The Faceless Thing We Adore, Hester Steel
The Faceless Thing We Adore, Hester Steel
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

The Faceless Thing We Adore

Author: Hester Steel

Narrator: Amy Scanlon

Unabridged: 15 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 08/05/2025


Synopsis

Eat, Pray, Love goes full Lovecraft in this queer, feel-good cosmic horror that reflects on gaslighting and emotional abuse. Lemon, poppy seed, sun-warmed sand. These visions convince Aoife to quit her job, leave her manipulative boyfriend, and escape to the isolated shores of the Farmstead commune. There, among its charismatic and hedonistic residents, Aoife finds everything she’s been missing: a community that adores her, the freedom to indulge, and the promise to be a part of something miraculous. But darkness underpins her airy new way of life. A disappearing cave looms above an ocean no one dares step foot in, mysterious crying fills the night hours, and a rot is spreading across the island. But perhaps most concerning is the commune’s reverence for their leader, Jonah—a love tinged with fear that Aoife knows all too well. When Aoife’s boring old life comes crashing into her bold new one, loyalties are tested, unleashing a spiral of unspeakable violence that threatens to fracture reality itself. At the helm, Aoife finds herself desperately trying to protect everyone and everything she’s grown to love. Awkward, clumsy Aoife, who was always told she was weak, will soon realize the depths of her strength—and the pleasures of her rage.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sadie on August 20, 2025

This one is WILD. Aoife’s journey unravels like a spiraling fever dream, exposing the fragile and desperate need to belong buried inside us all; an ache that's so powerful we’d sacrifice anything to satisfy it. This culty sporror tale crawled under my skin and unsettled me. A must-read for horror fan......more

Goodreads review by ♡ retrovvitches ♡ on October 11, 2025

this was a cult horror that made my brain feel mushy with all its twists and turns, with a bunch of manipulative shitty men that deserved to suffer!! had some great characters with some genuinely great writing (although a bit overwhelming at times to know what exactly was going on). and the ending w......more

Goodreads review by mtrics on May 15, 2025

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Faceless Thing We Adore follows Aoife, a woman who feels an inexplicable calling to a remote island after eating a cookie (of all things), and runs away from her insipid life straight into the arms of a professed cult. At its core, this book is......more

Goodreads review by Gabrielle on August 10, 2025

Ummm… that was weird… but I liked it.......more

Goodreads review by Morgan on November 13, 2024

Hester Steel’s THE FACELESS THING WE ADORE is a dark, dreamy, and cosmic exploration of a woman’s experiences with a totally-not-a-cult and her search for identity and freedom. By the mysterious seaside, Aoife’s suppressed rage and path to self-realization take an eldritch turn in a story that const......more