This book feels like a debut, in the sense that it’s raw and somewhat promising, but ultimately it ended up being unpolished. I was truly shocked to find out that this is one of seven published works for Brinn. There’s a lot here that caught my attention at first: an incredibly dark premise, graphic and…
Tag: horror
“Hungerstone” Kat Dunn
This book had such a strong foundation of gothic atmosphere, eerie pacing, and an emotionally layered approach to horror, but it ultimately didn’t land for me in the way I hoped. I loved the moodiness, the slow burn, and the ghost-drenched tone of it all. Kat Dunn is clearly talented when it comes to building…
“The Girls in the Snow” Stacy Green
A chilling, atmospheric thriller with just the right touch of horror, The Girls in the Snow is a solid start to a promising series. It’s gripping without feeling overly dramatic, eerie without relying on cheap scares, and paced in a way that keeps you engaged without feeling exhausted by the tension. What makes this book…
“Phantasma” Kaylie Smith
Phantasma is a book that pulls you in with its lush, gothic atmosphere and unique premise, but doesn’t quite deliver the punch I wanted it to. A solid 3.75-star read that I’ll round up to 4 for the sake of its ambition, it’s a novel that thrives in aesthetics but occasionally loses its grip on…
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
There’s something irresistible about a thriller set in an isolated location, and In a Dark, Dark Wood delivers exactly that. Ruth Ware takes a seemingly harmless hen-do weekend and transforms it into a tense, slow-burning nightmare where nothing is quite as it seems. The writing is atmospheric and immersive, pulling you straight into the cold,…
“Ask for Andrea” Noelle W. Ihli
Noelle W. Ihli crafts an eerie, unsettling, and deeply compelling narrative that illuminates both sides of what’s normally a one-sided tale: murder. The way she chooses to tell this story is what makes it stand out the most. Rather than a straightforward thriller, she gives us something more intricate, weaving together the voices of Meghan,…
“Never Have I Ever” Joshilyn Jackson
I went into Never Have I Ever with high hopes, only to be met with an overwhelming sense of disappointment. While the premise promised intrigue and depth, the execution fell flat. The characters felt more like cardboard cutouts than fully realized people; cliched and two-dimensional, offering nothing fresh or compelling to latch onto. The plot…
“Lights Out” Navessa Allen
I picked Lights Out by Navessa Allen up after seeing a TikTok describing the MMC (only referred to as MMC to keep the spoiler at bay) as less “sexy brooding Batman” and more “pink LEGO Batman.” That description was so hilariously specific I couldn’t resist… and let me tell you, it was spot on. Yes,…
“Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke” Eric LaRocca
A novella that grips you by the throat and refuses to let go, Eric LaRocca’s Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a masterclass in unsettling storytelling. It’s the kind of book that leaves a pit in your stomach, a lingering unease you can’t quite shake. LaRocca crafts an intimate horror that crawls…
“Exquisite Corpse” Poppy Z. Brite
Poppy Z. Brite delivers a fever dream of horror in Exquisite Corpse, blending the grotesque with the beautiful in a way that only they can. This book is visceral, disturbing, and unapologetically macabre. But beneath the blood and brutality lies something undeniably magnetic. As a queer reader, I was especially drawn to how Brite weaves…
A Tempest Storm 