What do you think?
Rate this book
Aftertaste: A Toxic Yuri
Past-Itch Publishing presents, Aftertaste: A Toxic Yuri, the debut novel from Emoria Weidner.
Begun as a series of Bluesky posts that went viral, Aftertaste has been fully revised and expanded into the first print edition.
This sensual tale follows the seemingly unremarkable Simon, the only "man" working at a yuri bar where lesbian romance is served from bottles. Encounters with a domineering demon, a feisty old flame, and a motherly boss help this lowly server find the treasure that lies beneath the body's surface...and will unleash the mistakes that make us their prey.
In this stunning first offering, Weidner blends romance, horror, religious trauma, queer love, and much more into a trans pulp opera that rides off the rails and into the sunset.
Begun as a series of Bluesky posts that went viral, Aftertaste has been fully revised and expanded into the first print edition.
This sensual tale follows the seemingly unremarkable Simon, the only "man" working at a yuri bar where lesbian romance is served from bottles. Encounters with a domineering demon, a feisty old flame, and a motherly boss help this lowly server find the treasure that lies beneath the body's surface...and will unleash the mistakes that make us their prey.
In this stunning first offering, Weidner blends romance, horror, religious trauma, queer love, and much more into a trans pulp opera that rides off the rails and into the sunset.
352 pages, Paperback
Published June 20, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 10, 2026
A great debut book for a new and talented author. It’s an emotional roller coaster of romance, self acceptance, and the occasional man maybe get eaten(no huge loss there). This book with have you in tears one moment and incredibly turned on the next moment. Give this new author I shot I promise you won’t regret it.
October 3, 2026
Emoria has crafted a story in her debut novel unlike any other I have read. The author invites us to where it's dark, scary, and vulgar, only to find life-affirming truth and beauty that speaks to a trans experience anyone should empathize with. It is unabashedly queer and harnesses the anxieties and even the joys of the trans experience to tell a dizzying and sometimes seductive horror story. While it is a story that is most definitely directed to a trans audience it also cuts to the heart of the human need of realizing one's true self, potential, and community.
The book also makes full use of the word as a visual medium with all manners of inventive typography and formatting, further driving home moments that hit like a truck. The author's inclusion of a content warning list by chapter (of which there are many potentially triggering things) and a link to a "Cis Guide To Aftertaste" are also nice pieces of companion material for those that need it.
It is a book that dares to be read. It is a book that feels dangerous and full of psychic damage, but somehow still fun and retains a gentleness that keeps you safe. To those with an open mind and heart (who also aren't squeamish), to those who ever felt lost in life or figuring themselves out, I can't recommend this book enough.
I also want to clarify that I read this book as a cisgender hetero male. I understand this book has been quite effective for those who are themselves trans or just discovering that part of them, which I believe is amazing and makes this book even necessary. While I can't say my experience even compares to those whose foundations were shaken, I'd like to highlight that you don't need to be queer to listen/support/enjoy or allow yourself to be affected by queer media as I found myself welling up with tears multiple times throughout the story. At a time when the media landscape is being threatened by homogenization, it is now more important to seek out and celebrate works like Aftertaste.
The book also makes full use of the word as a visual medium with all manners of inventive typography and formatting, further driving home moments that hit like a truck. The author's inclusion of a content warning list by chapter (of which there are many potentially triggering things) and a link to a "Cis Guide To Aftertaste" are also nice pieces of companion material for those that need it.
It is a book that dares to be read. It is a book that feels dangerous and full of psychic damage, but somehow still fun and retains a gentleness that keeps you safe. To those with an open mind and heart (who also aren't squeamish), to those who ever felt lost in life or figuring themselves out, I can't recommend this book enough.
I also want to clarify that I read this book as a cisgender hetero male. I understand this book has been quite effective for those who are themselves trans or just discovering that part of them, which I believe is amazing and makes this book even necessary. While I can't say my experience even compares to those whose foundations were shaken, I'd like to highlight that you don't need to be queer to listen/support/enjoy or allow yourself to be affected by queer media as I found myself welling up with tears multiple times throughout the story. At a time when the media landscape is being threatened by homogenization, it is now more important to seek out and celebrate works like Aftertaste.
July 10, 2026
I spent a solid chunk of my teens and twenties on sites like Fictionmania, so “Gender Fiction” has been with me for a long time, even if I compartmentalized it as just fantasy. Then, since examining my gender identity in ernest, I’ve sought out and been recommended a lot of different portrayals of the trans experience- memoirs like “Nobody’s Girl”, novels like “Nevada”, web fiction like “Ranked Competitive Breast Growth”- and while all of them contained nuggets that struck a chord with me, none of them have made me feel as seen as “Aftertaste” did. I could gush about all the little details that felt like the author was reading my mind, even which kept up until the epilogue. I *needed* to read this, and I hope it finds all of the other people, people who think they have to be Nothing, who need to read it too.
August 23, 2026
Aftertaste is, in a nutshell, devastatingly powerful. This book is not for the faint of heart, though perhaps not for the reasons one might expect judging by the cover.
I actually had to stop reading about halfway through. Not because I did not want to finish it, but because I knew I could not finish with my psyche intact. Rarely have I found an author whose writing has such a profound impact.
To experience Aftertaste is to be forever changed. But one has to live, and sometimes in order to live, one has to change.
I actually had to stop reading about halfway through. Not because I did not want to finish it, but because I knew I could not finish with my psyche intact. Rarely have I found an author whose writing has such a profound impact.
To experience Aftertaste is to be forever changed. But one has to live, and sometimes in order to live, one has to change.
July 10, 2026
Aftertaste does what we all want horror to do: take elements of terror to bring the horrors of our world to light. Aftertaste Uses supernatural elements beautifully to, deep down at it's core, tell a story about people and the human condition. It speaks to the pain, joy, fear and sorrow that all are deeply tied to life as a trans person. It pulls no punches and leaves the reader never truly feeling safe, with each moment of joy shining with a clawing nightmare sitting in it's shadow, a powerful mirror to the lives of trans people.
(yes, i am joslyn jollenberg and this is what i wrote for the back of the book)
(yes, i am joslyn jollenberg and this is what i wrote for the back of the book)
September 12, 2026
This book hit me like a truck so hard that if it was actually truck-kun I would be isekai’d, hopefully into its own world.
My fellow trans people, you need to read this book. NEED. Yes, it has scary bits. Yes it has some incredibly sensitive topics. Read it anyway. There are per-chapter content warnings in the back of the book.
If there’s any book worth pushing yourself out of your comfort zone for, it’s this one. To be clear, I mean comfort as in “I don’t typically read X” not “hey expose yourself to triggers that might make you spiral.” Because if you’re trans, you have to live.
My fellow trans people, you need to read this book. NEED. Yes, it has scary bits. Yes it has some incredibly sensitive topics. Read it anyway. There are per-chapter content warnings in the back of the book.
If there’s any book worth pushing yourself out of your comfort zone for, it’s this one. To be clear, I mean comfort as in “I don’t typically read X” not “hey expose yourself to triggers that might make you spiral.” Because if you’re trans, you have to live.
July 10, 2026
Constantly gripping with a genuine twist I promise you won't see coming. A very important read for queer and especially trans readers. Right up there with "I saw the TV Glow" and "Nimona".
July 24, 2026
They say to never judge a book by its cover, but this saying has never been demonstrated to me more vividly than with this book. Prominently, right there in the title... "A Toxic Yuri." I thought... eh, probably not for me. I like my romance stories nontoxic, thanks.
A friend convinced me to try it anyway. I've been reading a lot of transgender fiction lately and I decided, what the heck? I'd give it a shot. I am so, so glad I did. Not only did I end up enjoying it, it is now my absolute favorite piece of transgender fiction I've ever read. I'm not even exaggerating. The characters are so real and relatable and great. More than once, I found myself reflected in these pages, and made new discoveries about my own live through the vehicle of this book. And the fandom is full of some of the most delightful people I have ever met; there's a Discord server set up for fans of the book (and honestly any other trans folks who want to join) and it's just such a wholesome and wonderful community. This is more than just a book, it's an experience.
If you have even the slightest hint of an idea that this book might be for you, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It might just change your life. It does that sometimes.
A friend convinced me to try it anyway. I've been reading a lot of transgender fiction lately and I decided, what the heck? I'd give it a shot. I am so, so glad I did. Not only did I end up enjoying it, it is now my absolute favorite piece of transgender fiction I've ever read. I'm not even exaggerating. The characters are so real and relatable and great. More than once, I found myself reflected in these pages, and made new discoveries about my own live through the vehicle of this book. And the fandom is full of some of the most delightful people I have ever met; there's a Discord server set up for fans of the book (and honestly any other trans folks who want to join) and it's just such a wholesome and wonderful community. This is more than just a book, it's an experience.
If you have even the slightest hint of an idea that this book might be for you, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It might just change your life. It does that sometimes.
August 7, 2026
When I first started reading Aftertaste, I found it while in a bad spot in my life. I'd been unhappy with myself for a long time, but hadn't really been able to put into words exactly WHY I felt so miserable. Eventually though, I started reading. And I had to put it down for a bit, because someone - a woman who I originally followed for shitposts on Bluesky - had put in words almost EXACTLY how I was feeling. All the pieces had started falling into place, and I realized that there was only one way forward. And so far, it's been the exact right way.
Aftertaste is a wonderful read, from start to finish. It is an incredibly important piece of trans literature, one that I hope is seen by everyone who either needs to read it to see a way forward themselves, or for those who have found that path, to look back on and cry, laugh, reminisce, and remind themselves both how far they've come, and how far they can continue to go.
This book tricked me. This book broke me. But this book saved me.
Aftertaste is a wonderful read, from start to finish. It is an incredibly important piece of trans literature, one that I hope is seen by everyone who either needs to read it to see a way forward themselves, or for those who have found that path, to look back on and cry, laugh, reminisce, and remind themselves both how far they've come, and how far they can continue to go.
This book tricked me. This book broke me. But this book saved me.
July 10, 2026
There is always an incredible feeling and a privilege in reading a work by an author who finds her feet so quickly as she writes. An absolutely outstanding story that drove me forward wanting to read more without stopping to see how things unfolded with characters I became more and more emotionally invested in and by Chapter 3 only the need to sleep that had me put Emoria's book down so I could give it the full attention it deserved the following day. Compelling characters, outstanding story, the occasional eerie feeling that the author had somehow managed to peer into my own past before setting word to virtual paper, all the hallmarks of an excellently written book. 10/10; Would absolutely read again.
July 10, 2026
Having read both the bluesky and one of the early rewrites. I really mean it when I said that this is the best novel I ever read in my life. I cannot wait to read the physical version. This book wonderfully weaves not just how to tips for trans women, no matter how far in the journey they’re at, but this is also a thrill ride from the start to the end. You will fall in love with these characters. You will cry reading and you’ll love it.
July 12, 2026
A wonderful book written by a wonderful woman. I read both the original serialized story and the paperback edition. This is just about as good as trans literature gets. Show it to your local egg today!
July 10, 2026
He's Simon. Yep. Totally. Surely nothing is going to happen that could bring such a simple statement into question, right? Well, you'll just have to find out.
July 10, 2026
I don't have much to add to what others have said, beyond that while the book is certainly dark in places, I didn't find it to be as emotionally devastating as I feared and/or as it was maybe sold to me by others. Though there was one part where I'm 100% sure I would have cried if I'd been alone at the time. The content warnings are your friend if you're anxious about what's coming up.
July 10, 2026
I mean I really liked it
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews