Thank you to Headline Audio + Wildfire for approving my NetGalley ALC! As soon as I read the synopsis for Hermit, I knew I wanted to read it. The topic of - incels - is not something I know much about so I was morbidly fascinated to see a novel written from that POV. What I thought was clever was how the chapters were from Jamie's POV and his Mum—Fiona's. Fiona gave context to how Jamie got to where he is, the situation he grew up in and how the distance between them kept growing despite living in the same house.

Author Chris McQueer voices Jamie, the main character, and Scarlett Mack voices Fiona, Jamie's Mum. Both narrations made for a truly immersive listen. The book is set in Scotland with Jamie and his mum living in Glasgow, so having Scottish narrators with easy-to-listen-to voices kept me in the story the entire time I was listening.

I would have loved an epilogue catching up with the characters after the fact, I'm hoping that they were able to work through it together and independently and that they're in a happier place, thriving. Fiona deserved better from everyone in her life!

Check the trigger warnings before you pick this one up because it gets quite dark. TW for suicide, rape, sexual assault, murder, incel violence and misogyny from the start and throughout.

Hermit is out on 27th February 2025!!!