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Our Monstrous Bodies
Not yet published
Expected 12 Mar 26An extraordinary literary horror debut from a rising star.My eyes snapped open and I saw something else in the mirror, something else that wasn’t me…
After an ill-omened romance with a horror cinephile, Brooke travels to Vancouver to care for her estranged sister, Izzy, who is facing reproductive surgery.
Inside Izzy’s rapidly decaying apartment building, its halls stalked by an ominous crone known only as Medusa, new frictions emerge and old wounds reopen. Brooke soon finds traces of horror bleeding from the screen and into their reality.
As the lives of these three women kaleidoscope and knot together in supernatural exchange, each strives to claim her autonomy within the increasingly claustrophobic environment. And when Brooke herself begins to exhibit strange symptoms, Izzy’s care and concern for her sister soon turn to unhinged obsession, blurring boundaries until one question who –– or what –– will survive when all has unravelled?
Through the dual lenses of art and horror cinema, Emma Cleary brilliantly dissects themes of loneliness, motherhood, and bodily autonomy in a haunting literary debut that blooms with the dark desires we suppress or to which we surrender.
After an ill-omened romance with a horror cinephile, Brooke travels to Vancouver to care for her estranged sister, Izzy, who is facing reproductive surgery.
Inside Izzy’s rapidly decaying apartment building, its halls stalked by an ominous crone known only as Medusa, new frictions emerge and old wounds reopen. Brooke soon finds traces of horror bleeding from the screen and into their reality.
As the lives of these three women kaleidoscope and knot together in supernatural exchange, each strives to claim her autonomy within the increasingly claustrophobic environment. And when Brooke herself begins to exhibit strange symptoms, Izzy’s care and concern for her sister soon turn to unhinged obsession, blurring boundaries until one question who –– or what –– will survive when all has unravelled?
Through the dual lenses of art and horror cinema, Emma Cleary brilliantly dissects themes of loneliness, motherhood, and bodily autonomy in a haunting literary debut that blooms with the dark desires we suppress or to which we surrender.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 5, 2025
A true feminine horror tale with messy family drama mixed in. The writing was so well done in this book and the plot is hauntingly captivating. It really is like reading how horror movies come to life. This book was very edgy and had me anticipating what would happen next. This book is spooky, relevant, and a vivid exploration of desire. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 31, 2025
This was a great first novel by Emma Cleary. I am not super well versed in mommy horror as a genre of fiction, but it resonates deeply with the complexities and fears of modern day motherhood.
We follow our protagonist Brooke, who temporarily moves in with her sister Izzy to be her at home caretaker while Izzy recovers from a cyst removal. Her surgery goes "wrong" for Izzy, when they end up learning that the growht has spread and Izzy needs a hysterectomy. That is when we/Brooke learns how badly her sister wanted a child. Through that, we learn of the struggles the whole family has gone through for children, and how brooke herself is basically a miracle baby. the desperate yearn for children that many women innately feel is palpable, and yet the infertility and/or lack of machinery that many women suffer from is portrayed through Izzy's struggles.
Alongside all of this, we have brooke's main story line, which is to become suddenly pregnant with some unknown demon "knot". Her sister becomes obsessed, thinking the baby growing inside Brooke must be hers, while brooke absolutely abhors and refusing to acknowledge it as her own baby.
I really liked how brooke's view is portrayed. I think it's a really strong way of explaining the feelings that some women have when they say they do not want children. There is no maternal desire. And for others, its everything they could possibly want and more- they're desperate for children, as seen through Izzy.
Brooke's experience metamorphasizes the gruesome realities of pregnancy and childbirth. How disgusting your body becomes, how painful, the horrible urges that arise, and how bloody and gorey birth can be. And at no point does Brooke ever actually want this child/thing, so we are just rawly seeing the horror.
I liked that a lot.
There are definitely elements to this book that detract from it. The cecelia/japan story line is pretty integrated, but doesn't seem to really do much for the plot aside from giving our protagonist some back ground. I feel we're introduced to many characters with "clues" dropped (eg Lucie and the tarot cards, wendy/kioko and the song) but little feels done to actually bring these together in the end gracefully. These unnecessary bits can make the beginning drag a long a bit, but I find once the story got going, it really went.
And I don't feel that these elements detracted too much from the actual story. I was immersed very early on and stayed hooked through it. Overall, really enjoyed this book. Thank you goodreads & emma cleary for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
We follow our protagonist Brooke, who temporarily moves in with her sister Izzy to be her at home caretaker while Izzy recovers from a cyst removal. Her surgery goes "wrong" for Izzy, when they end up learning that the growht has spread and Izzy needs a hysterectomy. That is when we/Brooke learns how badly her sister wanted a child. Through that, we learn of the struggles the whole family has gone through for children, and how brooke herself is basically a miracle baby. the desperate yearn for children that many women innately feel is palpable, and yet the infertility and/or lack of machinery that many women suffer from is portrayed through Izzy's struggles.
Alongside all of this, we have brooke's main story line, which is to become suddenly pregnant with some unknown demon "knot". Her sister becomes obsessed, thinking the baby growing inside Brooke must be hers, while brooke absolutely abhors and refusing to acknowledge it as her own baby.
I really liked how brooke's view is portrayed. I think it's a really strong way of explaining the feelings that some women have when they say they do not want children. There is no maternal desire. And for others, its everything they could possibly want and more- they're desperate for children, as seen through Izzy.
Brooke's experience metamorphasizes the gruesome realities of pregnancy and childbirth. How disgusting your body becomes, how painful, the horrible urges that arise, and how bloody and gorey birth can be. And at no point does Brooke ever actually want this child/thing, so we are just rawly seeing the horror.
I liked that a lot.
There are definitely elements to this book that detract from it. The cecelia/japan story line is pretty integrated, but doesn't seem to really do much for the plot aside from giving our protagonist some back ground. I feel we're introduced to many characters with "clues" dropped (eg Lucie and the tarot cards, wendy/kioko and the song) but little feels done to actually bring these together in the end gracefully. These unnecessary bits can make the beginning drag a long a bit, but I find once the story got going, it really went.
And I don't feel that these elements detracted too much from the actual story. I was immersed very early on and stayed hooked through it. Overall, really enjoyed this book. Thank you goodreads & emma cleary for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 3, 2025
That was a WILD ride.
Brooke has just left Japan after a teaching job and relationship ended- and she goes to Vancouver to help her sister with her dog while she has surgery to remove a mass in her abdomen. As Brooke gets to Izzy’s apartment she realizes how run down it is, with mold on the ceilings, trash, and a crazy old woman named Marisa that seems to appear out of nowhere and scare everyone- but Izzy seems content. While Brooke cares for her sister and her beloved dog, she starts to notice strange noises, figures, and feelings in the apartment- but no one else seems to notice anything. Izzy continues to get better, but Brooke starts to get worse- and as the girls switch roles, jealousy, want, and violence creep in and fester until one of them does something they can never take back.
This book is the definition of mommy horror and it grips you from the start then chips you away page by page creeping into your subconscious and festering inside your brain. It’s like a scab you pick only for it to bleed and return over and over.
You can feel the ick dripping off the pages and the undercurrent of unease never lets up.
If you like mommy horror- pick this one up. You won’t regret it.
Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review
Brooke has just left Japan after a teaching job and relationship ended- and she goes to Vancouver to help her sister with her dog while she has surgery to remove a mass in her abdomen. As Brooke gets to Izzy’s apartment she realizes how run down it is, with mold on the ceilings, trash, and a crazy old woman named Marisa that seems to appear out of nowhere and scare everyone- but Izzy seems content. While Brooke cares for her sister and her beloved dog, she starts to notice strange noises, figures, and feelings in the apartment- but no one else seems to notice anything. Izzy continues to get better, but Brooke starts to get worse- and as the girls switch roles, jealousy, want, and violence creep in and fester until one of them does something they can never take back.
This book is the definition of mommy horror and it grips you from the start then chips you away page by page creeping into your subconscious and festering inside your brain. It’s like a scab you pick only for it to bleed and return over and over.
You can feel the ick dripping off the pages and the undercurrent of unease never lets up.
If you like mommy horror- pick this one up. You won’t regret it.
Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review
December 14, 2025
Afterbirth by Emma Cleary. Thanks to @harperbooks for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Brooke has arrived in Vancouver to take care of her older sister who will be convalescing from reproductive surgery. There’s an odd woman who stalks the halls of the apartment. Brooke soon starts exhibiting strange symptoms and wonders if the building, or the strange woman, are affecting her.
This one was quite the wild ride. I felt a little lost at the end and I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I do know it was creepy as heck. It kept my interest and I liked the main characters, especially how much they loved their dog. There’s some Japanese folklore and classic horror background to the story. I loved the relationship between the sisters and how it was disturbed but not broken.
“I didn’t like the idea of some force that could take over your body, kill your only chance at the thing you most wanted, and give you something else in its place.”
Read this if you like:
-Sister relationships
-Abstract horror
-Japanese horror or folklore
-Medical or pregnancy dramas
Afterbirth comes out 3/24.
Brooke has arrived in Vancouver to take care of her older sister who will be convalescing from reproductive surgery. There’s an odd woman who stalks the halls of the apartment. Brooke soon starts exhibiting strange symptoms and wonders if the building, or the strange woman, are affecting her.
This one was quite the wild ride. I felt a little lost at the end and I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I do know it was creepy as heck. It kept my interest and I liked the main characters, especially how much they loved their dog. There’s some Japanese folklore and classic horror background to the story. I loved the relationship between the sisters and how it was disturbed but not broken.
“I didn’t like the idea of some force that could take over your body, kill your only chance at the thing you most wanted, and give you something else in its place.”
Read this if you like:
-Sister relationships
-Abstract horror
-Japanese horror or folklore
-Medical or pregnancy dramas
Afterbirth comes out 3/24.
January 28, 2026
3.25 ⭐️
Afterbirth by Emma Clearly is a “mommy horror” sub genre, of which I had not read yet and was looking forward to exploring to understand this genre better. This is a story of two sisters, Izzy and Brooke. While Izzy desperately wants to become a mother by experiencing birthing a child, her sister Izzy is adamant that she does not. When Izzy requires a medical procedure, Brooke travels and stays with her to care for her (and her dog) while she recovers.
Highlights of things I found interesting:
- the portrayal and truth of a woman who doesn’t want to become a mom
- the portrayal of horror around reproduction, body changes, and birth itself
- important themes explored such as infertility, the inability to get pregnant due to medical reasons, the depth of desire to have a baby, and the fear of having a baby
- LGBTQ+ representation
However, I was often confused. I’m still not sure what some of the purposes of some characters were, and why there was initial build-up, but then they dropped off toward the end (Lucie, the neighbors, even her mum). I also was just plain confused at parts and didn’t understand the symbolisms or truths or dreams or what… I don’t know if this is because I’m knew to the genre and so it read completely different than anything I’ve come across. I honestly struggled to finish this book, however, I think it should find its hands into anyone who loves and appreciates mommy horror.
Thank you Harper Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Afterbirth by Emma Clearly is a “mommy horror” sub genre, of which I had not read yet and was looking forward to exploring to understand this genre better. This is a story of two sisters, Izzy and Brooke. While Izzy desperately wants to become a mother by experiencing birthing a child, her sister Izzy is adamant that she does not. When Izzy requires a medical procedure, Brooke travels and stays with her to care for her (and her dog) while she recovers.
Highlights of things I found interesting:
- the portrayal and truth of a woman who doesn’t want to become a mom
- the portrayal of horror around reproduction, body changes, and birth itself
- important themes explored such as infertility, the inability to get pregnant due to medical reasons, the depth of desire to have a baby, and the fear of having a baby
- LGBTQ+ representation
However, I was often confused. I’m still not sure what some of the purposes of some characters were, and why there was initial build-up, but then they dropped off toward the end (Lucie, the neighbors, even her mum). I also was just plain confused at parts and didn’t understand the symbolisms or truths or dreams or what… I don’t know if this is because I’m knew to the genre and so it read completely different than anything I’ve come across. I honestly struggled to finish this book, however, I think it should find its hands into anyone who loves and appreciates mommy horror.
Thank you Harper Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
In this horror novel, a woman goes to stay with her older sister after surgery—only to find that something is not right in her sister’s building and some kind of presence lurks there.
What an interesting (and scary!) novel about sisterhood, motherhood, and desire. It touches on so much — from medical misogyny and gaslighting in the women’s health field to societal pressures to have children so that our lives as women have meaning.
This novel wove a very scary narrative out of horror movie plots about women’s bodies and familial relationships. The way the book mirrored these plots while creating its own horrors was very, very well done. These tense scenes were definitely the highlight of the book. However, sometimes the novel was bogged down by its similes and setup. Cleary writes very beautifully, but sometimes I felt like we were losing momentum as the tension was rising.
With that being said, this novel does an extremely good job of playing with body image, body horror, and the horrors of pregnancy and labor as it tells its story about how far we will go to obtain what we most wish for. I was genuinely shocked by a few of the scenes. So often we treat menstruating bodies as monstrous, and Cleary does masterful work in using these ideas to create a story about two sisters who are trying to live fulfilling lives in their bodies that have, in one way or another, “failed” them. The prevalence of menstrual blood and the use of that blood to really build up the horror of the novel absolutely caught my attention!
I am very grateful to NetGalley for the ARC.
What an interesting (and scary!) novel about sisterhood, motherhood, and desire. It touches on so much — from medical misogyny and gaslighting in the women’s health field to societal pressures to have children so that our lives as women have meaning.
This novel wove a very scary narrative out of horror movie plots about women’s bodies and familial relationships. The way the book mirrored these plots while creating its own horrors was very, very well done. These tense scenes were definitely the highlight of the book. However, sometimes the novel was bogged down by its similes and setup. Cleary writes very beautifully, but sometimes I felt like we were losing momentum as the tension was rising.
With that being said, this novel does an extremely good job of playing with body image, body horror, and the horrors of pregnancy and labor as it tells its story about how far we will go to obtain what we most wish for. I was genuinely shocked by a few of the scenes. So often we treat menstruating bodies as monstrous, and Cleary does masterful work in using these ideas to create a story about two sisters who are trying to live fulfilling lives in their bodies that have, in one way or another, “failed” them. The prevalence of menstrual blood and the use of that blood to really build up the horror of the novel absolutely caught my attention!
I am very grateful to NetGalley for the ARC.
November 26, 2025
I think I might have over-dosed on female-authored body horror that takes issue with either food/eating or pregnancy - this plays in the space of the latter and takes its time to get to that place... at which point the narrative soars into menace and reading excitement. Sadly, it took a very long time to get there. The prose feels leaden for much of the first half with every minute detail spelled out unnecessarily - a ruthless edit might have honed and streamlined to greater effect.
If you read a lot of female authors as I do, then this unfortunately feels quite similar to many other books that have been published in the last few years - there is a good payoff but if I hadn't been reading an ARC I might well have bailed out before reaching that point. There isn't anything distinctive in the prose style which can get quite boggy in places or any startlingly original approach to topics of female bodily autonomy, the relationships between sisters and loneliness in a strange place.
The ending made this worth reading for me but it is distinctly samey to a lot of other female authored books, some of which are grabbier and do more to stretch the genre in interesting directions. But the blurb of Rosemary's Baby meets Conversations With Friends makes complete sense!
Thanks to Harper Collins for an ARC via NetGalley.
If you read a lot of female authors as I do, then this unfortunately feels quite similar to many other books that have been published in the last few years - there is a good payoff but if I hadn't been reading an ARC I might well have bailed out before reaching that point. There isn't anything distinctive in the prose style which can get quite boggy in places or any startlingly original approach to topics of female bodily autonomy, the relationships between sisters and loneliness in a strange place.
The ending made this worth reading for me but it is distinctly samey to a lot of other female authored books, some of which are grabbier and do more to stretch the genre in interesting directions. But the blurb of Rosemary's Baby meets Conversations With Friends makes complete sense!
Thanks to Harper Collins for an ARC via NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I really didn’t enjoy this. The relationship between Izzy and Brooke didn’t feel authentic or believable. I didn’t get “sisters” from them but more like long lost cousins or something.
There is no atmosphere. It’s hard to get into a horror novel when there is no creepy or spooky anything. I think all the Japan/Cecelia stuff was irrelevant. This felt like it was a short story that got bloated out to novel length and missed the mark.
But maybe I’m just not the target audience. I have a real love/hate with “mommy horror” while other people really seem to enjoy it. The writing is excellent and the author is clearly talented and I would read another book by her.
I really didn’t enjoy this. The relationship between Izzy and Brooke didn’t feel authentic or believable. I didn’t get “sisters” from them but more like long lost cousins or something.
There is no atmosphere. It’s hard to get into a horror novel when there is no creepy or spooky anything. I think all the Japan/Cecelia stuff was irrelevant. This felt like it was a short story that got bloated out to novel length and missed the mark.
But maybe I’m just not the target audience. I have a real love/hate with “mommy horror” while other people really seem to enjoy it. The writing is excellent and the author is clearly talented and I would read another book by her.
December 12, 2025
Afterbirth by Emma Cleary explores the story of two sisters, Izzy and Brooke and their relationship with each other and motherhood themes. I enjoyed the first half but felt that the book was overlong and contained too many loose plot threads. I typically enjoy this subgenre of motherhood horror but this one didn’t quite land for me.
Thank you to Harper and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to Harper and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Well they cannot all be good. Absolutely not a fan. So many unnecessary elements, including pages about living in Japan that had absolutely nothing to do with anything. It just felt to me that the whole book was filler, to make a short story into a full book. As far as horror? Not even a little.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews