Plain Bad Heroines

An intricate, lengthy ghost story, about a haunted girls school in 1902, and the group of modern actors who are filming a movie about the ghost story. Unfortunately, the crew are planning to make a haunting on-set, to build up the hype of the movie and add a second layer to the spookiness of the narrative. I loved both timelines, which were equally diverse with queer characters and intrigue. The writing was lush and relaxed, taking its time to build a realistic world on its way towards the ending. There's also some wonderful horrifying moments in there too - if you're wasp-phobic, this one might not be for you!
I listened to the audiobook, which was really nicely done - I especially enjoyed how truly modern the 2020 characters sounded compared to the historical storyline. It made the banter all the more fun too, as some of the intonations were perfectly timed! I listened on 1.75x speed.

I had seen reviews of this on NetGalley, and could not believe the UK release was so long after the US one...so I requested the audiobook on NetGalley, and when I was sent an ARC I jumped straight in.
I listened to the opening with such a sense of anticipation, and found myself captivated but also repulsed by the opening. I dislike intensely the thought of being stung, so this was a particularly macabre scene with which to open the novel...though the story definitely intrigued me.
Unfortunately, my tendency to read a couple of books at the same time meant that I soon found myself totally lost by this. The shifting perspectives and chronology is one of the strengths of the story - having now finished it, I am in awe at how cleverly constructed this is - but trying to listen to it in short bursts with gaps in-between was not working out. It got set aside until I knew I could do it justice.
Finding myself with the arduous task of stripping a bathroom, what more excuse could I find but to try and use the time wisely? Back to it...
Second time round - and actually listening to it for hours at a time over two days - meant I found myself immersed in the story from the outset. Listening to/reading the stories surrounding Brookhants School for Girls and its mysterious curse was a joy.
In the publicity material we are told that this is a story of parts - queer love story, Gothic horror and Hollywood satire. The focus is on a number of stories tied to Brookhants over time: that of Libby Brookhants and her lover, Alex; poor Flora and Cara and, lastly, Harper Harper and Audrey. The one thing that unites these three stories is the mysterious Brrokhants School for Girls and the scandalous memoir that seems to hold the key to the purported curse.
I don't want to say too much because Danforth reveals all, and the way she chooses to do this gave me physical chills. I never felt as if I could tell exactly what was happening, and the events unfolding - in whichever timeline we were focused on - were beautifully described. The narrator on the audiobook gave a different perspective on the experience, and this is certainly a book I will have to physically read too.
A huge thank you to the publishers Harper Collins and NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to its release.