Heavy metal meets sex magic in this 2000s-inspired horror novel. Need I say more? After a run-in with a succubus-backed girl group, Lisa’s brother isn’t the same, and she’ll stop at nothing to solve this mystery. We’re reviewing Suck-U-Bus by Nikki Noir and S.C. Mendes this week, so dig out your iPod and get ready for a lesson in sexy, sexy demonology. Let’s dig in!
What Is Suck-U-Bus About?
Lisa has tried to leave her old life behind. The metal scene and the fuck boys that came with it were left behind after her breakup. She’s in school. She’s got a nice apartment. She’s healing. But when her brother comes back around, Lisa’s torn between two worlds. She agrees to follow him to a local show, but The Mothers and the ghostly bang bus are more than they seem. Something is seriously wrong with Danny, and it will take everything within Lisa to figure out what.
This book does a fantastic job of capturing the power of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (although not necessarily in that order). Nikki Noir and S.C. Mendes do a fantastic job of turning a spooky mystery into something powerful, violent, and sexy.
What Worked …
I love a good story about siblings. It always feels like you might leave a friend behind, you might leave your boyfriend behind, but a girl simply cannot leave her brother behind. After their parents’ death, Danny is forced into a parental role far too early, and the ramifications of this are felt throughout the entirety of Suck-U-Bus. When Danny disappears into the bus and comes out changed, Lisa is not just losing her brother. She’s losing the only family she has left. It creates such a unique sense of dread and isolation for the reader that stuck with me long after I put the book down.
The spiritual element in the book was done well, and I think that’s what makes this a book that I’d like to come back to. Much of this book felt like one of those investigatory, spooky movies from the early 2000s for me. Where something’s deeply wrong, and you know it’s deeply wrong, but part of you isn’t ready to accept this level of spooky. We’re on the journey with Lisa throughout all of this, and with every piece of evidence she collects, we’re invited to solve the mystery alongside her. Are The Mothers actually the brides of a succubus creature, feeding their listeners to the beast? Is this some drug-induced hysteria claiming the lives of all these people? Who do you trust with any of this, and who would even believe you in the first place? While it took me forever to actually get started on this ARC, I actually blew threw it in a day because the premise was just so fun.
… And What Didn’t
Being a five-star read, there’s not much that I didn’t like in Suck-U-Bus. My only real difficulty was with the end (so there will be spoilers ahead!). This isn’t even a criticism of the book, really. But I struggled with the entire book having kind of a warm feeling for me and then the ending being so dark. Lisa defeats the succubus at the end with the help of Corpse Paint (a character we meet along the way), but in the final scene, it’s revealed that Corpse Paint double-crossed her and she’s now being held captive by The Mothers, barefoot and pregnant, quite literally. As odd as it sounds, the overall book was sort of hopeful for me (despite that woman choking herself to death). To have an ending so oddly hopeless felt kind of out of place.
Final Thoughts
Suck-U-Bus is a must-read for any occult horror and/or metal fans. It’s a very fun mix of the best of both worlds, and it deals with the idea of a magic system/mythical being really creatively. Already subscribed to KU? Pick this book up for free by checking the link here!