First published 2024
Two young women work at the Eternal Staircase, a mysterious roadside attraction that holds dangerous secrets. As they uncover what lies beneath the tourist trap, their summer romance blooms against a backdrop of mounting dread. Their story joins thirteen other tales where love transforms people into monsters, literally and figuratively. A woman's body reshapes itself to please her artist boyfriend. Teenage witches plot to recruit an outsider they despise. A vampire and a goat woman find companionship as outcasts in a world that fears them. Each story examines the beast that lives inside everyone: the desperate need to be loved, seen, and accepted. Characters face the terror of being loved incorrectly, insufficiently, or not at all. They risk exposure before their lovers, revealing the monstrous aspects they've hidden. Nethercott crafts tales where affection becomes corruption and desire breeds transformation.
Genres: short-stories, romance, fantasy, horror, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, monster-romance
Setting: Eternal Staircase
259 pages · Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: body-horror, graphic-violence, sexual-content