3.5 Stars

This is a book about Paul Cattaneo, or rather the alien bug cosmic horror that is living Paul's life and piloting Paul's skin. Paul loves living as aul. He loves his wife and their quiet life, and he despises being reminded of his real Mirror Person's body.

Unfortunately for Paul, breeding season comes around every 7 years for every Mirror Person, and Paul will need to face the reality of his existence, or lose himself entirely.

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Despite my lower than usual rating, I actually really enjoyed this for what it was. It was a kind of interesting way to explore radical acceptance of ones existence, even if it was about cosmic abominations and their reproductive cycle. It was weird, it was bizarre, and it was a pretty fun ride.

My complaint was that it was so short, it felt like we didn't get to really explore the characters and worlds as much as I wanted. I also felt like the ending sorta came out of left field and it didn't really stick with me. It was such a weird and fantastical book, and then it just sorta ended suddenly. And then that was it.

In theory, this should have been everything I'd love. Introspective horror novella about a non-human protagonist struggling with what it means to be human? Sign me up! But somewhere between the blurb and the novella itself, the message got twisted.

The concept here was really interesting, but I struggled with the way it played out. We don't get enough time with the characters to truly feel for them and how the wrestle with who they are and what that means for them. Alongside that, plot moments that could have developed this, and given more body, were sometimes glossed over with a sentence or two. Instead we plunged forward with a fragmented, need-driven plot, leaving us more disconnected than I would have liked. That may have been the goal, in which case it was achieved very well, however it's not the book I thought I was in for.

Overall enjoyable, but blurb expectations set me up for something with a different vibe. Other reviews mention this being a companion novella, which might change the experience altogether.

Paul Cattaneo is not Paul Cattaneo. He has Paul's face, he wears Paul's clothes, he sleeps next to Paul's wife, but really, he's an eldritch being inhabiting Paul's skin. He's one of the Mirror People who find dead humans and mimic them, taking over their lives to assimilate into a world not their own. Paul has done a good job so far, but when he goes into heat, he abandons any humanity that may have once been there. His mating rampage strips away his sanity until only his basest instincts remain.

This was an excellent follow-up to Huff's The Divine Flesh, which takes place in the same world and also features Mirror People. However, had I not read Divine Flesh, I'm not sure the mating rituals and background lore of the Mirror People would be clear. It works as a companion novella, however, and the tighter structure made this work more fast-paced and engaging than Huff's previous book. The characters are enjoyable, and the heart of the story is actually quite heartwarming if simplistic. Although the pacing drags leading up to the climax, it was still a fun read.

I must confess, I couldn't go on with the reading.

Really weird characters, really confusing plot. The writing was good though. It's a different kind of horror and maybe it's just not for me.

Yes, this is a cosmic horror novella, but it was also funny, emotional (like the depression rep) and a beautiful story about finding self-love with the occasional dead body along the way. This book is slightly unhinged and it truly was like a cosmic horror I've never read before. My only issue was the pacing. I get that it's a novella, but it seemed like a lot of information was either thrown at you all at once or not enough detail was given. For a roadtrip book, I wanted more roadtrip. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was and can easily see myself rereading it in the future.

His name is not Paul, don't call him Paul but he's Paul so call him Paul but don't say that name noooo don't you dare saying it don't call him like thaaaat cause he is but he is NOT Paul cause Paul is not his name ok? his name is not Paul but he's Paul but he's not but Paul IS his name but it ISN'T but OMGGGGGGG PAUL NOT PAUL PLEASE, STOP.

I'm sad this was my first experience with this type of horror cause i really wanted to like it, the concept was so interesting and weird and different, but it felt flat, very flat, and i'd say the only parts i enjoyed were the beginning and the ending (the ending it's what's made me give it 2 stars). All in between (the book itself? oops) i didn't care about. There wasn't enough base or world building (not enough info about their history, the characters, there's a lot we don't really know or get to understand) for me to care.

And i can see the value of the social commentary that you can read between the lines, and i actually think that has a lot of potential if it was more developed, but at the end i was just... Ok. Finally, let's move on.

The book is sooooo repetitive, not just with the "my name is not Paul" thing but with everything. And we're talking about a novella, a story with less than 150 pages shouldn't feel like "wait a minute, didn't you say this a minute ago?" but it does.

Also, i should feel VERY uncomfortable (i'm reading body horror right? right??? let me check again) because of the nasty and disgusting things you're describing to me but i couldn't because i was paying more attention to the way it was written, trying to remember who was who because all the names are pretty similar, or dealing with the stupid and cringey things Paul (not Paul) was saying.
If i could describe him in a sentence i would say: he's everything i don't like in a man, also... "he's not like the other girls" but in a Paul (not Paul) way. I can't.
I see where all this unhinged behaviour comes from, but i couldn't care less. Go to bug therapy. IDK.

One thing is clear, i won't be looking at a mosquito the same way... again... in my life.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book! Liked it or not i really appreciate it!

ps: i'm spanish so english is not my native language, excuse me if there are some mistakes in this review (or whatever this is), i try my best! ty.

First Impressions: Three pages in and I'm already hooked, I really like this style of writing - narrator is the MC who is undergoing some type of transformation that may or may not be an analogy for how they feel inhuman; they may actual be; inhuman.
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Final Review!

Okay so, confirmed, Paul's name is NOT Paul!

This book is visceral and the writing makes the world so tangible, it demands your attention! Aliens, Bugs, Alien Bug Babies, lots of SEX, world domination, telepathy, human frailties, full body disguises, badass housewives and more!

This was a fast read, and worth every second. This fantastic short read had some of my favorite elements in it and was creepy, gross, unsettling, dreadful, cosmic, unhinged, and Oh! so satisfying.

I want to say more, but I don't want to give anything away!!! I absolutely obsess over books that have such unique ideas brought to life and this is definitely that! It's so much fun to be taken along for a ride and never know where you're going next. As unpredictable as it is enthralling.

Gore type of story. Im so sorry but this genre is not my liking. Too much blood
The trigger warning was best choice to put in front of the book

This is a very weird novella that is unlike anything I read before.

Paul is what they call a mirror person. He has taken over a human form and is having trouble accepting what he truly is. We follow "Paul" and others like him as they deal with the breeding/heat that happens around the seven-year mark for their kind.

A fast read with a very original premise. It was interesting, terrifying and disgusting all at once. I really enjoyed it and will check out more by this author.

I read this in one sitting in the queue for Billie Eillish. It distracted me enough that I wasn’t combusting from the heat and overstimulation!! This had me enraptured and unable to put it down. I was LOCKED IN until I finished it.
This was an incredibly interesting book. I had no idea where it was going and did not predict the ending. In fact the ending was basically HEA! I did not see that coming when I began the novel and met Paul, a creature that despised everything they were and wanted to stay living in the ignorance that the paul-skin gave them.
I loved the plot twist of Melanie knowing Paul isn’t her human husband. But it was so sad she knew that they were someone different purely from how much kinder they were to her than her husband.

I loved that the book was basically Uxon learning to be okay with themself and what they are, after a life of self-hatred. I can see the comparisons for autism!!! Uxon has been masking their entire life and pretending to be something else to appease themselves and those around them. At the end they stopped trying to be something else. They chose to want happiness and not overthink.

I loved the descriptions and imagery of the creatures. I could see it so well! And it was disgusting, the visuals, when Paul’s eye came out of the socket I laughed at the pure gore!! I found the gender irrelevance really cool and also the relationship between Uxon and their “siblings” was so fascinating. I loved the description of them growing up and horribly eating someone alive!!! This definitely delivers on the horror and body-horror element.

I thought this was SO imaginative and interesting. I am excited to read more from this author.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for me to review!*

To my complete and utter surprise, I really enjoyed this little story. I don't mean that in a disrespectful way by any means. For one, the plot isn't something that would normally interest me and secondly, the reviews I read seemed definitively mixed at best. Despite these attributes, I went in with an open mind and it really paid off.

The main character is so unique. The author did a superb job at accurately portraying his personality. He was complex and simple at the very same time. Even when he was probably supposed to be unlikable, I found him likable.

The climax, in my opinion, was satisfying. We got an explanation for the instinctive motivations of the main character and it didn't feel like it was closed with a rushed ending. I even found myself in some deep thoughts during and after reading the last few pages.

I look forward to reading more of this author.

Deeply weird, deeply gross, and somehow also darkly funny. The story drops you into the disjointed mind of a narrator who might be having a breakdown, might be slipping through alternate realities, or might just be an alien insect thing wearing a dead man's skin.
Paul—if that’s even his name—narrates his spiral through a world that’s either rotting or transforming, and the insects feel like both a symptom and a cause. You’re never quite sure if they're real, hallucinations, or metaphors for decay and guilt, but either way, they’re crawling everywhere.
It didn't work for me because I couldn't handle the insect imagery (ewwwwww!) and I just can't love Cosmic Horror.
It’s a fever dream of identity loss, paranoia, and body horror.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I thought the premise for this book was very interesting as I love cosmic horror, but overall, I didn't really enjoy it. The writing style wasn't quite to my tastes, not to say it was bad, I just didn't care for it.

I liked the weirdness of the story, but the characters were not particularly engaging, and I ultimately didn't care what happened to them. I feel like I finished it mostly out of curiosity and because it was fairly short.

I'm not sure if I would have gotten more out of this if I had read 'The Divine Flesh', but I unfortunately had to DNF that one because I couldn't get into the writing style.

If you are a fan of cosmic horror or sci-fi body horror, then it is still worth checking out. 3⭐️

Thanks to Drew Huff and the publisher for providing this book for review consideration via Netgalley.

This was a quick and interesting read dripping with existential dread. Both unsettling and delightfully strange, the story follows a shape-shifting wasp alien as it battles its violent instincts during mating season. Paul (or actually not Paul) struggles with the simplicity of his identity as a Mirror Person and being “just a bug.” Less than 200 pages, it’s a bit redundant at times but nonetheless a fun and thoughtful cosmic horror.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5-Star Review: My Name Isn’t Paul

My Name Isn’t Paul is a fast, weird, and engaging novella about a bug-like creature who takes over a dead man’s life by wearing his skin. As he struggles to live as “Paul,” he battles self-loathing and the pull of his monstrous origins.

It’s gory, messy, and darkly funny, though the short length leaves some ideas underexplored. Still, a memorable read for fans of experimental horror.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐

Three words to describe this book: Weird, weird and WEIRD. This novella is not for everyone. It's very graphic and unnerving, but honestly I vibed hard with it. Loved it!

I will definitely be checking out the authors other book after this.

Every now and again you stumble across a book that is as original as it can be with so many billions of words in existence. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC and review it.

This is like nothing I've read - in good ways. It made me feel uncomfortable, enthralled, thrilled, grossed out and feel sympathy for what are effectively alien space wasp parasites.

Paul has pretended to be human for some time. He, like his 'family' adopt corpses as meat suits to maintain the image of normality - all whilst fighting urges beyond their control and exisiting as something they are not. Symbolism? Damn straight. His meat suit is a travelling salesman of little importance but when scratching beneath the surface, the world (and his wife) are better off without him.

The book builds, tension grows and becomes palpable and imagination spans miles in what culminates as an epic stand off. The physicality of the mirror people blows my mind and stretched my boundaries. Executed so well by Huff.

I rate books for how much I like them. I'm simplistic like that. This books was hugely enjoyable and so very refreshing in its originality.

5 stars from me. An absolute belter that I would love to see made into a film or series.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Drew Huff for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
What on not-earth-sort-of did I just read?
This novella is wonderfully weird.
The main characters are a family of sorts - If you count hatching out of the same human body their eggs were laid in as a family. Our MMC Paul carries a lot of guilt and shame about simply being, often trying to convince himself that he is human. Denial is apparently a much better way to cope with being an alien 'bug'.
But, what would happen, just for kicks, if a key stage of the life cycle of these 'bugs' resulted in all human feelings (including empathy) being cut off entirely? What if Paul suddenly became NotPaul?
I ate this up in one sitting, and am buzzing for more.

My Thoughts
There’s no way to prepare for My Name Isn’t Paul. From page one, the book catapults you into a headspace that’s disorienting, visceral, and more than a little grotesque. And in a way, that’s part of its charm—if “charm” is a word you can use for a body-horror novella where bug-people battle urges to mate while pretending to be human.

Let’s start with what worked. The premise is incredibly original—a bold, trippy idea that explores identity, alienation, and desire in an unconventional (and often icky) way. The writing is solid, and Drew Huff has a knack for unsettling imagery. The gore is effective, the tension steadily builds, and the final half of the story finally begins to coalesce into something you can wrap your head around.

But here’s the thing: I spent a good chunk of the book confused. And not in a good, mysterious kind of way, more in a “Wait, did I miss something?” kind of way. The world-building is deliberately vague, and while that may have been a stylistic choice, it made it hard to get emotionally invested early on. I wanted more clarity around the lore and the insectoid species’ background, especially since the story leans so heavily on their biology and rituals.

The novella flirts with deeper themes, what it means to suppress your true nature, how we define personhood, the cost of becoming “human” but doesn’t always follow through. These moments are compelling but fleeting, often overtaken by scenes focused on reproductive frenzy and physical transformation. And while that fits the tone of the book, it left me wishing the emotional/psychological core had been explored more deeply.

That said, I can’t deny it was a unique ride. Weird, yes. Uncomfortable, definitely. But it stands out in a sea of formulaic horror/sci-fi and made me curious to read more from Drew Huff. He’s clearly not afraid to go to strange, bold places and that in itself is worth something.

Who Should Read It?
- Fans of weird fiction and body horror
- Readers looking for something very different
- Those who don’t mind ambiguity, gore, or a little sexual discomfort
- Lovers of metaphor-heavy sci-fi that flirts with literary themes

Final Verdict
My Name Isn’t Paul is the kind of book that’ll either make you squirm in delight or confusion or both. It’s a messy, visceral exploration of what it means to suppress your nature, wrapped in a layer of insect horror and identity crisis. Not for everyone, but definitely memorable. Proceed with caution and curiosity.

Grateful to NetGalley AND Drew Huff for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very weird little novel. It’s a sci-fi story about a race of aliens who invade dead bodies of humans reanimate them and use them as their host bodies until it’s time to procreate
The story follow as one of these aliens who has used the corpse of a human called Paul and whilst he’s in Paul’s body he’s fallen in love with Paul‘s lifestyle and developed a relationship with his wife. Paul before he died was a wife beater and a thoroughly unpleasant human being His wife realises things have radically changed and ultimately comes to the conclusion herself that of course his body must’ve been taken over by an alien.
This is really more of a short story than a novel. The story somehow failed to live up to my expectations. I think the primary reason for this is because I felt that I didn’t really like the alien character and therefore wasn’t really that interested in what became of him. I liked the idea of the story more than its final result. I’m not a I’m horror fiction fan generally but didn’t find this particularly horrific in any way. I am a sci-fi fan and this didn’t quite tick all my boxes.
I read an only copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book is published in the UK on the 18th of November 2025 by Drew Huff
This review will appear on that UK, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book Vlog bionicSarahSbookswordpress.com. After publication will also appear on Amazon and Waterstones.