All Girls Be Mine Alone

by Sophie Strohmeier

Set among high school music students and opera fanatics in Vienna, Sophie Strohmeier’s All Girls Be Mine Alone spins a tale of obsessions, monsters, and romantic conquest.

An unnamed lesbian narrates the demise of her friendship with her high school classmate, Joachim, and their rivalry over his girlfriend. She then recalls an anecdote overheard years earlier, when a former opera singer confides her own haunting memories from her time studying at the renowned Mikhail Glinka Conservatory. In a crowded dormitory late one night, a group of student singers accidentally conjures the spirit of an excommunicated monk living in agony over the tragic death of his beloved. When one of the students becomes convinced that she has been possessed by the monk, she discovers a new sexual appetite. Together, the two narratives form a single fugue of memory and eroticism.

Marked by hypnotic precision and frank humor, All Girls Be Mine Alone is an inventive and deeply felt novella of queer awakening, artistic fixation, and the strange intimacy of rivalry.

Genres: Queer, LGBT

Paperback

Published October 14, 2025

Reviews

[Fiona W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uhhhh guys I’m actually obsessed!!!! Structurally musical. Perfect balance of sentence-level beauty and readability. Made me want to live somewhere freezing and stir jam into my tea.

[Flynn Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow. I loved this. One of my favorite reads of the year.

[Kim Narby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, stunning, elegant, bewitching novel about girls in a musical high school in Vienna exploring the bounds of friendship and sexuality.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an eARC copy for my honest review.

This worked really well for me. I had a few issues, hence it not being a five star, but this was great.
The main character, an unnamed lesbian, is wonderfully pretentious and messy- Though I think that is a good way to describe the novella itself. It was great. The humor hits where it's needed and while it does occasionally assume the reader can't make certain connections that are obvious if you use your head, it still does make you think.

Despite this being set in two different schools of music I don't think one needs to be well versed in Opera and classical music to understand what is going on, though I'm sure the background knowledge would add to the experience. This is a slow-paced read. Despite this being just a little over 100 pages on my eReader it took me almost four hours and two sittings to finish. Which is not a complaint, but is something to be aware of if you pick this up expecting a quick read. It is not.
Of the two stories in this, I did prefer the first one but I think when it comes to exploring one's self the second one does a much better job. The first story, in which the unnamed narrator is speaking of the downfall of her closest friendship- if you could call it that- is much more about the exploration of relationships. Both stories have their own purpose.

I think when it comes to the complex feelings of lesbianism, specifically when you just figure it out was well done. It got that sickening worry over and intrusive thoughts about being around other women or girls or the feeling of disassociation and alienation of those around you. How sometimes you just push it down and project onto the closest, decent-ish, guy.

Now the reason why this didn't get a five star is two things: One, it took me a hot second to get into the story- the first 20 pages took me an hour before I got into the more steady 1.5 minutes per page. Second is something that I mentioned before. In some cases when the author is trying to make a point, paint the story though metaphor, in some cases the true meaning does just get spoon fed to the reader. Which, while annoying, luckily didn't get done every time. Just enough for me to notice.

Anyway, I recommend this novella heavily! Already planning to get a physical copy after it releases.

[R B · Rating 5 out of 5]

elite

[malena steelberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really got going with Stasi’s section

So to speak

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

opera, monk, apple

[RecycledWords · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like how Strohmeier narrated this novel. It was very easy to feel as though you were part of the friendship group of this little high school clique who then have some older students tell them a sort of lesbian (is it lesbian if you're possessed by a male ghost?) love/ghost story hybrid where it's never really clear whether the protagonist is acting on their own desires or that of the Vile Monk who they believe is possessing them.

That said, the story within the story was a bit slow and told with so much flourish and with many asides such that I did find my mind wandering from time to time and had to refocus and sometimes re-read a passage to be able to immerse myself within the novel again.

Thanks to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. Although I did enjoy this novella, I am glad it was short. It felt a little aimless and wandering for my taste, but the characters were interesting, and I always appreciate a queer story.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Girls, except for girls like me, were crazy about Joachim.”

“What if I have this body, but the voice is someone else’s?”

The novella All The Girls Be Mine Alone by Sophie Strohmeier has rivalry, music school, sexuality, friendship, Opera, bunk beds, the summoning of spirits, things that go bump in the night and of course tales of the dreaded Vile Monk all set in the beautifully moody backdrop of Vienna.

Thank you NetGalley and Joyland Editions for a chance to read an ARC copy of this haunting book.