Summary * Early Reviews * Bluesky Edition Reviews
A novel by Emoria Weidner.
Prepare to drink deeply.
Top Note: Forced-Feminization
Base Note: T4T Horror–Romance
Finish: Slice-of-Life (hiding a Knife)
Yuri Sommelier’s Warning
TOXIC YURI. Consuming Aftertaste may result in
hallucinations including, but not limited to,
- An intimidating Woman
- An unwilling(?) young man
- Gender revelations
- Dysphoric spirals
- Violent encounters with Toxic Masculinity
- Trans women kissing in a cis world
- A fiendish, twisting plot
- Makeup tips
Aftertaste, by Emoria Weidner, is a celebrated trans coming-of-age story, a toxic yuri featuring T4T and T4C romance, and a horrifying ride into a dysphoric nightmare, all-in-one sweet & spicy package.
The novel takes place in a magical-realist world where Yuri (lesbian), Yaoi (gay men), and Hetslop (hetslop) are not genres of fiction, but drinkable hallucinogens.
When you want to have a delightful evening, a glass of yuri will deliver a unique fantasy directly to your imagination, determined by the vintage you choose to imbibe.
And Simon? Well, despite being a 24 year-old man, Simon drinks a LOT of yuri. He just thinks it tastes better than hetslop or yaoi, you know? It doesn’t mean anything that his preferred fantasies are of lesbians.
Obviously.
Couldn’t mean anything else.
About his gender.
Or anything like that.
Sure, Simon got a job as a server at a yuri bar, but that’s just because it was convenient. Nothing to read into there.
At all.
Then, one night, a very intimidating Woman arrives at the bar and orders the most toxic drink on the menu. Before Simon knows what is happening, he finds himself serving Her in more ways than he could ever have imagined.
And She has plans for him.
And does it seem like her eyes are literally on fire?
And are those fangs???
Not that Simon would be into that, or whatever. Obviously not.
Being made to serve a Powerful, Scary, potentially Monstrous Woman? Definitely not something he’d ever fantasized about.
Definitely not the subject of yuri after yuri he drank alone, nightly, after each shift.
No.
Simon doesn’t want this.
Obviously.
It’s not like he’s a girl or anything.
Taste Tests
“A glorious trans pulp opera that pulls zero punches. If you think you know what’s going to happen, you absolutely do not. An incredible debut. An outrageously fun, deeply moving force-femme yuri horror novel.”
– D Moses, artist and author of I Saw the Pink Light Glow
“Aftertaste does what we all want horror to do: take elements of terror to bring the horrors of our world to light. Aftertaste uses supernatural elements beautifully to, deep down at it’s core, tell a story about people and the human condition. It speaks to the pain, joy, fear and sorrow that all are deeply tied to life as a trans person. It pulls no punches and leaves the reader never truly feeling safe, with each moment of joy shining with a clawing nightmare sitting in it’s shadow, a powerful mirror to the lives of trans people.”
– Joslyn Jollenberg, author of The Red Divergence
“Aftertaste is a story that will burn on the way down, with its many twists and turns to delight. It is a strong mixture of the terror of dysphoria alongside pure queer joy. It’s rare to find something that kept me horrified to turn the next page but also delighted by what I would discover. I was giddy to find how this story would hurt me and heal me in equal measure.”
– Terra Marie Berta-Porcase, author of Burn the Dogwood
“With Aftertaste, Emoria has taken what is a novel and unique starting point of Yuri as a beverage… And from there has spun out a hauntingly beautiful story about the trans-feminine existence that is both exaggerated and larger than life and, at the same time, so deeply personal and real. Aftertaste is a beautiful novel that will make you cry in the most healing way possible, and Emoria takes it in directions you’ll never see coming yet feel perfectly natural.”
– Sylvia Raizman, author of The Mimic Dungeon
Bluesky Edition Reader Quotes
“Seriously, you should read this novel. It’s beautiful, it’s sharp (in all senses of the word), it’s painful, and it might just help set you free. It’s among the best pieces of trans fiction around and absolutely worth your time.”
– @lena.realitywerks.com
“By turns delightful, harrowing, dizzying, silly, savage, heartbreaking, and strangely hopeful.”
– @tamsin.reimaginedgirl.social
“This is one of the best novels I’ve ever read.”
– @jackiesupernova.eurosky.social
“[Emoria Weidner] is my new favorite author.”
– @librarylass.bsky.social
“Aftertaste is incredible. I just read it all in one sitting.”
– @derram.tgirl.gay
“Aftertaste fundamentally changed me.”
– @lotspaghero.bsky.social
“[Aftertaste] may be the best book I’ve ever read.”
– @lord-goosifer.bsky.social
“Incredibly powerful. No other book has pulled on my emotions as much.”
– @jste.au
“I didn’t see a path forward, and [Aftertaste] changed that. Thank you. And fuck you. And I love you.”
– @madscutter.bsky.social
Emoria Weidner 