first glance at the cover, I expected this to be a bog standard psychological thriller, how wrong I was! A strange, compelling tale of a little girl Cassandra and her disturbing relationship with a mysterious entity she calls Pepper Man.
As Cassandra grows up we begin to wonder if Pepper Man is the vampiric faerie she would have us believe or is he perhaps someone monstrous closer to home Cleverly written, little clues are scattered that begin to make sense as the story continues and the fact that the reader has no idea when or where this is set, adds an even more fairytalelike quality.
I enjoyed how different this was and look forward to more from Camilla Bruce, Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, I have been procrastinating writing this review because I'm uncertain how to articulate the experience of reading this strange book, Reading it felt somewhat like wading through a humid, foggy forest there was beauty and a sense of timelessness, and yet the story weighed heavily on me too, as I constantly questioned whether I was reading about a supernatural experience or traumainduced mental instability.
Ever since she was a young girl, Cassandra could see fairies one in particular, whom she has christened "PepperMan" due to his distinctive pepper smell, has been with Cassandra for as long as she can remember, and he has been feeding off her.
Literally, mind you this is not some metaphorical life energy situation PepperMan literally sinks his teeth into Cassandra's flesh and consumes her blood, As he does so, he slowly grows more human, as fairies in this world take on the characteristics of whatever it is they're feeding off of, whether that be humans, trees, or animals.
The adults in Cassandra's life believe she has a particularly badly behaved imaginary friend, but this gets harder to reconcile as Cassandra gets older and continues to see PepperMan.
Most choose to believe that Cassandra is mentally ill, and in fact the psychologist her parents send her to strongly believes that Cassandra is having delusions as a reaction to severe childhood trauma and abuse.
What is the truth Is Cassandra mentally ill or are fairies real Well, the story posits that perhaps both options are true, or that one truth does not necessarily negate the other.
Perhaps Cassandra was abused, but that doesn't mean fairies aren't real, The narrative constantly teases the reader with hints of what the truth may be, but stops just short of confirming one way or another, leading you to inhabit a nebulous, liminal space in which perhaps both truths are somehow a reality.
It makes you question the meaning of reality itself if Cassandra truly believes fairies are real, if they have continued to affect her life in such a significant way, what does it matter that others can't see them What does it even mean for them to be "real" They are real to her, and whether they are a manifestation of mental illness or not doesn't really matter anymore.
This sense of being unmoored is greatly increased by the ambiguous setting there are so few clues that indicate when or where this story is taking place.
Cassandra never seems to concerned with digging into her past to look for potential trauma that may be causing her to have delusions she is perfectly content with her fairy friends, her only friends, who have also gifted her with the stories she publishes, brewed in fairy "tea.
" Incidentally, this is my favorite depiction of fairies that I've ever read, They are incredibly sinister, They are also not necessarily otherworldly creatures here, they are humans who have died and come back to life in weird, twisted ways, and they long for a taste of humanity.
Not to trivialize the toxic nature of Cassandra's parasitic symbiotic relationship with PepperMan, but if you like villain romances, this is it, PepperMan is such an intriguingly ambiguous character he needs Cassandra to exist, he feeds off her to the point where she is constantly sickly and deficient in vitamins, and even the book argues that he has groomed her since she was a child, but he.
. . loves her Maybe Things become even stranger and more compelling when their relationship turns sexual, and it is never quite clear precisely when that happens, though the book hints that it starts when Cassandra is fourteen.
Though PepperMan is seductive, he's also very bizarre and creepy, and the book knows this, even as it refrains from taking a clear side.
The You Let Me In's lovely prose complements the bewitching tale of sinister fairies and amorphous realities, When I first started reading I was a bit hesitant at the secondperson perspective, since Cassandra is speaking directly to her niece and nephew, but as she began to weave her tale of fairies, I was hooked, and from there I couldn't put the book down.
I was drawn in to this strange, morbid fairy tale with its languid prose there were so many scenes where I had to pause and reread just to take in the scene and the words.
There is so much richness in the way this book is written it makes for a heady, captivating experience by the end one feels almost like a mosquito gorged on blood: satisfied yet slightly nauseated.
Fiction is sometimes better than reality, dont you thinkRomance novelist Cassandra Tipp has been missing for a year and as per her Last Will and Testament, her considerable estate is to be shared by her niece and nephew.
The only catch is, in order to make the claim, they need to go to Cassandras home and find the password hidden somewhere in the manuscript she left for them.
Youre standing in my study, holding this story in your hands the last one Ill ever tell,In doing so they will learn about Cassandras life, from her early childhood onwards, and the versions of the truth that continue to haunt their family.
Maybe the past came back to haunt her, She has a history hereThe feedback on this book seems fairly divisive so far, Youve got the I loved this book! people on one side and the What the hell did I just read! people on the other, As Ive come to expect, Im a bit of an anomaly, My initial response to this book was What the hell did I just read! That was so good!
Its been over three weeks since I finished reading and Ive spent plenty of time since then trying to figure out a way of talking about it without wandering into spoiler territory.
I also havent been able to get Cassandras story out of my head,
And things werent quite as they seemed,Ive gone back and forth countless times, trying to decide one way or another what I truly believe and while that would usually frustrate me, here it has only added to my appreciation of the story.
You could see it purely as the ramblings of an elderly woman with a history of unresolved trauma and inadequately treated mental illness, Thats what Dr. Martin, Cassandras psychiatrist, would say, And he did. In fact, he wrote an entire book about her,
Or you could believe in PepperMans existence and know in your heart that what Cassandra says is true,
Im still not entirely sure exactly which parts of the story I attribute to mental illness and/or trauma and which I believe PepperMan is responsible for, but because this is a story I think I can get away with what I still consider cheating.
I believe both to be true, How on earth can I hold that position
I think there were certain traumatic events in Cassandras childhood that contributed to genuine mental illness.
Whether she would have been mentally ill without these experiences, I cannot say for sure but I suspect she would have been, to a certain extent.
I believe that these traumatic experiences caused her to need coping mechanisms and one of these was the creation of PepperMan, Now, this is where reality and book world diverge a little: in my heart I want to believe that PepperMan truly existed, that somehow this young girls trauma physically manifested a protector.
An unconventional protector, sure, but a protector nonetheless,
Cant both stories be true I asked, Why is it that only because one thing is true, the other thing is not Why do we always have to decideIm definitely interested in learning what other readers believe and if the author ever answers this question in an interview and you dont think I know of its existence, please, please send me the link.
I wanted someone to know, you see, To know my truth, now that I am gone,Im not usually a Have you considered adding more pink kind of person but definitely feel like an opportunity was missed when the covers were designed for this book.
How everything and none of it happened,
Cassandra, the main character, is an author whose books all feature pink covers so it would have been perfect if this books cover had been a creepy PepperMan design in various shades of pink.
Usually when I buy a book I make sure I choose my favourite cover image, even if it costs more, Unfortunately
I dont have a favourite here,
She would have us believe shes off with the faeriesWhile you probably need to know upfront that this is a strange story and it may not be for you, I dont want you to not attempt it at all.
If youre intrigued and want a sneak peek, you can currently download a digital preview of the firstpages sitelinkhere,
Content warnings include mention of .
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, Penguin Random House UK, for the opportunity to read this book.
the fuck did i just read
for real
wtf
if you're a fan of traditionally written fairies, you might enjoy this more than i did
it was just.
. . so weird
i feel confused and uncomfortable
idk man This is a marmite book, youll either love it or youll hate it, and I absolutely loved it!
Fantastical, eerie, strange, but so brilliantly imaginative and well written,
If youre a fan of the Miss Peregrine books or Where the forest meets the, youll love this,
A literary triumph but it wont be to everyones taste although it really needs a revised cover as its misleading and totally unsuited to the actual story.
An easy Heather told me this was a creepy mystery about evil faeries and that was all I needed to finagle myself an ARC.
I CAN'T BLOODY WAIT TO BEGIN THIS LITTLE SHINDIG Um, . .
Okay.
Im sorry what
What did I just read
I was very interested in this book based on the description but the story is just so confusing
I dont even know what to say.
Reclusive novelist Cassandra Tipp disappeared exactly one year ago, Now her niece and nephew are sent to her home to retrieve a password which they will give to her lawyer to inherit her estate.
What they find is one final story from their eccentric aunther life storywhich they may choose to believe or not,
What the book description failed to mention is that Cassandra has been or believes she has been tormented since childhood by a bloodsucking fairy who impregnates her as a teen and then casts a spell to take on human form and marry her.
A trail of bodies follows with Cassandra as a suspect each time,
I mean, how much more do I say without this being too spoilery
I love ambiguous stories but this one just didnt do it for me.
I didnt feel like I got to know any of the characters and even though Cassandra is narrating, her true beliefs/emotions remained frustratingly concealed from readers.
Really it comes down to this: Was she abused as a child Did she create the elaborate story to cope or repress the trauma Or is it possible that her fantastical tale is the truth
The problem is that I honestly dont care.
No relationship is developed between any characters, I never gained any necessary insight into Cassandras thoughts or actions, and I cannot take an evil fairy named Pepper Man seriously.
Thanks to Tor Books and Edelweiss for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my honest review, You Let Me In is scheduled for release on April,,
For more reviews, visit sitelinkwww, rootsandreads. wordpress. com Ich hatte hier eine ganz andere Erwartung als das was ich bekam,
Fiktion und Wirklichkeit mischt sich hier sehr weich miteinander und man fühlte sich immer hin und her gezogen,
Bei Pepper Man handelt es sich um ein Buch, welches sehr stark in die Psyche geht, Ich war fasziniert davon, wie das Gehirn arbeitet und den Schmerz isoliert,
Mir fehlte hier definitiv eine Triggerwarnung
Super weird, definitely meant to disturb, and not afraid of killing any expectations you had about faeries.
Welcome to You Let Me In,
Concept:/
Writing style:
Pacing:
Content warnings: Yes, a lot of them, please see end of review.
You Let Me In comes out on April,
First off, I'd like to make a disclaimer that I'm about to praise this novel, but it in no way means that I am praising the subject matter.
There are dark themes in this, and if you are concerned about warnings please see the end of this review,
You Let Me In follows the story or stories of Cassandra Tipp's life, Tipp was a reclusive writer with a troubled upbringing and a tragic life, and it's time for her to tell her story, She's ready to share her truth, . . but you might not be able to believe it,
It's literally so hard to decide what to share and what not to share about this novel, I went in with very littlejust what's in the description, I think in order to enjoy this for what it is, you should go in with little information,
One of the main themes at play in You Let Me In is the concept of memory and trauma.
Did these events happen as Cassandra said they did Is it possible for two conflicting stories to both exist What is the "real" story Is there a "real" story
Now, you might be wondering, this was published by TOR.
. . the fantasy publisher. Memory and trauma don't sound fantastical, What's up with that
According to Cassandra, the "Pepper Man" is her closest companion, A "faerie," the Pepper Man lives next to Cassandra, lives off of Cassandra, and ultimately entwines her life with his and takes her on adventures under the mound.
Faeries in this are not handsome, not romantic, and NOT something mysterious in the woods, These faeries are the undead/unmade, I don't know if I agree with the designation of "faerie" in this, but it IS very otherworldly, In a way, I think readers who enjoyed sitelinkNever Contented Things will like this too, Similar executions on unsettling faeries meant to horrify,
My favorite aspect of this novel was its extremely masterful pacing and sense of truth, Novels often claim that they "leave the truth up to the reader, " In my experience, they rarely deliver, There's always a more fleshed out "truth" to believe, In You Let Me In, this debut actually delivers on a doubleedged sword of truth, What really happened It's up to you, I know what belief I took out of this, but you and I might disagree, It speaks to the author's skill that we can have such opposing takeaways,
One of the main sticking points as I see it, anyway for You Let Me In revolves around its placement in the discussion of speculative fiction at this point in time.
It's getting harder and harder for speculative dark fiction to deliver on an engaging, wellcrafted, and memorable narratives, On the one hand, it seems like we're just getting more twisted and triggering narratives to deliver on this promise, On the other, some of the recent entries into the genre are dark and yet amazing see sitelinkFollow Me to Ground, which I also loved.
While this one's themes are dark and its content very upsetting to people with different expectations, I found it extremely singular and oneofakind, Does it fall on the side of "too much" because of that I don't know, I struggled with my opinions, I definitely loved what it was doing in realm of writing and story development, but I really struggled to enjoy the content due to its extremely dark themes.
Bottom line: read this if you like the genre, but definitely go in with eyes wide open regarding warnings and expectations.
Thank you to TOR for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review,
Content warnings:
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