queer themes. Jude and Dante made my heart ache in such a strange, wonderful way and there were so many lines I wanted to highlight, despite how short the novel is. I'll definitely be investing in a physical copy when they're released so I can do just that.

I would recommend this for anyone who loved the show Midnight Mass, the Amazon Original Stories anthology Into Shadow, or tragic Supernatural fanfiction circa season 4/5 (those who get it, get it).

Jude never wanted to be a priest, but his father and grandfather both held the mantle, and when his father grew ill he had no choice but to follow in his footsteps. Though he preaches about the evils of homosexuality during the day, at night he is the intimate bedroom acquaintance of Dante, a teenager five years his junior. The two begin to have dreams with the supposed voice of God convincing Jude to kill Dante, which soon leads to Dante being revealed as the Antichrist.

I almost feel bad rating this one, because rarely do I feel that I'm not the target audience for something this strongly unless it's YA. Despite my personal experience of growing up queer in an incredibly religious rural community, I didn't walk away with much knowledge retained of biblical lore, nor did I have complicated feelings about religion itself. 'Of Beasts' is instead about the feelings of complication one feels being religious and queer, and how being seen as a pariah by something that should love you can hurt. There is some interesting reflection in this, but it's not a feeling I can really relate to. The controlling nature of Jude's relationship towards Dante is interesting, but I think the ending was a bit too esoteric for me, especially with how little I know about this part of religion.

The big twist about 75% in was great, but I didn't enjoy the ending enough to recommend it.

Wow. What a wild ride.
This is a short and beautiful story of blasphemy and religious horror.
As someone who was raised a satanist, then adopted into a southern Baptist household: this was a perfect mix of true biblical references and the things Christians can’t fathom that non believers can think up.
A forbidden gay relationship between a young pastor and and a teen congregation member, blossoms into something even more sacrilegious once they both start having dreams that show the end of times is near, and the teen Dante may very well be the antichrist.
As messed up and wild of a relationship these two have, I found myself feeling sad that they couldn’t find their happy ending together…
But maybe they have?

I truly wish this was a much longer story and we could have even seen more of their lives unfolded as the impact of their reality changed. This gives the creepy and damning emotions similar to the movie ‘The Omen’, while also showcasing the characters in a way that was believable and interesting in their dynamic similarly to those of ‘Call Me By Your Name’.
I loved this.

Big thanks to NetGalley and CLASH Books for the ARC copy. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.

How could I not read this book after seeing that attention-grabbing cover and that premise? This is a book that makes you keep your eyes on it, both at the outside and the inside, until the very end of the story. Never letting go. What an emotional rollercoaster I went through for such a short book, in all honesty😂

So, we have Jude and Dante. Dante and Jude. And they have each other. And God, apparently. They also have sex and a secret relationship, because Jude is the local pastor, a twenty-three year old young man that shouldn't be giving into these pleasures, since Dante is one of his followers and five years younger, but who has been kind of obsessed with Jude for a long time. And, now that Jude is back from his years away at the ministerial training, and after some intense eye locking, they've started a relationship.
After some time in said relationship, the dreams start: dreams of fire and death, that bring the end of the world to their doorstep and calling Dante the antichrist and Jude his slayer. Dante refuses vehemently to do this, can't even conceive being such creature, but Jude is conflicted, he loves Dante too much to kill him, but this is God talking to him. Or is it? Either way they'll soon have to answer the call if they want to have a say in the choice made when the time comes.

So, as said, for such a short book, barely above the 100 pages long, I think it was done pretty well. The characters showed fears, goals and ambitions, feeling three dimensional and deep. The plot was coherent enough to follow it through the bulk of the book, with little to no subplots, not that these shorter formats tend to need so much, or else we risk losing track of the main one, something that doesn't happen here. What you see is what there is. And, since this is set in our world, not much to say about it, except it stayed consistent from the start to the end and respected it established rules, which is what I look for in world building no matter the genre I'm reading.

The strongest point of this book for me was the characters and their relationships, from the main one between Jude and Dante, to Jude and the church patrons to Dante and his mother, the most wholesome relationship ever.
As mentioned, Dante and Jude feel like proper people with their lights and their shadows, two people coming together in a complex and probably quite toxic relationship full of devotion, desire and pain. My only complain is, that by the end of the book, I did not feel like, for all the cruel things that Jude had done to Dante, he had paid or apologized enough for it. Like, sure, they acknowledge it, but I feel like Dante let him off the rope too easy. I would have like for Jude to show more remorse, since he seem to feel some guilt, or at least at odds with himself, for it.

And, tying it to that same complain, leads me to talk about the end (in vague form, to not spoil it), which, for the emotional journey that Of Beasts has taken us into and trough, felt lacking. The emotional punch that the end should have given us in contrast (or follow up) to the one in the middle, never came. It abruptly ended; I reached the end an expected more pages, but there was none, it left you there, wanting, but it gave nothing in return. The whole novel was good, gripping me and going in such a fast pace, tension and emotion up the tenth level, until the very end, where it deflated and did not deliver as I feel it should have, what gave me mixed feelings about this book.

Overall, I think Of Beasts is a very good debut novel, I can see potential in the author and their writing, exploring concepts of queerness, love despite what the rest of the world thinks, laced with supernatural and horror elements that I always welcome in my readings and even religious and taboo themes. I'm thinking that I'll definitely keep an eye out on them to see if they ever write something else that catches my attention. So, yes, I do recommend this one

Brutal, sensual and biblical, this was a fast paced read! I really enjoyed the writing style, it was descriptive and felt almost religious with the tone and word choice. Jude and Dante, while only knowing them for a short time, were both fleshed out characters that compelled me to read on. Honestly, a pretty damn near perfect horror novella, cryptic and emotional. Is it enough to love someone who was born for evil?

religious and queer horror done absolutely right! the ending will leave you wondering and wanting more. such a good,quick read!

I love religious horror. I’m not religious at all but something about religious horror piques my interest. Of Beasts is one of the best experiences I’ve had with this sub-genre hands-down.

The prose is so beautiful here and easy to engage with, fantastic for a debut author. M. Jane Worma manages to express the themes of religious trauma, religious guilt, abuse of power, and queer identities in religious spaces so well. The story is paced really well for a novella. I was concerned about the short length but by the time it was over I felt satisfied. Everything blends so perfectly to deliver a very brutal, thought-provoking, experience.

Dante and Jude’s relationship is so well written too. Their dynamic is certainly the backbone of this story and seeing it play out is very nerve-racking and intense.

Granted, I did have some issues with Dante’s age but it definitely plays into Jude’s abusive nature and the abuse of his power as the pastor. There’s a bigger discussion to be had about their age-gap but if you’re concerned about it please be assured that their relationship isn’t portrayed as romantic in the slightest and is extremely toxic.

If this sounds interesting I would 100% recommend it when it officially releases. It’s short, shocking, brutal, everything you could want in a horror novella.

Edgy and brutal, this novella does not shy away from any of the themes it chooses to tackle.

'“To stop the end of times?” Dante asked, huffing with a bitter smile. “I’d let you destroy me. I’d give any suffering.”'

Worma does a fantastic job of creating an uneasy and eerie atmosphere from the get-go. I was on the edge of my seat from the first chapter.

Jude is a minister and Dante one of his sheep; unfortunately, it turns out Dante is the antichrist and they have a very passionate and very taboo relationship. Both start experiencing dreams, where Dante is told he will bring about the apocalypse and Jude is told he should kill him to start it. Both are being pushed towards ‘a greater good’ for which neither of them wants any part of.

But Jude is brutal and loyal, Dante being his only weakness in his worship of God. Dante is the opposite of what we expect from an Antichrist. He’s a boy who has done nothing wrong except, in the eyes of Christianity, fall for and sleep with Jude. Dante does not want to accept his fate. As the plot progresses, tension starts rising; you're waiting for the characters to make their decisions. What will Dante do? And what will Jude do?

Will they do as God intends? Will they bring about the end of the world?

The prose was beautiful and kept me hooked from the first page, especially important as I wasn’t quite sure if this book was for me. It was lyrical, dark and enticing but very easy to read. I also appreciate how this was a contained story and novella. I think this easily could have been made into a much longer novel but I appreciate the fact it wasn’t, as it works much better as a short story, in my opinion. I think this easily could’ve been dragged out and the tension would have been lost. Massive props as a lot of great authors struggle with short stories and novellas.

I think the opening may turn some people away; it was very graphic but I think sets the tone for the rest of the novella. If you enjoy the opening, you’ll love the rest of the book. I also expected a little more emotion to be invoked from the ending, considering how tense I found the middle of the novel. I have to add as well that I was not a fan of the age gap, with Dante being a teenager and Jude an adult; I expect this will put people off reading. But due to this being a horror and not a romance (and the abusiveness of the relationship is brought up throughout), I don't have as much of a problem with it as I would if it were being marketed as a romance novel or as a healthy relationship.

A really solid debut, and I’m really looking forward to what else the author releases. A solid 4.5 stars from me! Rounded up to 5!

Thank you to CLASH books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. A wonderful little gem I may not have discovered on my own, all opinions are entirely my own.

Half of the reason I picked up Of Beasts is because of the cover. I mean!!! Look at it!!! It's very striking. I also nabbed the novella because it's horror and gay.

However.

If I had known ahead of time that Dante, the "young man", was underage I never would have downloaded it in the first place. I'm not trying to be rude. This isn't a moral judgment on the author. I simply wasn't prepared for the experience. Of Beasts is described as "forbidden love" but it's actually just illegal? I don't care if Dante is the alleged Antichrist. He's in a teenager's body. Because of that, I'm not rooting for their relationship, I'm wanting Jude to get thrown in the trash. Period.

But I'm torn because, despite my distaste for the abusive relationship, of Jude's unhinged, controlling behavior and gross anger, this wasn't a badly written novella by any means. On the contrary, I'd say it's one of the best short pieces of fiction I've read this year, if not the best. It was incredibly readable. Very snappy.

Jude had SO much to answer for, though. Dante suffered so much. He was hurt when he didn't deserve it. What about Jude??? Idk. I just feel strongly that, by the end, nothing was resolved in a satisfying way (imo). It was difficult for me to buy into the ending after what Jude did. That doesn't make this a bad book or even a mid book. But I'm not entirely sure it's for me.

I'll definitely try Worma again in the future though because hot damn!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really liked this! Queer, erotic, religious horror is such an interesting genre and this novella captures it perfectly. I read this in nearly one sitting and really love the concept, relationship dynamic, and characters. Really great pacing and the prose had a lovely tone. The choice to have head-hopping narration between Dante and Jude worked well, too.

There were some minor criticisms from me, which kept this from being a 5 star read. Every time Dante was described as 'the teen' (rather than using his name or just with 'he') drew me out of the story more than it should have. I also wish there was a bit more to Dante and Jude's characterisations - I actually found the synopsis more revealing than the actual text! But that's also a sign of a good story for me - the characters were interesting as it stands, I just wish there was more of them because I feel like I could have gone absolutely feral for their dysfunctional dynamic.

I think this works well as a novella, but I think this would have absolutely blown me away as a full sized novel.