Propulsive and wry, this razor-sharp debut is perfect for fans of Boy Parts and My Year of Rest and Relaxation explores all the ways that relationships and trauma can haunt our lives.
As the sun sets on a feverishly hot July evening, a young woman spies on her teenage neighbour, transfixed by what looks like an occult ritual to banish an ex-boyfriend. Desperate to expel the claustrophobic memories of her own ex that have followed, the narrator decides to try to hex herself free from her past.
She falls in with the neighbour and her witchy friend, exploring nascent supernatural powers as the boundaries of reality shift in and out of focus. But when the creaks and hums of her apartment escalate into something more violent, she realizes that she may have brought her boyfriend’s presence – whether psychological or paranormal – back to haunt her.
Dark bleatings, my lovelies! This debut novel from Jenna Clake might be a great read for those of you on the fringes of horror, that don’t want to be scared. I’d say this is sort of horror adjacent as it has some supernatural shenanigans, but it’s more directly about a woman overcoming a bad relationship by trying to help her younger neighbour see the truth about her boyfriend.
I really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting. I went in without reading the synopsis, with no idea of what it was about, and I’m glad I did because I might not have picked it up otherwise. I usually prefer to be a bit more “in” the horror as novels go. Regardless of my usual tastes, I found this to be such a relatable and empathic study of a woman in her twenties still reeling from a break up, trying to get on her feet in her own new flat. She’s quite isolated on account of losing her friends due to her recent relationship, and is wary of people in general. One day, she befriends her 18 year old neighbour and her best friend, and learns that they’re into witchcraft.
It all starts innocently enough, with them wanting to banish bad energy, but it escalates and things start going wrong when our protagonist and her neighbour’s bestie decide to try to influence the neighbour’s boyfriend into just going away.
I enjoyed two things in particular about the story and the way it was told. The first is that the protagonist’s ex sounds similar to one of mine from years past, and it was a weirdly healing experience to read even such a horrible relationship because, I guess, I felt this sort of solidarity with the protagonist over it. It’s really hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t lived it why people don’t just bail out of horrid relationships at the first sign of trouble, and I think the author did a great job of showing what happens mentally here.
The second thing I loved is that the witchy stuff was almost in the background. Whether or not the spells work is completely irrelevant, because what matters is the intention behind them. The protagonist interfering with her neighbour’s love life, though it was with the best intentions, struck me as the actions of someone anxious and co-dependent, in the sense that she can’t seem to feel peace until she “fixes” this aspect of her neighbour’s life. Her involvement was not only not asked for, but it was quite clear the neighbour didn’t want her sticking her nose in at all. This need for control that stems from a genuine place of wanting to help, and highlighting that actually, it’s not a positive character trait, is rarely (if ever) explored in the books I read. I really appreciated it and found it thought-provoking.
I’d definitely recommend this, as I said, to those who like supernatural elements but nothing really scary. I’d also recommend it to people who might relate to the protagonist (as long as this isn’t a triggering topic for you, of course).
If you’d like to check out the book or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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