this one was a short little number about johnny who arranges an encounter at a cafe with her ex alice, desperate to fix the things that went wrong with them. success - johnny does end back at alice's, but stuff starts to go awry when johnny starts losing time, alice's dog isn't the dog that johnny remembers, and the world begins to stutter on a cosmic level.

this was a fun, fast read ultimately about obsessing over relationships and interactions with humans when they don't work out, how the more that we attempt to make repairs the worse things turn out to be. yet we can't let go of that connection - why? why are we as humans so insistent on demanding things from the world that were clearly never meant for us?

needless to say i really enjoyed this one and the hypothesis that we're all our own worst enemies, that sometimes in order to be happy we must let go. i really hesitate to call this one horror, but maybe the point is that the real horror is that we can't always get what we want.

"Rae Wilde captured me within the confines of this intimate love affair—the experience is like being suspended in time under the glass of a snow globe. The chaos and energy of the lovers spin all around you in a flurry of emotions. Once things calm down, someone shakes it all up again."
..
My full review will be featured in my upcoming book, Feral & Hysterical: Mother Horror's Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark & Disturbing Fiction by Women. I can't share it yet, contractually, but soon.
I love this book!

My first Rae Wilde but certainly not my last. This queer novella has layers upon layers and as each one gets revealed, the reader is drawn more and more into the story. Anyone who has ever clung to the tiniest string of hope that maybe this time will be different can relate to this story. Wilde's storytelling style is the kind where the tension builds ever so slowly but so well that you may find yourself forgetting to breathe. I think this is the kind of book that I can find something new from it every time I read it.

This was definitely an interesting one. The writing was absolutely beautiful, but I got a little lost on what was happening towards the end. The actual ending though was really good, which is why I’m rounding up for this. But since I kind of lost a little interest 3/4 of the way through, I don’t think I can give it a full 4 stars. Thank goodness it was short, since I might not have wanted to finish otherwise.

If you’re a fan of light horror, with well, just weirdness going on, and delving into hidden meanings, I would recommend this to you. I think it would be a great one to discuss with others, too. I would also try this author again because of how pretty her prose is.

3.5 /5 rounded up

The comps of This is How You Lose the Time War meets Things Have Gotten Worse since we last spoke, and I definitely see where those comps come from, as someone who loved both of those stories. I'd also describe this as The Midnight Library [worst ending].

The narration style initial confused me but by the end, I was stunned, flabbergasted, and had to go stare at a wall. I definitely want to reread this one because I think knowing the ending would give me a new experience.

If you love messy, harmful sapphic relationships, stories that play with time, and being a bit confused, you'll love I Can Fix Her. As this is so short, I don't want to give more of a synopsis.

I Can Fix Her by Rae Wilde is a compelling queer horror book that combines eerie surrealism with dark romanticism. Alice, her ex, hoping for a second chance when Johnny gets back in touch with her. However, when weird, inexplicable events in their environment cause the boundaries between reality and nightmare to blur, what starts out as a hesitant rekindling swiftly devolves into mayhem.

Wilde examines obsession, identity, and the pointlessness of attempting to mend what has already been damaged in this eerie novel with a plot that veers like a fever dream. For lovers of queer horror, I Can Fix Her is a gripping, frightening, and intensely emotional book.

I loved this! So weird and unsettling and sick, with an ugly, sympathetic center. I particularly liked the way things unspooled from reality, first slowly, then all at once into a wild fever dream.

Strange and surreal, I Can Fix Her centres around Johnny and Alice in what I can only describe as a macabre and abuse ridden Groundhogday-esque week.

Told from the perspective of an unseen voyeur watching the events unfold, this story just gets weirder and weirder as the days roll on.

I can't honestly say I understood what on earth was going on at every single point throughout this book, but I can say that I enjoyed every minute.

Thank you to CLASH books for allowing me to read this copy via Netgalley

This is more like a 3.5 for me. The first 60% I was so hooked. The story was filled with dread and I couldn’t put it down but it did lose me a bit after that.

Excellent writing - reminded me a bit of I’m Thinking Of Ending things with the way you could feel something terrible about to happen!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

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.