3.75 stars rounded up to 4!

This book had such an intriguing undercurrent of corruption and religious fanaticism that kept me intrigued and flipping pages. This was only 134 pages and it made me feel so many emotions - I was heartbroken, I was angry, and I was worried.

This was a heartbreaking book with great writing and I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Creature Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley & Creature Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.
This story is about a girl, Nora, who is supposedly possessed. Nora and her best friend grow up in Alabama in a the religious community of Bethel. Snakes are part of their religions practice, and Nora has a connection with the animal. From the start I can tell there is more to Nora. She brings a snake back to life, hardly something I think someone who is possessed would do. The religious leaders in her community seem in my opinion cult like, and somewhat evil. As the story unfolds we learn that this is not the first time the community has claimed possession. I begin to wonder, what are the leaders really doing to these girls when they take them for deliverance? However, the story does not elude any further beyond that girls are prayed over and treated harshly.
Amidst this Nora and her bestie Abigail are seemingly in love. Kissing in the forest, a big no-no in this religious cult like life they are subjected to.
Nora is violent, she kills several people. The deliverance does not work. In the end she is burned at the stake.
I was surprised by the end. Wasn’t expecting the Salem witch style. However, also not disappointed. It didn’t have the fairytale end and it fit perfectly with the cult vibe of the book. Nora was an interesting character, and if she came back and struck vengeance I would like to read about it.

This was a rough one for sure. If you've got religious trauma, you're either going to really like this or really hate your experience with it.

A beautiful and harrowing story about queerness and being an outsider in your own community. The prose was wonderful and really made you feel for the two girls. An instant five star and a new all time favorite.

I can’t wait to see what Dori Lumpkin has in store for us in the future.

Unsettling and monstrous. For two girls living in a tight-knit religious community, everything must be in its place, and everyone must follow the rules. But what happens when one girl refuses to bow to the whims of men who use religion as a tool for control? Our protagonist, Abigail, is best friends with Nora-a seemingly dangerous girl. And our journey is told from Abigail’s perspective-her love for Nora, her acceptance of her as she is, and witnessing what she must endure because of her defiance. But the answers are not straight forward, and the author sets before us a morally complex novel of right and wrong, truth and fiction, that will leave the reader thinking about Nora’s journey, and all its many layers, long after the book is done.

This novella packed such a punch in such a short story. It was rather heartbreaking following Nora’s story through Abigail’s eyes. While some parts of the story required a little suspension of belief you could fully believe the tragic outcome and Nora’s fate.

Wow, I loved this. As a queer person who grew up in the religious South, I related to this book so much. I found it terrifying in its relatability. So well done.

Thank you to Netgalley and Creature Publishing for this ARC

Everything Creature Publishing puts out is fantastic and Antenora is no exception.

This novella hit quite close to home as I feel it will for many queer people. I felt as though I have been in Abigail’s shoes before (with the exception of my homoerotic friendship literally going up in flames). Throughout reading this I thought of my own Nora a lot. Lumpkin is able to capture Catholic guilt so convincingly without being overtly criticising of the religion itself which I admire even as a nonbeliever .

Dori Lumpkin’s writing is so effortless and captivating and I honestly can’t wait to read more of them

A diabolical rendition of girlhood intertwined with Southern bible-thumping that leaves you clenching your fists all the way through. This gothic depiction of queerness pulls on strings you probably didn’t know you had. A harrowing tale that leaves you screaming at the page, unable to get relief. A new all time favorite.

I had to think a lot with this one. I will first say that the writing is amazing in this one. Our narrator is Abby, who is directly talking to you about her friend Nora and her complex relationship with Bethel, AL. In this community religion is important to them, and everything that does not fit their life has to go. I liked how we get melancholy at the end of this book, and how it is written. It took me a while to understand the climax of this story. But once it hit, it was so sad. This story is only 134 pages long and somehow it manages to give us a deep overview of the characters friendship. I wish this was longer to explore more about the side characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is a brilliant little novella, but perhaps the issue is that it is a novella. I wished that this book was a lot longer and more developed, with more time dedicated to the characters and how they ended up where they were.

With all that said, this is a really, really good story. The horror moments were fantastic, with flashes of absolute sadism in the words used. The horror elements are built up perfectly, and I think that this story would have benefited enormously from a bit more of an expansion on those elements. The sense of general unease about the town and the religious elements that feed into it really do create a world, but one I thought could have been a bit more fleshed out.

That said, the prose is absolutely flawless, with beautifully written ebbs and flows and a general sense of unease and longing. The concept of possession in a small, conservative, 'unseen' town is a fascinating one, and I can't wait to see what this author does next.

This short story was both haunting and beautiful. I would definitely recommend it! The story is told by Abigail, the sole friend of potentially possessed Nora, who kills three people and injures others.

I really did not want this story to end. The writing was incredible and I felt so drawn to the characters. This is an impressive example of how a short novel can produce an impactful reading experience. The world and people felt so vivid, making the horror aspects feel all the more real.

Totally recommend!

really beautifully written and explores the topics in an intriguing way. the characters are effectively fleshed out despite the shorter length of the story. a wonderful read!

- [ ] A deeply profound examination of the Christian South’s reaction to those who are different (especially those who are queer), Antenora is a story within a story. Narrated by Abigail, the story of a “troubled” girl is told, one that proceeds and ends gruesomely, though it didn’t have to be that way at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Creature Publishing for a free eARC of "Antenora" by Dori Lumpkin.
A story about what a patriarchal religious obsessed small town can cause to young women.
The themes of friendship and love were so fascinating to witness. So seeing the damage that indoctrination caused, was even more painful.
The few instances of Horror were effective, but I wanted more substance behind Nora and the community's actions.
Maybe this needed to be a full length novel rather than a novella.

This novella centers on the poignant journey of two young girls whose innocent yet profound affections disrupt the entrenched norms of their town, leading to a delicate yet chilling examination of religious dogmatism. It delves into the unyielding adherence to religious doctrines and the resultant persecution of those who deviate from these convictions.

Nora, a girl of exceptional character, perceives the world through a unique lens. She is in harmony with nature, possesses a rich inner life, and her extraordinary connection with snakes alone incites considerable turmoil.

Unfortunately, in a cloistered, patriarchal religious community, her unconventional behavior is swiftly branded as diabolical. Nora's tale is narrated through the perspective of her friend, Abby, who strives to comprehend the unfolding events with empathy. Abby finds herself torn; she deeply sympathizes with Nora, yet she also attempts to rationalize the actions of her community, despite recognizing their inherent malevolence.

The characters are vividly portrayed, and the atmosphere masterfully encapsulates the intolerance towards differences under the guise of divine will.

The writing style is lucid, warm, and profoundly perceptive, illustrating a deep passion for feminist discourse and the potential of horror to offer social commentary and catharsis. This narrative boldly confronts the gender imbalances and lack of diversity, challenging the prevailing status quo.

Despite its challenging themes, the story is suffused with love and compassion.

I wholeheartedly recommend it.

What a fantastic little horror story!! I so wish this one was longer. I really wish as the reader we got to see more of Nora's behavior to really decide if she was possessed or not before her tragic end. She was such a fascinating character, and our narrator, Abigail, had the perfect voice in describing her. I'm also obsessed with the deep South/Gothic/Baptist setting this story was set against. But truly, I feel a bit robbed that this was a short story!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I absolutely adored this novella about religious trauma and cult mentality. The cover really drew me in because I love snakes. This book has plenty of snakes in it! I'm also really into books having to do with swamp or bog witches and this one sort of met that theme. I almost wish that this was a much longer novel, because I was really invested in the characters and the environment. 4.5 stars rounded up.

This was amazing! Antenora by Dori Lumpkin was one of the best novellas I've read so far this year. There is a soft spot in my heart for stories set in Appalachia. I loooved Nora and Abby, their dynamic was so well-crafted, as was all of the writing in this book. Abby's direct to reader speech made all the more intimate and intriguing. The gore of it all was horrific and stunning. This is an author that I will continue to pick up in the future and recommend to many people.

Oh, a snake handlin’ church. Stick a snake handlin’ church, a cult of any kind, a locked room mystery or kids who kill and you might as well just take my money. (OK, I know I got this one for free for my review.).

Nora Willet and Abigail Barnes were raised together in the small, ultra-fundamentalist town of Bethel, Alabama, where Bethel Pentecostal is king. And Nora just doesn’t fit in. In a place where that has consequences.

This was, as you can guess, a tragic little tale. The two main characters are lovely and the author does a good job in portraying them in that blush of time between girlhood and womanhood. Nicely done.