After a busy weekend, I’m finally getting the reviews caught up and posted!
The purple. The GHOSTS. I’m in love with these – he has never disappointed me and we’re both excited to start scheming the October and Halloween sets!
Thank you Berkley Pub for the gifted copy
SLASHED BEAUTIES – A. Rushby (Releasing September 23rd, 2025)
Book Description:
Seoul, present day. Antiques dealer Alys’s task is nearly complete. She has at last secured Elizabeth, the third and final Anatomical Venus. Crafted in eighteenth-century London and modeled after real-life sex workers to entice male medical students, these eerie wax figures, known as slashed beauties, carry unsavory lore. Legend has it that the figures are bewitched, and come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them. Now Alys embarks for England, where she knows what she must sever her cursed connection to the Venuses once and for all.
London, 1763. Abandoned and penniless in Covent Garden, wide-eyed Eleanor and another young woman, Emily, are taken under the wing of beautiful and beguiling Elizabeth, one of the city’s most highly desired courtesans among the rich and powerful. But as Eleanor is seduced deeper into a web of money, materialism, and men, it seems that Elizabeth may not be the savior she appears to be.
As the timelines begin to intersect, it becomes clear that the women’s stories are linked in deeper, darker ways than it initially seems. And that the only method for Alys to end the witchcraft that binds her legacy is to gather all three models in one place and destroy them.
However, these haunted, murderous dolls might not be ready to burn.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
“A gothic feminist body horror in two timelines revolving around three Anatomical Venuses—ultrarealistic wax figures of women—that come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them.” I don’t know about you, but that made me want this book instantly. Going between present day with Alys and 1763 with Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Emily weaves two tales that come together in a way that I wasn’t expecting them to!
Alys is an antiques dealer and has finally gotten her hands on the final Anatomical Venus. What is an Anatomical Venus you may wonder, well, these are dolls made of wax to resemble real-life sex workers to lure male medical students. Made in the 18th century, these creepy lifelike figures have an eerie and violent lore to them – known as slashed beauties – it was said that they would come alive at night to murder men who have wronged them. Now that Alys has all three in her possession, she must travel to London to break the curse that has tied her to them.
Our second timeline brings us to eighteenth century England. Eleanor is dazzled and mesmerized by Emily and Elizabeth and their lifestyles. The heartbreak and tragedy that comes from this timeline is tangible and you feel for all three of these women. Elizabeth is as cruel as she is stunning but the bond of sisterhood keeps them together. No matter how toxic of a relationship it may be.
If you don’t like gothic horror, then this probably won’t be for you. It has a slower pace but nothing that drags on. The tension builds and keeps pulling you along with these dolls and finding out how they intertwine with Alys. We get historical fiction, tension that keeps you unsettled and dying for more, a tale of revenge, witchcraft, and a look at the bonds between these women. Complex and fully formed characters you want to both hate and root for. This is so much more than wax, life size dolls coming to life to kill deserving men.
Jessicamap Reviews 