Lies That Bind by Rae Knowles, April Yates

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

A sapphic erotic horror that uses sex as a weapon and salvation.

This book keeps you on the edge of a knife as our main characters Lorelai and Adele's toxic relationship pushes them deeper into a paranormal conspiracy of debauchery, fear and despair. In an alternative England, lovers, Lorelai and Adele run a sham seance/snake oil store. One day a mysterious woman, Viola, comes into their lives and starts to drive a wedge through their already unsteady relationship with the goal of having Adele return to America. There are many twists and turns about how the characters in this story are connected overlayed by a slowly building paranormal/body horror that demands the reader look closely when all we want to do is look away.

At the beginning of this book I found myself looking to the character of Adele as our ingénue, naively making decisions without malice; but Rae Knowles and April Yates have instead played with our assumptions of her stereotype and Adele has a lot more agency than I first gave her credit for. I love that no character in this book is 'good'. Everyone is flawed to some degree, either through purposeful malice or passive indifference. While sex is used as a weapon, it also becomes the salvation of our main characters.

Erotic horror is my new favourite sub-genre, and if you're wondering what places this book into that subgenre, tighten up your strap on, here we go:
💦 Multiple Os within the first 20%
💦Explicit open door sex
💦Non-consent and CNC
💦Blood play
💦Physical abuse
💦(more, review TWs before reading if needed)

The first book I read by Rae Knowles was Merciless Waters, which I reviewed as having 'incandescent female rage'. This book is all about supporting women's wrongs. All of our main characters are strong, capable and full of agency (even when they choose not to use it) and they use these traits selfishly, to deceive, and with malevolence. I don't think I breathed for the last 20% of this book (in the best way), and I wish there was more of that urgency/pacing reflected in the early parts of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Brigids Gate Press and Rae Knowles for providing a early reviewer copy.

This book is best read on the deck of a ship heading from England to America with your back pressed against the door of the cabin your ex-lover is sharing with her new partner. Try to ignore the screams coming from within.