Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede | Book Review
This book delivers on its cover.
By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess.
By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes.
But when Gideon Green - her best friend’s brother - moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet.
Untethered, Maeve ditches her discontented act and tries on a new persona. A bolder, bloodier one, inspired by the pages of American Psycho. Step aside Patrick Bateman, it’s Maeve’s turn with the knife.
My 2 Cents for Free!
Lookie, Maeve Fly has a little bit of something for almost everyone:
☑️ A dark and spicy-sweet hockey romance w/ bite 🦷
☑️ Creative lessons on how to use your styling tools and new uses for eggs (how did I almost forget the eggs?!)
☑️ Comfy Halloween & gothic horror vibes đź‘»
☑️ Genius Halloween decorations using what you have hanging around
☑️ Lessons in caring for your elder and their judgy cat even when life is super stressful
☑️ Fun times at the mouse park as Cinderella partakes in villain night
☑️ A little taste for you cannibal types (that cover tells no lies!)
☑️ A how-to on torturing those who’ve done you wrong (and who doesn’t need that today?!)
☑️ An extreme lesson in LISTENING SKILLS, lol
Ok, maybe not for everyone!
Many fellow readers and the pub have done the American Psycho comparison to Maeve Fly and though I’ve never read the book but have owned the thing for decades (ugh, why am I like this?) I did see the movie and it seems a good comparison except Maeve is maybe a little bit more relatable as a person. She has some struggles and she actually seems to genuinely love a person or two and she’s not completely fixated on her appearance and “brands” which almost makes you as the reader want certain events to go another way . . .
Anyhow, this is the story of an actual Disney Princess beloved by kids by day who tamps down her darkest urges and her simmering rage the best way she can by club hopping and doing drugs at night and ruining a life or two online. But alas the day arrives when none of that is enough. She’s under a lot of emotional stress and things start to crack.
At first, I was like what is all the fuss about this book? It isn’t extreme at all. It’s a day-to-day glimpse into the life of a jaded, sarcastic, evil young woman with a fabulous job she loves as she maneuvers new and old relationships and jerky co-workers while caring for her dying granny. The extreme creeps in super slowly but once it hits the pages it doesn’t hold back. I loved that but not everyone else will so prepare yourselves because it gets messy, and it gets pitch black.
I listened to the unabridged audiobook (thank you so much Macmillan Audio & Netgalley!) narrated by Sosie Bacon. A narrator can make or break a book for me. Especially a book like this. But Bacon does an amazing job of making Maeve human. Her voice sounds suitably young and also suitably jaded. She’s just trying to live her life and keep her wolf at bay but people can’t stop being assholes. The anger, the frustration, the disdain, the desire, the conflicted feelings she experiences for those she loves- all of that comes through so loud and clear. If you’re into audiobooks, this is an excellent choice.
⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
Probably not the book for me, but I'm glad you had fun with it. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was fun in a very gross way, lol. Definitely not for everyone though.
Deletelol this sounds like SUCH a trip. People can't stop being assholes. Ha ha. This book sounds cathartic :)
ReplyDeleteI loved it so much but it gets dark.
DeleteI've seen American Psycho and love the movie so maybe I would like this book.
ReplyDeleteYou never know!
Delete