Tag: horror

Joint Review: “The House of Quiet”

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Book: “The House of Quiet” by Kiersten White

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, September 2025

Where Did We Get This Book: ARC from ALA!

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: To save her sister, she must enter the House.

In the middle of a deadly bog sits the House of Quiet. It’s a place for children whose Procedure triggered powers too terrible to be lived with—their last hope for treatment. No one knows how they’re healed or where they go afterward.

Birdie has begged, bargained, and blackmailed her way inside as a maid, determined to find her missing sister, Magpie. But what she discovers is more mysteries. Instead of the destitute children who undergo the Procedure in hopes of social advancement, the house brims with aristocratic teens wielding strange powers they never should have been burdened with.

Though Birdie wants to ignore them, she can’t help being drawn to stoic and silent Forest, charmed by clever River, and concerned for the youngest residents. And with fellow maid Minnow keeping tabs on everything Birdie does, danger is everywhere.

In her desperate search for Magpie, Birdie unearths terrifying threats and devastating truths, forcing her to confront just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save her own sister. Because in the House of Quiet, if you find what’s lurking beneath . . . you lose everything.

Unravel the mystery. Ignite the rebellion.

Serena’s Thoughts

Long time readers of the blog may remember the last joint review Kate and I posted of a Kiersten White book….Suffice it to say, we didn’t love it. So I went into this one with trepidation. However, I’m happy to report that this one worked much better for me!

For one thing, it had a lot going for it with themes and tropes that play well into my preferences. I’m curious to see how Kate felt, because unlike another recent joint review (“The Library at Hellebore”), this one felt like it more closely aligned with the fantasy genre than with horror. Though it definitely still had its creepy moments, particularly in some of the other POV chapters highlighting the kids’ powers. Most strongly, however, this read as a gothic mystery, which I gobbled up. I think this sort of slow-burn, highly atmospheric story plays well to White’s strengths as an author which left me much more satisfied with it than with her last.

I will say that while I enjoyed the sibling relationship at the heart of the story, it took me a while to become too invested in our main character, Birdie. There was nothing wrong with her, per see, (other than the fact that she missed what were some fairly obvious clues), but I never felt strongly connected to her as a character. The story is also on the slower side, so readers looking for a more fast-paced read may struggle a bit here.

Overall, however, I was happy to see return to form for White. While this wasn’t my favorite book of hers, I think it was successful for what it set out to do, especially for readers looking for gothic YA fiction.

Kate’s Thoughts

Hooray! After not enjoying the previous Kiersten White book that we joint reviewed on the blog I’m happy to report that “The House of Quiet” was a return to form! This was an anticipated read for me this year, though I was feeling a bit nervous after the last of her novels, but overall I found this one to be much more enjoyable.

I do agree with Serena that this is more of a Gothic Fantasy, or perhaps Dark Fantasy, tale as opposed to the horror-esque cover, but that was fine for me! I enjoyed the world building that White did, with different regions having different cultural touchstones, and different characters from different areas having different motivations depending on what their life experience was like. I enjoyed Birdie enough as one of our main characters, as her trying to find her sister Magpie in The House of Quiet by pretending to be there strictly as a maid, but actually looking for information.

But I think that the character I enjoyed even more was the mysterious and acerbic Minnow, who was also hired on as a maid, but who is clearly hiding her cards and has other motivations that she is trying to fulfill. White is always quite skilled when it comes to creating characters that you can’t quite suss out at first, peeling back layers to reveal interesting truths, and Minnow was a good example of that. I also enjoyed the mystery at hand as Birdie finds herself in a dangerous web with more questions popping up as she gets deeper and deeper into her investigations.

“The House of Quiet” was a fun Gothic tale from Kiersten White! Set this one aside for the upcoming spooky season, I’d say!

Serena’s Rating 8: Perhaps a bit slow at times, but a nice option to scratch that gothic YA fantasy itch!

Kate’s Rating 8: I’m so glad that I’m back on the Kiersten White bandwagon! “The House of Quiet” is strange, layered, and a well pieced together Gothic mystery!

Reader’s Advisory

“The Library at Hellebore” is included on these Goodreads lists: Twisted Tales for Beautifully Damaged Minds and 2025 Dark Academia Releases.

Kate’s Review: “Body of Water”

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Book: “Body of Water” by Adam Godfrey

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Don’t let the water drag you down…

It’s been six years since Glen Masters lost his wife in a tragic accident. In hopes of reconnecting with his grieving teenage daughter, Lauren, he decides to take her on a road trip through the Appalachian mountains, where he has fond memories of their past as a family. But what was supposed to be a quick diner pit stop suddenly transforms into a nightmare when armed men stumble in, ranting about a mysterious and deadly “living water” that attacked several people up the road. The story the men spin seems to be the rantings of drunken lunatics, but soon Glen, his daughter, and the other diners find themselves hostages to both the gunmen and the inexplicably terrifying entity. 

Because there’s truly something wrong with the water, and it has no mercy.

Panic grows as the diners play witness to a nature-defying being that seeks only to swallow everything in its path. With help nowhere in sight, the group of strangers must work together to devise an escape, and ultimately, Glen will have to face his worst fears to reconcile with the past or risk losing everything.

A chilling story from a brand-new voice in fiction, Body of Water explores the complicated nature of grief, terror, and the ghosts we must confront to survive.

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me an ARC of this novel!

I am someone who has always been drawn to water. I love visiting the ocean, I love going up to Lake Superior and just vibing by the shore, and I have been known to really luxuriate in a bath, sometimes a couple times a day! I love water, but because I love it I ALSO love the idea of water becoming a villainous and carnivorous entity in a horror novel. Because I mean, how fun! So when I was sent “Body of Water” by Adam Godfrey, I was very, very amped to read it, as the idea of a bunch of people being trapped by a dangerous and hungry water-like being was just such a fun premise! And for awhile it lived up to my expectations!…. Until it kind of didn’t.

But first the good! “Body of Water” reminded me a lot of a few different things. The first is “The Mist”, which seems to be a big comparison that is being used by lots of people, but hey, if the shoe fits! We have a group of people, Glen and daughter Lauren at the forefront, stuck in a rural diner while a strange type of water lurks outside, killing and sucking the life out of anything that gets in its path. I was also thinking a lot about another Stephen King story “The Raft” as I read, as well as “The Blob”, with the viscous water entity doing a LOT of nasty body horror to anything that gets in its way much like those two stories. Throw in rising tensions between the trapped survivors in the diner (again, “The Mist” is an apt comparison) and you have a very suspenseful and dread filled story that had me on the edge of my seat as I was reading.

But we have to talk about the reason that this book has a lower score than one might assume with my previous paragraph’s praise. I won’t spoil anything here because I don’t want to ruin anyone else’s fun when this could very well be a ‘me’ thing. BUT. There is a crazy, CRAZY twist in this book that completely reframes basically the entire plot within the last couple of chapters of the story, negating basically everything before it. This one is particularly out there, as while looking back the seeds were certainly planted throughout the narrative, it still felt like whiplash. And as someone who has recently had a very difficult time abiding nutty twists for the sake of twists and shock value, this one really didn’t work for me.

But that won’t necessarily apply to everyone! And until that moment, “Body of Water” was, indeed, a suspenseful horror novel that I was enjoying. Just because it didn’t work for me, it doesn’t mean that it won’t work for you!

Rating 6: A really suspenseful and solid horror novel was derailed a bit by a very random twist.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Body of Water” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “Fiend”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Fiend” by Alma Katsu

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Historical horror maven Alma Katsu turns her talents to the modern world for the first time, in this terrifying tale about an all-powerful family with an ancient evil under its thumb.

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work outfor the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this novel!

I’ve been a fan of Alma Katsu for a good number of years now, always impressed with her historical fiction novels and how she can take real life events and bring in some strange supernatural elements that send chills down my spine. It has been a few years since she has written a full novel, and imagine my surprise when not only did she have a new novel coming out, it was going to be set in modern times! Unexpected! But reading about “Fiend”, it kind of made sense why she wanted to have it take place in the present, as the themes, although timeless, have an extra oomph in a time where billionaires are taking advantage of other people and causing lots of pain with few consequences (I suppose this also could have been a Gilded Age theme, but oh well). And since it’s Katsu, we gotta have SOMETHING spooky. And in “Fiend”, a greedy corporate family of billionaires have a supernatural presence at their beck and call to fulfill many a whim.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I am always here for a book about nasty billionaires getting their comeuppance, and the Berisha Family definitely has shades of the Roys in “Succession” meets the Ushers from Mike Flanagan’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”. We have the patriarch Zef, who is trying to figure out who is going to take over once he has passed on, his traditionalist values leaning towards his son Dardan even though middle child Maris is probably the most qualified (with youngest Nora just kind of in the wings doing her own thing). The family is filled with pretty nasty people, but as things start to go awry and Maris is trying her best to right the ship (though little appreciation is thrown her way), the family starts to fracture. And all of the ‘convenient’ ill fortunes thrown at their rivals starts to turn back on themselves. Katsu has written a shorter book her, and while that means it reads fast and the pace is quick, it does mean that we have a LOT of world building to do along with fully exploring a dysfunctional family line that’s falling towards ruin. Plot wise, I kind of wish we had more mythos and building blocks regarding what, exactly, has been helping this family for so many years, especially as the being starts to seemingly go rogue. We do find out, but I wanted more exploration of it.

But as a family drama? I really enjoyed it. We have Kef, who is such a dick who has pigeonholed his kids into roles that they don’t really want while also stoking rivalries that can ebb and flow depending on what each sibling wants. We have Dardan, who knows that the weight of the world is going to be on his shoulders, though he also knows that he probably can’t hack it at the end of the day. We have Maris, who is VERY competent but is a girl, who then takes out her frustrations of those weaker than her. And we have Nora, who is discounted as the youngest and also a girl, but wants to be more than the ruthless Berishas that they have always been. I really liked the family dynamics and seeing all of the siblings try to maneuver through the entire mess as it unfolds. And as I mentioned above multiple times: the horrible billionaires causing pain and misfortune to line their own pockets? That feels rather apt.

“Fiend” is another enjoyable book from Alma Katsu! I’m so happy she has come back with another novel!

Rating 8: “Fiend” will fill that void that “Succession” left, especially if you wanted the Roys to have a little more supernatural punishment thrown their way.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fiend” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward To in 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “LOONEY!”

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Book: “LOONEY!” by Stephen Kozeniewski & Gavin Dillinger

Publishing Info: French Press Publishing, April 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ebook from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon

Book Description: When beloved cartoon characters come crawling out of her TV, army recruiter Gabriella Harman expects a zany romp instead of the hellish nightmare that follows.

One night, haunted by her memories of Iraq, Gabriella downs a stomachful of pills and booze. When her favorite cartoon characters, the Kooky Toons, start crawling out of the TV, she assumes she is hallucinating.

But soon Gabriella finds herself locked in a battle of wits and wills with Herman Hyrax, the world-famous, wise-cracking mascot of the Kooky Korporation. Herman is more than just a stinker, though. He may be a monster, a demon, a god, or something entirely more unwholesome.

Is Gabriella’s descent into a world of cartoonish violence and psychological torment real? Or has she simply gone…

LOONEY!?

Review: Thank you to French Press Publishing for sending me a copy of this book!

When I was a kid I loved the movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”. I remember watching it for the first time when I was in early grade school at a friend’s house, and thinking it was very funny (mind you I missed a GOOD majority of the jokes, especially the sexual ones), but also TERRIFYING as Judge Doom melted a toon shoe in a big ol’ barrel of Dip. And then revealed himself as a murderous toon and went fully HAM on Bob Hoskins. It was the first time I had thought about the absurd over the top violence of the old ‘Looney Tunes” cartoons and how in real life that kind of violence would be horrifying. I kept thinking about “Roger Rabbit” while reading “LOONEY!” by Stephen Kozeniewski and Gavin Dillinger, where a beloved Bugs Bunny-esque cartoon icon is revealed to actually be an otherworldly deity that craves violence and chaos, and has used cartoon fame to spread his word, and can only be stopped by a traumatized war veteran.

It’s a little different from a traumatized P.I., but it hits the same (also, this is a safe space, as an elder millennial all grown up I find myself oddly attracted to Eddie Valiant?) (source).

“LOONEY!” is written like a chaotic and tripped up love letter to “Looney Tunes” and old school Disney shorts soaked in a bit of blood and dark fantasy, and it’s so creative it generally works. Our primary antagonist is Herman Hyrax, a violent and maniacal entity that manipulated a cartoonist promising him fame and fortune, but then used his fame to try and create a cult following of fans to implement his bloodthirsty needs. Enter Gabriella, a war veteran with PTSD who finds herself face to face with Herman Hyrax and other characters from the “Kooky Toons” shows, but in real life, sowing discord while other thought to be cartoons try to stop him. As I said, it feels like “Roger Rabbit” if it was far more violent and gory. It’s such a creative idea, and I genuinely love the concept of a Bugs Bunny kind of icon actually being something malevolent and dangerous, hiding behind a charismatic persona of a cartoon character. I will say that some of it dragged on a bit, and there may have been a few too many side characters that were also deities masquerading as cartoons, but in terms of fun and over the top horror moments it hit the mark pretty well.

I also appreciated how the book kind of acknowledges that these old time cartoons, while filled with lots of warm and fuzzy nostalgia, had some pretty problematic elements to them just based on the time frame in which it was taking inspiration from. I remember having old Bugs Bunny cartoons on a VHS tape that my grandmother gave me (it was almost assuredly a bootleg of some sort) that had some WILDLY racist bits in it, which my parents were sure to shut down when they saw just what it was I was watching, and there are similar moments in the lore of Herman Hyrax and his other ‘kooky’ compatriots. And even a reference to WWII propaganda shorts much like the ones so many cartoon companies were making at the time. I felt like the book did a good honest job of capturing the vibes of the cartoons of this era, damaging bits and all (I also really enjoyed having the bits of screenplays from some of the episodes and seeing Herman become more and more unhinged with studio notes written in).

Overall, “LOONEY!” is a creative horror story that I found entertaining. If you like kind of weird and somewhat meta horror, this could be a good fit.

Rating 7: Very creative and like a demonic iteration of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, “LOONEY!” has some wild horror bits and a nostalgia for old time cartoons (while acknowledging the baggage that came with them).

Reader’s Advisory:

“LOONEY!” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it did make me want to re-watch “Roger Rabbit”.

Kate’s Review: “The Possession of Alba Díaz”

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Book: “The Possession of Alba Díaz” by Isabel Cañas

Publishing Info: Berkley, August 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust… from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.

In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.

Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice her every time she enters a room or the growing tension between them… and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood grows stronger.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

There are a few authors that when I see that they have a new book coming out I know it’s a must read. It spans across genres for me, and one of those authors is Isabel Cañas. She has written a haunted house story and a vampire story, both combined with a historical fiction setting in Mexico with some easy to root for romances to boot. Clearly when I saw she had a new book coming out, “The Possession of Alba Díaz”, I knew that I could probably expect those other two things along with a demonic possession backbone. Which was a okay by me, because she hasn’t let me down yet!

I really loved this book. I mean, I have basically loved all of Isabel Cañas’s books so it’s not a surprise. But as someone who doesn’t really care for possession horror, this one REALLY worked for me because Cañas thinks outside the box, which is exactly how I DO like possession horror. While it’s true that Alba is being victimized by a demon that has infiltrated her body and her consciousness, it is pretty clear as the story goes on that demons aren’t the biggest worries for a woman living in Mexico in the late 1700s, as there’s violent misogyny, a lack of any kind of self determination, and the horrors of the colonialism of Spain and the Catholic Church that prove to be far more pressing. I always appreciate it when historical stories in Latin America call out the horrors of the Spanish Conquest and the reverberations it had for the Indigenous groups that lived there before, and “The Possession of Alba Díaz” has ambitious priests and the threats of the Inquisition lurking all around our heroine who not only has a demon inside of her, but dares to want to have control of her life and independence from subservience. We also have hints as to what her fiancé would get out of this, and more hints about other ways that the Church has a cloud over a community of Indigenous people in ways that aren’t as obvious. It’s a fantastic re-examination of a genre that for so long has lauded the institution of the Catholic Church as the heroes of the story, and I’m so glad that more and more horror authors are approaching the tropes in new ways.

But I also really loved the love story between Alba and Elías, the outsider alchemist who people are wary of because of a dark past and perhaps some strange connections to non-traditional practices. Is it a little bit of a whirlwind insta love kind of romance? Yeah, for sure. But even so, I liked having both of their perspectives in the narrative so we could see a building passion between them as he wants to try to help her and she starts to realize that perhaps she CAN make room for romance in her hopes of finding a marriage match that won’t leave her abused or utterly powerless. There are also some moments that are pretty smolder-y, as while we don’t really get to see a lot of the smolder (after all, there are more pressing matters at hand), the build up and the chemistry between these two characters are palpable. Cañas really knows how to make me prioritize a romantic pairing even when demonic possession as religious oppression are nipping at said pairing’s heels.

“The Possession of Alba Díaz” is another winner from Isabel Cañas! She is three for three for me now, and I cannot wait to see where she goes next!

Rating 9: A possession story that sets its sights on not just the horrors of a demon within, but of colonialism and misogyny as well, “The Possession of Alba Díaz” is another historical horror gem from Isabel Cañas!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Possession of Alba Díaz” is included on the Goodreads lists “Mexican Gothic”, and “Horror to Look Forward To in 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “How Bad Things Can Get”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “How Bad Things Can Get” by Darcy Coates

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, August 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: It was supposed to be the party of the century: miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage…and a dark legend nobody dreamed might be all too true.

When an online influencer and several hundred of his most loyal fans land on Prosperity Island, the plan is simple: five days of elaborate games, drinking, and suntanned fun.

A week in paradise should have been a welcome respite. The only survivor of an infamous cult, Ruth wants nothing more than to keep her head down and not draw attention. She’s spent decades outrunning her blood-soaked childhood, and her identity is a closely held secret.

But then the true history of the island is revealed…along with its sinister connection to Ruth’s past. As guests go missing and games turn deadly, Ruth and the rest of the attendees are forced to question whether they’ve really been invited to paradise…or whether something much darker―and far bloodier―is waiting for them just beyond the bonfire’s light.

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

I kind of dropped the ball at the beginning of August when I was parsing out my Highlights for the month. Don’t misunderstand me, I was absolutely amped by all of the books on the list, and they were all good choices. But I completely forgot about the newest horror novel from one of my favorite horror authors Darcy Coates!! Coates is must read for me, and her new book “How Bad Things Can Get” was DEFINITELY a highly anticipated book for the entire YEAR, not just August! Oh well, it is what it is. And besides, highlight or not, I am here to tell you that once again I adore Coates and I adored this book. And how could I not? It has cults, gore, feckless billionaires, and influencer culture all trapped on a tropical island!

It’s like it was written with me in mind! (source)

Coates takes her sweet time with “How Bad Things Can Get”, and I really liked having her lay all the groundwork for the surprises and horrors she had in store. We are following a couple of different threads in this book as a group of influencers and guests are invited to a private and secluded tropical island by Eton, a “Mr. Beast”-esque online influencer who has become a billionaire and has monetary prizes in store for his guests. Ruth is one of the guests with her boyfriend Zack, and she has a secret she is trying to hide from the rest of the world: she was the only survivor of a suicide cult called Petition. As she is trying to put the past behind her and start anew, this vacation is making her deeply nervous, and she feels like someone is keeping an eye on her. We also follow Petra, one of Eton’s most trusted employees, always there to tamp down scandal and to bolster positive news. We also follow the mysterious Logan, as he is looking for hints about what Eton is up to, and seems to be connecting the dots that something is wrong. At first I was worried it may be a bit much, but never fear, Coates knows what she is doing and as she sets the scene, we get a slow burn tension that hints at more cults, urban legends, and a tragedy that has haunted this island for generations. Ruth was the clear winner for me in terms of perspectives, as she is filled with pain and justified paranoia, but I felt like I wholly understood her and really got her background. And I felt for her when she was one of the few people realizing something was terribly wrong as the weekend and competition continues, but questions herself because of her trauma. I also enjoyed Petra, because following her meant that we could get at least a little insight into Eton without having to get a FULL look, which added to the mystery at hand of how much he knows and what he is hiding.

Coates knows her references, from Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate to Roanoke, and it all blends into a seriously nasty (in a good way) brew. It’s gory, it’s horrifying, and there were multiple moments where the imagery on the page completely jarred me and sent chills up my spine. The horror elements also feel a little like “Cannibal Holocaust”, though without the weird racist undertones or sexual violence that movie has. It’s relentless at times, but if you like some gross visceral horror it should be right up your alley. A lot of people have said it feels like Jonestown meets Fyrefest, and that’s a pretty good analogy that I am going to continue. And like I said, all of this is my catnip and I really, really loved it.

“How Bad Things Can Get” is a fun as hell and scary end of summer horror novel. This very well be my favorite of her books, and that’s some pretty stiff competition.

Rating 9: You got cults, you got a disingenuous billionaire, you got an influencer festival going full gorefest, and you got Darcy Coates. A perfect end of summer horror read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“How Bad Things Can Get” isn’t on many relevant Goodreads lists, but it would fit in on “Summer Horror Books”.

Kate’s Review: “A Spell to Wake the Dead”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “A Spell to Wake the Dead” by Nicole Lesperance

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Where Did I Get This Book: I received a hardcover from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Two teen girls must uncover the dark, occult secrets lurking in their Cape Cod town to solve a series of murders—and save themselves from the same fate—in this twisty, witchy thriller.

When Mazzy and her best friend Nora sneak down to the beach one moonlit night to cast a spell, they don’t expect to find a dead body. But as the tide rolls in, it carries the remains of a woman who is missing her hands and teeth.

The girls know they should leave the investigation to the police, but they can’t shake the weird, supernatural connection they feel with the dead woman. Using spellwork and divination, they set out to find answers of their own. But after they uncover a rash of local disappearances stretching back years—and both girls start having occult visions and hearing ghostly, whispering voices—Mazzy worries that she and Nora are in danger.

Then, Nora finds a second body. And a whispering voice is telling her where to find more. With everything spiraling, Mazzy needs to figure out who to trust and how to sever this supernatural connection—or she and Nora might be the next bodies to wash up on the beach.

Review: Thank you to Penguin Randomhouse for sending me a finished copy of this book!

We are approaching the end of August, and here in Minnesota the first big symbol of the end of summer is the Minnesota State Fair, which started a couple of days ago. Whenever it’s time for the fair, I know that means that Autumn is just around the corner, and my Fall loving self starts to get excited and emotional. It’s my very favorite time of year, where I steep in all the spooky and cozy and scary and witchy things. And just in time for the turning of the seasons is a very witchy and Autumnal feeling book, “A Spell to Wake the Dead” by Nicole Lesperance. Seriously, if you are jonesing for Autumn like I am, this is probably going to be the book for you, because it felt like the perfect read to kick off the upcoming Fall.

“A Spell to Wake the Dead” feels like “The Craft” meets “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”, as we have two dabbling in witchcraft teens Mazzy and Nora as our main focus, who find themselves in way over their heads when they stumble upon a body after casting a mysterious spell. The book grabbed me from the jump, with a creepy body, implied potential possession, and the hints of a witchcraft cult that dabbles in human sacrifice, all against the spooky and yet serene backdrop of Cape Cod. Lesperance knows how to set an eerie mood, and I could practically smell the sea salt and feel the ocean mists as I was reading the book. Oceanside witches aren’t as common as other witch tropes, so it was extra fun seeing Mazzy and Nora use the sea and its bounty in their spellwork and explorations. I also enjoyed seeing the more casual use of spellwork in this book, with Mazzy and Nora not just doing huge spells that lead to the finding of dead bodies and perhaps ghostly influences, but also references to anti-anxiety spells and more simple and practical uses for magic. It just helped make it feel like these are two teenage witches who are interested in spellwork in their every day lives, which made it feel more genuine.

As for the creepy stuff and the mystery at hand, it definitely reads like a YA story, which is definitely not a bad thing. It didn’t send shivers down my spine, but I did like the mystery as Mazzy and Nora are trying to figure out who killed ‘May’ (as Nora has been referring to the body they found thanks to a strange supernatural connection) and as they find MORE bodies and evidence of a witch cult. It had a good number of twists and turns, and while I was able to predict some things, other things were genuinely surprising to me as I was reading. The stakes felt like they were climbing at a well done rate, and while the end felt a little bit frazzled and chaotic in some ways, overall I thought that everything generally pays off. It’s not a terribly scary story, but if you want your Autumn reading to be more “Practical Magic” than “The Witch” this will scratch that itch.

“A Spell to Wake the Dead” is an enjoyable witchy tale, the perfect way to kick off Autumn. I’m ready to kick summer to the curb and this made my need for Fall all the more pressing.

Rating 7: A spooky and witchy tale that will properly kick off the Fall season, “A Spell to Wake the Dead” is fun and vibes filled YA dark fantasy.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Spell to Wake the Dead” is included on the Goodreads list “YA Novels of 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “A Game in Yellow”

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Book: “A Game in Yellow” by Hailey Piper

Publishing Info: S&S/Saga Press, August 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Euphoria meets Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke in this latest novel by the Bram Stoker Award–winning author Hailey Piper, following a couple whose search to spice up their sex life leads them down a path of madness.

A kink-fixated couple, Carmen and Blanca, have been in a rut. That is until Blanca discovers the enigmatic Smoke in an under-street drug den, who holds pages to a strange play, The King in Yellow. Read too much, and you’ll fall into madness. But read just a little and pull back, and it gives you the adrenaline rush of survivor’s euphoria, leading Carmen to fall into a game of lust at a nightmare’s edge.

As the line blurs between the world Carmen knows and the one that she visits after reading from the play, she begins to desire more time in this other world no matter what horrors she brings back with her.

Bram Stoker Award–winning author Hailey Piper masterfully blends horror, erotica, and psychological thriller in this captivating and chilling story.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this novel!

I hadn’t actually heard of “The King in Yellow”, a collection of short stories with a horror play at its center with the same name, until I had picked up Hailey Piper’s new erotic horror tale “A Game in Yellow”. I’m not sure how I missed it, as researching it more makes me feel like it would be something I’d enjoy, but this was certainly an interesting introduction with the backdrop of a queer BDSM couple falling under the erotic spell of a stranger with a creepy little play that can grant absolute pleasure or absolute madness. I’ve been meaning to read more Hailey Piper, and thought that this one sounded creepy and out there. Which was compelling to say that least.

Our protagonist is Carmen, a woman who is in love with her girlfriend Blanca but whose sexual appetites have stalled out, so much so that even their BDSM kink play isn’t doing it for her. But Blanca hooks them up with a mysterious woman named Smoke who has a mysterious play called “The King in Yellow” that makes the reader tread to the very edge of euphoric pleasure… though should the reader go too far they will fall into insanity. As Carmen reads more her urges become more insatiable and their sex life is saved, but obviously at what cost as things start to get more and more out of control in her life and her mind. This is a horror story, but it is also filled with a lot of eroticism and kink that didn’t really hold back. Piper is more than happy to put all of the sexual thriller elements on the page, and the kinkiness combines with the building dread in a way that makes the reader feel like the reading process could very well teeter into some kind of voyeuristic experience. Piper’s writing is gorgeous at times, even if it is unrelenting in some of the rawer and ‘uglier’ elements of this dangerous game that Carmen is playing as she chases the dragon.

As for the horror elements, this book is very, very strange and weird with so much anxiety as Carmen perhaps slowly descends into madness. I do love a good ‘is it something supernatural or just someone losing their mind?’ trope, and Piper is very clever with how she ever so deliberately takes her time as Carmen spirals and becomes more paranoid as well as more insatiable for the pages of “The King in Yellow”. I will say that I did find the tension building to be effective, but do wish that we had gotten to the really weird and nutty ending a bit faster, or at least had more in your face nuttiness as the story led up to it. I’m not sure if this would have been different had I been familiar with the source material, but as it was I felt like I was waiting a bit for the fireworks factory to finally show up. That being said, the ending was INCREDIBLE, so that basically makes up for any criticisms about the pacing up until that point. Piper goes out with a bang with this one and I was left gobsmacked.

“A Game in Yellow” is off putting and weird. I think that if you are a little wary of kink or eroticism it may not be a good fit, but if you have an open mind and like stressful and beautifully written high strangeness horror it may be a good one to check out.

Rating 7: A deeply weird erotic horror story that drips with strangeness, “A Game in Yellow” is kinky and tension filled.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Game in Yellow” is included on the Goodreads list “Queer Releases August 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “What Hunger”

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Book: “What Hunger” by Catherine Dang

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster, August 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC25.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nyugen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer’s Body and Little Fires Everywhere.

It’s the summer before high school, and Ronny Nguyen finds herself too young for work, too old for cartoons. Her days are spent in a small backyard, dozing off to trashy magazines on a plastic lawn chair. In stark contrast stands her brother Tommy, the pride and joy of their immigrant parents: a popular honor student destined to be the first in the family to attend college. The thought of Tommy leaving for college fills Ronny with dread, as she contemplates the quiet house she will be left alone in with her parents, Me and Ba.

Their parents rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the lens of food. The family’s meals are a tapestry of cultural memory: thick spring rolls with slim and salty nem chua, and steaming bowls of pho tái with thin, delicate slices of blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, Me and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.

But when tragedy strikes, Ronny’s world is upended. Her sense of self and her understanding of her family are shattered. A few nights later, at her first high school party, a boy crosses the line, and Ronny is overtaken by a force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for raw meat, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.

Review: Thank you to Simon and Schuster for giving me an ARC at ALAAC25!

I may not be looking in the right places, and maybe I don’t WANT to be seeking it out, thinking about it, but I haven’t read much cannibalism horror in all the years of doing this blog. I mean, there have been one or two, and it doesn’t really freak me out too badly as a sub-genre, but when I think of cannibalism horror tales I think of extreme horror or visceral horror, two kinds of horror I don’t really read much of. But who would have thought that my most recent cannibalism horror story would also be an exploration of the refugee experience, the barrier between immigrants and their first generation children, and violent misogyny perpetrated against teenage girls? Enter “What Hunger” by Catherine Dang, a book with an INCREDIBLE cover and a hard to ignore hook. Teenage girlhood can be hell, so why not throw in some consumption of human flesh on top of it?

The description of this book alludes to “Jennifer’s Body”, which is KIND OF correct? Ronny is definitely going through a lot and makes for a very sympathetic and easy to connect to protagonist. After she is sexually assaulted at a party (shortly after her older brother Tommy was killed in an accident that left her family in shambles), and after she bit her attacker and mangled his ear, she starts to have cravings and urges for raw meat, with a fixation on human flesh. She’s heard of stories of cannibalism, one even being connected to Vietnamese refugees desperate during a tragic escape attempt after the fall of Saigon, and as she deals with her trauma and grief, her rage translates into an urge and hunger she can’t seem to fight off. In that way it’s very “Jennifer’s Body”, but it stands on its own merits as well, exploring misogyny and sexual violence and revenge with a literal bite. It wasn’t so much scary as it was ‘good for her!’ as I was reading it, though admittedly some of the graphic descriptions of her chomping down on raw meat were gross as hell, but hey, that’s what we’re looking for, right? I do love feminine rage in a story and this one has oodles of it.

But aside from the cannibalism aspects, this is also a very tender tale about women, mothers and daughters, generational trauma, and refugees trying to make it in a new life when things seem incredibly stacked against them. Me and Ba both escaped from Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War, though the road to America and safety was paved with violence, loss, sacrifice, and terrible choices that had to be made. We see how Me and Ba have been compartmentalizing their trauma and putting so much into their children, foisting expectations upon them that feel heavy and impossible, and after Tommy dies their grief is that much more complicated. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the relationship between Ronny and Me is the one that takes the fastest and strongest root, and while they don’t understand each other’s perspectives in some things, when they DO start to try and understand each other it makes for an eerie, but incredibly heartfelt relationship that brought tears to my eyes multiple times.

“What Hunger” is a uniquely emotional horror tale that unnerves the reader and has a lot of rage, but also has a powerful message about familial ties that come under strain. I quite enjoyed it.

Rating 9: Unnerving, filled with feminist rage, and a strong emotional center about mothers and daughters navigating generational trauma, “What Hunger” is a satisfying horror tale with a fair amount of pathos and heart.

Reader’s Advisory:

“What Hunger” is included on the Goodreads lists “She’s A Little Bit Unstable”, and “Horror To Look Forward To in 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “Lucky Day”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Lucky Day” by Chuck Tingle

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, August 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Lucky Day is the newest novel of terror from Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Bury Your Gays, where one woman must go up against the most horrifying concept of all: nothing.

Vera is a survivor of a global catastrophe known as the Low Probability Event, but she definitely isn’t thriving. Once a passionate professor of statistics, she no longer finds meaning in anything at all.

But when problematic government agent Layne knocks on her door, she’s the only one who can help him uncover the connection between deadly spates of absurdity and an improbably lucky casino. What’s happening in Vegas isn’t staying there, and the world is at risk of another disaster.

When it comes to Chuck Tingle, the only thing more terrifying than a serious horror novel is an absurd one…

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this novel!

This may be a bit of a strange revelation, but I take three annual trips a year, in general. The first is to the North Shore on Lake Superior, and my husband, kid, and I like being on the lake and just having chill family time. The second, of course, is ALA, no matter where that may lead. The third, and more out of character one, is going to Las Vegas every year for my husband’s birthday celebration. Las Vegas is a weird town to me. It’s overwhelming and very self indulgent, and I’ve seen things there that remind me while Randall Flagg in Stephen King’s “The Stand” chose it for his home base. But I generally have a good time because I can make it into whatever I want it to be (aka poolside in the shade, a fun couple of nights out with friends, and in bed by ten with my stack of books). But I was cackling a bit as I was reading “Lucky Day” by Chuck Tingle, as a good deal of the action takes place in Las Vegas, and Tingle doesn’t hold back on the absurdity and arrogance of this city. Oh, and there are also existential ruminations and some “Final Destination”-esque deaths, making for a strange and entertaining read!

Chuck Tingle continues to surprise me as an author. I had been expecting another horror novel, and while there are certainly horror-esque moments in this book (with lots of gore and outlandish slasher-y deaths), this to me seems more like a Science Fiction story than an outright horror tale. Usually when this kind of thing happens I find myself unable to connect with the book (Science Fiction, man, it’s not really my bag, baby), but in the case of “Lucky Day” Tingle mostly kept me interested and I felt like I was reading a story that could have been in “The X-Files”, and I meant that in the most complimentary way. I love the concept of messing and tweaking with luck and fate and having to have an offset in some way, with a huge and absolutely devastating “Low Probability Event” (LPE) leading to millions of deaths in the most improbable ways (fish falling from the sky causing accidents, a chimp running loose through a diner in Chicago and mauling people, spontaneous combustion, and more!) and a survivor and a shady Government agent teaming up to investigate. I love how Tingle tweaks and twists with the idea of manipulating luck through various inter-dimensional means, but then showing an offset and a cost that is INCREDIBLY high.

And I enjoyed the time spent in Vegas as our survivor Vera and Agent Layne start to investigate the head honchos of a casino that promises their gamblers the best luck on the Strip. It is such a nailing of Vegas and the glitz, the gilded glamour, and the way that people can convince themselves that they, too, can be lucky and everything will work out, without seeing or dealing with any consequences of it (what happens in Vegas, after all). Until you have to deal with it because disaster after disaster is happening. The portrayal of Denver, the head of the incredibly lucky casino, is spot on to what I would expect from a powerful player in a Vegas casino in the modern age, and her disingenuous nature and plastered on smile and charm made her easy to root against but was a fun characterization all the same. I also really liked Vera, our traumatized but still quite logic based statistician who lost so much in the LPE as she has to force herself to care again, and gets sucked more and more into probabilities, dimension rifts, and Nothingness versus Everything. Layne was a little more of a mixed bag for me character wise, and I felt like we got some reveals that didn’t make as much sense as they could have, but that’s a quibble when other parts of this were so strong.

So perhaps it was more Sci-Fi than I was anticipating, but I still found “Lucky Day” to be creative and enjoyable. I’m trying to get my husband to listen to the audiobook on the way to Vegas for his birthday in a few weeks.

Rating 8: Incredibly existential, out there, and creative, “Lucky Day” is the boldest story from Chuck Tingle yet!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Lucky Day” is included on the Goodreads lists “Bisexual Books of 2025”, and “2025 Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction”.