When I read Yellowface (R.F. Kuang) earlier this year, I loved how unhinged the main character and now I am so glad that I have found another main character like that in Youthjuice. The story is told from the perspective of Sophia, a 29-year-old former barista who has started working in the storytelling department at a major luxury beauty brand HEBE and has a damaging habit of overly picking her skin (including one vivid description of her peeling back a hangnail to her wrist which made me feel quite ill). Soon, Sophia starts using HEBE's new product which seems to heal her hands magically and the story really picks up when she figures out what the main ingredient is and starts putting things together about the potentially creepy company she works at. The ending felt a bit too easy but I found the rest of the story perfectly paced with wonderfully written yet at some points flowery prose which really helped give an insight into Sophia's mental state throughout the story.
Thankyou so much to netgalley and the author for the arc. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am so excited to read more from this author in the future.

Death Becomes Her meets Goop.

I had a fun time reading this, but I'm not entirely sure that it did what it set out to do. The present-day story was fun and the writing held my interest, though the horror was pretty light for something that is described as a horror novel. The split timelines didn't really add anything for me. I didn't see what purpose the flashbacks served, since they didn't really clarify anything about our protagonists character, nor were any of her issues really resolved by the end of the book. Overall enjoyable but forgettable.

What in the Elizabeth Báthory did I just read?!

The plot of the book was not what I had expected. Although some parts of it were as I had anticipated, it certainly took me in a different direction. However, I must say that I did enjoy reading it.

Initially, I was drawn to the main character Sophie and hoped to like her, but as the story progressed, I realised that it was her who would be the Patrick Bateman from American Psycho references!

The book is not exactly a horror story, although the theme of horror is predominant throughout. The story delves into some dark and unsettling themes, and there is a strong presence of weird girl vibes.

While I had high hopes for the book, I believe it fell a little short of my expectations. Nevertheless, I still found it enjoyable. I needed more background to many of the characters including Tree the brainchild of Hebe, and I would have liked more detail into the process of how they got rid of their evidence.


I have to say the vegan tee totalers with a side hustle for young blood was a hilarious twist to the story.


Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. My review is my own opinion.

"Youthjuice" for me was a literary version of a very bad episode or a season of "American Horror Story". Lots of absurd, very little horror, obsession with underground, secretive projects that revolve around something sinister and bloody. On top of that, the characters, including Sophia, fell flat, despite the attempts of introducing protagonist's trauma-driven backstory.

After reading the description and promo materials, I was hoping for much, much more.

It’s a no from me on this one!! It had so much potential and could have made for a great book with a bit of comedy and horror mixed together but it just didn’t happen. Firstly, there are two timelines running and separately I wanted to know what happened in both but together, there wasn’t much relevance to it until right at the end. I spent most of the time wondering why I was reading certain parts. It was also quite jumpy, one minute something is happening and then it’s hours later but this isn’t explained you’re just left to guess. Secondly, the characters were underdeveloped, again a lot could have been done with them but none of them really went anywhere.
Overall, hyping it by comparing The Devil Wears Prada and American Horror Story has made the book fall flat in my eyes.

This story revolves around Sophia who is recently employed at HEBE, a wellness/makeup company. Here, she comes across 'youthjuice', a product that is a one stop solution for all beauty problems. She becomes obsessed with it. When she ultimately learns about the key ingredient and its supply chain, she is in a dilemma. Does she continue using the product or is the cost too much?

The message behind the book was good. It teaches that running from aging is futile. It ultimately catches up. Here, the people involved are so desperate for anti-aging solutions that they stop at nothing to make it happen.

The premise is definitely interesting but the execution sucked. I tried hard to get into the novel but the start was quite slow and uninteresting. By the time I felt interested in the plot, I had developed a severe hatred for the protagonist. She is extremely shallow and displaces all blame onto others. When she sees other women, she simply sees one dimensional people who care nothing beyond their looks, acting innocent and flirty, just caring about fun. She talks about how the interns at Hebe flutter around the office giggling, filing nails, and pushing around coffee to seniors. In most scenes she infantilizes and sexualizes them. When it comes to one particular intern Jamie, she even fantasizes humiliating her sexually which was disturbing to read.

The plot summary mentions that she is looking for deeper meaning in life. I don't agree with this description. Her life and worries remain shallow. I wanted her to suffer consequences for her extreme actions but she gets off scot free. That's my biggest complaint. I wanted her to suffer or show any responsibility at all. But she is the one who actually flitters about. Did I mention that I hate her?

This story also shows a past timeline of the year 2008 which involved her friendship with Mona. This made me realize that her shallowness came with age. Here, she actually showed a bit of emotions. Later, her shallowness and selfishness take over. All she cares ahead is about pretty hands. No friendship or relationships matter to her. She just uses everybody as per her convenience.

Overall, it's not just the protagonist whom I hate. The plot didn't hold my attention either. Therefore,

2 stars

Special thanks to NetGalley, EK Sathue and Dialogue Books for providing me this DRC. Much appreciated!

This is a 3.5 star that l've rounded up to a four on this rating system.
This book has everything a weird girl book requires.
- no plot just vibes
- a woman coming undone
- a hint of body horror
- commentary on the depths of hell that is being a woman
I anticipate this book will be really popular. It has the same reading experience as critically acclaimed books such as 'boy parts'and 'natural beauty'.
It wasn't my favorite book, but I did enjoy it. I particularly liked the dual timelines.
The only issues I had with this book is that I didn't connect with the characters at all, and the pacing was tedious at times. But those things do boil down to personal preference so don't let that put you off reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really interesting, clever horror novel that felt very *now*. I was drawn into the novel right off the bat thanks to great pacing and fantastic characters! Although it wasn't scary, I thought the commentary the author was engaging in regarding aging, youth culture, and wellness was super relevant and would really grab current, contemporary audiences. I loved the characters, thought they were exceptionally engaging and vivid, and I loved their motivations.

The ending was satisfying - I didn't find myself aching for more or less, or wishing the author had gone further. Over all, I was thrilled with this text - it's something that I've been yearning for but struggling to find anywhere else at the moment.

Has HEBE, a cosmetics company for the GOOP generation, solved the problem of ageing forever? Testing a new moisturiser, recent hire Sophia thinks they have. But she discovers that ageless founder Tree is hiding something sinister. As is Sophia when she falls out with a school friend and her flatmate. Juxtapose Gen Z's obsession with healthy, trendy eating against gore and blood, and you get a novel that's deliciously different.

Thanks to NetGalley, Soho Press and EK Sathue for the preview copy.

A glam horror for the TikTok generation, Youthjuice manages to achieve a compelling yet repulsive story whilst also critiquing the beauty industry and society’s obsession with perfection.

I really enjoyed this, I am not normally a horror reader but the book had me hooked and struggling to look away even when it was far more gory than I am normally comfortable with.

★★★☆☆ (3 stars)

Stylistically speaking, Youthjuice is a bold outlier from other reads. I felt as though I was in a haze reading this, which gave the plot an unsettling touch of the uncanny that I found highly compelling.

I thoroughly enjoyed the unravelling of our narrator Soph’s mind - she’s an unreliable, deeply disturbed narrator, so being witness to the cracks in her sanity slowly forming was an unsettling, immersive experience.

Commentary on the beauty industry and its effect on women was a strong, confrontational theme. This was nicely interwoven with the disturbing lengths HEBE went to in order to achieve beauty and everlasting youth. I did however feel that several characters were lacking depth.

For such a disturbing book, I unfortunately felt let down by the ending. When you’ve been through such a depraved descent into darkness with a character, you don’t expect an ending where everything is wrapped up neatly in a bow. Sadly, I felt that the ending of Youthjuice was exactly that. A little too rushed and easy. I wished it had a darker ending that felt more aligned with the tone of the rest of the novel.

There were some deliciously creepy parts of Youthjuice that I absolutely loved, yet there were other areas that left me feeling as though the plot was a touch incomplete. In short, I’d say this had some lovely dark The Devil Wears Prada vibes, and the potential to be a great horror, but could definitely have done with being just a touch more f*cked up towards the end.

(Huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book! The above opinions are entirely my own.)

A really enjoyable book touching on elements of youth, vanity, the beauty industry as a whole with an added sprinkling of creepy elements.

Told from the POV of Sophia, our main character it follows her present, her past and her slow decline as a seemingly normal new job all of a sudden gets a little bit weird. I felt really engaged with Sophia's mental state and thought process throughout the read, this was amplified by the somewhat choppy writing style and regular flashbacks.

It had a nice balance of mystery, body horror, and popular themes (skincare and beauty) to be a highly recommended read on my list.

this book definitely made me question the beauty industry, the story really resonates with a reality that is similar to where we are headed with the beauty industry and multi level marketing / pyramid schemes.

This is a very entertaining book with a very engaging and entertaining premise. This also felt like a very relevant and current subject, I am seeing many conversations and content about women & horror, cults and mean girl cliques, the flipside of the beauty industry etc. so I was definitely on board.

It was a very fun read and definitely a page-turner and I did enjoy the story. I didn't connect with any of the characters, especially the main character who comes across as a complete sociopath - her motivations were never clear to me, I didn't particularly connect with her story and how she ends up spiraling down the way she does. Is it for the sake of her career trajectory? Is it the desire to belong with all the cool and beautiful women? Is it beauty? it's just never made that particularly clear and I wish there was a stronger sense of obsession - the book really just portrays her as going with the flow of things one after the other, rather than falling out of control due to a very strong desire / desperation.

I also enjoyed the points that the book was making about the beauty industry, youth and capitalism but I also think it was a little on the nose. I wish it had been more subtle and took the time to explore things in a bit more depth.

One thing that I would say: I would love to see this adapted for the screen!! I think it would work in credibly well and I would happily watch it :) Any film producer around reading this?

A slick, kaleidoscopic critique on the anti-aging skincare industry. Satirical in parts, “Youthjuice” borrows from our reality to weave a web of psychological horror. I especially enjoyed the body horror elements to this, the winding metaphors that detailed the protagonist’s woes. I will say, in parts I felt as though this book took itself far too seriously — and there was a couple of choice sentences that threw me off and had me cringe a bit. Other than that small personal gripe, I can see this book being extremely beloved and popular amongst the newfound women vs. the void/unhinged women lovers. It gives Ottessa Moshfegh vibes totally.

A slick and clever horror read that felt fresh and relevant particularly with the "horror" towards ageing. I felt drawn into the novel immediately, the pacing was good and the horror was so brilliantly done - not your typical scary read - this one goes a little deeper with nudges to societies obsession with youth and wellness culture. I always enjoy a morally grey main character, as it gives you more twists and this novel had a great one where my opinions changed rapidly as I read the book. There are some scenes in the book that are pretty graphic in terms of body horror - and also as another trigger quite a few mentions of vomiting. I liked the glimpses into the main characters history which helped give understanding to her actions. The setting and very close to reality/dystopian "world" made it feel very Black Mirror-esque. Overall I felt it was a story that gets under your skin, makes you think - with an ending that I found very satisfying. This would be a good read for anyone who enjoys a horror with a dash of reality, pokes at wellness culture and beauty standards - but reads like a contemporary fiction. 5/5 - thanks to the publishers for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really good modern female centred horror.
Reminds me of Boy Parts, American Psycho etc
Loved some of the body horror aspects and the theme of youth and vanity especially as someone who loves skincare!
Would definitely read more by this author.
Solid 3.75 stars from me x

3.5 rounded up. I so enjoyed this little literary horror and I'm loving this new genre of twisted beauty companies and their new "innovations". The darkness that lay in Sophia was so raw and vicious but also cold and impassive which made her more frightening. Although it was kind of predictable, I still enjoyed the journey and the way Sophia acted and reacted to what was going on. Personally, I think we could have done without the flashbacks. There must be a much simpler way to explain why she felt so bad to the bone than the way it was told, and I found it made the book drag on a little. More focus on youthjuice, less on Sophia's past and it would have been 5 stars!

The cover and premise is what initially intrigued me about this book. A commentary on beauty and the damage it does to us as women, sounds great! Unfortunately, I struggled to connect or feel anything towards the story. The writing was intoxicating and beautiful, which is the only saving grace. I really enjoyed the almost euphoric and dreamlike state of the writing. Everything else, however, was difficult, from the characters to the time jumps. Still, a horror-inspired and creative novel.

"Youth Juice" is a uniquely weird book that tackles the societal pressure on women to maintain a youthful appearance. The story delves into the extreme measures some women go to in order to preserve their youth, making a dark and disturbing main character that adds to the discomfort of the narrative. The book combines horror with comedy, highlighting the obsession with health and youth found in real life and on social media. The use of green drinks and turmeric vapes adds a humorous element to the story. While the concept of the book is enjoyable, the overall reading experience might not match up to its potential.