The leaves are looking vibrant again and its 100% sweater weather!
Thank you Run For It and Novel Suspects for the gifted copy
MOONFLOW – Bitter Karella (Released September 2nd, 2025)
The horror has not been disappointing so far this month!
Book Description:
Moonflow is three-time Hugo Award nominee Bitter Karella’s debut horror novel-a gloriously queer and irreverent psychedelic trip into the heart of an eldritch wood and the horrors of sisterhood. Answer the call of the forest, if you dare.
I see something out there, in the woods. It does not have a face.
They call it the King’s Breakfast. One bite and you can understand the full scope of the universe; one bite and you can commune with forgotten gods beyond human comprehension. And it only grows deep in the Pamogo forest, where the trees crowd so tight that the forest floor is pitch black day and night, where rumors of strange cults and disappearing hikers abound.
Sarah makes her living growing mushrooms. When a bad harvest leaves her in a desperate fix, the lure of the King’s Breakfast has her journeying into those vast uncharted woods. Her only guide is the most annoying man in the world, and he’s convinced there’s no danger. But as they descend deeper, they realize they’re not alone. Something is luring them into the heart of the forest, and they must answer its call.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars
Are you ready for a trippy, mushroom filled splatterpunk novel with a cult in the deep woods and an amazing trans MC? Well, Moonflow will make you feel like you’re hallucinating alongside the characters and wonder what the hell you just read.
Sarah is on a mission to find a mushroom known as the King’s Breakfast. She enlists the help of a local guide, Andy, and they’re off into the woods. You get to a certain point in the woods where you just KNOW you’ll find some creepy shit. In the case for Sarah and Andy, that creepy shit is Mother Moonflow and her cult that celebrates and elevates the feminine essence (that phrase alone gives me the creeps). They reject everything they see as ‘masculine’ – so Andy and Sarah, a trans woman, aren’t exactly welcomed with open arms.
I did love the inclusion of the info and facts about mushrooms and they were the perfect metaphor. Transformation, decay, and so much more. The commentary in this book is loud, nuanced, and on the nose. It truly shows how even the most progressive and well-intentioned groups can still be harmful. It also speaks to how feminists have failed to support and uplift the trans community.
I highly recommend reading the author’s page for the trigger warnings. While this is on the more tame end of the spectrum, it is still splatterpunk. Some gore, sexual content, transphobia from the cult, and animal cruelty are the ones to highlight. It was a fever dream and psychedelic trip of a book and parts will stay with you long after you finish!
Jessicamap Reviews 