After a chance encounter with her ex, Johnny is drawn back into a toxic, obsessive relationship with Alice, only to find reality unraveling in increasingly bizarre and nightmarish ways as the week progresses. Blending queer horror with surreal, time-bending narrative, the story explores the destructive cycles of codependency, the futility of trying to "fix" someone, and the blurred boundaries between love, obsession, and self-destruction.

Reader Review Summary

Set in a surreal, shifting reality, the novel follows Johnny, an obsessive woman who encounters her ex, Alice, at a local café, leading to a rekindling of their toxic relationship. Over the course of a single week, Johnny and Alice’s attempts at a second chance are disrupted by increasingly bizarre and nightmarish changes in their environment—such as a dog doubling in size overnight, snow in summer, and the apartment itself morphing—mirroring the instability and destructiveness of their dynamic. The narrative is structured around days of the week, with reality and time unraveling as Johnny’s desperation to fix both Alice and their relationship intensifies. The story is told in a fast-paced, fever-dream style, blending elements of horror, science fiction, and psychological drama, and is frequently compared to works like 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' and 'Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.'

Readers praised the book’s atmospheric, immersive writing style, often describing the prose as lyrical, vivid, and emotionally charged. The novella’s exploration of codependency, obsession, and the cycle of abuse in queer relationships resonated with many, who appreciated its willingness to depict toxic dynamics without offering easy redemption. The use of 'nightmare logic' and surreal, metaphysical elements was highlighted as effective in conveying the emotional turbulence of the characters, and several readers noted the clever narrative structure, including hidden stories and a second, unexpected narrator. The book’s brevity and pacing were also commended, with many finding it compulsively readable and impactful despite its short length.

Some readers found the novella’s brevity to be a drawback, feeling that the characters—particularly Johnny and Alice—remained underdeveloped or difficult to connect with. The surreal and disjointed narrative left a number of readers confused or struggling to follow the plot, with some describing the experience as more of a fever dream than a coherent story. A few criticized the prose as occasionally over-indulgent or reminiscent of 'Wattpad' writing, and others felt that the horror elements overshadowed the intended commentary on toxic relationships. There were also comments that the book’s impact was lessened by its lack of depth or emotional resonance, and that the ending, while clarifying, did not fully satisfy all readers.

The book has been described as a blend of horror, queer fiction, and speculative elements, with content warnings for domestic abuse, blood, stalking, cannibalism, death, gore, sexual content, and violence. It has drawn comparisons to works by Eric LaRocca, Iain Reid, and Julia Armfield, and is noted for its experimental narrative techniques, such as bolded words forming a hidden story and a narrator who interacts with the characters. The novella has received an average rating of 4.05 out of 5 from 148 ratings and 92 full reviews, with many readers recommending it for fans of dark, psychologically complex, and structurally inventive fiction. The book is scheduled for publication on June 3, 2025, by CLASH Books.