Loved the premise, a really dark and gritty debut novel. The gory details were well done and the sense of foreboding was heavy from the first page. I thought the world building was great and would read more set in this world.

First of all, I can’t believe this is Laura Kat Young’s debut novel. I always used to think that debut novels would be unpolished, a bit rough, with room to grow. But recently, some of the best books I’ve read have been debut books, and this definitely falls into that category.

The images Laura creates are gruesome and bloody and gave me the heebie-jeebies. I’ve never been good with the idea of blood, but because there’s no pictures, I thought it would be okay, but she’s painted it so vividly, the amputations, the sounds of saw through bone, the smell of the blood….I felt myself holding my breath for most of the book, particularly the first half, which in my opinion was more explicit.

It is a proper gruesome, sit on the edge of your seat thriller, like a classic horror - the like I haven’t read in a long time.

I don’t particularly like comparing a book I like (this one) to one I didn’t, but this reminded me of The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi in that they both star a young woman forced into an uncomfortable job due to reasons out of their hands. What makes this one better in my view, is that she’s hit the right balance between the reader being thrilled and uneasy and the. Feeling so uncomfortable they can’t read on. You want your reader to be a bit grossed out, but you also want them to finish the book.

There is a lyrical, poetic nature to the writing. It’s not jarring or stilted, each sentence flows naturally into the next. This may not be something most people even care about but I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to syntax and word formation, so I really liked this.

It’s really easy to read. At 320 pages, it’s my ideal length, but I thought I’d probably read a few chapters then put it down and get on with my day. But I was so engrossed that the first time I looked down to see how much I’d read, I was almost half way through, and to me that’s one of the clearest ways of telling if a book is good.

This is for all intents and purposes, a thriller. A bloody thriller. But I found it really moving. On more than one occasion I found myself tearing up, out of sadness, anger, pride and joy. This is so much e than a story about punishments. It’s a story about forgiveness. A story about love.

dark, gritty and a very original coming-of-age tale. enjoyed learning about the world but do wish there was a little more attention paid to it. don’t feel like we got nearly enough especially because the crumbs we did get were so fascinating. otherwise the plot was fine and after part one, i had a feeling i knew where it was headed, and reaching the end, i was right. with a little more expansion on certain subjects (the world, her mother) this could’ve been a lot better but alas, for what it’s worth it’s a decent enough read if you’re not as nitpicky as me lol

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for supplying me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was initially drawn in by the cover and concept; A young woman who will inherit a predecided career path from the mothers before her- the town 'Butcher'. Charged with the purpose of doling out criminal justice via mutilation, quite literally an eye for an eye.

The writing was easy to follow but definitely in need of heavier editing. There's a fair amount of unnecessary repetition that slows the pace, in one case an entire paragraph was almost word for word lifted from a previous chapter.

Written in third person, past tense, the main character Lady Mae is addressed as such continuously, a glance at each page reveals the name several times within every paragraph- often where a pronoun would easily suffice. The overuse of Lady Mae's name gave the prose a clunky quality that distracted me, I wasn't enveloped in the story as I usually would be.

Something I found most interesting was the punishment for blasphemy is much more severe than any other crime. Indicative of the way our own society seems to be headed.

After the death of her mother, Lady Mae has short bursts of conversation with her in her imagination. I thought this endearing, it emphasised the fragility and loneliness Lady Mae was experiencing and made me care for her more.
What I did not like was the constant use of sentences such as this one;
"She did not know what she meant other than YOU SHOULD BE and DEAD LIKE MY MAMA"
Lady Mae's inner thoughts are constantly broken up with 'and' for no discernable reason.
There were also discrepancies such as a man described as having a 'shaven head' on the next page is seen to have 'hair matted wet to his forehead'. A man hiding in the hills somehow sending and receiving letters and parcels. Letters that would apparently be screened by the deputies and yet were filled with secrets? It just didn't tie up.

The relationship between Lady Mae and Arbuckle was a long slow trudge through the oft referenced drought their settlement seemed to constantly endure.
Particularly tiring to read whilst we ourselves were simultaneously amidst a heatwave causing drought. I discovered when you're hot and agitated it doesn't help to be reading of flat, dusty hot lands. If I'm honest perhaps extenuating circumstances affected my opinion of this book.

I'm sorry to the author, you made me care for Lady Mae and Arbuckle but I cannot recommend this novel.

Review The Butcher by @laurakatyoung thankyou to @netgalley and @titanbooks for the arc to review .

• Great premise for a book .
• main female character who has a great story .
• good timeline to find out good back story and current events
•some cool gory details (if you like that sort of thing)
• would make a great movie
• great world building , really easy to imagine all the settings and characters.

The Butcher has a bit of everything, romance , drama , butchery .. so add it to your list now ! Release date is September 13th.

When Lady Mae turns 18, she'll inherit her mother's job as the Butcher: dismembering Settlement Five’s guilty residents as payment for their petty crimes. An index finger taken for spreading salacious gossip, a foot for blasphemy, no one is exempt from punishment.
But one day Winona refuses to butcher a six-year-old boy. So their leaders, known as the Deputies, come to Lady Mae’s house, and, right there in the living room, murder her mother for refusing her duties.
Within twenty-four hours, now alone in the world, Lady Mae begins her new job. But a chance meeting years later puts her face to face with the Deputy that murdered her mother. Now Lady Mae must choose: will she flee, and start another life in the desolate mountains, forever running? Or will she seek vengeance for her mother’s death even if it kills her?
Wow totally gripping couldn’t put it down really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Titan Books
I just reviewed The Butcher by Laura Kat Young. #TheButcher #NetGalley

3.5 stars. This has a unique and intriguing setting: in a dystopian Wild West, people live under the threat of a violent and uncompromising justice system. I loved the relationship between Lady Mae and her Ma, and the first third of the book that focused on that was my favourite. As the story progressed, I'm afraid I somewhat lost interest. This is a very philosophical and thoughtful story and I prefer more fast-paced action. That said, the ending grabbed me by surprise (in a good way). Overall, a well-written and interesting book that I could see being a book club favourite even if it wasn't 100% my cup of tea.

A western setting wouldn’t be my usual choice but surprisingly I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Creepy and descriptive, perfect autumn read!

"She had blasphemy in her blood, dissent in her bones."

The Butcher is a horror novel that is gruesome yet deeply emotional.

It follows our main character Lady Mae who soon will take over her mother's role as the Butcher, dismembering wrongdoers for their crimes.

I immediately felt a pull towards this book when I read it's description and upon reading the first words of Lady Mae's story I couldn't help but become completely engrossed in the narrative. It is human, and raw, and thought-provoking.

I know this story will be one that will stay with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is dark, creepy, intense and claustrophobic.
There is nothing not to like really.
The first half of the book had a great build up to what was to come.
It did a great job of creating a sense of dread without ever being graphic.
This was an author I'd not heard of before, but it's definitely one I'll be looking for in the future.

DNF at 37%.

The book has good prose but it's too descriptive and slow for me. I think it's the case of a wrong reader and not the quality of the story.

Thanks to the publisher for giving me the possibility to try it.