The Woods All Black

It's been a while since a book made me feel seen like this

This queer novel had a Southern horror theme. I enjoyed it.

Hmm. Logically right up my alley: horror, queer people, Appalachia...Missed the mark a bit for reasons spoilered below. But that's a me thing.

I do not enjoy graphic sex scenes. Or any kind, really. I skipped both: you can definitely skip the first one with no issues; for the second, read the start of it. Still a great book, I was just not expecting pages of sex.

Beautiful prose! The perspective is very close--you can really feel yourself as Leslie, moving through the town.

Score breakdown:

Objective-ish quality: 4.5 (counted twice)

My enjoyment: 3

((4.5 x 2) + 3) /3 = 4

Great, tense, dark, gory little thing. I loved it and the queerness of the story was so well-implemented and historically researched that I wasn't brought out of it like I often am by queer period stories. 
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, honestly. It was so short that I picked it up and I thought “oh boy, this is going to be rough.” In reality, it was fast as fuck and so emotionally visceral I was stunned at how much I liked it.

I really wanted to love this novel, but I did not. Partially because I thought it was going to be more folk horror.
Leslie works for the Frontier Nursing Service and has been assigned a small village called Spar Creek but when she gets there her welcome is revoked because the local preacher is poisoning the people's minds with stories of women who do not behave in the way he feels the Bible says they should behave. Leslie, for example, wears pants and is educated- two big no-nos's. Additionally there is a young person in town exhibiting behaviors considered to be “man's work” and dress. Punishment for Stevie Mattingly is doled out with fists and attacks on their body. Leslie tries to help, but is powerless.
And something in the woods is stalking everyone.
I felt the strongest parts of the novel are Leslie's memories of serving in the trenches in the first world war. Her life in Europe is also very interesting.
I really thought more was going to happen with whatever was in the woods, I think I thought it had more to do with how the townsfolk were acting. I was incorrect. We really don't get to know anyone so it was hard to understand their motivation- either they were on the side with the preacher or they were not. And very few people were not on his side.