I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Faber and Faber Ltd in exchange for an honest review.
A queer horror book centred around a reality dating show? There are few combinations of words which could get me more excited. Patricia Wants to Cuddle is the story of what happens when the cast of a fake Bachelor wind up on the wrong island.
This book had all the right components. It starts off just following the cast members of the show, who are all interesting and well-written. It didn't feel like I was waiting for the horror to begin, I was enjoying getting to know the characters and excited to see what would happen to them. Then the horror does kick in and it is an enjoyable ride.
One strength of this book is it feels absolutely unique. It was not what I expected going in and I have read very few things like it. Unfortunately this is also the book's biggest weakness. For such a unique story, it ends quite abruptly and feels very anti-climatic. Thematically it works but that's just about the only level it does work on for me.
Overall, I still have a strong soft spot for this book. I would love to read more things by it and I am very excited to see what the author does next. With a more satisfactory ending, this easily could have been a 5 star read for me
Overall Rating:
.5