I've been reading a lot of books in the horror genre lately. I never used to read horror but I stumbled upon a social media post that recommended a couple of them that sounded interesting so I decided to give them a go. I ended up liking them a lot so I've since began seeking out more books in the genre. Two that I completed a few weeks back that I really enjoyed were The Lamb by Lucy Rose and Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito. The latter is being made into a movie airing in September of this year. I'll look out for it in the fall, but until then let's get into my reviews.
The Lamb by Lucy Rose follows a young girl named Margot and her "mama." The two live in a small cottage in the woods and quietly wait for "strays" to stumble upon their humble abode, lost hikers and travelers looking for a place to rest, get food or get a warm drink. Mama is an expert on herbs and medicinal plants and makes quick work making the strays feel comfortable, before silently killing them and eating their bodies. Everything changes for Margot when Eden shows up at the home and she has to deal with a whole new set of family dynamics. Its a book about cannibalism but its much more than that. This is a coming of age story and its actually really beautiful to read. I would say that the cannibalism is just the hook to the story. This book is more about womanhood.
I enjoyed the Lamb a lot and would easily give it 5 out of 5 stars. Its worth a read for sure. Not many books can make a person wonder what a human thigh cooked in rosemary and butter would taste like... 😋 😉
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito was a fun read in a quirky, murdering rampage kind of way. I would describe this as Downton Abbey meets American Psycho with a heavy dash of dark comedy thrown in for some additional sparkle. There were some pretty dark and gruesome scenes but I personally didn't find any of them disturbing or repulsive.
This one wasn't too long either, probably around 200 pages or so. I read it on my eReader so I don't know the exact page number but I completed it over one weekend. I couldn't put it down. I found it very entertaining and can easily see this being adapted into a movie. It makes perfect sense that its being made into a film this year.
I rated this a full 5 stars as well and thought that it was great fun.
These two books were very different but both were excellent in their own way. I would definitely recommend either of them, albeit for different reasons. The Lamb I found to be a very elegant and beautiful read and would compare it more to a classic piece of literature than anything else. Victorian Psycho on the other hand was more fast paced and just straight up entertaining. Neither were scary or gruesome for me, but still fit the horror genre.
