A curse. A castle. Strange noises in the dark. What could possibly go wrong?
Thirteen authors explore the chilling theme of Gothic Literature with a modern twist. In this collection you will find fairytale retellings, folklore, and atmospheric settings bound to seduce as much as it unsettles.
Stories included:
Strega by Azzurra Nox
The Howling Places by L.E. Daniels
Moonlight Sonata by Grace R. Reynolds
Green Eyes by DW Milton
Kiss Me To Sleep by Pauline Yates
Ring of Blood, Ring of Ashes by Jasmine De La Paz
Please Serve Cold by Rachel Bolton
Thief of Dreams by Elana Gomel
The Secret of Thornwick Hall by Alyson Faye
Becoming The Deathless by Joni Chng
The Lady and the Viper by Kay Hanifen
Ladylike by TM Lunn
The Awakening of Prince Tristan by Marnie Azzarelli
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A haunted woman stalked by a serial killer confronts the horrors of fairy tales and the nightmares of real life in a breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by a Bram Stoker Award–winning author.
It started the night journalist Briar Thorne’s mother died in their rambling old mansion on Chicago’s South Side.
The nightmares of a woman in white pleading to come home, music switched on in locked rooms, and the panicked fear of being swallowed by the dark…Bri has almost convinced herself that these stirrings of dread are simply manifestations of grief and not the beyond-world of ghostly impossibilities her mother believed in. And more tangible terrors still lurk outside the decaying Victorian greystone.
A serial killer has claimed the lives of fifty-one women in the Chicago area. When Bri starts researching the murders, she meets a stranger who tells her there’s more to her sleepless nights than bad dreams—they hold the key to putting ghosts to rest and stopping a killer. But the killer has caught on and is closing in, and if Bri doesn’t answer the call of the dead soon, she’ll be walking among them.
GRADE: A
REVIEW:
Briar Rose is devastated by her mother’s death. She can’t seem to focus on her work, nor can she sleep. The first few chapters are a slow fever dream of insomnia perpetuated by grief. But once we meet the serial killer and his intentions to capture and kill Briar so that he can add her to his collection of “beauties” the book really shifts to a faster gear.
I loved the intertwining of Chicago history with the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty. The prose was very dreamy-like and evocative, creating clear images in your mind, but also allowing you to feel Briar’s frequent dream sequences that interweave with the past and present. I really liked Isaac, a man she befriends on one of her walks that helps her use her dreams as a way to find out the truth about the past that can also help with the present, and help find out who the killer is. This isn’t your typical plot-driven thriller, but more a psychological supernatural character driven one. Pelayo masterfully weaves horror, fairytale, and true crime into this novel in ways that couldn’t be pulled off by a less skilled author.
The reader is quickly sucked into the mystery of trying to figure out who the killer is, why Briar has been seeing an older gentleman passing by her home for many years, and who exactly is Mary – the famous ghost known was the Vanishing Hitchhiker of Archer Avenue. There are moments when walking with Briar along the most haunted places in Chicago that the reader can’t help but feel more terror for the characters encountering live people on their trail than any ghosts – as Pelayo likes to remind us that very often it’s people who are the real monsters, and not the supernatural.
This is a must-read for those who love fairytale retellings with a modern, true-crime twist to it. If you have enjoyed Pelayo’s previous books, then you will love this one a lot, as she has truly mastered her literary brand of intertwining magical realism with the grittiness of true crime. Read this for a haunted, and unforgettable experience.
*Thank you so much to NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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“The taint is upon you. You can run, but never hide. Evil will find you.”
PLOT SUMMARY:
Aspiring musician Ruby Tucker has had enough of her small rural town and dysfunctional family. But a falling out with her best friend and bandmate has killed her dreams of escaping and making it big in the Atlanta punk scene.
While helping her eccentric neighbor organize his religious artifacts, an ancient ring clamps down on her finger—possessing her with the spirit of a blood-thirsty demon. There’s no exorcizing it unless hundreds of people chant a spell to set Ruby free. And what’s worse, the ring is a beacon for evil, drawing an unimaginably wicked mob straight to Ruby, hungry for her flesh.
If Ruby can get her band back together, she has a shot at salvation. It’s time for her to face the music and put her whole soul into a song—one powerful enough to raise some Hell.
GRADE: A
REVIEW:
This was such a fun read! By fun I mean that it was adventurous (there was a road trip) and filled with awesome friendships and some incredibly scary scenes! Ruby is looking after an older gentleman when she gets caught up in the occult. The older gentleman is posed with trying to destroy a ring that causes people to be possessed by an evil entity, but when looking through the old man’s artifacts one day, Ruby becomes intrigued by a ring and the moment she puts it on, she can no longer remove it.
The only person who can help her is in Atlanta, which coincidentally is also where her best friend moved to a year ago – so Ruby decides to go. In between all of this, she is possessed but also trying to not give in to the evil that’s starting to brew in her.
And if that wasn’t enough, a serial killer is also on their trail – wanting to kill Ruby because he’s grown fixated with her.
I loved how the book explored the importance and power of music and how sometimes punk rock can truly save your soul.
This was a fast paced novel told in various POV, but my favorite was Ruby’s. She was the beating heart of this novel and as much as the novel dealt with some truly dark things, I did love the comic reliefs portions of the book too. Read this if you’re into Jewish Mysticism, occult, and a new take on possession.
*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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Ivory’s life changes irrevocably when she discovers the body of Cabrina Brite on the sands of Cape Morning, along with a mysterious poem. How did she die, and why does it seem she was trying to swim to Ghost Cat Island, the center of so many local mysteries?
Desperate to uncover the answers surrounding Cabrina’s death, and haunted by her discovery, Ivory begins to see the pale ghost of Cabrina, only to shake it off as a mere hallucination. But Ivory is not alone. Cabrina’s closest friends have also seen a similar apparition, and as they toy with occult possibilities, they begin to unravel the truth behind Cabrina’s death.
Because Cape Morning isn’t a ghost town, but a town filled with ghosts, and Ivory is about to discover just what happens when you let one in.
GRADE: A-
REVIEW:
This isn’t your typical vampire novel – Piper brings new lore and a fresh take to the undead and I’m here for it. It’s visceral and raw as it explores the theme of identity. Cape Morning is a small island with not many residents. Tourists flock the island during the summer months, but in the winter the island is less populated. Ivory is a trans woman who lives by the sea, and one morning after swimming sees the body of Cabrina Brite. She soon finds herself enthralled by the mystery of what exactly happened to Cabrina and what caused her to die. The mystery is well done and what kept my interest throughout the novel. I really liked the chapters from Cabrina’s diary. Ivory pushes herself to the brink, endangering herself at times in order to seek out the truth. Then there’s Cabrina’s friends, who, grief-stricken will do anything to find out the mystery that surrounds her death too, even if it means tinkering with the occult.
There’s brutal violence, but told in a way that almost comes across as poetic. I loved how the vampires in this novel were linked to cats and the island Ghost Cat Island. This is a new vibrant take on the vampire lore, and if you love Gothic literature, the gothic vibes are at an all time high in this one. The pages are filled with a brimming rage – but will also break your heart in unexpected ways. A must-read if you love well-rounded characters, diverse horror, atmospheric horror, and can’t get enough of vampires.
*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
This movie is phenomenally dark and chaotically twisty. And Kyle confirms himself as the Horror King. Go in blind and enjoy the crazy ride!
Long Legs
FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes an unexpected turn, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.
Oz Perkins may be one of my recent fave directors. Every movie of his has been a major hit for the horror genre, and with Long Legs you get the bonus of Nickolas Cage and Horror Queen Maika Monroe.
Oddity
After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.
For a shoestring budget, this movie packs a brutal punch and has the best jumpscare in a long time. You may want to check out Damia McCarthy’s previous film Caveat.
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This wasn’t your usual horror movie – it has body horror, but it’s not horrific until you begin to hear the shriek the monster emits. Hunter Schafer is seventeen-year-old Gretchen who has recently lost her mother and had to relocate with her dad and his new family. She’s not keen on this, especially when they start living in the German Alps and she’s far from her US friends and the life she had there.
Dan Stevens plays the odd, Herr Konig (her dad’s boss) who fixates on her deaf sister Alma. He also offers Gretchen a job at his resort, but insists that she doesn’t work the night shift. Obviously, since this is a horror movie, we find out why when her co-worker asks Gretchen to cover her nightshift.
The movie is a mix of 70’s giallo but as the film progresses and Gretchen acquires more and more wounds, you begin to wonder how she’s going to final girl her way out of this predicament when she looks absolutely massacred. The unease that the characters feel in the movie due to the monster can be felt by the audience. When the monster shrieks, the audience cringes too as the sound is so offputting that you want it to stop. When the characters get stuck in a time loop, the audience feels just as disorientated, trying to figure out if the loop is going to continue or it’s going to end.
Cuckoo isn’t your typical horror movie, and it may not be the type of movie one might enjoy if your flavor of horror is Blumhouse horrors. But if you enjoy weird horror movies that are doing something interesting with the genre, then this might be up your alley.
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Hanna is no stranger to dark thoughts: as a young child, she tried to murder her own mother. But that was more than sixteen years ago. And extensive therapy—and writing letters to her younger brother—has since curbed those nasty tendencies.
Now twenty-four, Hanna is living an outwardly normal life of domestic content. Married to real estate agent Jacob, she’s also stepmother to his teenage daughter Joelle. They live in a beautiful home, and Hanna loves her career as a phlebotomist—a job perfectly suited to her occasional need to hurt people.
But when Joelle begins to change in ways that don’t suit Hanna’s purposes, her carefully planned existence threatens to come apart. With life slipping out of her control, Hanna reverts to old habits, determined to manipulate the events and people around her. And the only thing worse than a baby sociopath is a fully grown one.
GRADE: B-
REVIEW:
This novel is the highly anticipated sequel to Baby Teeth. When we left Hanna at the end of the first book, she was sent to an institution for troubled girls – when we meet Hanna as an adult she’s a phlebtomist, where she uses her job as a means to exact pain whenever she feels stressed on her patients. One day she meets a widowed father with a young girl and soon she marries him and becomes a stepmother. Hanna lives a very structured and mundane life, but she’s happy, until her stepdaughter becomes pregnant. This event triggers her to the point that her past sociopathic tendencies reemerge. While I found this novel very fast paced and I did like adult Hanna a lot, I kind of expected more. What I mean is that child Hanna was way more deranged than adult Hanna, and I know that adult Hanna was trying to avoid ever having to go to prison, but I kind of wished that she would’ve been more dangerous if that makes sense? I did like how the novel ended – Hanna deserved to get rid of all those terrible people in her life.
If you read the first book you might like this sequel, although this book can be read as a standalone. I don’t know if this book was much of a thriller, so if you’re into thrillers where you’re worried about any of the characters dying, this isn’t that sort of thriller. I do enjoy Stage’s novels overall, but do feel that she fills her novels with too many mundane events and details that don’t really add to the story.
*Thank you so much to NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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I have scratches on my thighs when I get out of bed the next morning.
PLOT SUMMARY:
Iðunn is in yet another doctor’s office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something’s not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven’t revealed any cause.
When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.
Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .
What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?
GRADE: A
REVIEW:
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book from an Icelandic author so I was curious about that going in. I love how the language used is direct and to the point, and the short chapters allow the story to move at a fast paced rhythm. The plot is very intriguing and mysterious, as you the reader, along with the protagonist have no idea what’s going on and what exactly is happening to her every time she falls asleep. Is she sleepwalking? Why is she waking up with bruises? Why does she feel like she has spent all night walking or lifting?
Iðunn doesn’t know what’s happening to her, and neither does the reader. It’s a dark, twisty journey and you can’t stop reading wanting to know exactly what’s going on. If you love short books, this may be exactly what you need, as it’s almost 200 pages.
The prose is sparse, but you get the feeling of loneliness and isolation that plagues Iðunn like a haunted specter. From the first page, you will be sucked into this dark tunnel of no return and yet you cannot stop, because you need to know.
I recommend this book if you love mysterious, quiet horror and enjoy short books and chapters.
*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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The directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan is trying to fill her father’s footsteps in this twisty dark film. Dakota Fanning is Mina, a haunted American artist who lives in Ireland, away from her twin sister who tries to get in touch with her, but she ignores. One day her boss from the pet shop asks her to take a parrot to a remote area of Belfast and unbeknownst to Mina, it’s an area that’s notorious for people going missing. When her car stops in the middle of the forest, she has no choice but to try to find help.
In the forest, she meets another group of people who have been missing for several months but haven’t been able to leave the forest. At night, strange creatures haunt the forest and the group tells her they cannot be outside during that time. The bunker they call “The Coop” has a mirrored wall, where the strange creatures they refer to as “The Watchers” spend hours of the night gazing at them.
The movie has a mysterious atmosphere and the cinematography of the forest is very visually captivating. However, the movie loses its charm somewhere along the way when we’re spoonfed exactly what the creatures are and shots of them are shown. Somehow, the film worked best when “The Watchers” were mysterious beings we knew little about.
I can see why this film flopped at the theatres, but it’s okay to watch on streaming for its strong performances (Fanning is excellent) and original twist. It’s currently streaming on MAX.
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We are all just dry tinder. And eventually we will all burn.
PLOT SUMMARY:
A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust. Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin.
GRADE: A
REVIEW:
American Rapture is a complete departure from Maeve Fly regarding protagonists. Maeve is violent and kinky while Sophie is a tender-hearted virgin. The apocalypse is here and it comes in the form of a virus that causes those infected to become sexually feral. Sophie goes on a wild road trip across the Midwest in search of her brother but also tries to outrun a virus that is infecting everyone. While the virus sounds horrific (because the person dies a few days later after being infected), the real horror is how Sophie was brought up. Sophie had a very strict Catholic upbringing that had her parents not allowing her to watch television or read books they didn’t approve of. Her descriptions of her upbringing – the constant fear, guilt, and shame are scary (and can understand why people decided to remove themselves from religion when that is what is being preached). I guess for me, despite being Catholic, I was raised very liberal and so never understood the restrictions some of my friends had (I’ve also noticed that Italian Catholics are more chill cause Roman paganism still hovers predominately over us). This is to say that the most horrific things that happen in this novel are caused by the religious cult and misogynistic men – which are very real horrors (and ones we deal with in our own lives). If you enjoyed movies like Zombieland, you will love this novel as the group of characters get to visit and stay in some really fun Midwestern locations (I was having a blast Googling and finding pix of these crazy but cool places!). This book will make you feel all the feelings – but there are enough horrific, gory scenes for the extreme horror lovers out there. I really loved reading this and going on this wild ride, and Leede always lands her endings in ways that are hard to beat. This is a phenomenal novel that is jam-packed with emotion and grit, and never a dull moment in sight.
I recommend this book if you love horror that leans on cults, conspiracy theories, pandemics, and zombies (although not entirely zombies, what happens to the infected is close enough).
*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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The Inkblotters 