This book was hella weird. I was confused in places and the ending was a bit sad....It was perfect! I love little weird books so this was absolutely perfect. Top notch I definitely recommend

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

Johnny and Alex reconnect on Monday and things quickly escalate from there. The story is quick and engrossing- once you sink into it, it really sinks into you. By Wednesday, I had really given into the style and narrative and was fully along for the ride. The details were incredible and some of the images are definitely going to stay with me for a while!

(ARC from CLASH Books --- thank you so much!)

I Can Fix Her is a time-bending queer horror novella about a woman certain she can fix her relationship. Johnny sees her ex, Alice, in a cafe and despite her sense that she's been there before, she ends up talking and then going back to Alice's apartment. Things seem to be going well, but the next day, the apartment is different, and as the week plays out, things keep changing, because sometimes a relationship isn't so simple to fix.

This book was compared to two hit pieces of short fiction, This Is How You Lose The Time War and Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, though it is really quite different from them. Structurally it differs, with a distinctive narrative voice and the sense that Johnny's vision of what has happened might not quite be correct either in terms of actual narrative or her relationship with Alice. As the universe starts to break, the questions start to be raised about which relationships can be saved and whether everything actually can have a happy ending. There's an existential horror element, though I found the book feeling more sci-fi than horror, with that kind of quiet sadness that comes from the idea of someone trying over and over to fix something that can't be fixed. The book also explores unhealthy relationships and I found the way it did that was pretty clever.

Overall, I think this is a book that will either be something you love, or just something you find pretty good, and I was really in the latter camp. I liked what it was doing and the style, but I wasn't always fully engrossed in it and probably would've personally preferred a bit more depth, especially around the characters' flaws.

Johnny can't help but feel that she's been here before. A chance meeting with her ex-girlfriend, Alice, at a cafe--and maybe Johnny can fix what happened between them this time. After a steamy night together, Johnny wakes up to an Alice with a different hair style, a much larger dog, and a refusal to acknowledge that these things have changed. As Johnny stays in Alice's apartment, things only get stranger, but she doesn't seem to be able to leave.

'I Can Fix Her' is difficult o describe without spoiling, but luckily, it's only a little over fifty pages in length. It's shortness also benefits multiple readings, as the twist is foreshadowed pretty early on. Alice and Johnny have a believably tumultuous relationship, with each side bringing some toxic baggage--and that's before the cosmic unreality takes hold of their lives.

Wilde's imagination is vivid, and the prose paints a picture of how -wrong- everything in the story is. With that in mind, I hope this ARC is an unedited copy, since there were some typos that shouldn't be in a finished work--most notably, Alice and Johnny are eating 'wanton' soup at one point. A funny mistake, but surely not what was intended.

First and foremost: HELLO PROSE????
If you read this for one thing and one thing only, it should be for the writing. The story itself would not be complete without the lush and lyrical prose and composition that Rae Wilde delivers on EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE.

Distortion of time, place, and circumstance create a world that feels maleable and fragile, but produce an unflinching, never-ending, and all too familiar nightmare.

While I don’t know that this was a hard-hitter for me, I have to give this short novel it’s due diligence: SHE PACKS A PUNCH. This made me put my own relationships into perspective and contemplate the patterns, behavior, and emotions that often drive them. Such a fun story and narrative: This will haunt you WELL after the last page!

Truly, horror like I’ve never read: and it’s sapphic!!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this little read!

Wow. This was my first Rae Wilde book, and it really exceeded my expectations. The writing was beautiful and raw and poetic. I was pretty confused (in a good way) by the POV writing choice--a weird blend of first-, second-, and third-person somehow--but once the perspective was fully revealed, I absolutely loved it. Johnny was such a relatable main character, and I really empathized with her struggle of repeatedly making the same bad decisions. Toxic, unhinged main characters/relationships are some of my favorite things to read about. Especially when it is done this well. The ending, while a bit frustrating and tragic, was so painfully realistic.

This book is genuinely so creative. It’s a novella, so it’s fairly short, but it manages to do some really impressive things. The characters are interesting and I found myself incredibly invested. The plot is well-paced and the ending was both satisfying and surprising. The buildup of the horror/sci-fi concept is really well-done. I loved this book, and I will absolutely be reading more from this author.

Johnny spots her ex, Alice, at a cafe that's local and she is overwhelmed with the sense of she has been here and done this before. She's angry that Alice ghosted her 6 months however Johnny can't say no to a second chance when Alice invites her back.

To say johnny is obsessed with Alice is an understatement.

This book was crazy and turned into what nightmares are made of very quickly! At 104 pages its quick but, delivers a huge punch!
This ok this book as a letter to your past self but, also a letter to the future you!

Thank you NetGalley and CLASH books for the early arc!

This is a quick and dirty fever dream story. While I liked the idea of the book and how the cycle of relationship abuse was portrayed, I think the characters could have been fluffed out more. I would definitely recommend this novella though if you like unique stories!

Thanks to Clash Books for letting me read this little queer novella. I was initially drawn to it because of the comps it had in its description. I had a fun time but overall it didn't meet the mark for me. Wilde does an incredible job of creating two people who when together the relationship is tumultuous. I think were it just wasn't enough for me was when it came to the reveals.

This book is so immensely jarring but fantastic.

I’m not sure how this book managed to evoke so much emotion in less than 100 pages it felt much longer in a good way. There was so much explored at breakneck pace the whole thing felt like a total fever dream. Just when you think you’ve settled Rae pulls you round the corner on a new twist.

I’m impressed by how quickly and thoroughly I was invested the characters and their story even though I wasn’t rooting for anyone. Everyone is terrible and it has you second guessing your sanity at times. For anyone that has been in a toxic relationship that you wouldn’t let go of despite knowing they’re wrong for you, this book will likely resonate with you as you recognise the “I can fix her” mentality.

If you’re looking for something that makes you say “what the hell did I just read” this is the perfect quick read for you.

I love a short book that makes a big impression. This is dark and toxic and very beautifully written. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Very odd and eerie, even though barely half 100 pages. Senses of deja vu and toxic sapphic romance, but with a dark twist.

Absolutely phenomenal. Rae Wilde does it again. Poignant, articulate, heart-breaking, self-aware, trauma-laden realness. This story felt like something a lot of people can relate to. It's deeply personal and yet, so clearly part of the human condition.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out next year. Jesus this queer psychological horror creeped me out so much. Well done. Especially that ending. Damn.

I love a time loop.

The ending of this one really worked for me! Loved how it all came together (and fell apart). I also really enjoyed the length, which I was worried would feel too short but wound up just right.

I love a time loop.

I Can Fix Her is one for the doomed yuri enjoyers.

I appreciated Rae Wilde's commitment to portraying deeply flawed queer characters, characters whose motivations remain sympathetic even when their actions are undeniably toxic - and, perhaps most pleasingly, are condemned as such by the narrative. Johnny and Alice are equally relatable and reprehensible, a fine balance well struck by Wilde. I also appreciated that Johnny and Alice's - mostly Johnny's - commitment to their failing relationship was portrayed as the ultimate purgatory; sunk cost fallacy has never felt more relevant, or more tragic.

Unfortunately, this novella still fell short for me. I won't talk explicitly about the central conceit or framing device, as they haven't been mentioned in the blurb (though they were clear to me from very early on, and I think relying less on the 'reveal' and instead marketing the book using those tropes would actually work in its favour, but I digress), but I did see those 'reveals' coming almost from the beginning.

I can also forgive a lot in a good novella, because even the most glaring of flaws are unlikely to overstay their welcome, but what I want from a great novella is for it to not have any noticeable flaws at all. In a medium like this, there are so few words to work with that I want all of them to feel intentional, none superfluous, and I felt that there was a fair amount of fat here, just begging to be trimmed.

Still, I enjoyed this, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Rae Wilde does next.

This didn’t hit for me. The writing itself was good, but the story was rushed and about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Vivid imagery does not nuance make.

Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH Books for providing me with an ARC to review!

4.25 stars!!!


OOOOOOOOO a queer toxic relationship mixed with a surreal time loop?! YES.

This was fantastic to read and get into. I loved how it was written and how I couldn't really cheer for anyone because they were just so terrible for one another. It's tragic reading how Johnny talks about how she feels and how she speaks sometimes.

There's gut punches left and right.

Around 64% in it went in a way that I was like PARDON?! but with how the rest of the story was to start with, I just rode that surreal wave with the need to know what the hell was going to happen between them.

And then DAMN. The End. wow
It's so tragic but

I was SO excited for this after being rejected for I Do Not Apologize for My Position on Men, but this turned out to not be for me.

It felt a little thrown together and would have benefitted from more substance. I almost think expanding this out into a novel could work out better than it is now, as a novella.


(Since my review isn't the most positive, I'm not going to share it externally. Just an explanation for CLASH)