This is one of those book you will surely enjoy if you don't take any label or subculture too seriously. I had fun and enjoyed it.
I don't always agree with the author but this is a complex of subculture and ideas can change according to what you live
Been listening to goth music for 40 yrs
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Instantly felt at home with this one, at last a book that understands the intricacies that is the Goth persona. As an enthusiastic Goth from the age of fourteen fully embracing the imagery and music I definitely felt like I’d found my people and my tribe and this book describes the very essence of this is delicious detail. All areas are explored in this rich tapestry of a book, the psychology, history, clothes, influences, recommendations for music, books and films, it’s a very informative mix. I particularly liked the descriptives of the various sub groups and off shoots of Goth life, there definitely is not a one size fits all for the people that identify rather a broad spectrum and beautiful diversity. Definitely food for thought and a very enjoyable read, more pictures would have been great to illustrate the points but other than that a pretty amazing read. I would smile rapturously but I’m a lifelong Goth so the corners of my mouth might just slightly twitch instead.

Being someone who's always been into alternative/goth/emo media and fashion and I was really intrigued to read this.

Unfortunately it just didn't hit the mark for me. Most of the information felt very cut and paste off Wikipedia and lacked any real substance. It just felt like a very mainstream and basic overview of anything that's vaguely out of the norm rather than actual goth .

It felt disorganised as the chapters containing information about gothic icons had a mixture of real life people and characters from movie/TV shows etc. Personally it would have been a more enjoyable experience to have separate chapters differentiating between actual people/characters and some of them I was not aware of and found it frustrating that they were all mixed together.

This also would have worked a lot better if images were provided when talking about fashion elements/people because if someone wasn't clued up on celebrities/goth they would struggle to understand/envisage what is being spoken about.

I did however love the drawings in-between chapters! They were gorgeous and were the main thing keeping me reading to be honest.

Overall whilst short this still felt like a bit of a slog to get through and by the end I didn't feel anymore educated than when I started.

I read the first few chapters and had to stop reading. This is written from such a mainstream 'goth' view, mentioning The Sisters of Mercy and The Cure as best goth bands (while, The Cure isn't goth and The Sisters of Mercy is a subculture of goth), not even mentioning the different flavours of gothic music there are or mentioning that the Batcave in London was mostly known for one flavour of goth music. Then calling Billie Eilish a modern goth icon? Nah, this is not a book that actually talks about the gothic subculture, it is just yet again a way of making goth mainstream acceptable by making it more 'normal' and more marketable.

This was a fascinating look at the history and lifestyle of goth. A movement spanning decades. We have all heard of it but the cultural impact is brilliance.