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3.5 

The Faceless Thing We Adore

By Hester Steel
The Faceless Thing We Adore by Hester Steel digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Eat, Pray, Love goes full Lovecraft in this queer, feel-good cosmic horror that reflects on gaslighting and emotional abuse.

Lemon, poppy seed, sun-warmed sand. These visions convince Aoife to quit her job, leave her manipulative boyfriend, and escape to the isolated shores of the Farmstead commune. There, among its charismatic and hedonistic residents, Aoife finds everything she’s been missing: a community that adores her, the freedom to indulge, and the promise to be a part of something miraculous.

But darkness underpins her airy new way of life. A disappearing cave looms above an ocean no one dares step foot in, mysterious crying fills the night hours, and a rot is spreading across the island. But perhaps most concerning is the commune’s reverence for their leader, Jonah—a love tinged with fear that Aoife knows all too well.

When Aoife’s boring old life comes crashing into her bold new one, loyalties are tested, unleashing a spiral of unspeakable violence that threatens to fracture reality itself. At the helm, Aoife finds herself desperately trying to protect everyone and everything she’s grown to love. Awkward, clumsy Aoife, who was always told she was weak, will soon realize the depths of her strength—and the pleasures of her rage.

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The Faceless Thing We Adore Reviews

3.5
“Okay, y’all. I bought this book because it was pretty 2 weeks ago for my birthday, and Holy fuck! This book absolutely consumed me every time I picked it up. I had to force myself to savor it. This may be the most beautifully written book I’ve read all year. Like god damn. Hester Steel has a devastatingly beautiful way with words. This book was unbelievably, ethereally stunning. The cosmos were written into every aspect of this story, from the dialogue, to the world building, to even the cult plot line. The queer love described and felt by multiple characters in this book is palpable. While on the surface, it’s a story about a woman that leaves her boyfriend and life to join a cult that is determined to summon an eldritch god, this is a story of gut wrenching emotional abuse and gaslighting. I saw so much of myself in the narrator/MC, and I witnessed her feel and process the same smallness, the same unworthiness, the same fear, the same self-hatred, the same loneliness, and more that I felt when that same gas lighting emotional abuse, that I have also experienced, whispered that version of me into existence. And then, at the end, the narrator reclaimed herself. This story will haunt me in the best emotional ways for a good minute.”
“... "play "i am not a woman, i'm a god" by Halsey" 🤭 Terrifyingly transformative and emotionally gripping, this mind-bending and existentially dreadful cosmic horror will warp your senses of reality and leave your mind twisted with gut-wrenching moments of self-empowerment and absolute fear. I thoroughly enjoyed Steel's beautiful writing and stylistic choices for organizing the chapters. The kaleidoscope of feels and morale dilemmas that I had while reading made for a very interesting adventure (TWs), but the underlying messages of the story really hit home for me! A big thank you to Page Street Horror & NetGalley for giving this ghoul ARC access in exchange for my honest thoughts on the book!”
“I don’t know what I just read to be honest but what I do know is it was quite strange towards the end”

About Hester Steel

Hester Steel is the queer debut author of The Faceless Thing We Adore. Originally from the UK, she has worked around the world as a freelance writer and English teacher. Her work has appeared in several small press and indie anthologies, including The Uncanny and the Dead. Hester currently lives in London.

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