I always just want to sink my teeth into the worlds White builds. All his novels are so distinct but their unifying successes are the same --- amazing characterisation and the meatiest and most compelling world-building. As a post-apocalytic girlie (tm) of the OG Stephen King variety, 'Hell Followed With Us' made my heart flutter in all the very best, horrifying ways. Loved this book.

I loved every last second of this gory, political, impactful ya dystopian horror book about a trans boy called Benji on the run from a religious cult during Armageddon.

This gave me a little bit of Angelfall vibes, but more queer, and I loved that. Benji is such an interesting characters. Not only are they warring with the inner monster they are finding increasingly difficult to control, but they're also trying to keep the world together. Their relationship with Nick was beautifully written, and so well done in terms of the autistic representation. Nick has autism yet this isn't his sole defining characteristic. He's a leader, a gentle friend and dependable against this backdrop of a world falling apart. His personality was a great anchoring presence against Benji's.

A angry and powerful read that speaks of queer rage and acceptance. Like nothing I've read before or probably will again. Loved it.

This was utterly brutal (think FromSoft games kind of monstrousities) and a very interesting insight into a young trans boy's (he's 17 if I recall correctly) mindset.

Very enjoyful but also veeeeery brutal, sad, rough, harsh and honestly kind of disgusting at times - you can <b>definitely</b> feel the rage the author mentions in his acknowledgements.

And also, oh my gosh, I hate everyone outside our group, why do they suck so much.

Do not start if you are afraid of gore because there's a LOT of it!

4.2⭐

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!</i>

I'm not a massive fan of post-apocalyptic fiction so i'm probably not a great judge of this book but i did actually enjoy it. Full of gore and horror (this is not for the squeamish!) but with a lot of heart and great queer representation!

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get on with the themes and writing, but that's a 'me' issue rather than the book - I think it just landed with me at the wrong time. I'll be returning to it in future and will review properly as and when I do.

Many thanks and apologies.

I had already requested this when I realised that YA isn't the genre for me. It really just doesn't read the same for me at all (which it shouldn't) but I found myself rolling my eyes and being taken out of the book because of this. I definitely need to stick to my genres when looking for representation I think, and I can see why this would appeal to many. It just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Daphne Press and Netgalley for this advance readers copy.

Hell Followed With Us has been on my TBR for the longest time, and I'm so glad I finally got to read it. It has a delicious combination of religious horror, strong relationships, trans joy, and a healthy dose of trans rage. I was hooked from page one and I would recommend this to anyone interested in horror centering around religion. Though please read trigger warnings before you read!!!

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

So the reason I wanted to read this book is because as y'all know I'm trying to consume as much LGBTQIA+ media as possible this year and when I saw the description on Netgalley I thought I would absolutely love this story. I'm not gonna lie friends, I was a little meh about this book. We'll start off with the good parts about this book. 1: If you want a book with a lot of diversity this is absolutely the book for you, there's so many different characters and I'm sure almost anybody would be able to find someone that they could relate to within this book. 2: The concept of this book was really cool and interesting to read, and I really wish we got to know more about "the flood". 3: The way the author discusses LGBTQIA+ issues within this book is incredibly thought through and I love that Andrew was able to take from his own personal experiences. Now onto the bad, unfortunately, as cool as a concept that this book had, I didn't enjoy reading it. Yes, there's a lot of diversity in this book, but there was so many characters name mentioned I was struggling to keep up with who's who. I also found that this book was a little to juvenile for me (yes, I'm aware this book is a YA BUT I usually love YA books) especially for the topics that this book was hitting. I ended the book wanting to know so much more and I feel like so many questions weren't answered. Will I pick up another book from this author? Absolutely, I think I have two more ARCs of his to read. Was this book my favourite? Unfortunately not.

(If you'd like to see more of my reviews please go to my blog:
https://doesden.blogspot.com/)

Religious trauma and imagery mixed with the backdrop of apocalyptic horror. This book does well in portraying the hold Evangelicalism has on many of us growing up down to the specific moments of being taught you're not allowed to mourn the dead. But there is a spark of hope. The hope of finding your true family out of those horrors.

This one was a weird one for me — I love dystopia but hate horror, I love the post-apocalyptic/queer hybrid but hate gore…I also think I received a faulty ARC as there were definitely parts missing. It took me ages to realise that because I was constantly confused! The bits I did read were gross and visceral and curious and deep. I enjoyed the split narrative and it was interesting to see Benji’s viewpoints and mindset around religion, propaganda and identity develop.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free (and possibly incomplete) ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am buying this. I liked it that much, but was only a couple chapters off of finishing before it was archived. In saying this, the writing and plot was really unique and interesting. Even though I didn't always know what was going on I couldn't put the novel down. I am going to buy it when I get paid so I can finish it.

Queer horror joy!

If you are looking to get into YA and want to weed out the overproduced trends, Andrew Joseph White has you covered!

Hell Followed With Us is a queer horror story that explores not only religious trauma but also the dangers of religious cults and how words can be used to justify horrors like genocide, bio-weapons, and cold-blooded murder.

The author creates a vivid, horrid description of everything from ruined cities post-plague to monsters made from human flesh. It's not for those with weak stomachs, especially if you have emetophobia.

Benji's story is horrific. It's about multiple forms of trauma and how that can impact someone, but also about how finding a family, finding people who truly care about you, can help you heal from that trauma. Between Nick and Theo, we see how someone's choices can affect their path, and how love, true love, does not have to be unconditional, or perfect, or at sight.

It's a powerful story about trans people, and it's the story we need now.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review*

Well crafted story with a very cute yet fierce protagonist, this coming out of age story will captivate your heart. I HIGHLY suggest you read this book!

Such a stellar concept. At times, I wished some side characters were better developed, but still solid. A quick read despite its dark themes. Perfect for the Halloween season, and you’ll think about it long after you finish!

It's me.

Hi.
I'm the problem, it's me.


I'm sorry I just didn't get this book. At all.
The whole Angels. Flood and monsters needed to be explained more as I just didn't understand. However it definitely gives off resident evil vibes and the whole t virus thing.

The author states repeatedly that this book was written in A rage and that is so very clearly evident

So, this was an awesome concept. Benji is a young trans man on the run from the cult he was raised in. And they've turned him into A BIOWEAPON to wipe out all the non-beleivers - he is slowly turning into a biblical eldritch creature, and I love it. The story drops us right in the middle of the action, and it worked so well at first. The body-horror, gore, and monster descriptions were vivid and to start off with we were being fed snippets of the story in a really satisfying way - leaving enough to the imagination so that I kept wanting to read more.

But then the pacing just, stopped working? All of the characters were really one demensional and I just didn't believe in any of their relationships with each other and they weren't distinct enough so I kept forgetting who everyone was. So then I found it harder to care, or believe any of Benji's motives as the story progressed. It's such a shame because it is such a phenomenal concept - I got chills when Benji could control the Grace's, and those oddly tender moments when he showed them love and affection, and I can see how this would be a very cathartic book for lots of readers.

Anyway, thanks to Netgalley and Daphne Press for th ARC.

This book is more action-focused than the previous book I read from this author, which made it a bit harder for me to get into it. However, I love how this more fast paced, dystopian action is used to discuss heavy topics and character development in a more natural way.

A horror novel for the LGBTQ+ community, I think the LGBTQ side of this novel was very well done but nothing new. But the horror side of this this book need a lot of work, lots of things weren't explained clearly or in a disjointed manner and that was the main side I was interested in.

I am not usually a fan of post-apocalyptic type novels, but this is the exception! The world building was excellent, there a some very realistic and brutal descriptions of this severe world. The queer representation is amazing as well, just generally an enjoyable read. Definitely worth a read!