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A Play About A Curse
From the author of the viral phenomenon The Roommate comes a literary horror novel following a young playwright who conjures up a true tragedy through a Machiavellian curse when spurned by her mentor.
Enter COREY, a passionate young nobody, and her professor, MAXINE, an award-winning playwright and living legend of the American theatre. When Maxine shatters Corey's dreams of artistic collaboration after graduation, Corey seeks revenge. At a clairvoyant's den in a violet-lit Dallas strip mall, the young playwright unleashes a life-altering curse on Maxine.
Possessed by dark powers and even darker ambitions, Corey follows Maxine to a prestigious playwriting residency in Chicago where the women become fatally entwined. Through three acts, two interludes, and one curse, Corey pushes her mentor toward theatre's haunted margins, where reality begins to crumble.
Caroline Macon Fleischer's A Play About A Curse reads like an A24 film. Part psychological horror and part theatrical fever dream, Curse shadows a heroine-turned-villain as she confronts the supernatural power struggle between mentor and protégé, learning that to achieve our dreams, someone else must suffer a nightmare.
Enter COREY, a passionate young nobody, and her professor, MAXINE, an award-winning playwright and living legend of the American theatre. When Maxine shatters Corey's dreams of artistic collaboration after graduation, Corey seeks revenge. At a clairvoyant's den in a violet-lit Dallas strip mall, the young playwright unleashes a life-altering curse on Maxine.
Possessed by dark powers and even darker ambitions, Corey follows Maxine to a prestigious playwriting residency in Chicago where the women become fatally entwined. Through three acts, two interludes, and one curse, Corey pushes her mentor toward theatre's haunted margins, where reality begins to crumble.
Caroline Macon Fleischer's A Play About A Curse reads like an A24 film. Part psychological horror and part theatrical fever dream, Curse shadows a heroine-turned-villain as she confronts the supernatural power struggle between mentor and protégé, learning that to achieve our dreams, someone else must suffer a nightmare.
216 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2025
5 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Macon Fleischer
2 books63 followersCaroline Macon Fleischer is a multigenre writer and theatre artist. Her books include the psychological thriller The Roommate and the forthcoming play-novel hybrid horror book, A Play About A Curse. She teaches English at Loyola University and writes with the typewriter poetry collective, Poems While You Wait. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 11, 2025
I hear the author does car commercials. In Japan.
May 5, 2025
A Play about a Curse is a novella written in the style of a playscript, it's an interesting modern take on the tragedy play as well covering a curse.
I will say this didn't connect well with me, I found myself enjoying the dialogue sections more than the main playscript but overall the storyline is intriguing and mixes tragedy with horror and folklore.
(ARC received from CLASH & Netgalley)
I will say this didn't connect well with me, I found myself enjoying the dialogue sections more than the main playscript but overall the storyline is intriguing and mixes tragedy with horror and folklore.
(ARC received from CLASH & Netgalley)
July 20, 2025
3.25 💫
A lot of this really worked for me. The obsession and ultimate mutual destruction, some really lovely prose, the structure of the dialogue and the play-like parts of it all. Despite it being such a quick read, it still felt slow at times. Some things felt a bit ambiguous, specifically towards the end. While some may enjoy that, to me it just felt unsatisfying.
Thank you to NetGalley and Clash Books for the ARC.
A lot of this really worked for me. The obsession and ultimate mutual destruction, some really lovely prose, the structure of the dialogue and the play-like parts of it all. Despite it being such a quick read, it still felt slow at times. Some things felt a bit ambiguous, specifically towards the end. While some may enjoy that, to me it just felt unsatisfying.
Thank you to NetGalley and Clash Books for the ARC.
April 8, 2025
I read an advanced copy of this book, written by my creative nonfiction writing professor from last semester. She cooked.
The format of "A Play About A Curse" made for a fast pace. Written partially in the style of a script, it included only the most important events, details, and conversations necessary for advancement of the plot. Reading it, I could easily imagine the story being translated to stage. As a former theater kid myself, this made for a very engaging reading experience.
Format aside, I appreciated the exploration of themes such as jealousy, projection, and what it means to be an artist. I learned from Corey that blaming someone else for all of your problems and shortcomings is probably not the way to go, and that genuine self-reflection is important to living a happy, fulfilling life. I learned from Maxine that, even when you do your best to rise above it all, there are some monsters we simply cannot avoid.
Would love to see a sequel where Corey has become a Melusine herself and we see her help another to place a curse, but regardless of what Fleischer puts out next trust and believe I will be picking up a copy.
The format of "A Play About A Curse" made for a fast pace. Written partially in the style of a script, it included only the most important events, details, and conversations necessary for advancement of the plot. Reading it, I could easily imagine the story being translated to stage. As a former theater kid myself, this made for a very engaging reading experience.
Format aside, I appreciated the exploration of themes such as jealousy, projection, and what it means to be an artist. I learned from Corey that blaming someone else for all of your problems and shortcomings is probably not the way to go, and that genuine self-reflection is important to living a happy, fulfilling life. I learned from Maxine that, even when you do your best to rise above it all, there are some monsters we simply cannot avoid.
Would love to see a sequel where Corey has become a Melusine herself and we see her help another to place a curse, but regardless of what Fleischer puts out next trust and believe I will be picking up a copy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2025
I love the theater. I love drama. I love unhinged FMCs. I love body horror. I love jealousy. I love horrible people. God I loved this book lol.
April 24, 2025
I received an ARC for this book from NetGalley for free.
Written partly in play format and first person I felt like this never really clicked for me. I enjoyed mostly the dialogue parts that were in the play format, but found the first person parts quite dull and almost pretentious. I also found Coreys reason to but the curse on Maxine quite mundane and the whole thing felt very farfetched.
Overall I didn't really like any of the characters and there was a small part about how woman's symptoms are often ignored in a medical field, that is a important topic, but it was touched so briefly that ultimately it's not enough for me to rate this higher.
Written partly in play format and first person I felt like this never really clicked for me. I enjoyed mostly the dialogue parts that were in the play format, but found the first person parts quite dull and almost pretentious. I also found Coreys reason to but the curse on Maxine quite mundane and the whole thing felt very farfetched.
Overall I didn't really like any of the characters and there was a small part about how woman's symptoms are often ignored in a medical field, that is a important topic, but it was touched so briefly that ultimately it's not enough for me to rate this higher.
April 26, 2025
Listen, I got the ARC of this and tore through it. I grew up in the theatre, I will always be an artist and there is something about the magic of this book that feels so intrinsically true to that. This book both surprised and awed me in ways I can’t really explain other than it feels like theatre magic. The use of hybrid genre is no gimmick but woven in a way that made me wonder what the hell was gonna happen next. To anyone who has ever read a play, been an artist, had tension with a mentor or just loves horror you will really dig this book.
May 5, 2025
Beautiful cover, sadly a major miss for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for the free review copy.
Thank you to Netgalley for the free review copy.
March 26, 2025
I received an Advance Review Copy.
This was my first time reading a play since reading the classics like Antigone and Romeo and Juliet in high school, but this one was even more interesting given that it was a mixture between a play and a novel. Because of A Play About a Curse, I will be reading many more!
There was a very interesting dynamic between Corey and Maxine in this book, which I don’t think I have read about before. It opened my eyes to a new perspective of jealousy in mentors and the mentored. The plot was so fun and mischievous.
I enjoyed the writing style - clear and quick-paced. The pacing felt like a real play which I appreciated. I read this book in only two sittings on the same day (almost like I took a real intermission hehe) because I was so immersed in the story. On top of that, the writing and descriptions are so detailed that the reader can so easily picture the scene.
I loved how the story wrapped up, very satisfying.
This was my first time reading a play since reading the classics like Antigone and Romeo and Juliet in high school, but this one was even more interesting given that it was a mixture between a play and a novel. Because of A Play About a Curse, I will be reading many more!
There was a very interesting dynamic between Corey and Maxine in this book, which I don’t think I have read about before. It opened my eyes to a new perspective of jealousy in mentors and the mentored. The plot was so fun and mischievous.
I enjoyed the writing style - clear and quick-paced. The pacing felt like a real play which I appreciated. I read this book in only two sittings on the same day (almost like I took a real intermission hehe) because I was so immersed in the story. On top of that, the writing and descriptions are so detailed that the reader can so easily picture the scene.
I loved how the story wrapped up, very satisfying.
April 27, 2025
A modern-day tragedy, A Play about a Curse packs elements of horror, myth, and relationship drama into a slim volume. This book has something for everyone: sordid revenge plots, hilarious scenarios, and creepy settings (an old Chicago parochial school-turned theatre and a medieval lakefront town in France).
Author Caro Macon-Fleischer crafts the tragic hero, Corey, as an insecure, manic playwright-hopeful who becomes obsessed with her mentor, Maxine. Like most Greek tragedies, the hero sets her own demise in motion. Macon-Fleischer, however, gives her play a modern twist, subverting classic narrative tropes. For example, Corey is completely unhinged: a chaotic evil. And Macon-Fleischer’s ability to illustrate the world in such a unique manner leads to moments of both profound beauty and ugliness. Here’s an example of the former:
“I opened one of the Pixy Stix, sprinkled a little into my palm, and blew it into a cloud.
The sugar dust caught the Christmas lights, sparkling like theatrical snow. We watched it drift and settle for a moment, adding another layer to the basement’s endless strata of memories” (83).
Even more ingenious, Macon Fleischer bends genres throughout the story, shifting from narrative to script, structured with drama dialogue peppered in. The choice to write this as both a play and novel mirrors the protagonist’s perception of reality: both as something to be performed and lived as well as something to mirror the unraveling of one’s mind.
Read this book: you won’t be disappointed!
Author Caro Macon-Fleischer crafts the tragic hero, Corey, as an insecure, manic playwright-hopeful who becomes obsessed with her mentor, Maxine. Like most Greek tragedies, the hero sets her own demise in motion. Macon-Fleischer, however, gives her play a modern twist, subverting classic narrative tropes. For example, Corey is completely unhinged: a chaotic evil. And Macon-Fleischer’s ability to illustrate the world in such a unique manner leads to moments of both profound beauty and ugliness. Here’s an example of the former:
“I opened one of the Pixy Stix, sprinkled a little into my palm, and blew it into a cloud.
The sugar dust caught the Christmas lights, sparkling like theatrical snow. We watched it drift and settle for a moment, adding another layer to the basement’s endless strata of memories” (83).
Even more ingenious, Macon Fleischer bends genres throughout the story, shifting from narrative to script, structured with drama dialogue peppered in. The choice to write this as both a play and novel mirrors the protagonist’s perception of reality: both as something to be performed and lived as well as something to mirror the unraveling of one’s mind.
Read this book: you won’t be disappointed!
April 26, 2025
I received an ARC of Curse and read it in 2 days! What a unique hybrid of novel + play. I grew up watching my sister in all her play performances so this book was a special read for me. I easily became addicted to the main character, Corey's, unhingedness but I don't want to say too much...The writing makes you feel like you are in the book with the characters. I definitely cannot wait to read this again in Ocotber! If you like books with humor, thrill and makes you say wtf!!?? You will LOVE this read.
November 19, 2025
(2.5) what the hell, sure
October 29, 2025
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.5 of 5
Corey is a young woman with dreams of a life in the theatre. Maxine is the respected, award-winning dramatist currently leading a workshop where she encourages Corey. But when Maxine destroys Corey's hopes at a collaboration, the young mentee seeks revenge. That revenge comes by way of a curse, drawn on dark powers, that will change more than one life.
As a (retired) theatre professional I am always interested in reading any book - especially one with a darker theme - taking place in theatres or featuring people working in the theatre (not just actors!), so this definitely appealed to me.
What I really liked here was the mentor/mentee relationship between Corey and her professor Maxine. What I recognized was that author Caroline Macon Fleischer clearly has a background in the theatre arts as nearly all theatre professionals I've met have a mentor that encouraged them and really fostered their interest. I know I certainly did.
Maxine's talent, beyond teaching, is well presented and we can find it easy to understand why Corey, and perhaps every other theatre student, is drawn to the accomplished playwright. That Maxine gives Corey encouragement is precisely what SHOULD happen in an educational setting.
What doesn't work particularly well for me was Corey's obsession and descent into madness (enough to bring about a curse that, like most dark magic, has a frightening effect). Corey's obsessive personality is too obvious too soon. As evident as it was for me, I couldn't help but wonder why Maxine wasn't more wary of this girl, giving her any encouragement at all. This was the one spot that had me not quite buy in to the story.
I did, however, really like Corey's deeper darkness, and the ending hit well with me.
I liked the style or format that this book was written in; using a playscript format for some of the dialog and action was unique and clever and really reminded us that everything here was rooted in the theatre. It was, pun intended, theatrical.
I will note that my copy is a review ARC and perhaps this will be addressed before publication, but there were a few grammatical pronoun errors that I just couldn't overlook. First: "I felt like Maxine and I's words were competing in a close race ..." and then "I decided not to tell Daniel that I admitted he and I's budding relationship to Maxine." "I's"? Seriously? Shame on the author and shame on the editor.
Looking for a good book? A Play About a Curse by Caroline Macon Fleischer, is a beautiful blend of theatre and psychological horror with a touch of the paranormal tossed in for good measure.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Corey is a young woman with dreams of a life in the theatre. Maxine is the respected, award-winning dramatist currently leading a workshop where she encourages Corey. But when Maxine destroys Corey's hopes at a collaboration, the young mentee seeks revenge. That revenge comes by way of a curse, drawn on dark powers, that will change more than one life.
As a (retired) theatre professional I am always interested in reading any book - especially one with a darker theme - taking place in theatres or featuring people working in the theatre (not just actors!), so this definitely appealed to me.
What I really liked here was the mentor/mentee relationship between Corey and her professor Maxine. What I recognized was that author Caroline Macon Fleischer clearly has a background in the theatre arts as nearly all theatre professionals I've met have a mentor that encouraged them and really fostered their interest. I know I certainly did.
Maxine's talent, beyond teaching, is well presented and we can find it easy to understand why Corey, and perhaps every other theatre student, is drawn to the accomplished playwright. That Maxine gives Corey encouragement is precisely what SHOULD happen in an educational setting.
What doesn't work particularly well for me was Corey's obsession and descent into madness (enough to bring about a curse that, like most dark magic, has a frightening effect). Corey's obsessive personality is too obvious too soon. As evident as it was for me, I couldn't help but wonder why Maxine wasn't more wary of this girl, giving her any encouragement at all. This was the one spot that had me not quite buy in to the story.
I did, however, really like Corey's deeper darkness, and the ending hit well with me.
I liked the style or format that this book was written in; using a playscript format for some of the dialog and action was unique and clever and really reminded us that everything here was rooted in the theatre. It was, pun intended, theatrical.
I will note that my copy is a review ARC and perhaps this will be addressed before publication, but there were a few grammatical pronoun errors that I just couldn't overlook. First: "I felt like Maxine and I's words were competing in a close race ..." and then "I decided not to tell Daniel that I admitted he and I's budding relationship to Maxine." "I's"? Seriously? Shame on the author and shame on the editor.
Looking for a good book? A Play About a Curse by Caroline Macon Fleischer, is a beautiful blend of theatre and psychological horror with a touch of the paranormal tossed in for good measure.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
October 29, 2025
BWAF Score: 6/10
Caroline Macon Fleischer writes like a playwright who stole a novelist’s coat and stuffed the pockets with glass, which fits a book staged in three acts about a mentee who decides to hex her mentor and then watches the curse boomerang. The author’s theater bones show in the way scenes click to blackout and back, in the cadence of barbed exchanges, and in the meta pleasure of a novel that is also a script with Acts, Interludes, character lists, and stage directions. It is a hybrid by design and it leans hard into the messy romance of mentorship that turns competitive and then occult.
Our POV is Corey, an ambitious recent grad whose normal is hungry and teacher fixated. The break arrives over soufflé, when her beloved professor Maxine announces a Chicago residency. Corey wants entry to the life she thinks she was promised. In the way are Maxine’s boundaries, the artistic director Daniel, and a violet lit strip mall psychic who offers a very practical solution called a curse. The texture is rehearsal rooms, green ink in the margins, jasmine lotion, and the grind of trains to a new city where opportunity and delusion wear the same blazer.
What works best are the set pieces that go full theater kid uncanny. The Dallas dinner that shifts from worship to tantrum and the séance in the clairvoyant’s den are both sticky and propulsive, and the Interludes that arrive as emails and texts give the book a guilty little thrill of peeking at someone’s phone. Think Black Swan meets Trust Exercise with a little campus novel bile for acidity.
Style wise, the sentences are vivid and actor friendly, dialogue is the engine, and the form lets scenes land like beats. The flip side is stamina. The middle stretches re stage similar confrontations, Chicago chapters sag, and the book’s big tonal swings from satire to sincere confession can feel like costume changes that leave the zipper showing.
Underneath the hex smoke, themes of envy, identity, and power in creative hierarchies ripple. Body dissolution stands in for losing self to the mentor’s gaze, and the aftertaste is queasy sympathy for both women that lingers like stage dust in your throat.
A sui generis CLASH Books entry that fuses stage brain and horror brain; more vibe and form than plot machine. Daring form and vivid set-pieces, dulled by some saggy pacing and tonal wobble. Still a sharp, sticky backstage hex.
Read if you crave theatre gossip with knives; enjoy hybrid forms; can handle messy, obsessive narrators.
Skip if you need a single likable lead; dislike meta; want lore-heavy supernatural rules.
Caroline Macon Fleischer writes like a playwright who stole a novelist’s coat and stuffed the pockets with glass, which fits a book staged in three acts about a mentee who decides to hex her mentor and then watches the curse boomerang. The author’s theater bones show in the way scenes click to blackout and back, in the cadence of barbed exchanges, and in the meta pleasure of a novel that is also a script with Acts, Interludes, character lists, and stage directions. It is a hybrid by design and it leans hard into the messy romance of mentorship that turns competitive and then occult.
Our POV is Corey, an ambitious recent grad whose normal is hungry and teacher fixated. The break arrives over soufflé, when her beloved professor Maxine announces a Chicago residency. Corey wants entry to the life she thinks she was promised. In the way are Maxine’s boundaries, the artistic director Daniel, and a violet lit strip mall psychic who offers a very practical solution called a curse. The texture is rehearsal rooms, green ink in the margins, jasmine lotion, and the grind of trains to a new city where opportunity and delusion wear the same blazer.
What works best are the set pieces that go full theater kid uncanny. The Dallas dinner that shifts from worship to tantrum and the séance in the clairvoyant’s den are both sticky and propulsive, and the Interludes that arrive as emails and texts give the book a guilty little thrill of peeking at someone’s phone. Think Black Swan meets Trust Exercise with a little campus novel bile for acidity.
Style wise, the sentences are vivid and actor friendly, dialogue is the engine, and the form lets scenes land like beats. The flip side is stamina. The middle stretches re stage similar confrontations, Chicago chapters sag, and the book’s big tonal swings from satire to sincere confession can feel like costume changes that leave the zipper showing.
Underneath the hex smoke, themes of envy, identity, and power in creative hierarchies ripple. Body dissolution stands in for losing self to the mentor’s gaze, and the aftertaste is queasy sympathy for both women that lingers like stage dust in your throat.
A sui generis CLASH Books entry that fuses stage brain and horror brain; more vibe and form than plot machine. Daring form and vivid set-pieces, dulled by some saggy pacing and tonal wobble. Still a sharp, sticky backstage hex.
Read if you crave theatre gossip with knives; enjoy hybrid forms; can handle messy, obsessive narrators.
Skip if you need a single likable lead; dislike meta; want lore-heavy supernatural rules.
September 17, 2025
✨ Initial Vibes
Part surreal novella, part theatrical fever dream, A Play About a Curse is a haunting, genre-blurring exploration of power, obsession, and the kind of woman-versus-woman intimacy that feels mythic. Think: Snow White and the Evil Queen, if the mirror cracked and everyone ended up bleeding.
📖 What It’s About
The story centers on Corey, a creative young woman, and Maxine, her former professor and, depending on how you read it, her mentor, lover, obsession, or nemesis. When Maxine leaves Corey behind to take a job in Chicago, Corey retaliates by placing a hex on her. Maxine slowly unravels. So does Corey. Their bond devolves into mutual destruction, the line between curse and consequence blurred. There’s also a man named Paul, but let’s be real, this is mostly a two-woman war.
Told through a blend of prose and play script, the format heightens the sense of performance, distortion, and ritual.
🖤 What Worked for Me
The form. The hybrid of script and narrative feels fresh, disorienting, and totally suited to the story’s emotional and magical logic.
The vibe. Unsettling, theatrical, perfect for spooky season. Like a hex whispered backstage before curtain.
The dynamic. Corey and Maxine’s relationship feels primal. It’s obsession, revenge, mentorship, grief, maybe love. It's something twisted and archetypal.
The mythic undertone. There’s something ancient in this story. Like Snow White and the Queen or Cinderella and her stepmother, if no one got out alive.
🤨 What Didn’t Work (for me)
Dense, but not always deep. The writing is lush and abstract, but when I tried to peel it apart, I wasn’t always sure there was enough underneath to hold it together.
More atmosphere than emotional payoff. I was intrigued, but not emotionally invested.
I’d rather watch it than read it. As a staged piece, I think this could absolutely sing because there’s a theatricality baked into every page.
💭 Final Thoughts
This isn’t a cozy autumn read. It’s more like a cursed one. Strange, lyrical, and seething, A Play About a Curse won’t be for everyone, but if you like experimental formats, fractured fairy tales, or stories where women both adore and annihilate each other, this is worth a look. I didn’t love it, but I respected it, and I’d watch the hell out of it on stage.
🧠 Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️
(3 stars for ambitious form, spooky-season vibes, and unapologetically weird women. Docked for style over substance.)
Part surreal novella, part theatrical fever dream, A Play About a Curse is a haunting, genre-blurring exploration of power, obsession, and the kind of woman-versus-woman intimacy that feels mythic. Think: Snow White and the Evil Queen, if the mirror cracked and everyone ended up bleeding.
📖 What It’s About
The story centers on Corey, a creative young woman, and Maxine, her former professor and, depending on how you read it, her mentor, lover, obsession, or nemesis. When Maxine leaves Corey behind to take a job in Chicago, Corey retaliates by placing a hex on her. Maxine slowly unravels. So does Corey. Their bond devolves into mutual destruction, the line between curse and consequence blurred. There’s also a man named Paul, but let’s be real, this is mostly a two-woman war.
Told through a blend of prose and play script, the format heightens the sense of performance, distortion, and ritual.
🖤 What Worked for Me
The form. The hybrid of script and narrative feels fresh, disorienting, and totally suited to the story’s emotional and magical logic.
The vibe. Unsettling, theatrical, perfect for spooky season. Like a hex whispered backstage before curtain.
The dynamic. Corey and Maxine’s relationship feels primal. It’s obsession, revenge, mentorship, grief, maybe love. It's something twisted and archetypal.
The mythic undertone. There’s something ancient in this story. Like Snow White and the Queen or Cinderella and her stepmother, if no one got out alive.
🤨 What Didn’t Work (for me)
Dense, but not always deep. The writing is lush and abstract, but when I tried to peel it apart, I wasn’t always sure there was enough underneath to hold it together.
More atmosphere than emotional payoff. I was intrigued, but not emotionally invested.
I’d rather watch it than read it. As a staged piece, I think this could absolutely sing because there’s a theatricality baked into every page.
💭 Final Thoughts
This isn’t a cozy autumn read. It’s more like a cursed one. Strange, lyrical, and seething, A Play About a Curse won’t be for everyone, but if you like experimental formats, fractured fairy tales, or stories where women both adore and annihilate each other, this is worth a look. I didn’t love it, but I respected it, and I’d watch the hell out of it on stage.
🧠 Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️
(3 stars for ambitious form, spooky-season vibes, and unapologetically weird women. Docked for style over substance.)
November 13, 2025
This book may be shelved in the Horror section, but you needn't be a fan of horror to love it. Trust me. Macon Fleischer's imagination knows no bounds, and you'll startle yourself laughing out loud when you least expect to. (That said, be prepared for some pretty twisted shit once you recover and turn the page.)
"A Play About a Curse" charts the derailing and eventual trainwreck of a mentor/protégé relationship. In real life, such relationships can be emotionally thorny to navigate. In the hands of this author, all bets are off.
Mentors (like the character Maxine in this story) couldn't exist and thrive without the adoration of loyal proteges (like the character Corey). But few real-life Maxines expect that a Corey will become envious, obsessed, and unhinged enough to place a medieval curse on them. The way Macon Fleischer tells it, maybe they should.
The mechanism of telling the story through both prose and playscript is original and pretty brilliant. If you've never read a play, you'll feel super classy and wonder why you haven't.
Theatre geeks, whether current or former, will find themselves perfectly at home in the author's settings and among its characters. For example, real-life theatre students, even in top-notch universities, never seem to have dedicated space in which to study and rehearse; instead, they are relegated to dank basements, cramped storage rooms, or forlorn hallways in remote buildings under renovation. Macon Fleischer addresses this grave injustice. Her main character, Corey, an aspiring playwright, struggles to find inspiration in a creepy old parochial school that smells bad.
This darkly funny book is also surprisingly deep. I thought a great deal about the Maxines and Coreys that I've known. I've even been a Maxine or a Corey at various times in life. The mythology and places accompanying the curse referenced in the title will lead you down lots of scary rabbit holes. If you're like me, you'll find that medieval folklore is not for the faint of heart. You might also be shocked to find yourself rooting for the "wrong" character.
Again, Macon Fleischer's imagination and story-telling skills sucked me in from Page One, and this is not the sort of book I usually choose. I'll be watching for her next.
"A Play About a Curse" charts the derailing and eventual trainwreck of a mentor/protégé relationship. In real life, such relationships can be emotionally thorny to navigate. In the hands of this author, all bets are off.
Mentors (like the character Maxine in this story) couldn't exist and thrive without the adoration of loyal proteges (like the character Corey). But few real-life Maxines expect that a Corey will become envious, obsessed, and unhinged enough to place a medieval curse on them. The way Macon Fleischer tells it, maybe they should.
The mechanism of telling the story through both prose and playscript is original and pretty brilliant. If you've never read a play, you'll feel super classy and wonder why you haven't.
Theatre geeks, whether current or former, will find themselves perfectly at home in the author's settings and among its characters. For example, real-life theatre students, even in top-notch universities, never seem to have dedicated space in which to study and rehearse; instead, they are relegated to dank basements, cramped storage rooms, or forlorn hallways in remote buildings under renovation. Macon Fleischer addresses this grave injustice. Her main character, Corey, an aspiring playwright, struggles to find inspiration in a creepy old parochial school that smells bad.
This darkly funny book is also surprisingly deep. I thought a great deal about the Maxines and Coreys that I've known. I've even been a Maxine or a Corey at various times in life. The mythology and places accompanying the curse referenced in the title will lead you down lots of scary rabbit holes. If you're like me, you'll find that medieval folklore is not for the faint of heart. You might also be shocked to find yourself rooting for the "wrong" character.
Again, Macon Fleischer's imagination and story-telling skills sucked me in from Page One, and this is not the sort of book I usually choose. I'll be watching for her next.
September 21, 2025
I loved the concept and the mix of theater and fiction, but I never really connected with the characters. Act I was strong and intriguing, but Acts II and III felt rushed, confusing, and underdeveloped. The writing itself was good, though I think this story would have worked better as a play than a novel.
As someone who loves books about theater and stories that blur the line between reality and fiction, I felt like I would enjoy this book. Although I appreciated the writing style, shifting between play and novel formats, I felt somewhat disconnected from the characters.
My understanding of them remained minimal and somewhat superficial. I couldn’t quite grasp the reasons behind their actions. Everything seemed to move too quickly and without enough development. The explanation for the whole “curse” felt underwhelming. The character seemed to go from admiring and loving their mentor to despising her and wishing for her death in a matter of seconds. That change of heart was so sudden that it felt unconvincing, and I didn’t see enough of their relationship to really care.
Act I was the strongest. It had a cohesive storyline with the clearest character motivations and descriptions. I especially enjoyed the mystical element with Melusine and the introduction of the fantasy aspect.
Act II, however, was confusing and somewhat scattered. Most of the action took place in just two main settings: Corey and Maxine’s apartment and the Chicago theater. Since the book was written partly as a play, I expected more vivid scene descriptions, but the spatial details were lacking. This act also introduced a romance that felt unnecessary, and again, I didn’t feel any real connection between the two characters.
Act III was the least memorable. It just sort of happened, and it didn’t feel necessary at all. Honestly, I think the book could have ended after Act II, and it would have been stronger. Leaving the ending open to interpretation might have been more powerful than spelling everything out so directly.
That said, I did underline many passages, and I think the writing style and dialogue are genuinely strong. I feel this story would have worked better as an actual play rather than a novel.
As someone who loves books about theater and stories that blur the line between reality and fiction, I felt like I would enjoy this book. Although I appreciated the writing style, shifting between play and novel formats, I felt somewhat disconnected from the characters.
My understanding of them remained minimal and somewhat superficial. I couldn’t quite grasp the reasons behind their actions. Everything seemed to move too quickly and without enough development. The explanation for the whole “curse” felt underwhelming. The character seemed to go from admiring and loving their mentor to despising her and wishing for her death in a matter of seconds. That change of heart was so sudden that it felt unconvincing, and I didn’t see enough of their relationship to really care.
Act I was the strongest. It had a cohesive storyline with the clearest character motivations and descriptions. I especially enjoyed the mystical element with Melusine and the introduction of the fantasy aspect.
Act II, however, was confusing and somewhat scattered. Most of the action took place in just two main settings: Corey and Maxine’s apartment and the Chicago theater. Since the book was written partly as a play, I expected more vivid scene descriptions, but the spatial details were lacking. This act also introduced a romance that felt unnecessary, and again, I didn’t feel any real connection between the two characters.
Act III was the least memorable. It just sort of happened, and it didn’t feel necessary at all. Honestly, I think the book could have ended after Act II, and it would have been stronger. Leaving the ending open to interpretation might have been more powerful than spelling everything out so directly.
That said, I did underline many passages, and I think the writing style and dialogue are genuinely strong. I feel this story would have worked better as an actual play rather than a novel.
May 24, 2025
First off, I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me an ARC of "A Play About A Curse"!
Phew! Where to start with this book?
My initial reaction to it was "if your favorite character in Glee is Rachel Berry, then you're gonna love this". I still stand by that, just like turn up the darkness by a hundred.
I've never been, truth be told, an avid theatre reader. This past year I've had to read several plays for some of my classes, and I found myself dragging through them. However, Macon's story manages to take the best aspects of the play format and mix them with a novel, creating this intriguing and quite fascinating cast of characters and plot.
I've seen some reviews talking about the main character being unlikeable, and I think –in some way– that's the point. Personally, I loved her, because she's so achingly human and we get to explore parts of human psyche that sometimes authors are scared to write. In this case, we see our main girl be ruthless and ugly and devious, but it's constructed in such a way that I couldn't help but keep on reading!
The pace in the book also helps, with short chapters and beautiful dialogues. I found myself that every time I tried to put the book down, I just kept on wondering what was yet to happen.
Macon's structure –with the play-like dialogues and cues– makes it such an interesting object not only from a "I'm enjoying this book" kind of way, but also from an academic angle! One can see how much dedication the author has poured into this, and it bleeds throughout the pages. There are some parts that are begging to be studied and analyzed, some of Maxine's dialogues and interpretations of theatre such an entrancing theory.
I'm excited and happy to say that this will be on my top 5 books of the year!
Phew! Where to start with this book?
My initial reaction to it was "if your favorite character in Glee is Rachel Berry, then you're gonna love this". I still stand by that, just like turn up the darkness by a hundred.
I've never been, truth be told, an avid theatre reader. This past year I've had to read several plays for some of my classes, and I found myself dragging through them. However, Macon's story manages to take the best aspects of the play format and mix them with a novel, creating this intriguing and quite fascinating cast of characters and plot.
I've seen some reviews talking about the main character being unlikeable, and I think –in some way– that's the point. Personally, I loved her, because she's so achingly human and we get to explore parts of human psyche that sometimes authors are scared to write. In this case, we see our main girl be ruthless and ugly and devious, but it's constructed in such a way that I couldn't help but keep on reading!
The pace in the book also helps, with short chapters and beautiful dialogues. I found myself that every time I tried to put the book down, I just kept on wondering what was yet to happen.
Macon's structure –with the play-like dialogues and cues– makes it such an interesting object not only from a "I'm enjoying this book" kind of way, but also from an academic angle! One can see how much dedication the author has poured into this, and it bleeds throughout the pages. There are some parts that are begging to be studied and analyzed, some of Maxine's dialogues and interpretations of theatre such an entrancing theory.
I'm excited and happy to say that this will be on my top 5 books of the year!
July 6, 2025
Thank you, Caroline Macon Fleischer NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!
I absolutely loved the way that this book was written. It was written like a play, and I just adore books that are different like this. Would i call this horror? No. It's definitely something dark and twisted. It's a fever dream that you can't quite let go of even at the end. Full of darkness, anger, betrayal, and so many emotions. The characters are very well developed, and you definitely feel their emotions deeply throughout the entire book. Of course, i do have my differences with the main character on some things and don't agree with everything she did, but that's going to be everyone. The atmosphere was eerie and intriguing at times. I also never lost interest throughout the story.
This book is the first I have read from this author, and it certainly won't be the last one. The writing style was definitely unique not only for the format but also for the words described. I am still thinking about the end of this book and how descriptions just jump out at you. I also love the little bit of folklore that was put into the book.
This book isn't blood, guts, and death. There are a couple of things involved in this book, but not so bad itle have you putting the book down and looking at the wall. I do hope others enjoy this book as much as I have.
I absolutely loved the way that this book was written. It was written like a play, and I just adore books that are different like this. Would i call this horror? No. It's definitely something dark and twisted. It's a fever dream that you can't quite let go of even at the end. Full of darkness, anger, betrayal, and so many emotions. The characters are very well developed, and you definitely feel their emotions deeply throughout the entire book. Of course, i do have my differences with the main character on some things and don't agree with everything she did, but that's going to be everyone. The atmosphere was eerie and intriguing at times. I also never lost interest throughout the story.
This book is the first I have read from this author, and it certainly won't be the last one. The writing style was definitely unique not only for the format but also for the words described. I am still thinking about the end of this book and how descriptions just jump out at you. I also love the little bit of folklore that was put into the book.
This book isn't blood, guts, and death. There are a couple of things involved in this book, but not so bad itle have you putting the book down and looking at the wall. I do hope others enjoy this book as much as I have.
November 1, 2025
This book sounded like something I would absolutely love. I'm craving that weird-girl-losing-her-marbles genre lately, and I've always loved novels that play around with what a novel can be. So, a book about a woman who places a curse on her mentor, written largely as a play script? Sign me up!
For the most part, I really enjoyed it. I thought placing the curse was a huge overreaction to what had happened with the mentor, but that's okay because most classic plays involve a major overreaction, when you think about it. That's all part of the main character's psychosis... right? And the way the narrative sections shift back and forth between verb tenses was kind of jarring, but that's probably part of the main character's psychosis, too... right??
The problem is, I'm not actually sure. Nothing about where the story goes suggests that these and other quibbles I had are anything other than flaws in the writing. So while I was really trying to enjoy it and kept making excuses for things that started to bug me as I was reading, after I'd finished the book and had thought about it for a day or two, I felt less forgiving.
Basically, I loved the story and the experimentation with form, but I didn't love the execution. It's a fun, quick read that's worth picking up if you love the genre, though.
Many thanks to NetGalley and CLASH Books for providing the ARC for review consideration.
For the most part, I really enjoyed it. I thought placing the curse was a huge overreaction to what had happened with the mentor, but that's okay because most classic plays involve a major overreaction, when you think about it. That's all part of the main character's psychosis... right? And the way the narrative sections shift back and forth between verb tenses was kind of jarring, but that's probably part of the main character's psychosis, too... right??
The problem is, I'm not actually sure. Nothing about where the story goes suggests that these and other quibbles I had are anything other than flaws in the writing. So while I was really trying to enjoy it and kept making excuses for things that started to bug me as I was reading, after I'd finished the book and had thought about it for a day or two, I felt less forgiving.
Basically, I loved the story and the experimentation with form, but I didn't love the execution. It's a fun, quick read that's worth picking up if you love the genre, though.
Many thanks to NetGalley and CLASH Books for providing the ARC for review consideration.
August 3, 2025
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book.
There is a lot to enjoy in this quick read! It carefully walked the line between being literary/'artsy' and accessible - I could feel my horizons expanding as I read but never felt fully abandoned - and I loved the layered meta commentary about the definition or purpose of theater, of which I have not thought deeply enough about (despite being a former high school drama kid). On many levels, A Play About A Curse felt like peeking into different worlds that exist parallel to the one we see; both in a literal sense (the entire world of theater I know next to nothing about, so exquisitely displayed) and in a fantastical sense (the shadow world of curses and myth that run alongside the narrative).
Most moving for me, though, was the depiction of women's health and disability being dismissed as mere anxiety or perimenopause. As an invisibly disabled woman, many of the scenes rang very true to me and touched me deeply. One line in particular - "She was so convinced she was wrong she wasn't willing to consider she was right." - thrummed each and every one of my heartstrings.
The audiobook for A Play About A Curse is going to be performed like a radio drama, with an entire cast. I'm very excited to listen; the writing has a musical quality and will lend itself exceedingly well to an audio format.
There is a lot to enjoy in this quick read! It carefully walked the line between being literary/'artsy' and accessible - I could feel my horizons expanding as I read but never felt fully abandoned - and I loved the layered meta commentary about the definition or purpose of theater, of which I have not thought deeply enough about (despite being a former high school drama kid). On many levels, A Play About A Curse felt like peeking into different worlds that exist parallel to the one we see; both in a literal sense (the entire world of theater I know next to nothing about, so exquisitely displayed) and in a fantastical sense (the shadow world of curses and myth that run alongside the narrative).
Most moving for me, though, was the depiction of women's health and disability being dismissed as mere anxiety or perimenopause. As an invisibly disabled woman, many of the scenes rang very true to me and touched me deeply. One line in particular - "She was so convinced she was wrong she wasn't willing to consider she was right." - thrummed each and every one of my heartstrings.
The audiobook for A Play About A Curse is going to be performed like a radio drama, with an entire cast. I'm very excited to listen; the writing has a musical quality and will lend itself exceedingly well to an audio format.
August 6, 2025
First and foremost, Fleischer writes one hell of a character. Our main characters feel sharp, with dialogue to match. The melding of fiction and playwriting is an interesting idea, and ran smoothly for the most part. Fleischer found good, meaningful strings of dialogue to focus the theatre style on, which kept it from being jarring or distracting.
I think theater kids in particular will love this. It's just so petty and spiteful in a way only twenty-something-year-old artists can be. It'll bring back a lot of memories for more than one MFA holder, I'm sure. There's a viciousness to our protagonist that's hard to look away from. Unfortunately, I found the inciting incident to be a little too whipcrack fast. We're introduced to this mentor relationship and the awkwardness of turning that into a friendship with an artistic equal and then BAM -- our protag feels wronged and it's revenge time! It skewed everything that happens next, and I never quite got over it.
Having said that, this is a solid read. I feel like there are a lot of people who will flock to this without my personal hang ups. Worth a look.
I received an ARC of this book from Clash Books. All opinions are mine, and I am in no way being influenced by the curse brought on by a vengeful mentee.
I think theater kids in particular will love this. It's just so petty and spiteful in a way only twenty-something-year-old artists can be. It'll bring back a lot of memories for more than one MFA holder, I'm sure. There's a viciousness to our protagonist that's hard to look away from. Unfortunately, I found the inciting incident to be a little too whipcrack fast. We're introduced to this mentor relationship and the awkwardness of turning that into a friendship with an artistic equal and then BAM -- our protag feels wronged and it's revenge time! It skewed everything that happens next, and I never quite got over it.
Having said that, this is a solid read. I feel like there are a lot of people who will flock to this without my personal hang ups. Worth a look.
I received an ARC of this book from Clash Books. All opinions are mine, and I am in no way being influenced by the curse brought on by a vengeful mentee.
April 21, 2025
Enter COREY, a passionate young nobody, and her professor, MAXINE, an award-winning playwright and living legend of the American theatre. When Maxine shatters Corey's dreams of artistic collaboration after graduation, Corey seeks revenge. At a clairvoyant's den in a violet-lit Dallas strip mall, the young playwright unleashes a life-altering curse on Maxine.
Possessed by dark powers and even darker ambitions, Corey follows Maxine to a prestigious playwriting residency in Chicago where the women become fatally entwined. Through three acts, two interludes, and one curse, Corey pushes her mentor toward theatre's haunted margins, where reality begins to crumble.
Caroline Macon Fleischer's A Play About A Curse reads like an A24 film. Part psychological horror and part theatrical fever dream, Curse shadows a heroine-turned-villain as she confronts the supernatural power struggle between mentor and protégé, learning that to achieve our dreams, someone else must suffer a nightmare.
Possessed by dark powers and even darker ambitions, Corey follows Maxine to a prestigious playwriting residency in Chicago where the women become fatally entwined. Through three acts, two interludes, and one curse, Corey pushes her mentor toward theatre's haunted margins, where reality begins to crumble.
Caroline Macon Fleischer's A Play About A Curse reads like an A24 film. Part psychological horror and part theatrical fever dream, Curse shadows a heroine-turned-villain as she confronts the supernatural power struggle between mentor and protégé, learning that to achieve our dreams, someone else must suffer a nightmare.
May 20, 2025
I liked the concept, and the writing was mostly good but sometimes came across overworked and the dialogue didn’t flow. I found it very difficult to understand why the main character decided to set the curse in the first place. It didn’t seem as though it should have been such a big deal that her mentor took another job, let alone a reason to make a deal with the devil to curse her and spend your life plotting her downfall. However, I don’t think I’ve ever hated a main character more than in this book and that itself is testament to the writing.
Corey is malevolent in nature and Maxine is the unwitting subject of a curse she didn’t deserve. The descent in to madness made me want to look away and look at something cute and cuddly as it was so scary, how someone could be so vindictive. It read like a horror film. Where you want to scream at one of the characters to get out of the way or open their eyes to what was happening and it made me as a reader feel very out of control and uncomfortable. It was a very different, disturbing read, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Corey is malevolent in nature and Maxine is the unwitting subject of a curse she didn’t deserve. The descent in to madness made me want to look away and look at something cute and cuddly as it was so scary, how someone could be so vindictive. It read like a horror film. Where you want to scream at one of the characters to get out of the way or open their eyes to what was happening and it made me as a reader feel very out of control and uncomfortable. It was a very different, disturbing read, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 9, 2025
2.25 ⭐
As a theatre, horror and book lover, I thought this would be my new fave book. Unfortunately, it just didn't quite land for me. I felt it was quite confusing, slow and it almost felt like it needed to lean more into the script style or back away. It felt slightly clunky to me.
A Play About a Curse follows Corey, a 23 year old playwright/student who befriends her mentor, Maxine. Maxine is a woman in her 40s who has had great success in the theatre industry. When Maxine accepts a job in another state, Corey feels betrayed (and jealous). She seeks out a psychic who helps her put a curse on Maxine and allows Corey to be "better" than her.
The book follows Maxine's decline and contains some key themes like obsession, jealousy, feminism, history and (of course) curses. And sirens! 🧜🏻♀️ I liked the premise, and the tie in with history (as a history graduate) but it just didn't quite work for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH Books for this advanced Reader Copy. 🎭🧜🏻♀️😨
As a theatre, horror and book lover, I thought this would be my new fave book. Unfortunately, it just didn't quite land for me. I felt it was quite confusing, slow and it almost felt like it needed to lean more into the script style or back away. It felt slightly clunky to me.
A Play About a Curse follows Corey, a 23 year old playwright/student who befriends her mentor, Maxine. Maxine is a woman in her 40s who has had great success in the theatre industry. When Maxine accepts a job in another state, Corey feels betrayed (and jealous). She seeks out a psychic who helps her put a curse on Maxine and allows Corey to be "better" than her.
The book follows Maxine's decline and contains some key themes like obsession, jealousy, feminism, history and (of course) curses. And sirens! 🧜🏻♀️ I liked the premise, and the tie in with history (as a history graduate) but it just didn't quite work for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH Books for this advanced Reader Copy. 🎭🧜🏻♀️😨
August 20, 2025
3.5ish comfortably rounded up to 4 for goodreads
The writing style? Half book half playscript, it's unique but not gimmicky.
It's fabulous and easy to read, yet it still contains plenty of poetic prose and quotable sections.
It can be very ambiguous, proper psychological daydreamy, but I think that that would make this a great book club read because it's SO thinky.
I would have loved a little more development at the beginning to establish the relationship, and in some ambiguous little points throughout, I'd have loved a smiiidge more detail. I'd love to explain why, but I dont want to spoil!
Despite my small bone to pick, I keep thinking about how clever this little book is. The main character is downright evil, which makes for such an interesting reading experience. This is a really unique read that I reckon I'll be thinking about for the foreseeable! I think as long as you go in knowig it's going to be a fever dream a24, then you won't be disappointed.
The writing style? Half book half playscript, it's unique but not gimmicky.
It's fabulous and easy to read, yet it still contains plenty of poetic prose and quotable sections.
It can be very ambiguous, proper psychological daydreamy, but I think that that would make this a great book club read because it's SO thinky.
I would have loved a little more development at the beginning to establish the relationship, and in some ambiguous little points throughout, I'd have loved a smiiidge more detail. I'd love to explain why, but I dont want to spoil!
Despite my small bone to pick, I keep thinking about how clever this little book is. The main character is downright evil, which makes for such an interesting reading experience. This is a really unique read that I reckon I'll be thinking about for the foreseeable! I think as long as you go in knowig it's going to be a fever dream a24, then you won't be disappointed.
June 24, 2025
The screenplay formatting was executed really well, usually I'm not a fan but I think this book changed my mind about it.
I can't get over the unfairness of Maxine being cursed for nothing. She DID NOT deserve it! Corey is such an unlikeable main character, she annoyed me the whole story I was just rubbing my hands waiting for karma to come for her. Her fragile ego, her possessiveness. UGH
She deserved worse than she got but the final scene was so beautifully written. Her last words are going to stick with me for quite a while.
I try not to think too hard about superstition and magic in reality but I am sure that if you believe in magic and use it with the intension of harming someone else it will come back on you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Clash Books for the Advanced Reader Copy!
I can't get over the unfairness of Maxine being cursed for nothing. She DID NOT deserve it! Corey is such an unlikeable main character, she annoyed me the whole story I was just rubbing my hands waiting for karma to come for her. Her fragile ego, her possessiveness. UGH
She deserved worse than she got but the final scene was so beautifully written. Her last words are going to stick with me for quite a while.
I try not to think too hard about superstition and magic in reality but I am sure that if you believe in magic and use it with the intension of harming someone else it will come back on you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Clash Books for the Advanced Reader Copy!
April 21, 2025
(ARC - out 10/21/25 via Clash Books) The structure of this one was a fun change-up from a normal novel. It’s both a novel and a play about an unhinged young woman who, furious at her playwright mentor’s decision to move away from her, seeks revenge via a curse produced by a psychic at a strip mall. This was super short and a good, unexpected time. Because of it’s length and structure you don’t really get to know our narrator, Corey, more just follow her along on her quest for revenge on Max, her mentor. But I don’t think that’s a negative with this one! It’s perfect for what it is. I really like when authors shake up a traditional novel structure, as well. The background setting of the theatre in this one adds to the melodrama of the story. I very much enjoyed this weird little gem.
May 26, 2025
I received an ARC from the author! The premise of A Play About A Curse immediately intrigued me. I enjoyed the idea of a blend between a script and a novel, but I definitely found myself enjoying the paragraphs/novel parts more than the dialogue, perhaps because of Macon Fleischer's knack for writing vivid descriptions that uniquely convey scenes and feelings. I enjoyed her unconventional way of leaning into uncomfortable or taboo feelings. Macon Fleischer's pacing was overall very well done and kept me wanting more. I found the circumstances somewhat outlandish (which is not necessarily a bad thing), so I would be curious to see the characters more fleshed out in a different genre like realistic fiction.
June 21, 2025
This book pulls you straight into a psychological spiral that’s as gripping as it is unsettling. It explores the hunger for recognition, the corrosion of envy, and the slow unraveling of sanity—and does it all in a way that feels bold and inventive.
Told in the format of a script rather than a traditional novel, the structure actually deepens the emotional impact. It’s not just a stylistic choice—it makes the tension between the characters crackle on the page.
Corey and Maxine are an intense duo. Their dynamic is messy, manipulative, and completely captivating. Even at their worst, I couldn’t look away.
If you're into stories that are offbeat, psychologically rich, and just a little bit unhinged, this one’s a must-read.
Told in the format of a script rather than a traditional novel, the structure actually deepens the emotional impact. It’s not just a stylistic choice—it makes the tension between the characters crackle on the page.
Corey and Maxine are an intense duo. Their dynamic is messy, manipulative, and completely captivating. Even at their worst, I couldn’t look away.
If you're into stories that are offbeat, psychologically rich, and just a little bit unhinged, this one’s a must-read.
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