Book Review | Black Sheep

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison presents a horror comedy about a woman who returns home for her cousin's wedding to her ex-boyfriend. Cue all the awkwardness, family drama, and dark secrets.

First off, this book is snarky as hell and really does a fantastic job at nailing dysfunctional family dynamics. However, to get into my major gripe with this story, I'll have to get onto major spoilers, so consider yourself warned.

The story was hilarious and had me up until its first plot twist where, at a celebratory dinner, we learn that Vesper's family are a bunch satanic cultists.

Now, this premise could inherently work, but its execution here within the story fails miserably. Even if you want to look at Satan purely from a character perspective, his actions don’t make sense within the novel—like how does the guy who rebelled against authority end up with authoritative cult??? Why is Satan unironically going with the whole sacrificial lamb motif when that’s God’s shtick? Why is he becoming more like his father? There’s so many parallels that could have been done there but weren't explored.

I get that the author was trying to tie lambs in with the whole “black sheep” theme, but the religious aspect feels haphazardly thrown in. There’s an apparent lack of understanding and awareness here to make this a clever, satirical play on fundamentalism, which I feel is a major missed opportunity. I mean, the whole rebellion motif of both Satan and Vesper rebelling against their parents and having daddy issues was right there, ripe for the taking!

Overall, I was frustrated that this book didn't live up to its full potential. While, yes, the story is a fun read and manages to capture what it means to be the black sheep of the family, it still thematically drops the ball on other core parts of the plot.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : September 19, 2023

Publisher : Berkley

ISBN: 0593545850

Pages : 304

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