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Exciting Summer Book Releases You Won’t Want To Miss!

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Summer has so many new book releases, that I’m looking forward to these titles so very much. Many of these I’ve already read ARCs for, so I’ll be thrilled to pick up physical copies to add to my ever-growing library once they’re out into the world.

Here are a few of my fave Summer picks:

MISTER MAGIC BY KIERSTEN WHITE

Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic.  

But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has. 

Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better than anyone has since. 

After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap? 

Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship. . . .

101 HORROR BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU’RE MURDERED BY SADIE HARTMANN

Curious readers and fans of monsters and the macabre, get ready to bulk up your TBR piles! Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann has curated the best selection of modern horror books, including plenty of deep cuts. Indulge your heart’s darkest desires to be terrified, unsettled, disgusted, and heartbroken with stories that span everything from paranormal hauntings and creepy death cults to small-town terrors and apocalyptic disasters. Each recommendation includes a full synopsis as well as a quick overview of the book’s themes, style, and tone so you can narrow down your next read at a glance. Featuring a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Josh Malerman and five brand-new essays from rising voices in the genre, this illustrated reader’s guide is perfect for anyone who dares to delve into the dark.

EVERYTHING THE DARKNESS EATS BY ERIC LAROCCA

An insidious darkness threatens to devastate a rural New England village when occult forces are conjured and when bigotry is left unrestrained.

After a recent string of disappearances in a small Connecticut town, a grieving widower with a grim secret is drawn into a dangerous ritual of dark magic by a powerful and mysterious older gentleman named Heart Crowley. Meanwhile, a member of local law enforcement tasked with uncovering the culprit responsible for the bizarre disappearances soon begins to learn of a current of unbridled hatred simmering beneath the guise of the town’s idyllic community—a hatred that will eventually burst and forever change the lives of those who once found peace in the quiet town of Henley’s Edge.

THE BEAST YOU ARE: STORIES BY PAUL TREMBLAY

A haunting collection of short fiction from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club, A Head Full of Ghosts, and The Cabin at the End of the World.

Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push the boundaries of storytelling itself. The fifteen pieces in this brilliant collection, The Beast You Are, are all monsters of a kind, ready to loudly (and lovingly) smash through your head and into your heart.

In “The Dead Thing,” a middle-schooler struggles to deal with the aftermath of her parents’ substance addictions and split. One day, her little brother claims he found a shoebox with “the dead thing” inside. He won’t show it to her and he won’t let the box out of his sight. In “The Last Conversation,” a person wakes in a sterile, white room and begins to receive instructions via intercom from a woman named Anne. When they are finally allowed to leave the room to complete a task, what they find is as shocking as it is heartbreaking.

The title novella, “The Beast You Are,” is a mini epic in which the destinies and secrets of a village, a dog, and a cat are intertwined with a giant monster that returns to wreak havoc every thirty years.

A masterpiece of literary horror and psychological suspense, The Beast You Are is a fearlessly imagined collection from one of the most electrifying and innovative writers working today.

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Review: The Creme X Hello Kitty Apple of My Eye

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What It Is: Eye mask

What it does: Hydrates eyes and diminishes fine lines.

Active Ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen, and Apple Essence.

Verdict: First of all, these eye masks are incredibly cute. Who doesn’t love Hello Kitty, right? Secondly, these eye masks are made in Korea, and when it comes to skincare, Korea knows what’s up. These eye masks did what they promised to do, and that is it left my eye area feeling very hydrated and refreshed. I highly recommend this if you’re dealing with eye bags or need a pick me up. The only con about this eye mask is that I prefer gel ones and these are sheet masks.

Price: $4.99

Where To Buy It: Target, World Market, and Sephora

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Excerpt: The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon

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CHAPTER ONE

The sharp sound of a high-pitched scream filled the air. A noise so unrecognizable, at first I didn’t register it had come from deep within me, traveling up my throat in stealth mode before bursting from my mouth.

The remnants of the yell reverberated around the car, forcing their way into my ears and penetrating my skull, urging me to do something. Survival instincts kicked in, and I fumbled with the seatbelt, my other hand grasping for the door handle. The need for the relative safety that solid, stationary ground would bring was so intense it made my stomach heave. A loud click of the central locking system meant my captor had outsmarted me again, obliterating my immediate plan to throw myself from the moving vehicle.

When I looked out the windshield, I knew there was no time to find an alternate escape. The end of the road—the edge of the cliff—announced by signs and broken red-and-white-striped wooden barricades, had been far enough away seconds ago but now gleamed in the car’s headlights, a looming warning yards ahead. I couldn’t comprehend what was about to happen, couldn’t do anything as the vehicle kept going, splintering planks and racing out the other side with nothing but air below. I let out another scream, far louder than my first, the absolute terror exploding from my lungs.

For the briefest of moments, we were suspended, as if this was a magic trick or an elaborate roller coaster. Perhaps, if I were really lucky, this was all a dream. Except I already knew there were no smoke and mirrors, no swirling track leading us through loop-the-loops and to safety. It wasn’t a nightmare I’d wake from with bedsheets wrapped around my sweaty body. This was happening. It was all terrifyingly real.

As the car continued its trajectory, it tipped forward. The only thing to stop our momentum was whatever we were rushing toward, obscured by the cloudy night skies. Pushing my heels into the floor, I tried to flatten my shoulders against the seat. My hands scrambled for the ceiling to brace myself, but I flopped like a rag doll, my loosened seatbelt tearing into my shoulder.

They say your life flashes before you when you’re close to death. That didn’t happen to me. Instead, it was all my regrets. Choices I’d made. Not made. Things I’d said and done. Not said. Not done. It was far too late to make amends. There would be no opportunity to beg anyone for forgiveness. No possibility of offering some.

As the finality of the situation hit me full on, I turned my head. The features of the driver next to me were illuminated in a blueish glint from the dashboard lights. His face had set in a stony grimace; his jaw clenched so tight he had to have shattered teeth. But what frightened me the most were his eyes, filled with what could only be described as maniacal delight.

He’d said we were both going to die. As the car hurtled to the bottom of the cliff, I closed my eyes and accepted he was right.

***

Excerpted from The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon, Copyright © 2023 by Hannah McKinnon. Published by MIRA Books.

PURCHASE THE NOVEL HERE!!

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Review: Glow Recipe Guava Vitamin C Bright-Eye Gel Cream

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What It Is: A brightening and depuffing eye cream.

What It Does: Brightens, depuffs, and hydrates the eye area.

Active Ingredients: Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Peptides, and green caffeine.

Verdict: First things first, I loved the consistency of this cream. It’s not too thick and not too thin either. But I also wouldn’t necessarily call it a gel, as it is more of a cream. Now, I have no delusions that this cream would solve my dark eye circles because mine are hereditary, but I do like that it kind of helped (or at least they weren’t as noticeable). Apart from this, the cream is very hydrating and you wake up feeling your eye area is nourished and refreshed. I’ve only been using it at night, so I don’t know how it holds up beneath makeup. Although, since it isn’t greasy, I’d venture that it would do well under concealer. I’ve been wanting to try out Glow Recipe products and was excited that Ipsy had this in their Glam Icon Box this month. I did like this eye cream but overall I wasn’t obsessed with it, but for the price point it is a good investment.

Price: $38

Where To Buy It: Sephora, Ulta, or https://www.glowrecipe.com/

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Book Review: Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

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Do I have to smash a glass over the head of every single man I come into contact with, just so I leave a fucking mark?

PLOT SUMMARY

Exiled from the art world and on sabbatical from her dead-end bar job, Irina obsessively takes explicit photographs of the average-looking men she persuades to model for her, scouted from the streets of Newcastle.

But her talent has not gone unnoticed, and Irina is invited to display her work at a fashionable London gallery. It is a chance to revive her career and escape from the rut of drugs, alcohol, and extreme cinema she’s fallen into. Yet the news instead triggers a self-destructive tailspin, centered around Irina’s consuming relationship with her best friend, and a shy young man from her local supermarket who has attracted her attention. . . .

GRADE: A

REVIEW

If Patrick Bateman were a hot girl living in Newcastle upon Tyne, he’d definitely be Irina Sturges. Despite being a narcissistic and deeply flawed individual, Irina is a trainwreck you simply can’t take your eyes off of. You’re compelled to continue reading what degrading things she has her so-called “models” do in the name of art, as she takes photos of them. I loved how every photograph she had saved unlocked new memories and we got to see what she had been up to in those years prior to us, readers, getting to know her. Clark’s writing is razor sharp, and although we can agree that Irina isn’t the best person and her relationships are all terrible (her mother is evil, her best friend is awful, and the men in her life are either simps or losers), you can’t help but feel some bit of empathy in the way that she’s the way she is because both society and her interactions with people have shaped her in this way (I don’t want to delve too much into her past because of *spoilers* ).

The horror isn’t smack dab in your face, but it’s there and it’s vicious when it comes to the surface. But overall, this is a crazy adventure of human depravity, looking for artistic approval, and trying to leave a mark in the world however fucked up that may be. I totally recommend this if you loved books such as American Psycho, Maeve Fly, and Into The Miso Soup.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Poetry: Goodbye, 1999

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Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Twenty years, and we’re still waiting

For the moment we were promised

Big changes were in the air

But our good intentions were a route to hell

January was grey as I listened to my favorite song

And some days I still long

For those teenage mornings on the quad

Smoking Camels with the cheer squad

Goodbye, 1999

The planes are falling from the sky

We were ready for a party

Glitter dress and tinsel toes

The cops fucked up and took us home.

And from the backseat I sang,

“Goodbye, 1999….tonight’s gonna be

my final night….tonight’s gonna be….”

Fire and smoke, it was on the news

Didn’t you see those towers burn?

There’s no spark or fuse

Only lessons to be learned.

But I don’t know how to move on

I keep looking backwards – whiplash

It was the summer of hate and the autumn of dawn

Show me again how you monster mash

Goodbye, 1999

The planes are falling from the sky

We were ready for a party

Glitter dress and tinsel toes

The cops fucked up and took us home.

And from the backseat I sang,

“Goodbye, 1999….tonight’s gonna be

my final night, tonight’s gonna be…..”

We’re a generation stuck in the past

Not knowing that our youth isn’t gonna last

They robbed our dreams and killed our souls

And we forgot to rock and roll

Mary had a little lamb,

But now she doesn’t give a damn

Dead and bloody – the lamb is gone

And we’ve forgotten the holy song

Goodbye, 1999

The planes are falling from the sky

We were ready for a party

Glitter dress and tinsel toes

The cops fucked up and took us home.

And from the backseat I sang,

“Goodbye, 1999….tonight’s gonna be

my final night, tonight’s gonna be…..”

I met a boy with a sad smile

I asked him to stay with me for awhile

But his feelings are shook – misunderstood

One day he walked into his Science lab

And fired a gun – a girl fell, holding a hall tab

Nothing’s been the same since Columbine

Little hearts carved on the table, SG forever mine.

We didn’t need a Nixon, we had a Bush

We had endless wars and thousands dead

We’ve spent our youth in Swedish beds

And sleepless nights in H&M

Just so we could push and push

And I’m singing, “Goodbye, 1999.”

The planes are falling from the sky

I was promised a party

Glitter dress and tinsel toes

But the cops fucked up and took me home.

And from the backseat I’m still singing,

“Goodbye 1999….tonight’s gonna be

my final night, tonight’s gonna be the night….

The night I die.”

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Book Review: Monstrilio by Gerardo Samano Cordova

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I wanted to eat them all…

PLOT SUMMARY

Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago’s lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family’s decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses—though curbed by his biological and chosen family’s communal care—threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life.

GRADE: A

REVIEW:

What’s there not to like about this book? It was a beautiful family drama with hints of Gothic horror almost. When two parents lose their only child at a young age, the mother, Magos, simply can’t grieve the same way her husband does, and decides to go back to Mexico City. Once there, her mother’s housekeeper tells her a tale of how someone was able to get back someone they lost, and Magos takes that to heart. This is when the story truly takes off, and we’ll go on a journey with this family over the years and over various cities such as Mexico City, New York City, and Berlin. I loved that the book was written from the POV of four different characters, and it wasn’t in alternated chapters, no, you spent several years with each character and you go to see how they grew and how they felt. This was a really moving story, and I love how the “monster” in question wasn’t shown to be evil but at the same time, he couldn’t shirk away from his true nature. This is a beautiful tale of unconditional love, grief, loss, and family. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves quirky, dark films but with heart, such as Edward Scissorhands.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Zando for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Book Review: The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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Such a pair we make. I don’t know what I’m going to do either, what with the kingdom being eaten to nothing.

PLOT SUMMARY

You may think you know how the fairy tale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now, her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes.

On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and the three “saints” who control them.

The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruelest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive.

GRADE: C-

REVIEW

I truly wanted to love this novella, because I’m a huge fan of mermaids in general and the premise sounded so damn exhilarating and dark. However, same as the previous book I read from this author, Nothing But Blackened Teeth, the purple prose made the reading experience truly tedious. Yes, I can understand trying to make the text sound old-timey when the protagonists are a killer mermaid and Plague Doctor, but one can do that without continually using words that are obscure to mean simple concepts. If there were a few thrown in the text it wouldn’t be so terrible, but the fact that the short novella was littered with them, it truly took away from the reading experience. I will say that I loved the ending and it truly aches me that the novella was kind of dull until then. This novella could’ve been so much more, especially if it hadn’t begun in medias res, but we would’ve gotten a bit more history or flashbacks of what went on prior to the mermaid running away with the Plague Doctor. The ending was truly beautiful and it’s sad that this story couldn’t have been so much more. The author is talented and has excellent ideas, but executing them seems to be an issue. I don’t know if I’ll read another work from this author since this is the second one I’ve read and wasn’t truly a fan. Maybe I’m not the right audience, but many people who love horror did enjoy this novella, so I don’t want to discourage you from checking it out.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Review: Kate Somerville +Retinol Vitamin C Moisturizer

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What It Is: A retinol and Vitamin-C-infused moisturizer that visibly smooths, hydrates, and brightens for radiant, refreshed skin.

What It Does: Resurfaces, firms, and brightens skin during sleep.

Active Ingredients: Retinol, Vitamin-C, and Wild Gooseberry Extract

Verdict: I’m a big fan of Kate Somerville skincare products because not only are they effective but have some of the best ingredients for your skin. This moisturizer is no different. From the very first moment that I applied this I was in LOVE. The texture is rich and hydrating but also lightweight and not greasy. I saw results within a few days where small dark spots from previous blemishes visibly vanished and helped even out my skintone. I know it’s on the pricier side, but at the same time, it’s very effective and you only need a dime-size amount for your whole face. I highly recommend adding this moisturizer as a step in your night time skincare routine.

Price: $110

Where To Buy It: Sephora, https://www.katesomerville.com/

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Book Review: Narcissus by Adam Godfrey

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If the remainder of your life was only as long as your ability to avoid your own reflection, how long would you last?

PLOT SUMMARY:

An hour? A day? Perhaps a week?

It’s been said that at the core of every legend lies a seed of truth. For four American tourists vacationing in Greece, this is a lesson learned the hard way.

When the group sets out to find a subterranean pool that’s rumored to be the one by which the demi-god Narcissus once wasted away in self-obsession, what started as a fun excursion quickly escalates into a full-blown nightmare. After looking into the waters of the pool, they come to find their own reflections have become infected by an ancient evil. As they’re picked off one-by-one by a malevolence that resides in the reflective world, those remaining race to find a way to bring the nightmare to an end before it takes them all.

In the meantime, all they’ll have to do is avoid their own reflections.

GRADE: A-

REVIEW:

I’ve always been a big fan of Greek mythology, so I was totally pulled into the premise of this novella. What I love best about novellas is that we’re pulled right into the action, the friends are looking for a secret cave that has the famous waters that Narcissus gazed upon. Only these waters are cursed, and the four friends soon find out that going there was a huge mistake. The deaths were really gory and I liked the myth behind the reasoning as to how the curse worked. I can see this novella becoming a horror movie, it would be cool to see, especially one death in particular that was the most extreme/gory and happened at the beach. This is a fast-paced horror that explores insecurities that we all may have, through the lens of a curse and the demi-god Narcissus. A must for fans of Greek mythology and vacation horror.

*Thank you so much to Night Worms and Shortwave publisher for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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