en-US Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:25:05 -0700 60 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 245319691 Bluebeard gets a gothic horror and sapphic romance twist in this fairytale retelling from the author of Serial Killer Support Group and Trad Wife.

A young ceramic artist moves into her new wife’s isolated manor and gets drawn into dark discoveries that stain her marriage—and her very soul.

Artist Poppy Reed doesn’t care if others think her marriage to Celia Marie Fox, a wealthy art dealer, is impulsive. Sure, they’ve only known each other for six months, and Celia has an infamous romantic reputation, but Poppy is brimming with excitement when she moves across the country to Celia’s a formidable, isolated, and art-filled manor called Busirane.

As Poppy tries to celebrate her first weeks of marriage and enjoy her new home, Busirane seems intent on rebuffing her every attempt to settle in. Strange noises and confounding occurrences lead Poppy to believe the house is haunted, a suspicion worsened by Celia’s insistence that Poppy avoid the locked basement.

When Celia leaves for a work trip, Poppy is left alone in the house, then finds herself snowed in. Surrounded by secrets, stalked by faceless statues, and beset by bodiless whispers, she struggles to trust her wife—and her own mind. When Poppy is eventually drawn to the forbidden basement, dark truths shatter everything she thought she knew, throwing her into a desperate bid for survival.

Drenched in dread, this contemporary gothic folktale retelling will have you checking all the locks. Twice.]]> 336 Saratoga Schaefer Elle 5
I really loved this book. It reminded me a lot of a sapphic version of The Haunting of Hill House. The atmosphere and descriptions left me with a comparable experience to Hill House which made me incredibly happy. I have the biggest weak spot for haunted houses and this one had a little bit of a twist.

The characters were well-written; I thought both Celia and Poppy were multifaceted. I hated Celia while Poppy had me conflicted, but she was pretty relatable. Seeing the dynamic of their relationship was interesting to me, and again, I think it'll be relatable to a lot of people whether they realize it or not.

I loved the inclusion of the statues and the mirror scenes—they were both unsettling and fun to read. I wish a few things had been explained a bit more, but it didn't bother me too much. The constant gaslighting within this book was hard to read at times, but again, relatable. I think we all know someone like this.

The ending is what stopped me from feeling that this was a "perfect" read. The execution at the end wasn't my favorite, but I do still think that it worked. I found the implication left to the readers at the very end of this book to be intriguing. I 100% plan to purchase a copy of this book once pub date arrives.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.]]> 4.27 2026
author: Saratoga Schaefer
name: Elle
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2026
rating: 5
read at: 2026/07/19
date added: 2026/09/22
shelves: arcs, spooks, currently-reading
review:
4.75/5 stars.

I really loved this book. It reminded me a lot of a sapphic version of The Haunting of Hill House. The atmosphere and descriptions left me with a comparable experience to Hill House which made me incredibly happy. I have the biggest weak spot for haunted houses and this one had a little bit of a twist.

The characters were well-written; I thought both Celia and Poppy were multifaceted. I hated Celia while Poppy had me conflicted, but she was pretty relatable. Seeing the dynamic of their relationship was interesting to me, and again, I think it'll be relatable to a lot of people whether they realize it or not.

I loved the inclusion of the statues and the mirror scenes—they were both unsettling and fun to read. I wish a few things had been explained a bit more, but it didn't bother me too much. The constant gaslighting within this book was hard to read at times, but again, relatable. I think we all know someone like this.

The ending is what stopped me from feeling that this was a "perfect" read. The execution at the end wasn't my favorite, but I do still think that it worked. I found the implication left to the readers at the very end of this book to be intriguing. I 100% plan to purchase a copy of this book once pub date arrives.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
]]> 246857002 “An inspiring study of how Black women have continuously carried the torch of justice.”—Henry Louis Gates Jr.


Even before they were recognized as citizens of the United States, Black women understood that the fights for civil and human rights were inseparable. Over the course of two hundred years, they were at the forefront of national and international movements for social change. From worldwide travel and public advocacy in the global Black press to their work for the United Nations, they courageously and effectively moved human rights beyond an esoteric concept to an active, organizing principle. In Without Fear, acclaimed historian Keisha N. Blain tells the story of these Black women through the lives and experiences of a diverse cast—from the well-known, like Ida B. Wells, Madam C. J. Walker, and Lena Horne, to those who are still less known, including Pearl Sherrod, Aretha McKinley, and Marguerite Cartwright. Without Fear is an account of their aspirations, their strategies, and their struggles to combat systems of oppression.]]> 320 Keisha N. Blain 1324134208 Elle 0 to-read 0.0 2025
author: Keisha N. Blain
name: Elle
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 203694547
As a child, her older brother trained her to survive, and so survive she did. The blood on her hands will never wash off, she is broken and scarred in more ways than one, but she survived.

After finally escaping the ruthless raiders who imprisoned her for twelve long years, Bones is haunted by her past and desperate for atonement. Freedom is short-lived, however, as the rumors of her abilities catch up to her. Dragged to the northwest mountain stronghold known as the Vault, Bones finds herself involuntarily drawn to the tight-knit crew who captured her, and the feelings she begins to develop for Trey, the heart of the crew, scare her more than all the horrors of her past.

Bones struggles to maintain her distance, navigate her trauma, and deal with the new horrifying ways her healing powers are used to root out a budding revolution. As her defenses slowly break down, everything she believes about herself and the world is challenged, forcing her to confront the question: what are you surviving for?

**This is a post-apocalyptic romantasy that deals with dark themes. Check content warnings at author's website klspeer dot com slash content-warnings**]]> 393 K.L. Speer Elle 3 book-box, owned 4.08 2024
author: K.L. Speer
name: Elle
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2026/09/20
date added: 2026/09/20
shelves: book-box, owned
review:
3.5/5 stars. I feel like not much happened during this whole book but it was still decently enjoyable.
]]> 249032796 A gripping Christmas-themed short story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid!

What would you sacrifice for the perfect gift?

Despite working two jobs, she can't even afford a present for her husband on their first Christmas together. It was supposed to be a magical holiday, but instead it's a reminder of how much she can't provide.

Then a mysterious pawn shop owner offers Stella an intriguing trade. She wants more than anything to buy her husband the perfect gift. But there's a catch, and it may come at a terrible price…

Inspired by O. Henry's beloved classic The Gift of the Magi, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a chilling holiday short story where love, desperation, and deadly consequences collide.]]> 96 Freida McFadden 1464249652 Elle 0 to-read 2.84 2022
author: Freida McFadden
name: Elle
average rating: 2.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 252767118  
Twenty-year-old Sophia De Winter has only known life bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector, thanks to a blood bond he exacted from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth College, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she knows it is her only chance to finally break free. But to gain entry, she will have to compete against other illusionists, masquiers, botanists and alchemists in a series of brutal trials that many hopefuls don’t survive—the Ordeals.
 
Sophia knows her skills as an illusionist are weak; she only makes it through the first challenge by teaming up with a powerful (and insufferably sexy) botanist, Alden Hughes. To make it out alive, she will have to hone her magic, and learn to identify who is a rival, who could be an ally, and who is a murderer.
 
Because now, not only does she have to protect her heart, but her very life. Hopefuls are being viciously picked off one-by-one between the challenges. In her haste to escape the Collector’s trap, Sophia may have fled straight towards her own death sentence.]]> 400 Rachel Greenlaw 0593984854 Elle 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Rachel Greenlaw
name: Elle
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53074334
She's battling artist's block ahead of a major gallery exhibition. Staying at Harob Lake is her final, desperate attempt to paint the collection that could save her floundering career. It seems perfect: no neighbours, no phone, no distractions.

But the dream retreat disintegrates into a nightmare when Sam discovers she's being stalked.

A tall, strange man stands on the edge of her dock, staring intently into the swirling waters below. He starts to follow her. He disables her car. He destroys her only way to communicate with the outside world.

And Sam is beginning to suspect he's responsible for the series of disappearances from a nearby hiking trail. Stranded at Harob Lake, Sam realises she's become the prey in the hunter's deadliest game...

Included in the 2020 edition, along with the title story:
-- Whose Woods These Are
-- Mannequin
-- Hitchhiker
-- Bellamy]]> 272 Darcy Coates 1728221773 Elle 0 to-read 3.64 2015
author: Darcy Coates
name: Elle
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 244995187 From the USA Today bestselling author of Diavola comes a darkly funny, blood-soaked horror novel about the terrifying seduction of unlimited power.

After years of caring for her dying mother, Martha Shaw feels empty, exhausted, and far older than her twenty-six years. So when her brother invites her to a weekend getaway at the opulent, two-hundred-acre country estate where his friend works, Martha reluctantly agrees. After all, what's the harm? The owners and all their staff will be gone. Security cameras will be off. The house will be theirs. For the first time in years, Martha might actually have fun.  

And it is fun, taking advantage of the historic mega-mansion and its vast grounds. Martha begins to feel human again. But when night falls, the rightful master of Newbourne Park returns—and she’s not alone. Suddenly, being caught trespassing is the least of their worries, because what steps out into the moonlight is something vicious. And hungry. 

What began as a lark becomes a bloody battle for survival, where greed and morality collide—and a woman must choose to bow, break, or bite back.]]> 359 Jennifer Marie Thorne Elle 0 to-read 4.50 2026
author: Jennifer Marie Thorne
name: Elle
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 244942027 Jennifer's Body meets Ninth House: Taylor Grothe's adult debut novel is a sapphic horror/romance that's as grotesque and blood-soaked as it is beautiful.

When Marcella is hired at Preston University, she has her game plan already mapped out―lay low for a few semesters, enjoy the extensive library, and maybe feast on a couple of her coworkers. That is, until a professor is found murdered and it’s not her doing. She may be the newest monster on campus, but she definitely isn’t the most dangerous.

Assistant professor Lacie is aware how ruthless the track to tenure is. But seeing the corpse of one of her colleagues is enough to make her suspect the other professors that came before her didn’t just quit academia. Unfortunately, there’s only one person she can trust enough to ask for help―the beautiful, aloof, and tantalizingly secretive Marcella.

Lacie and Marcella team up to make a chilling discovery: there’s something festering under the marble floors of Preston University, and it’s hungry. Marcella might be a monster, but the deeper into the mystery they dig, the more she’s attracted to Lacie’s immovable bravery and quiet intelligence. And the closer they grow, the more Lacie is drawn to Marcella’s vicious nature.

The weight of spilled blood and stolen opportunity is too heavy to carry alone, but they’re both determined to get what they deserve―even if they have to kill for it.]]> 384 Taylor Grothe 1250433878 Elle 0 to-read, priority, arcs 4.46 2026
author: Taylor Grothe
name: Elle
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: to-read, priority, arcs
review:

]]> 14287151 256 Michael Hingson 1400204720 Elle 0 currently-reading 4.20 2011
author: Michael Hingson
name: Elle
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 44232064 The triumphant conclusion to the Villains trilogy from V.E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil.

Eli Ever. Victor Vale.

Two men, first best friends, then mortal enemies, each destined to be the other’s shadow.

One left standing—but the game isn't over yet

Against all the years—and the odds—a group of allies and archrivals meet on a chessboard set by an opponent they couldn’t have predicted….to see who will be victorious.]]> 544 V.E. Schwab Elle 5 arcs, cherished, owned
If you loved the first two books, you should also love this one. This was such a solid series from V.E. Schwab, which isn't surprising in the slightest. Schwab is consistently able to weave the most beautiful stories. She writes in a way that you find yourself becoming invested in both the "good" and "bad" characters. She's fantastic at storytelling and this whole series was written in a way that every chapter felt both important and exciting. I struggled so much with putting these books down because every chapter made me feel like I needed to read more.

In preparation for this book, I reread the prior two so that I had fresh memories to wrap this series up. I received the ALC for this book and the narrator—Jeremy Arthur—was amazing. From his pacing to his tone and inflection, it all made for a wonderful listening experience.

Throughout this whole series, I loved seeing the recurring characters while also getting to meet new and intriguing characters. It not only kept me attached to the story, but also gave me something to look forward to beyond the expectations from the plot.

There's so much I want to talk about in terms of the actual outcome of this book, but I don't want to spoil this. We've reached the inevitable end of this series, and I'll say that I found the ending to be incredibly fitting yet bittersweet.

I've already preordered my copy, and I plan to do a physical reread of this book once we reach pub day!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own!]]> 4.54 2026
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Elle
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2026
rating: 5
read at: 2026/09/03
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: arcs, cherished, owned
review:
Nobody speak to me during this sensitive time.

If you loved the first two books, you should also love this one. This was such a solid series from V.E. Schwab, which isn't surprising in the slightest. Schwab is consistently able to weave the most beautiful stories. She writes in a way that you find yourself becoming invested in both the "good" and "bad" characters. She's fantastic at storytelling and this whole series was written in a way that every chapter felt both important and exciting. I struggled so much with putting these books down because every chapter made me feel like I needed to read more.

In preparation for this book, I reread the prior two so that I had fresh memories to wrap this series up. I received the ALC for this book and the narrator—Jeremy Arthur—was amazing. From his pacing to his tone and inflection, it all made for a wonderful listening experience.

Throughout this whole series, I loved seeing the recurring characters while also getting to meet new and intriguing characters. It not only kept me attached to the story, but also gave me something to look forward to beyond the expectations from the plot.

There's so much I want to talk about in terms of the actual outcome of this book, but I don't want to spoil this. We've reached the inevitable end of this series, and I'll say that I found the ending to be incredibly fitting yet bittersweet.

I've already preordered my copy, and I plan to do a physical reread of this book once we reach pub day!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own!
]]> 255173219 Horror and myth collide when a Korean American teenager's grief summons something a water ghost that has been feeding on her family's sorrow for decades.

Dark strands of hair crack the corners of my sight, suspended as always in the air, spidering and floating as if in liquid. Mul-gwishin. Water ghost.

Gracie Russell feels she belongs nowhere. In suburban 1990s Washington, she is constantly at sea—struggling with her biracial identity, her father's violent alcoholism, and her mother's looming mortality. When Ji-eun dies, Gracie will lose her last chance to mend their relationship. But she can already feel her mother slipping away, pulled by the tides of memory back to authoritarian 1970s South Korea. The secret she buried there has awakened something in the deep. And now it is rising.

As Ji-eun's body weakens and the autumn rains fall in torrents, the sound of dripping water haunts Gracie. Cracks form in the basement wall, exposing a crumbling passageway to a sea of liquid darkness, and Gracie is running out of time. The mul-gwishin is coming for her.

For readers of Catriona Ward and Han Kang, Cracks is a harrowing vision of heritage, violence, and the histories that possess.]]> Kristy Park Kulski 196796744X Elle 0 3.84
author: Kristy Park Kulski
name: Elle
average rating: 3.84
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: arcs, spooks, currently-reading
review:

]]> 246898078 Heroes and Nashville star Hayden Panettiere reclaims her story in a remarkably candid memoir.

Hayden Panettiere’s career in entertainment began before she could talk. From her first gig as a Michelin baby to roles in cult classics like Remember the Titans and Raising Helen, as well as popular soap operas Guiding Light and One Life to Live, Hayden built an impressive resume by the time she entered middle school. Throughout the early 2000s, she starred in millennial favorites like Racing Stripes, Heroes, and Scream 4 & VI and earned two Golden Globe nominations for her starring role of Juliette Barnes in Nashville. The squeaky-clean face of Neutrogena, she was Hollywood’s girl next door and subjected to all the fame, attention, and expectations that came with it. In an era of relentless paparazzi with an appetite for celebrity breakdowns, naysayers were certain this young starlet would crash and burn. Not one to disappoint, she did.

In this irreverent, intimate, and inspiring memoir, Hayden holds nothing back. What started as a fun job for a child took a decidedly darker turn as she came of age. She exposes the pressure and exploitation young stars face before they’re old enough to know themselves, and how easy it is for them to lose control of their own narrative and, ultimately, their lives. Hayden was the target of brutal tabloid headlines picking apart her body, and she performed storylines onscreen that mirrored her real-life trauma. She suffered post-partum depression, addiction and recovery, domestic abuse, and the loss of her beloved little brother. Despite everything, Hayden managed to take these experiences, which she calls “lifequakes,” and emerge from them stronger, no longer afraid to use her voice or show her true self. She’s played the part of a misfit hero, a superstar, a survivor, a cheerleader, and an all-American fresh face. In This Is Me, Hayden stars in her most heart-wrenching and unforgettable role herself.  This is her story, on her terms.]]> 320 Hayden Panettiere 1538773422 Elle 4 4.01 2026
author: Hayden Panettiere
name: Elle
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/09/17
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 221502398 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.]]> 369 Isabel Cañas 0593641078 Elle 5
This book wasn't completely perfect, but the vibes certainly were. I'm deeply in love with Isabel's writing, it's so beautiful. Her writing was immersive and lyrical. I thought she did a fantastic job of transporting the readers back to the 1700s. The start of this book leaned heavily on family connections and issues. This story also leaned into the struggles of women within the patriarchy, classism, sexism, and religious bigotry. There was a bit of everything within this story, but I thought it was decently well-balanced.

I don't normally expect romance in possession story, but it worked here and didn't detract from the progression. This book honestly made me feel like I was watching a movie in my head.

To criticize, I do wish that the possession started earlier on within the book and combated the familial and social drama a bit more. I wish the split went something more like 1/3 of the book relating to the family/social drama and 2/3 relating to the possession. Instead, it felt more split halfway for both. It's a small criticism as I didn't mind it too much, but I still would've found that to be a better layout.

As I was reading, I was preparing myself to be unsatisfied with the ending. Isabel was putting me through some emotional turmoil but I actually ended up liking how the story concluded. I would love to see this turned into a movie. We are lacking in possession and exorcism movies lately and I feel like this would translate wonderfully into a film from paper.

I wish I had read this when autumn was already here, but I'm strongly considering a reread at some point during October. Overall, I really don't have many complaints. I can see how a some people might not like the slow, family building start, but I think the second half makes up for it.

I'm so relieved that one of my most anticipated reads of the year, did not disappoint me.

CW: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, Infertility, Abandonment

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review ]]> 3.83 2025
author: Isabel Cañas
name: Elle
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/08/21
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: spooks, owned, ebooks, cherished
review:
I absolutely loved this book!

This book wasn't completely perfect, but the vibes certainly were. I'm deeply in love with Isabel's writing, it's so beautiful. Her writing was immersive and lyrical. I thought she did a fantastic job of transporting the readers back to the 1700s. The start of this book leaned heavily on family connections and issues. This story also leaned into the struggles of women within the patriarchy, classism, sexism, and religious bigotry. There was a bit of everything within this story, but I thought it was decently well-balanced.

I don't normally expect romance in possession story, but it worked here and didn't detract from the progression. This book honestly made me feel like I was watching a movie in my head.

To criticize, I do wish that the possession started earlier on within the book and combated the familial and social drama a bit more. I wish the split went something more like 1/3 of the book relating to the family/social drama and 2/3 relating to the possession. Instead, it felt more split halfway for both. It's a small criticism as I didn't mind it too much, but I still would've found that to be a better layout.

As I was reading, I was preparing myself to be unsatisfied with the ending. Isabel was putting me through some emotional turmoil but I actually ended up liking how the story concluded. I would love to see this turned into a movie. We are lacking in possession and exorcism movies lately and I feel like this would translate wonderfully into a film from paper.

I wish I had read this when autumn was already here, but I'm strongly considering a reread at some point during October. Overall, I really don't have many complaints. I can see how a some people might not like the slow, family building start, but I think the second half makes up for it.

I'm so relieved that one of my most anticipated reads of the year, did not disappoint me.

CW: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, Infertility, Abandonment

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review
]]> 214331246
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 387 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 Elle 5 owned
This felt like a Hunger Games book again. I'm sure that sounds ridiculous to say, but for me, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes felt far removed from this series. Truthfully, I didn't really enjoy Songbirds and Snakes and it made me a bit worried to read this one. Thankfully, Sunrise on the Reaping was a major redemption.

Sunrise on the Reaping followed a more traditional Hunger Games as opposed to Songbirds and Snakes with the change of the tributes being doubled. This book left me feeling and experiencing the same things that I did when reading the original trilogy.

Although we already knew that Haymitch was a victor, it didn't detract from the excitement of the story. Sometimes I feel as though knowing the "ending" makes the rest of the story less intriguing, but that didn't happen here. It was curious to see why Haymitch took such a liking to Katniss as well. I felt like a bunch of dots were connected by reading this book. I also devoured this book. It ended up being a binge-read on release day.

Not to say that Haymitch was ever unloveable to me in Hunger Games, but his story really helped the readers understand what exactly led to him becoming drunken and despaired Haymitch. If you didn't feel sympathy for him before reading this, I can guarantee that you will afterwards. Not to mention that his character shares many similarities (in my opinion) to Katniss.

I don't know that I really have anything bad to say about this book. If you're like me and didn't enjoy Songbirds and Snakes and are cautious to read this one, I would say you have nothing to worry about.

This honestly made me have a desire to reread the original trilogy too. I'm highly considering a revisit.

TW: child death, child abuse, death, murder, violence, blood, grief, injury detail, gore, death of parent, classism, fire injury, alcoholism, police brutality, animal death, suicidal thoughts, torture, confinement, body horror, emotional abuse, addiction, vomit, physical abuse, medical content, medical trauma, suicide attempt

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review ]]> 4.49 2025
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Elle
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: owned
review:
Sooo much better than The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

This felt like a Hunger Games book again. I'm sure that sounds ridiculous to say, but for me, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes felt far removed from this series. Truthfully, I didn't really enjoy Songbirds and Snakes and it made me a bit worried to read this one. Thankfully, Sunrise on the Reaping was a major redemption.

Sunrise on the Reaping followed a more traditional Hunger Games as opposed to Songbirds and Snakes with the change of the tributes being doubled. This book left me feeling and experiencing the same things that I did when reading the original trilogy.

Although we already knew that Haymitch was a victor, it didn't detract from the excitement of the story. Sometimes I feel as though knowing the "ending" makes the rest of the story less intriguing, but that didn't happen here. It was curious to see why Haymitch took such a liking to Katniss as well. I felt like a bunch of dots were connected by reading this book. I also devoured this book. It ended up being a binge-read on release day.

Not to say that Haymitch was ever unloveable to me in Hunger Games, but his story really helped the readers understand what exactly led to him becoming drunken and despaired Haymitch. If you didn't feel sympathy for him before reading this, I can guarantee that you will afterwards. Not to mention that his character shares many similarities (in my opinion) to Katniss.

I don't know that I really have anything bad to say about this book. If you're like me and didn't enjoy Songbirds and Snakes and are cautious to read this one, I would say you have nothing to worry about.

This honestly made me have a desire to reread the original trilogy too. I'm highly considering a revisit.

TW: child death, child abuse, death, murder, violence, blood, grief, injury detail, gore, death of parent, classism, fire injury, alcoholism, police brutality, animal death, suicidal thoughts, torture, confinement, body horror, emotional abuse, addiction, vomit, physical abuse, medical content, medical trauma, suicide attempt

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review
]]> 212342605 Hungerstone is a thrillingly seductive sapphic romance for fans of S.T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood and Emilia Hart’s Weyward.

For what do you hunger, Lenore?

Lenore is the wife of steel magnate Henry, but ten years into their marriage, the relationship has soured and no child has arrived to fill the distance growing between them. Henry's ambitions take them out of London and to the imposing Nethershaw manor in the countryside, where Henry aims to host a hunt with society’s finest. Lenore keeps a terrible secret from the last time her husband hunted, and though they never speak of it, it haunts their marriage to this day.

The preparations for the event take a turn when a carriage accident near their remote home brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore's life. Carmilla who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night; Carmilla who stirs up a hunger deep within Lenore. Soon girls from local villages begin to fall sick before being consumed by a bloody hunger.

Torn between regaining her husband's affection and Carmilla's ever-growing presence, Lenore begins to unravel her past and in doing so, uncovers a darkness in her household that will place her at terrible risk . . .

Set against the violent wilderness of the moors and the uncontrolled appetite of the industrial revolution, Hungerstone is a compulsive feminist reworking of Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula: a captivating story of appetite and desire.]]> 336 Kat Dunn 1638932166 Elle 5
Now that I devoured this, I understand why everyone is mentioning female rage in reference to this book. I was internally raging for Lenore!!

After ten years of marriage to Henry and no child on the way, Lenore feels the weight of burden strike their relationship. As Lenore and Henry prepare to host a special hunt, it brings up memories of the prior hunt and the secret that they've both been keeping since then.

Their lives get thrown for a twist when a carriage accident nearby brings a mysterious Carmilla to their home. As they offer Carmilla shelter to recover, they notice that she is sickly and weak during the day, but becomes much more lively during the night. Carmilla becomes a thorn in Henry's side as she works to help Lenore find herself. Lenore is hungry and needs to eat.

This is a beautiful retelling of Carmilla. The prose is stunning and makes you feel as though you're in the story yourself. There are so many amazing quotes from this book that I wish I could share. The story is atmospheric, mysterious, and tense. The characters were written extremely well. The characters that we're meant to love, I loved, and the ones we're meant to hate, I certainly hated. While this is a slow-burn romance, the rest of the book certainly didn't feel slow to me. And the wait was well worth it. I love that this story dove into the problems with gender roles and expectations that are imposed on women. It was a beautiful story of Lenore's self-discovery and acceptance of herself, flaws all included.

The ending of this book was amazingly poetic. I left this story feeling overwhelming satisfaction, and I can tell that this is a book that I will reread one day. This book isn't your typical horror novel, even though it is tagged as such. Please don't go into this book expecting scares. The horror comes more from the atmosphere and the depravity of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for sending me an eARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.
I immediately preordered this book upon finishing reading.

TW: Gore, death, blood, vomit, gaslighting, violence, infertility, cannibalism, misogyny, murder, toxic relationship, confinement, infidelity, sexual content, death of parent

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review
]]> 3.89 2025
author: Kat Dunn
name: Elle
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2026/07/26
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: spooks, arcs, owned, cherished, ebooks
review:
5/5 stars. Absolutely amazing. I could not put this down. I had to eat dinner, and I was reading the whole time.

Now that I devoured this, I understand why everyone is mentioning female rage in reference to this book. I was internally raging for Lenore!!

After ten years of marriage to Henry and no child on the way, Lenore feels the weight of burden strike their relationship. As Lenore and Henry prepare to host a special hunt, it brings up memories of the prior hunt and the secret that they've both been keeping since then.

Their lives get thrown for a twist when a carriage accident nearby brings a mysterious Carmilla to their home. As they offer Carmilla shelter to recover, they notice that she is sickly and weak during the day, but becomes much more lively during the night. Carmilla becomes a thorn in Henry's side as she works to help Lenore find herself. Lenore is hungry and needs to eat.

This is a beautiful retelling of Carmilla. The prose is stunning and makes you feel as though you're in the story yourself. There are so many amazing quotes from this book that I wish I could share. The story is atmospheric, mysterious, and tense. The characters were written extremely well. The characters that we're meant to love, I loved, and the ones we're meant to hate, I certainly hated. While this is a slow-burn romance, the rest of the book certainly didn't feel slow to me. And the wait was well worth it. I love that this story dove into the problems with gender roles and expectations that are imposed on women. It was a beautiful story of Lenore's self-discovery and acceptance of herself, flaws all included.

The ending of this book was amazingly poetic. I left this story feeling overwhelming satisfaction, and I can tell that this is a book that I will reread one day. This book isn't your typical horror novel, even though it is tagged as such. Please don't go into this book expecting scares. The horror comes more from the atmosphere and the depravity of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for sending me an eARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.
I immediately preordered this book upon finishing reading.

TW: Gore, death, blood, vomit, gaslighting, violence, infertility, cannibalism, misogyny, murder, toxic relationship, confinement, infidelity, sexual content, death of parent

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review

]]> 214310631
But then the Silveria Circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with Silveria, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder and mayhem when she’s not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with a broken leg, she finds herself stuck in Nebraska at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up.]]> 390 Brynne Weaver 163893181X Elle 3 owned, ebooks, book-box
Scythe & Sparrow felt like it was lacking the spark that the other two books had. While it did have the same elements as the other two books (to some extent) it just felt more, watered down.

The chemistry between Rose and Fionn didn’t feel as strong to me as with the other two couples and I honestly felt like their characters weren’t as developed as those in the prior two either. The story wasn’t as strong or enticing. A lot of this story revolved around Rose needing to take it easy because of her leg injury so it felt as though there was less murder (sigh) and when there was a murder, Rose seemed so inexperienced and that’s because she was. [spoilers removed] I can appreciate the fact that maybe the author decided to write a character that had less experience because let’s be honest.. what are the odds that all three brothers turn out to be serial killers with serial killer wives/girlfriends? But I missed the well established signature kills that the other two books had. I wanted more finesse and murder!

I also struggled with how Fionn was constantly saving Rose during her murderous escapades. She felt like a weaker FMC to me because of this. Not only that, but the pacing was crazy fast. Rose meets Fionn and [spoilers removed] I suppose it could happen given his history, but it took me out of the moment because it felt unrealistic. Not that these books are striving for realism, but I hope you get what I mean.

I’m also so sad to say that I didn’t really enjoy their sex scenes either. I thought (again) that the other two books had spicier and more exciting sex scenes.

Their story just ultimately was not my favorite out of the three books. Butcher & Blackbird will forever be my favorite and Leather & Lark was a close second.

What I did love though was the humor, as always. And Barbara! I NEEDED more Barbara in my life. I thought the circus was interesting as well and I honestly wish that we had more detailed scenes involving the circus. It would’ve been awesome to get a scene showcasing Rose in the motorcycle cage or see more of her as a tarot reader. I always get excited too when the previous characters get page-time in the new books. I was so happy to see Sloane and Lark again and I love how all of the women interact together. The crocheting was a surprise that I found I enjoyed as well. I loved the Suture Sisters scene.

I don’t know if the author plans to write more books like this or not, but I would love to see more murderous romances like this. I’ll 100% continue to read this author even if this last book didn't hit the mark for me. Problems aside, I did still really enjoy reading this and almost read it completely in one sitting.

TW: sexual content, gun violence, violence, murder, animal cruelty, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gore, vomit, medical content, injury detail, kidnapping, medical trauma, stalking

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review ]]> 4.15 2025
author: Brynne Weaver
name: Elle
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: owned, ebooks, book-box
review:
This was my least favorite of the three books. I was hoping that I would’ve enjoyed this more and while I still did, it was just “okay” to me and had a lot of problems.

Scythe & Sparrow felt like it was lacking the spark that the other two books had. While it did have the same elements as the other two books (to some extent) it just felt more, watered down.

The chemistry between Rose and Fionn didn’t feel as strong to me as with the other two couples and I honestly felt like their characters weren’t as developed as those in the prior two either. The story wasn’t as strong or enticing. A lot of this story revolved around Rose needing to take it easy because of her leg injury so it felt as though there was less murder (sigh) and when there was a murder, Rose seemed so inexperienced and that’s because she was. [spoilers removed] I can appreciate the fact that maybe the author decided to write a character that had less experience because let’s be honest.. what are the odds that all three brothers turn out to be serial killers with serial killer wives/girlfriends? But I missed the well established signature kills that the other two books had. I wanted more finesse and murder!

I also struggled with how Fionn was constantly saving Rose during her murderous escapades. She felt like a weaker FMC to me because of this. Not only that, but the pacing was crazy fast. Rose meets Fionn and [spoilers removed] I suppose it could happen given his history, but it took me out of the moment because it felt unrealistic. Not that these books are striving for realism, but I hope you get what I mean.

I’m also so sad to say that I didn’t really enjoy their sex scenes either. I thought (again) that the other two books had spicier and more exciting sex scenes.

Their story just ultimately was not my favorite out of the three books. Butcher & Blackbird will forever be my favorite and Leather & Lark was a close second.

What I did love though was the humor, as always. And Barbara! I NEEDED more Barbara in my life. I thought the circus was interesting as well and I honestly wish that we had more detailed scenes involving the circus. It would’ve been awesome to get a scene showcasing Rose in the motorcycle cage or see more of her as a tarot reader. I always get excited too when the previous characters get page-time in the new books. I was so happy to see Sloane and Lark again and I love how all of the women interact together. The crocheting was a surprise that I found I enjoyed as well. I loved the Suture Sisters scene.

I don’t know if the author plans to write more books like this or not, but I would love to see more murderous romances like this. I’ll 100% continue to read this author even if this last book didn't hit the mark for me. Problems aside, I did still really enjoy reading this and almost read it completely in one sitting.

TW: sexual content, gun violence, violence, murder, animal cruelty, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gore, vomit, medical content, injury detail, kidnapping, medical trauma, stalking

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review
]]> 221074152
Etter hvert som stormene på Shearwater øker i styrke, må de alle bestemme seg for om de kan stole nok på hverandre til å beskytte de dyrebare frøene de har i varetekt før det er for sent – og legge fortidens tragedier bak seg for å skape noe nytt sammen.

Vill mørk kyst er en roman med overraskende vendinger, spenning og lidenskap. Det handler om de umulige valgene vi tar for å beskytte menneskene vi elsker, selv når verden rundt oss forsvinner.]]> 302 Charlotte McConaghy 1250329000 Elle 5
I surprisingly won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and just finished reading the ARC. Ironically, out of all of the books I read this year, this may have been my favorite read. The connections, the love, the trauma, the hope, the despair. I am ugly crying. I didn't expect to fall so in love with this book.

I couldn't put this book down. I read it from start to finish in one sitting (only with bathroom breaks). The writing was beautiful, the story was beautiful, the message was beautiful.

There is a part with some whales that is incredibly heartbreaking, for those of you that would want to know whether they live or die, [spoilers removed]

I loved seeing the connections form between these characters and to see how they broke and forged together. I'm not sure that I really have anything bad to say about this story.

I was at first apprehensive about the multiple POVs but it was so well-done that it wasn’t an issue at all. It actually offered more for the story than had it been one POV.

This was a story of one woman washing up on shore in search of her husband only to be saved by a teenage girl. It then follows her search for her husband while expanding on the lives of this family and their connections severed and created. We learn the dark truths of this island and the haunting past that shaped this family.

It is a mystery as well as a story about love, loss and healing.

CW: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drowning, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Abortion

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review ]]> 4.13 2025
author: Charlotte McConaghy
name: Elle
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: spooks, owned, cherished, impactful, arcs
review:
5/5 stars. Crying and in need of emotional support after this.

I surprisingly won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and just finished reading the ARC. Ironically, out of all of the books I read this year, this may have been my favorite read. The connections, the love, the trauma, the hope, the despair. I am ugly crying. I didn't expect to fall so in love with this book.

I couldn't put this book down. I read it from start to finish in one sitting (only with bathroom breaks). The writing was beautiful, the story was beautiful, the message was beautiful.

There is a part with some whales that is incredibly heartbreaking, for those of you that would want to know whether they live or die, [spoilers removed]

I loved seeing the connections form between these characters and to see how they broke and forged together. I'm not sure that I really have anything bad to say about this story.

I was at first apprehensive about the multiple POVs but it was so well-done that it wasn’t an issue at all. It actually offered more for the story than had it been one POV.

This was a story of one woman washing up on shore in search of her husband only to be saved by a teenage girl. It then follows her search for her husband while expanding on the lives of this family and their connections severed and created. We learn the dark truths of this island and the haunting past that shaped this family.

It is a mystery as well as a story about love, loss and healing.

CW: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drowning, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Abortion

StoryGraph Review
Fable Review
]]> 212035245
In the letter Adrian says he saw Blair the other night but Blair hasn’t seen Adrian in years. Confused and curious, Blair agrees to visit Adrian at his family’s home, Garnet Hill. While Adrian is eager to reignite their relationship, Blair is initially cautious to trust Adrian again.

As time passes, Blair begins to see things that aren’t really there—people from the past and visions of the future. His journal entries don’t line up with his memories and he fears he’s losing his mind as he starts to fall back in love with Adrian.

Visions aren’t the only thing wandering the halls of Garnet Hill. Someone has been sneaking into the Galbraith home and attempting to steal the family’s most cherished possession—The Shattered Heart, a precious gemstone from the family’s garnet mine.

Blair and Adrian must uncover the secret facets of Garnet Hill before they’re brought to ruin.]]> Logan Spurgeon Elle 0 to-read, spooks 0.0
author: Logan Spurgeon
name: Elle
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: to-read, spooks
review:

]]> 219866773 In the grimly captivating sequel to Anathema, Maevyth and Zevander must navigate the perilous mortal lands to deliver Zevander from the clutches of an ancient, malevolent power that threatens to shatter both worlds.



An eldritch magic has awakened, turning the mortal world darker. Colder. Famished. With flesh-eating monsters and a sinister curse spreading like a plague, the last glimmer of humanity in Foxglove Parish has long-since faded.

For Maevyth and Zevander, the only chance of escape is through The Eating Woods. But fate has woven a new web, tangling the threads of destiny, and crossing the mystical boundary to Aethyria might not be so simple.

As the bones of Maevyth’s past are unearthed, and truths unravel with unsettling clarity, the possibility of never leaving Mortasia is becoming more of a reality. Unfortunately for Zevander, time is running out. The longer he stays in the mortal lands, deprived of essential vivicantem, the more he succumbs to the encroaching specter of madness.

Or maybe those chasing shadows are someone hunting him. A wretched evil closing in, threatening to pull him into the darkest corners of his mind.

Only, this time, Maevyth may not have the power to save him.

Eldritch is a full-length, gothic dark fantasy, the second book in The Eating Woods trilogy. Perfect for readers who enjoy a character-driven and atmospheric story with a unique magic system, a slow-burn romance and a touch of horror.]]> 766 Keri Lake Elle 0 to-read 3.99 2025
author: Keri Lake
name: Elle
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32048753
Laurence Rees' masterpiece is revealing in three ways. First, it is based not only on the latest academic research, but also on 25 years of interviewing survivors and perpetrators, often at the sites of the events, many of whom have never had their words published before. Second, the book is not just about the Jews - the Nazis would have murdered many more non-Jews had they won the war - and not just about Germans. Third, as Rees shows, there was no single 'decision' to start the Holocaust - there was a series of escalations, most often when the Nazi leadership interacted with their grassroots supporters.

Through a chronological narrative, featuring the latest historical research and compelling eyewitness testimony, this is the story of the worst crime in history.]]> 512 Laurence Rees 0241297001 Elle 0 to-read 4.61 2017
author: Laurence Rees
name: Elle
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61398915 Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel in her tower, but do you know the story of the witch who put her there? Mary McMyne’s spellbinding debut reveals the truth behind the fairy tale—the truth they never wanted you to know, as only a witch might tell it.

"Smart, swift, sure-footed and fleet-winged, The Book of Gothel launches its magic from a most reliable source: the troubled heart. Mary McMyne is a magician."—Gregory Maguire, NYT bestselling author of Wicked

Germany, 1156. Shunned by her village for her unusual fainting spells and black eyes, young Haelewise's only solace lies in her mother's stories of witches, magic wolf-skins, and ancient mist-cloaked towers. When her mother dies, she sets off through the woods for the mysterious tower of fable: Gothel. There, Haelewise discovers a haven, a safe refuge for women like her and for those who have lost their way in the harsh world of men. A place where magic lives and where the fairy tales of her mother's stories have more truth than she'd ever imagined.

Praise for The Book of Gothel:

"A sprawling epic, full of magic, love, and heartbreak." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A luscious origin story."—Booklist (starred review)]]> 400 Mary McMyne 0316393215 Elle 0 to-read 3.81 2022
author: Mary McMyne
name: Elle
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 240019836 A serial killer recants his long-ago confession regarding a small-town high school girl―and her then-best friends are forced to confront what really happened that night and what's happening now.

Seaside is a small coastal town, known originally for the local amusement park. But twenty-five years ago, a serial killer dubbed The Carnival Killer confessed to the murder of a local high school girl. Now, he's recanted that confession.

Barb, Nicolette, and Lorelei were best friends - then they met "Sam" at Wonderland, the local amusement park. After hanging out with him there, and accompanying him to the drive-in movie, where the twenty-something handsome drifter made out with Lorelei in the backseat. That night was the last time Lorelei was seen alive, her murdered body surfacing a couple of days later in a local cranberry bog.

Barb's dreams of leaving Seaside and becoming a successful writer never materialized and she is a freelancer for the local newspaper and, secretly, writes anonymously about reality tv stars for a hugely successful gossip web-site called Reality Bitch. Specifically, she writes savagely about a long-running show set in Canada called Trophy Wives.

Nicolette left town shortly after Lorelei's body surfaced, never to return. Ultimately, she married a very rich man, moved to Toronto and rebranded herself as Cole Lennox, one of the stars of Trophy Wives.

With the amusement park about to reopen, revitalizing the dying town of Seaside, the Carnival Killer recants his confession about killing Lorelei, the dead body of young woman washes ashore, and the truth about what happened that night twenty-five years ago - and what is happening now - threatens not only the carefully constructed lives of Barb and Nicolette, but the very fabric of Seaside itself.]]> 368 Jennifer Hillier 1250763185 Elle 4 book-box, owned, spooks 3.83 2026
author: Jennifer Hillier
name: Elle
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/09/17
date added: 2026/09/17
shelves: book-box, owned, spooks
review:

]]> 252206662
bottles of their potent Italian amaro. They pray. They work. They pray some more. It's an isolated place

where little gets in the way of the sisters' devotion.


Until now.


From a cavern lair far above the convent comes a predatory beast that stalks the good The Gulo.

The Hellish thing resembles both wolf and wolverine, with a massive maw of long, curved incisors and a

thick hide covered in deadly quills. In a hideous pack, the creatures ravage some of the holy women and

stalk off into the freezing forest hillside, but not before the nuns themselves manage to slay one of them.

Rather than risk the return of these fiends, the sisters decide to hunt them down. Fortified by their own

powerful amaro—and by the bloodlust rising in them—they march into a raging gale of wind and snow with

only makeshift weapons and a powerful medieval crucifix with a fire-hardened tip.

It's long odds for the brides of Christ.


But the appearance of a mysterious character turns the tide in their favor. The nuns can hardly believe it . .

. but there she stands, a tall, striking woman who claims to have vanquished werewolves and other vicious

bêtes in her native France. The strange warrior-saint gains the trust of the sisters who dub her the Long

Nun. Though some think she hides a dreadful secret, too.

One thing’s for sure, this Long Nun knows how to bring forth death.

She trains the sisters in the ways of the hunt, encouraging them to heed their darker impulses, to abandon

their churchly humility, and to seek violent vengeance against the Gulo. With their pagan and carnal senses

heightened, the sisters take on the pack, becoming savages themselves, creatures bent on bloody

revenge.


It’s a true holy war, and a young postulant named Henrietta Q. documents all the grisly details in her battle

book. But whether anyone will read it depends on the outcome of the fight… and on the mystery of the

Long Nun.


Robert Eggers meets Emerald Fennell and Tarantino in the gothic horror thriller HAIL HOLY QUEENS.]]> 256 Chris McGinley 1971774103 Elle 0 to-read 4.16
author: Chris McGinley
name: Elle
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 247137186 From the author of Man, F*ck This House (And Other Disasters)

Two feuding #VanLife influencers must put aside their differences in order to survive when they are stalked by a masked killer in a remote stretch of Death Valley.

Morgan and Jasper are the couple everyone wants to beautiful, successful, and constantly mobile. Their #VanLife content has captured the hearts and minds of a million online followers, who all “smash that subscribe button” to watch as the loving couple documents their outdoor adventures.

But it’s all a sham. Their relationship is on the rocks. Jasper doesn’t know Morgan’s trolling the dating apps. Morgan doesn’t know Jasper blew all their earnings on shady crypto investments. What started as a fun way to share their love of nature has turned into a grind. Plus, they’ve also got fans whose parasocial obsession with the couple verges on the terrifying.

When Jasper gets a contract to shoot a promo for an upstart granola company at the Ubehebe Crater, a gorgeous but remote section of Death Valley, he talks Morgan into taking a last-minute trip. He’s secretly hoping this trip will not only solve their financial woes but also help them reconcile. But things go wrong immediately. A mysterious black van runs them off the road. Their cameraman seems like a lunatic. And soon, they find themselves stranded in the desert, pursued by a masked killer. Can Morgan and Jasper put aside their differences long enough to survive both the killer and the desert itself?]]> 260 Brian Asman Elle 0 to-read 3.92 2026
author: Brian Asman
name: Elle
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 250727440 "The most charming cannibalism novel I've ever read!" —Sarah Beth Durst, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A must-read queer YA fantasy that will delight readers." —C. S. Pacat, New York Times bestselling author

In this delightfully cozy and creepy YA romp, a cave monster masquerading as a search-and-recovery guide intends to find and eat a lost wizard—but catches feelings for him instead, perfect for fans of TJ Klune and Andrew Joseph White.

Theory has a monstrous secret. He isn’t an ordinary search-and-recovery guide at Fiendworld, the world’s premier magical sinkhole turned amusement park; he’s a cursed, human-eating mantis. Fortunately, he’s found a workaround: when retrieving the bodies of lost adventurers, he snacks on a finger or two.

Until his latest assignment, when he’s tasked with recovering the missing son of park management—the descendant of the very wizard who cursed Theory in the first place. Worse, when Theory finally tracks him down, the wizard is somehow still alive.

Nim has no interest in being rescued. Determined to reach the bottom of the sinkhole, he refuses to let Theory take him back to the surface. Armed with little more than optimism and a persnickety enchanted backpack, he recruits Theory to help him continue downward—whether Theory likes it or not.

To survive, Theory and Nim must brave man-eating fish, walls of tentacles, and devastating secrets: both their own and ones the park desperately tries to keep hidden. And along the way, they may just discover that they’re stronger together than apart.]]> 320 Lene D. Buttner 1250457432 Elle 0 to-read 4.80 2027
author: Lene D. Buttner
name: Elle
average rating: 4.80
book published: 2027
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 246137012 The Wicker Man meets The Twisted Ones in Bitter Karella’s Quaint Folk—a queer folk horror novel that peels back the idyllic veneer of a seemingly perfect island town to reveal the rot beneath.
 
From the outside, it looks like Jessica has the perfect life. She's a stay-at-home mom, married to a man with a respectable job, raising a son they adore. Her family is as wholesome as all-American pie. But deep down, Jessica knows there's something wrong with her; she knows she can't escape her past. 

When her husband’s job has them move abroad, Jessica thinks this is her chance for a fresh start. On the remote island of Hasenhurst, the modern world can’t get in. The people there grow their own herbs, make their own jam, and mind their own business. They believe in folk tales and the power of dreams. They tell visitors, we’re a quaint, quiet people. The right sort of family would do well here.

Jessica is determined to be the right kind of person for a family—and a life—like this. But as she tries to befriend the townsfolk and learn their ways, she soon realizes that beneath the town’s cozy idyll, something sickly-sweet and rotten lays buried... ]]> 352 Bitter Karella 0316581941 Elle 0 to-read 3.42
author: Bitter Karella
name: Elle
average rating: 3.42
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 252630026 From the critically acclaimed author of the cult-classic Monstrilio comes a fever dream novel of twins and trickery, broken bones and brokenness, and of monsters, mischief, and mayhem!

On a quiet morning, Francisca awakes to a rare good day. She skips work, admires the squabbling sparrows on her tiny terrace in Mexico City, and senses a joy so refreshing it feels dangerous. But when there’s a knock on her door, announcing an odd stranger at her apartment, Francisca, frightened and fascinated, acts on a whim, shattering her peaceful day and predictable life. She can think of only one person to help her with this unexpected, maybe hostile visitor—her estranged twin brother, Pablo.

As Pablo arrives, the day spirals from an awkward reunion into a claustrophobic, feverish confrontation where the thirty-five-year-old twins must reckon with a past they thought they had outrun. Over the course of this peculiar day, Francisca and Pablo realize this man brings devastating questions and a reckoning twenty years in the making.

Critically acclaimed author of the bestselling cult-classic horror novel Monstrilio, Gerardo Sámano Córdova brings his trademark blend of strangeness, darkness, humor, and tenderness to Imps!, an exploration of imagination, loss, brokenness, and the quest for the extraordinary in everyday life.]]> 208 Gerardo Sámano Córdova 1638934290 Elle 0 to-read 3.92
author: Gerardo Sámano Córdova
name: Elle
average rating: 3.92
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 252932915 352 Mark D. Freeman 1538781476 Elle 0 to-read 0.0
author: Mark D. Freeman
name: Elle
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 246552671 A terrifying, twisty, and impossible-to-put-down supernatural thriller that reminds us that houses are never just houses—and secrets never stay buried.

Rose Crawley isn’t the perfect wife—or the perfect woman—that her husband thinks she is. And she isn’t about to let him find that out, ever. She’s finally gotten everything she’s ever a house by the lake, an adoring husband, and a fresh start from the past she’s long tried to outrun.

But the house she now calls home seems to have other plans. She wakes with bloody scratches lining her arms. She sees reflections in mirrors, only to find she’s standing alone.  She hears the floors creak under invisible footsteps. And when Rose lies awake in the dark, the air feels heavy, like the house is pressing in on her, waiting for her to crack.

When Rose learns that the previous occupant, a wife and mother named Angela, vanished under suspicious circumstances, she becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened. Drawn deeper into the disappearance by her peculiar and prying neighbor, Rose digs into Angela’s past. But the more she discovers, and as the house's strange occurrences escalate, Rose finds herself questioning not just what happened to Angela, but whether she’ll share the same fate.]]> 336 Kate Mooney Elle 0 to-read 3.49
author: Kate Mooney
name: Elle
average rating: 3.49
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 255077543 "Fans of literary folk horror will be haunted by this ghost story for years to come." — KIRKUS REVIEWS

"Haunting, intelligent, and beautifully strange." — REEDSY DISCOVERY ★★★★★



Portland. A limestone island off the Dorset coast, tethered to England by a single road and a thread of pebble beach. Three prisons. Ancient quarries. Six hundred years of secrets buried in the rock.



In 1999, William Delaney arrives with his two daughters, fleeing a collapsed marriage and hoping the island's history might inspire a book. What none of them expect is the island to reach back.



In 1348, a sailor named Galfridus returns home to find the Black Death has come ashore before him — carried, perhaps, by his own ship's crew. As the plague moves through the community, something older and stranger moves with it.



Seven centuries apart, two families are pulled toward the same stone, the same crack in the earth, the same white-haired girl who will not stay dead.



Layered like the island's own geology — from Rubble on the surface down through Kimmeridge Clay to the Basal Shell Bed below — Light Come, Light Go is a novel about what the ground beneath us holds: the dead, the past, and the things that refuse to become either.



]]> 535 N.L. Castle 1066685711 Elle 0 to-read 3.87
author: N.L. Castle
name: Elle
average rating: 3.87
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 247476695
The mansion’s owner, Arius Medea, issues a simple mandate: fix his injured, rotting leg or die. But it’s no ordinary injury – the flesh melts off the bone, emitting waves of foul magic that set Saige’s blood alight. Saige’s colleagues want to fight back and escape. Saige thinks their best chance is to fix him fast and get out. As tensions rise, Saige finds herself growing closer to Vaishnavi Sri, a poison witch and Saige’s long-term crush. But first impressions can be misleading, and as Saige’s reluctant attraction to Arius grows, she begins to wonder if there’s a better life waiting for her in the walls of this mansion.

But, as one by one, Saige's colleagues start to disappear, Saige realizes that dying may not be the worst option – because there are far worse fates lurking in the woods.]]> 400 Rachel Kitch 145496362X Elle 0 to-read 4.17 2026
author: Rachel Kitch
name: Elle
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 258388084 Dana Kowalczyk prices the dead for a living.The Brandt estate should have been the job that saved her. A dead man's farmhouse at the end of four miles of frozen gravel, no heirs, and the largest commission she's ever written.Then she measures the back hall, and the arithmetic comes up four feet short.Behind the pantry wall there is a room. Tin-lined. Salted. Six objects on six shelves, tagged in a careful hand, not touching.She sells five of them in a single morning.What comes back is not a haunting.A music box returns to the porch with no note and no refund asked. A mirror follows a man home and takes a year of his life. A counting song nobody taught anybody starts moving through town like weather. And a courteous stranger drives a long road in bad winter to thank her for her trouble, asks her for nothing, and means it.That is the part Dana cannot price. It does not lie to her. It does not force a door. It pays what it owes and waits to be invited, because the oldest law it keeps is that what is taken fights its keeping, and what consents keeps itself.The Brandts have stood watch over that room for a hundred and twenty-nine years, one woman at a time, writing down four times a year that the count has not changed. Now the last of them is dying in a memory unit, singing a counting song she only half remembers. And the family's ledger has Dana's name in it, entered three years ago, in the week her husband died.She is not being haunted. She is being negotiated with.When the offer comes it will be fair, and generous, and freely given. Refusing it will cost her the last thing she has left of him.A novel of Birchwater and the Black Willow Coven. LOT SEVEN stands entirely alone.From the bestselling author of Old What Lingers in the Trees and The Long Way Still.]]> 314 Erik Bilicki Elle 0 to-read 0.0
author: Erik Bilicki
name: Elle
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 213959197
The house was supposed to be a fresh start. That's what Libby's mom said. And after Libby’s recent bipolar III diagnosis and the tragedy that preceded it, Libby knows she and her family need to find a new normal.

But Libby’s new home turns out to be anything but normal. Scores of bugs haunt its winding halls, towering stained-glass windows feature strange, insectile designs, and the garden teems with impossibly blue roses. And then there are the rumors. The locals, including the mysterious boy next door, tell stories about disappearances tied to the house, stretching back over a century to its first owners. Owners who supposedly hosted legendary masked séances on its grounds.

Libby’s mom refuses to hear anything that could derail their family’s perfect new beginning, but Libby knows better. The house is keeping secrets from her, and something tells her that the key to unlocking them lies in the eerie, bug-shaped masks hidden throughout the property.

We all wear masks—to hide our imperfections, to make us stronger and braver. But if Libby keeps hers on for too long, she might just lose herself—and everyone she loves.]]> 464 Ann Fraistat 0593382242 Elle 0 to-read 4.00 2024
author: Ann Fraistat
name: Elle
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 251647180 Alien Situations is a dark, unsettling novella set in a world threatened by climate collapse. It follows two women from sharply different social Donna, a young woman fighting to survive on the margins, and Anita, a middle-aged woman whose outwardly stable life masks grief and desperation. When a mysterious stranger disrupts Donna's fragile reality, and a dangerous figure from Anita's past forces his way back into her life, both women are thrust into a tightening spiral of threat and reckoning. As the danger escalates, both women are forced to submit to their circumstances or fight back.

This mind bending sci fi story is a psychological suspense drama about survival inside a reality distorted by unaccountable power. Characters are forced to confront manipulation and psychological terror while navigating a dystopian landscape. Alien Situations is layered with moral conflict, paranoia, and escalating dread. The tone of the novella is bleak, surreal, and emotionally unsettling.]]> 84 Simon Robb Elle 0 to-read 4.00
author: Simon Robb
name: Elle
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 250300136
Recent widow Margie Thermopolis just wants to finish her last years of bureaucratic work and retire with her cats, plenty of IPA, and a good game of roller derby. Instead, she's haunted by her husband's medical debt-and his secret bonsai obsession. Sent to inspect a luxury assisted living facility built on the ruins of Old Grove Lodge, Margie is forced back to the site of her little brother's bizarre death fifty years earlier, and dubious memories of a murderous forest witch.

Trapped by a blizzard with a ruthless lumber baron, his dying mother, and nature itself, Margie digs up more than just the secrets of her past, for something ancient is awakening-and it remembers her.]]> 292 Gianaclis Caldwell 0986190780 Elle 0 to-read 0.0
author: Gianaclis Caldwell
name: Elle
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 256312349
Book number four in the Hartmouth Horrors series of standalone novellas, this torrid little tale will sicken and satisfy you.]]> Jan Miklaszewicz Elle 0 to-read 4.86
author: Jan Miklaszewicz
name: Elle
average rating: 4.86
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 257931178
Melody Brooks is searching for a fresh start—and a chance to reconnect with her daughter, Sara. But when their camping trip deep in the wilderness turns into a nightmare, Sara vanishes without a trace.

As Melody searches desperately for her daughter, long-buried family secrets begin clawing their way to the surface, and she discovers that something ancient is lurking in the woods—something that feeds on blood, grief, and the wounds passed from one generation to the next.

With time running out and darkness closing in, Melody must confront not only the horrors of her past, but an evil determined to claim her daughter.

Blending supernatural horror with a deeply human story of motherhood, inherited trauma, identity, and survival, Unsated asks what happens when the wounds of one generation become the inheritance of the next.

Some hungers are never satisfied.]]> 306 Matthew Flagler 173893652X Elle 0 to-read 0.0
author: Matthew Flagler
name: Elle
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 236069180
In this collection of stories set in an uncanny American suburbia and haunted by a lurking unease, the peculiar feeling of ephemeral youth finds its voice. The stories in The Gods in Small Doses depict childhood through a funhouse mirror, as a time of myth and damage, of tenderness and terror. Anything―except what should happen―can happen next.

A retired witch traps a goat-killing feral child, a girl becomes obsessed with the regenerative properties of her younger brother’s body, Armageddon is fought between the forces of good (those who like to go to bed early) and evil (those who prefer to stay up late), a supernatural orphan insinuates his way into an all-American family, the god Poseidon wrecks a high-school house party, and the women of a fabulated island city all mysteriously disappear overnight. In these fast, comic, and troubling tales, sweetness and violence vie to become synonymous.

This is a universe of both realism and surrealism, of magic and the mundane, where strong but deeply flawed characters fight to exert control over things―time, death, themselves―that can’t be controlled. Dreamlike moments of body horror, catastrophe, and absurdity challenge the reader to embrace the taboo and to expect―always―the unexpected. Bell’s stories offer a twisted, unique, and utterly fascinating take on what it means to “grow up,” and all of the questions that the notion inspires.]]> 175 Josh Bell 1625349246 Elle 0 to-read 2.36
author: Josh Bell
name: Elle
average rating: 2.36
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 251739094 An emotionally charged and propulsive puzzle box novel by Sam Rebelein, where a recently split couple must solve a haunted escape room together—or die trying.

If you’re reading this email, YOU have been selected to participate in a C.A.C. Games Survival Experience! *scream emoji*

This is the most challenging survival experience on the market. Your horror will feel real. Your horror will show no mercy.

We are very excited to play with you. :)

A year after a bitter breakup, Julian and Millie are thrown back together by a once-in-a-lifetime an invitation to play a legendary 72-hour survival experience with a huge cash prize. The solve a series of elaborate puzzles inside the remote and reputedly haunted Clate Hill Lodge. Only one other contestant has ever successfully escaped, and Julian and Millie are desperate to make history.

But as the weekend begins, the line between performance and paranormal quickly blurs. The puzzles are impossible, the ghosts feel undeniably real, and the hotel seems to have a mind of its own. Caught between confronting the horrors of the hotel and the unresolved issues of their own past, Julian and Millie begin to wonder how much of the Lodge is only a game and whether the prize isn’t money—but their own lives.

Sam Rebelein’s newest is both a satisfyingly inventive puzzle box and an equally terrifying thriller that readers won’t be able to put down until the final clue is solved.]]> 352 Sam Rebelein 0063424002 Elle 0 to-read 4.35 2027
author: Sam Rebelein
name: Elle
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2027
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 256599571
27 years later, Cassie is eight months pregnant and preparing to move forward with a new family when she receives a VHS tape to her home. On the tape is Garrett from all those years ago in a room with a hooded figure.

As Cassie is sent spiraling back into her dark past, she is forced to explore who is on these tapes and a glimmering hope that her son is still alive all these years later.]]> 127 Baldwin Elle 0 to-read 5.00
author: Baldwin
name: Elle
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 252542084 405 Michael Andrade Elle 0 to-read 3.00
author: Michael Andrade
name: Elle
average rating: 3.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 247137188
When Cass inherits a crumbling house on Rothagisht-a remote island near the Arctic Circle-she's desperate for a new start. The land is stunning, the people strangely healthy, and for the first time, Cass feels like she might finally belong.

But Rothagisht comes with rules: Never go out after dark, and never open the door to a knock. As Cass is drawn into the island's mysteries-and into the secrets of her own bloodline-she discovers Rothagisht is stalked by ancient creatures that rise from the heated depths when the old covenant stirs.

With the Festival of Giving and Receiving looming, and the island's ancient covenant unraveling in blood, Cass must choose: embrace the community she's longed for, or confront the nightmare that could consume them all.

Perfect for fans of Heather Fawcett, T. Kingfisher, and Ari Aster's Midsommar, Little Kin is a chilling, folkloric tale of survival and belonging.]]> 318 Katya de Becerra Elle 0 to-read 3.55 2026
author: Katya de Becerra
name: Elle
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 248670949 352 Tanya Pell 1668087391 Elle 0 to-read 4.08
author: Tanya Pell
name: Elle
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 252580394 They don’t know she is being followed. A beast out of mythology will stop at nothing to possess her forever. Or destroy her and everything she loves.]]> 300 Max Davine 1764617509 Elle 0 to-read 4.00
author: Max Davine
name: Elle
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 253942533 The Shining meets The Truman Show filtered through a tech lens in this splatterpunk horror novel from the award-winning author of Wretch, following a queer wedding planner whose past comes back to haunt him when he's forced to arrange his first gay marriage.

Ephraim Mayerling is a wedding planner unlike any other. It’s not just the all-black outfits or the strange, wide-brimmed hat he loves wearing. In the privacy of his cottage, Ephraim dreams of planning a different kind of event: an execution.

When Nicholas and Sebastian decide to hire Ephraim for their special day, it becomes harder for Ephraim to leave his “at home” thoughts where they belong. With a mysterious man hovering around town, seemingly everywhere Ephraim goes, everything threatens to come apart at the seams.]]> 288 Eric LaRocca 1668233649 Elle 0 to-read 4.11
author: Eric LaRocca
name: Elle
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 255691163
The island feels alive, and it feels like it’s watching.

As hallucinations blur with reality and time slips out of sync, the group’s trust fractures. The island feeds on their emotions, twisting their fears into something physical… something dangerous.

When their final escape attempt ends in disaster, they're forced to confront the truth: The island isn’t just dangerous; it’s sentient, and it wants them.

Rescue should mean safety, but some horrors stay with you.

Some follow you home.]]> 288 Chelsea Knight Elle 0 to-read 4.00
author: Chelsea Knight
name: Elle
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 244947445 As fascination turns to obsession, two women drag each other into an academic horror of forgery, murder, and rage, destined to be devoured by readers of Plain Bad Heroines and If We Were Villains.

Archivist Celia Kiel has spent her life on the remote campus of Basin College in the Southern Ozarks. Once a jewel of women’s higher education in the South, the school now molders on its mountaintop, its endowment thinly supported by the bequeathed estate of 19th century writer, Beatrice Donahue. Celia guards the legacy of this venerated, yet scandalous author, who has been the object of her illicit desire since childhood.

When the administration announces the college's imminent closure, Celia discovers a manuscript pickled in formaldehyde, and with it, a chance to save the only home she's ever known. She will forge Beatrice's infamous lost work, a spellbinding horror written toward her life's tumultuous end. To do it, she is forced to recruit her professional rival, literature postdoc Joan Harriot, who has both an astounding talent for mimicry and a dark secret of her own. As their world closes in and the ghosts of the Victorian past encroach, their creative collaboration spirals into an obsession more twisted than even their beloved Beatrice could have penned.]]> 272 Quinn Connor 1250461049 Elle 0 to-read 3.75 2026
author: Quinn Connor
name: Elle
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 243260419
Sienna Shaw is an apex predator. She kills without remorse when it suits her purposes, steals from those she judges undeserving of what they have, lives by her own set of rules. Just don't call her a serial killer. She knows what she is and what she always will be--a survivor whose governing creed is simple: Trust No One.

Or so Sienna believes, until the day she encounters a shadowy group that calls itself the Book Club. A small, well-funded, highly secret society united by their shared taste for the macabre and a desire to instill fear among entrepreneurs, industrialists, politicians--any who imagine themselves in charge of civilization--to remind them who is really at the top of the food chain. Sienna soon finds herself as a reluctant guest on a remote and supposedly haunted island where the Book Club plans to unleash hell upon its next target and usher in a new chapter of its terroristic mission.

But not even Sienna is prepared for the tangled web of betrayal and horror that awaits, or the very real monsters that will be let loose--including ones that may have been present all along.]]> 322 Hank Schwaeble Elle 0 to-read 4.09
author: Hank Schwaeble
name: Elle
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 246552985
Based on the internationally bestselling comic series, with millions of copies in print,​ the first full-length novel from the terrifying world of Something Is Killing the Children—a stunning collaboration between Eisner-winning co-creator James Tynion IV and #1 New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White

As a Black Mask, Erica Slaughter has a very straightforward job: find the monster, kill the monster, then do it all again. But when she arrives in Badwater, Idaho, nothing is simple. She can’t determine whether the horrific killer of a twelve-year-old was a bear, a person, or something much worse. Complicating matters is the charismatic doomsday preacher who is quickly leading the small town to the verge of hysteria. If Erica wants to save the surviving children, she has to figure out which kid’s fears might have summoned a monster—and fast. Erica must get to the truth before the Order and the town come to the same conclusion: to stop the monster, you have to kill the girl.

Hope Is a Knife is a chilling, original tale in SIKTC lore, where monsters are real and only the hunters of the Order of St. George are equipped to challenge them. Whether or not you’ve already devoured the Eisner Award–winning comics, this standalone vision of supernatural horror is a thrill ride of the highest order.]]> 304 James Tynion IV 0593799380 Elle 0 to-read 3.94 2026
author: James Tynion IV
name: Elle
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 251093215
There's an explanation for everything. There's nothing to be afraid of…

When Hazel was thirteen, her sister Kira believed she'd received a message from another world after a strange paranormal encounter. The mystery consumed her. Then she disappeared.

Twenty years later, Hazel remains haunted by anxiety, grief, and intense episodes of a cryptic déjà vu. When Hazel is introduced to a podcast called The Satellites, she realizes that a group of people from her town had the same experience Kira did. Before long, what once felt like tragedy begins to feel more like conspiracy.

Determined to unravel the truth of what happened to her sister, Hazel reluctantly teams up with Silas, the mysterious man behind the podcast. And against her better judgement, they tumble headfirst into a dark, twisted romance.

But then members of the group start turning up dead. And the more Hazel and Silas investigate, the worse Hazel's episodes get. What happened to Kira is bigger and deadlier than Hazel ever realized, and if she can't solve it, she might be the next to disappear.]]> 320 Liz Kerin 1464274398 Elle 0 to-read 4.14
author: Liz Kerin
name: Elle
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 243260655 From the brilliant Zoje Stage, Bram Stoker Award finalist and author of Baby Teeth, Something of a Calling is an unsettling look at a woman—and a world—on the brink of change. This gorgeous hardcover edition includes sprayed edges.

Detective Andy Cooper is about to retire. She isn’t sure what’s next … perhaps traveling in the RV she has yet to buy, with a dog she doesn’t currently own. Perhaps gardening near the ever-shrinking patch of woods behind her house—once the cable company’s backhoe is removed.

She’ll need to do something, if only to distract herself from how empty her life has become. After the murder of her young daughter by a drunk driver. After the divorce. After the realization that all she has is her job and that she’s about to lose that, too.

Everything changes when bodies begin to turn up. Murdered, but how? Not by knife, gun, or any obvious weapon. teeth marks. Chunks missing. Like they’d been chewed on. And not by humans.

As she’s struggling to solve her final case, an unexpected new friendship seems like just what Andy needs. Where she is detached from life, Fiona embraces it. Where she is a homebody, Fiona roams. Yet the women are drawn together by a shared love of nature and wildlife. Until Andy learns the dark truth behind Fiona’s smile. A secret that threatens to unravel the world as she knows it.]]> 252 Zoje Stage Elle 0 to-read 3.64 2026
author: Zoje Stage
name: Elle
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 252489472
Grace was thirteen when her mother was convicted of killing three local teenagers in their isolated Pennsylvania farmhouse. Stoic and remorseless, Margerie pled guilty, claiming the killings were to protect Grace.

Now twenty years later, Grace is a dedicated social worker and juggling a professional disaster and a demoralizing break-up. When she gets a call that Margerie has been granted compassionate release from prison to live out her final days in hospice, Grace reluctantly returns to the claustrophobic coal mining town of Fallen Rock to say her farewells.

But Grace is blindsided that Margerie now claims to be innocent. Beginning to doubt her own long-held convictions, Grace hesitantly reconnects with the other players from the night of the murders. But how can she trust anyone else’s memories if she no longer can trust herself?]]> 352 Logan Hart 1464273146 Elle 0 to-read 4.00
author: Logan Hart
name: Elle
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 250970414 From the author of the horror sensation We Used to Live Here and The Caretaker comes a bingeable and perfectly unsettling audio collection of three brand new short stories, taking listeners all the way from a nightmareish flight through unfriendly skies to a submarine in the darkest depths of the ocean.

In Please Remain Seated, a young woman misses her flight home, and in her desperation to rebook, accepts a ticket on an airline she’s never heard of. She soon discovers she is the only passenger.

Backroads opens with a car somewhere deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, a disoriented driver spins out off the road after hitting…something. Calling out to offer help, what he finds is not a creature in need, but a dangerous, inexplicable predator, and a life-or-death chase begins.

And Anomaly brings listeners on a deep-sea a first-time diver joins an experienced crew on what should be a simple mission—before all goes horribly wrong.

This collection of stories, all never before published, is the first original audiobook by Marcus Kliewer, “titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author).]]> Marcus Kliewer Elle 0 to-read 3.63 2026
author: Marcus Kliewer
name: Elle
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 257640013 204 Nelson Kunphry Elle 0 to-read 4.67
author: Nelson Kunphry
name: Elle
average rating: 4.67
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 255980786 291 Mark Benson Elle 0 to-read 5.00
author: Mark Benson
name: Elle
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 240350990 Four childhood friends, eager for a taste of city life, swap rural Brazil for an apartment in Copacabana, Rio. But they have no idea of the fate that awaits them there. . . .

Dante, Piglet, Miguel, and Hugo are your average students trying to make ends meet with part-time jobs, excited about the bright future at their fingertips. So when their rent skyrockets, they struggle to keep their new lives and big dreams afloat. They need to make money however they can. In order to keep their apartment, the friends adopt an unorthodox plan and are soon sucked into a dark world of secret dinner parties catering to the twisted fantasies of Rio’s elite.

What starts as a joke quickly spirals out of their control. As the four friends fall deeper into this dark underworld and earn more money, the stakes get higher and the consequences deadlier, revealing the twisted depths that lurk within each of them and threatening not only their friendship but also their lives.]]> 352 Raphael Montes 1250442419 Elle 0 3.95 2016
author: Raphael Montes
name: Elle
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read, spooks, owned, book-box
review:

]]> 234746583 Every wedding guest’s worst nightmare is on repeat in this wild and twisty new horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of So Thirsty and Play Nice.

It’s the picture-perfect wedding The venue is dreamy, the weather is beautiful, love is in the air—and Willa Sullivan is having a bad time. She’s excited to celebrate her best friends finally having the big wedding they’ve always wanted, but this is the first time she’s seen her ex-fiancé in months, and he brought a date. Everything feels off, like she stumbled into an alternate universe. But things start to look up when Willa meets Danny, the groom’s charming and single childhood best friend. When they sneak off together, their rendezvous is interrupted by a masked killer terrorizing the reception. Willa and Danny fight to save the ones they love and survive the night, but the killer is unrelenting. A final girl, Willa is not.

Or is she? She wakes up and it’s the morning of the wedding. She just had the most intense nightmare of her life. Only as the day unfolds, there are some uncanny coincidences that make her question whether it was really a dream, déjà vu, or something more sinister. After a horrifying turn of events, Willa comes to understand that she’s stuck in a loop of carnage and terror that she must learn how to escape or else suffer a fate worse than death—being an eternal wedding guest.]]> 320 Rachel Harrison Elle 5 arcs, spooks, owned
Cackle 5/5 stars.
Black Sheep 4/5 stars.
So Thirsty 4/5 stars.
Such Sharp Teeth 4/5 stars.
The Return 3/5 stars.
Play Nice 5/5 stars.

I knew that I was going to be hooked on this book from the very beginning. I binge-read this during my breaks at work and couldn't wait to get home and finish it.

Harrison's writing style just draws me in. Her writing is easy to read yet written well. I specifically love the humor that she has which is what keeps me coming back to her books. Sometimes the humor is subtle, but it's my kind of humor. I think she generally does a fantastic job writing and developing her characters.

This book was clearly inspired by "Groundhog Day" and it was even referenced in the book. Imagine that vibe, but horror. Sometimes repetitive books like this can be hit-or-miss for me, but Harrison was able to not make this monotonous. Every "day" was similar yet the twists were incredibly unexpected and it kept me interested. I was drawn in by not only the characters, but the monsters too. Again, Harrison weaves her sense of humor into her novels and we see that even with the monsters. I was never sure of what we were going to see next in this book. If you're a fan of gore, this book certainly delivers.

I also could relate to the FMC in this book. Willa made the tough choice to end a long-term relationship after realizing that they simply weren't compatible for each other. We see how this affected Willa throughout the book and her development on accepting the death of that relationship. Willa also was endearing to me as a fellow woman with anxiety. Overall, I found her incredibly relatable and I loved seeing her change throughout the story.

My kudos go to Harrison because all of her books have a similar feel to one another and yet they are vastly different. I think this points to her skill as a writer.

Although I received an ARC of this book, I will be purchasing my shelf "trophy" of the physical edition when this publishes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

CW: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail]]> 3.95 2026
author: Rachel Harrison
name: Elle
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2026
rating: 5
read at: 2026/07/09
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: arcs, spooks, owned
review:
Rachel Harrison is one of my favorite authors and I've not been disappointed yet.

Cackle 5/5 stars.
Black Sheep 4/5 stars.
So Thirsty 4/5 stars.
Such Sharp Teeth 4/5 stars.
The Return 3/5 stars.
Play Nice 5/5 stars.

I knew that I was going to be hooked on this book from the very beginning. I binge-read this during my breaks at work and couldn't wait to get home and finish it.

Harrison's writing style just draws me in. Her writing is easy to read yet written well. I specifically love the humor that she has which is what keeps me coming back to her books. Sometimes the humor is subtle, but it's my kind of humor. I think she generally does a fantastic job writing and developing her characters.

This book was clearly inspired by "Groundhog Day" and it was even referenced in the book. Imagine that vibe, but horror. Sometimes repetitive books like this can be hit-or-miss for me, but Harrison was able to not make this monotonous. Every "day" was similar yet the twists were incredibly unexpected and it kept me interested. I was drawn in by not only the characters, but the monsters too. Again, Harrison weaves her sense of humor into her novels and we see that even with the monsters. I was never sure of what we were going to see next in this book. If you're a fan of gore, this book certainly delivers.

I also could relate to the FMC in this book. Willa made the tough choice to end a long-term relationship after realizing that they simply weren't compatible for each other. We see how this affected Willa throughout the book and her development on accepting the death of that relationship. Willa also was endearing to me as a fellow woman with anxiety. Overall, I found her incredibly relatable and I loved seeing her change throughout the story.

My kudos go to Harrison because all of her books have a similar feel to one another and yet they are vastly different. I think this points to her skill as a writer.

Although I received an ARC of this book, I will be purchasing my shelf "trophy" of the physical edition when this publishes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

CW: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
]]> 248337019 After a woman is killed and her daughter vanishes, detective Chelsey Calhoun uncovers a legacy of violence and survival that spans from Japan to Seattle in the new novel by the author of The Return of Ellie Black.

A murdered woman. A missing daughter. A truth buried across two continents.

Married, pregnant, and thriving in her career, Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life finally feels whole, until an explosive new case shatters everything. A mother is dead. Her sixteen-year-old daughter, Naomi, has disappeared. And the search will awaken questions about Chelsey’s own origins—questions she’s spent a lifetime afraid to ask.

The victim called herself Anne Walker. But she was born Rika Takahashi, and her journey from a remote Japanese farm to suburban Seattle conceals decades of deception. Across Tokyo’s shadowed underworld, an isolated Idaho town, and years of carefully constructed lies, Rika reinvented herself at every turn. But she was always running—from someone, or something.

Now, Chelsey must find Naomi before she becomes the next victim. But the deeper she delves into Rika’s hidden life, the more she discovers: some secrets are worth killing for. And the most dangerous truths may be the ones closest to home.

Told in three interwoven voices, Before You Were Anne is a gripping suspense novel about the lies that bind families and the sins that echo across generations.]]> 320 Emiko Jean 1668023962 Elle 0 4.05 2026
author: Emiko Jean
name: Elle
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read, spooks, book-box, owned
review:

]]> 244967358
That's why they offer paranormal investigative services to anyone who needs them. But when the case of a missing young woman brings them to an old (and potentially haunted) Victorian mansion, soon it's the four teens who are in the greatest danger. The secrets they uncover about the paranormal forces inhabiting the house may shed light on the darkness that exists at the edge of their powers and finally help them gain control -- if they can make it out alive.]]> 336 Kalynn Bayron 1547615893 Elle 0 to-read 3.96 2026
author: Kalynn Bayron
name: Elle
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 251836506 A cozy horror following a young woman on the heels of a major breakup who finds the perfect flatshare—only to discover there’s an unwanted tenant haunting the building who will stop at nothing to reclaim the house for herself.

Becks had forgotten how much she hated apartment-hunting. After years of living with her picture-perfect girlfriend in their picture-perfect flat, Becks is single again and far too old for the couch-surfing of her early twenties. The flatshare in the Peckham Victorian on Windrush Avenue seems perfect; it’s basically in her budget, and, most importantly, it’s a room of her own free from her ex’s disapproving gaze. Plus, her new flatmates seem nice: Cress is the sort of glamorous straight girl Becks would have had a crisis over in middle school, and Niall buys Becks a pint on FIFA nights. And then there’s Jamie—shockingly nice, charming Jamie—with his long, black hair and taut, muscular forearms.

The new apartment offers Becks the fresh start she’s been craving, but she can’t help but feel as though there’s something…off about her new digs. She chalks up her pre-sleep paralysis to late-onset night terrors, but it’s harder to explain away the frigid cold and the weird, scratching noises that seem to be coming from the boarded-up fireplace in her bedroom. And then, there are the splotches of black mold on the wall that look an awful lot like handprints…

Turns out, there’s a bit of a problem with the previous tenants. Broke and dealing with an unsympathetic landlord, Becks and Jamie must push aside their fears—and their growing feelings for each other—to take down the vengeful spirit haunting their apartment before it’s too late.

Swoony and scary in equal measure, The Housemate is a page-turning, spine-tingling read, where the only thing scarier than a cursed apartment is the looming deadline of next month’s rent.]]> 400 J.J.A. Harwood 0063516691 Elle 4 spooks, arcs
The story itself was just lovely to read. I appreciated how the FMC left her toxic relationship and decided to have a fresh start for herself. We got to see her new relationship develop and become something completely different from her prior one. I liked the edition of the landlord as well, because that whole inclusion felt incredibly true to life (lol). They had the landlord special in this book.

I enjoyed the writing and the pace in this book. It was engaging and was the perfect mix between spooky and cozy. I'd love to pick up any horror books that this author releases in the future. I only wish I had read this book when the weather was more appropriate.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.]]> 4.07
author: J.J.A. Harwood
name: Elle
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2026/09/12
date added: 2026/09/14
shelves: spooks, arcs
review:
This was a good beginning of autumn read. This is a cozy haunted house story. It had great atmosphere and great characters. I think the characters were a huge part of what made this story feel so cozy and a bit more lighthearted. Although this book had creepy elements to it, I personally didn't find the story to be too scary. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I thought it was worth mentioning! I think if you're looking for a haunted house story that won't completely terrorize you, then this is perfect.

The story itself was just lovely to read. I appreciated how the FMC left her toxic relationship and decided to have a fresh start for herself. We got to see her new relationship develop and become something completely different from her prior one. I liked the edition of the landlord as well, because that whole inclusion felt incredibly true to life (lol). They had the landlord special in this book.

I enjoyed the writing and the pace in this book. It was engaging and was the perfect mix between spooky and cozy. I'd love to pick up any horror books that this author releases in the future. I only wish I had read this book when the weather was more appropriate.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
]]> 1335019
H.P. Lovecraft's tales of the tentacled Elder God Cthulhu and his pantheon of alien deities were initially written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and '30s. These astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when they were first published.

This handsome tome collects together the very best of Lovecraft's tales of terror, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were originally published. It will introduce a whole new generation of readers to Lovecraft's fiction, as well as being a must-buy for those fans who want all his work in a single, definitive, highly attractive volume.

Contents:
• Night-Gaunts
• Dagon
• The Statement of Randolph Carter
• The Doom The Came to Sarnath
• The Cats of Ulthar
• The Nameless City
• Herbert West - Reanimator
• The Music of Erich Zann
• The Lurking Fear
• The Hound
• The Rats in the Walls
• Under the Pyramids
• The Unnamable
• In the Vault
• The Outsider
• The Horror at Red Hook
• The Colour Out of Space
• Pickman’s Model
• The Call of Cthulhu
• Cool Air
• The Shunned House
• The Silver Key
• The Dunwich Horror
• The Whisperer in Darkness
• The Strange High House in the Mist
• The Dreams in the Witch-House
• From Beyond
• Through the Gates of the Silver Key
• At the Mountains of Madness
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth
• The Shadow Out of Time
• The Haunter of the Dark
• The Thing on the Doorstep
• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
• The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
• To a Dreamer
• Afterword: A Gentleman of Providence by Stephen Jones

See also: Eldritch Tales.]]> 878 H.P. Lovecraft 0575081562 Elle 0 to-read 4.23
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Elle
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 251407623 From Mary Dixie Carter comes an atmospheric, tense novel about the death of a wealthy garden designer, her lonely widower, and the scrappy young gardener who smoothly steps into her life.

Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.

When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful—perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.

But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.]]> 304 Mary Dixie Carter 1250790409 Elle 0 to-read 3.00 2025
author: Mary Dixie Carter
name: Elle
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 98657798
Wretch is a relentless descent into crime, horror, and vengeance. A brutal unflinching thriller for fans of organized crime sagas, dark detective fiction, and monsters born in the shadows of science.

Chicago is choking under the hottest summer on record, but the true heat comes from the blood spilled on its streets.

Detective Donnie Lynch trails a killer who shouldn’t exist. Mob boss Tico “The Meatgrinder” Tortellio has stepped out from the shadows of his empire with a personal vendetta to avenge his daughter—and nothing short of blood will settle the score. Both men are hunting the same man— if “man” is still the right word…

The elusive killer, Derek Hoffman, is a steroid-abusing-sociopath twisted beyond recognition whose body and mind have been grotesquely transformed after his participation in a clinical trial for an experimental ED-arousal-drug called, LIBIDONAL. Hoffman has become something monstrous, a predator driven by lust, rage, and a thirst for blood.

With the city becoming a killing ground for a new apex predator, Lynch and Tortellio race toward the same target. But who will reach Hoffman first? And when they do, can bullets or brutality be enough to stop him?]]> 376 Jeremy Wagner 1639511326 Elle 0
Struggling with the dialogue in this book. And it’s very macho, which I’m not enjoying.

Maybe I’ll try again later, but I certainly can’t read this now. ]]> 3.70 2026
author: Jeremy Wagner
name: Elle
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/12
shelves: spooks, owned, arcs, did-not-finish
review:
DNF @ 15%

Struggling with the dialogue in this book. And it’s very macho, which I’m not enjoying.

Maybe I’ll try again later, but I certainly can’t read this now.
]]> 254502579 After being stranded in the remote Alps of Europe, a shipwrecked crew of knights are stalked by both human and monstrous threats in this medieval horror that’s perfect for fans of The Terror and Between Two Fires.

There are strange things in the mountains, my lord. Things older and darker than our Christian God. And hungrier.

1192 AD: Jean is a teller of tales meant to bring sense to a world emerging from the darkest of ages steeped in religious conflict. His weary companions are survivors of both miracles and massacres, weighed down by the secrets of their past, and desperate to return to England. When they are shipwrecked on unforgiving shores, the group begins the dangerous trek home and are hunted; both by vengeful men, and something primal and deadly—something not meant to walk in this world.

As the band of men fall victim one by one, Jean wrestles with suspicion of an unknown threat. His love for his master has already survived a journey of many years and miles; now it will see them both through the dangers ahead. For if they do not make it home a legendary king will fall, a priceless relic will be destroyed, and Jean will lose the person who holds his heart in his keeping. And for his master, Jean would walk into hell itself.

Soon, in the cold and dizzying heights of an isolated mountain road, these mortal men will discover that heroes are merely human, and monsters are very real.]]> 352 James Bennett 1638935254 Elle 0 to-read, priority, spooks 5.00
author: James Bennett
name: Elle
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/11
shelves: to-read, priority, spooks
review:

]]> 246991962
Lucy McQuinn has been murdered, but she’s not about to go quietly.

If she doesn’t get to keep breathing, then neither does Kyle, her killer. Possessing the body of an antique doll, she sets out on a quest for revenge. But it’s hard when you’re eighteen inches tall and made of porcelain.

For help, she turns to Nicola, a human and fellow outsider with her own reasons to hate Kyle. But in their small idyllic town, no one wants to hear the truth, especially not about such a promising young man. If they can’t expose his crimes, Lucy will have to roll up her lacy little sleeves and teach him a lesson the old-fashioned way—as slowly and painfully as possible.

From LA Times bestselling author Barbara Truelove, She’s a Doll is a ghoulish and gleeful tribute to the unstoppable power of female rage and a love letter to the friends who have our back—in this life and the next.]]> 336 Barbara Truelove 1967967180 Elle 4 spooks, owned, book-box 4.21 2026
author: Barbara Truelove
name: Elle
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/09/11
date added: 2026/09/11
shelves: spooks, owned, book-box
review:

]]> 220388592

Welcome to Knife's Edge, Alaska, where the four Osprey brothers return from military service with shadows in their eyes and secrets in their hearts. As danger looms, new romances ignite, and these rugged men must fight for love…and survival.

Brock Osprey has spent years in the rugged Alaskan wilderness, far from civilization and even farther from his past. A former Navy Seal, Brock is now the unwilling protector of Knife's Edge, a remote town with more secrets than residents. But when FBI agent Ophelia Spilazi arrives to investigate the unsolved murder of his guardian—and recent unexplained deaths in the area—Brock's carefully guarded world is thrown into chaos.

Agent Ophelia Spilazi has one last chance to save her career, and Knife's Edge is her shot. The isolated town is full of secrets, and she's certain Brock knows more than he's letting on. The town's recent string of mysterious deaths only heightens her suspicion, but the more time she spends with the brooding Alaskan, the harder it becomes to ignore the dangerous chemistry between them.

As a brutal storm traps them in the isolated wilderness, Brock and Ophelia's growing attraction ignites, even as shadows from their pasts threaten to tear them apart. But with a dangerous conspiracy and powerful enemies lurking in the shadows, their only hope is to trust each other—before the wilderness consumes them both.]]> 350 Rebecca Zanetti 1947418572 Elle 0 to-read 4.08 2025
author: Rebecca Zanetti
name: Elle
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 244669184 From beloved horror maven Alma Katsu comes a terrifying reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray for the internet age.

Beauty doesn’t fade. It feeds.

Marion Wagner has spent her whole life wanting nothing more than to be seen. But after failing to make her mark (any mark, really) as an influencer, she takes a job at a company focused on cutting-edge deepfake technology. And there, in secret, is where creates her salvation. 

Isabella. An impossibly gorgeous girl who takes social media by storm. Marion’s code is brilliant, and Isabella seems real. So real that she garners millions of followers. Brands beg to partner with her. Everyone wants to meet her IRL. The adoration—and the cash—flows in. Marion is finally happy. She's getting all the attention she ever wanted—isn't she? 

Then the cracks begin to show. Marion can barely stay ahead of the partnership requests, and love letters and the rabid fans filling her DMs trying to track Isabella down. All this time working in secret with all this pressure is getting to Marion—she can’t tell where she ends, and her creation begins. And when someone gets a little too close to her secret, a violent confrontation sends Marion on the run, forcing her to confront what she’s willing to sacrifice to keep her secrets. 

A modern reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Alma Katsu’s Incarnate is an illuminating, haunting tale of algorithmic worship and beauty that can kill.]]> 329 Alma Katsu Elle 0 to-read 4.02 2026
author: Alma Katsu
name: Elle
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 249186882 Big Little Lies or not, this is the perfect novel for longtime fans and new readers alike.

The last time we saw the women of Big Little Lies—Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata, and Bonnie—their children were five years old. If someone wasn’t invited to a child’s birthday party, feelings were hurt. But ten years have passed, and the kids are now in high school, with all of the drama that accompanies teendom (goodbye playdates, hello drugs, sex, and alcohol).

Now, after the principal of the high school receives a severed human finger in the mail, the parents are in an uproar. But Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata, and Bonnie have other things to worry about. Celeste’s mother-in-law, Mary Louise, is behaving oddly—is it old-age forgetfulness and forthrightness, or something more sinister? Madeline is facing perhaps the biggest challenge of her life, Jane is at a dangerous fork in her marriage, Bonnie has realized there’s only so much solace in yoga. And Renata? Renata is living her best life—revenge is sweet.

When a strange man begins lurking around the school asking supposedly innocent questions, this tightly connected group of women must finally face the full repercussions of the big little truths they have and haven’t shared with their kids. Because the stakes are now much higher than not being invited to an ice-skating show—and the ice has never been thinner for any of them.]]> 464 Liane Moriarty 0593798635 Elle 0 did-not-finish
Really was struggling to get into this book and found myself not really enjoying it. I'd rather read something that resonates more with me. Maybe I'll give it another try in the future, but for now it's a no.]]> 4.16 2026
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Elle
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/10
shelves: did-not-finish
review:
DNF @ 38%

Really was struggling to get into this book and found myself not really enjoying it. I'd rather read something that resonates more with me. Maybe I'll give it another try in the future, but for now it's a no.
]]> 178803105 Kill the monsters when they’re found.

No matter who they used to be.

The girl with secret feathers in her skin and strange bones jutting out beneath her clothes is resigned to her fate. Her deformities mark her a monster and the stories say monsters must die.

When her family finds out and turns on her, a village boy saves her and leads her on a frantic escape. The girl believes her death has merely been delayed—until he mentions a cure.

With the world against them and the monstrous change progressing, they must cross water, forest, and field to chase the rumor that fuels their desperate hope. But is hope enough to keep them going?]]> 169 J. Patricia Anderson 1778288146 Elle 0 to-read 4.17
author: J. Patricia Anderson
name: Elle
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 243856581 These violent delights have violent ends.

After surviving a shadowed childhood, Mallory Webb is ready to start fresh as a theater major at her mother’s alma mater, a sanitarium turned liberal arts university in Rhode Island. Landing the lead role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet feels like a dream—until the blood-soaked wraith that caused her mother’s death resurfaces after years of quiet. With nothing to go on but cryptic symbols in an old college notebook, Mallory hopes the reason behind her mother’s haunting lies somewhere on campus, and resolves to find answers before she meets the same fate.

She’s surprised to make an unexpected ally in Ezra Pierce, the magnetic fourth year directing the play, and takes solace in their undeniable chemistry. But Ezra is a master secret keeper, and it’s clear he knows more than he’s letting on about Saskia Garin, Mallory’s elusive understudy whose past eerily mirrors her own.

When an ancient, bloodthirsty evil calls to collect a bargain that dates back to the New England vampire panic, Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia will have to untangle the tragic ways in which their histories are linked—and face the devastating consequences of their own star-crossed love story.]]> 432 De Elizabeth Elle 5 spooks
I loved the bi representation in this book and I also loved the direction that De Elizabeth decided to go with the romance. I listened to the audiobook and listened to this all in one day–almost completely in one sitting. This was such a relaxing read for me. For any gamers out there, this audiobook with Meltopia was my life for a whole afternoon.

This was the first book that I read by this author and I will definitely pick up future books! I think I might need a shelf trophy as well, because I'm obsessed with this cover.]]> 3.79 2026
author: De Elizabeth
name: Elle
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2026
rating: 5
read at: 2026/09/08
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: spooks
review:
4.5/5 stars rounded up.

I loved the bi representation in this book and I also loved the direction that De Elizabeth decided to go with the romance. I listened to the audiobook and listened to this all in one day–almost completely in one sitting. This was such a relaxing read for me. For any gamers out there, this audiobook with Meltopia was my life for a whole afternoon.

This was the first book that I read by this author and I will definitely pick up future books! I think I might need a shelf trophy as well, because I'm obsessed with this cover.
]]> 240019879 Doppelgängers, corporate intrigue, heartbreak, betrayal, and the harsh permanence of the border: Sublimation is a thrilling and provocative debut for fans of Severance that asks what you'd sacrifice for a different life from award-winning author Isabel J. Kim.

The border cuts you in two.

When you immigrate, you leave a copy of yourself behind, an instance. One person enters their new country; the other stays trapped at home.

Some instances keep in touch, call each other daily, keep their lives and minds in sync in the hopes of reintegrating and resuming a life as one person. Others, like Soyoung Rose Kang, leave home at ten years old and never speak to their other selves again. Rose, in America, never imagined going back to Korea until her grandfather died and her Korean instance called her home for the funeral.

She doesn’t know that Soyoung plans to steal her body and her life.

How far would you go to live the choice you didn’t make?]]> 368 Isabel J. Kim 1250376793 Elle 3 spooks, book-box, owned 3.55 2026
author: Isabel J. Kim
name: Elle
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/06/27
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: spooks, book-box, owned
review:

]]> 242977939 400 Nick Cutter 1668079569 Elle 4 3.74 2026
author: Nick Cutter
name: Elle
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/05/31
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 41104077
Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women​, diving into women’s lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor’s office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable exposé that will change the way you look at the world.]]> 448 Caroline Criado Pérez 1419729071 Elle 0 to-read, womens-history 4.34 2019
author: Caroline Criado Pérez
name: Elle
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read, womens-history
review:

]]> 32191706 de facto segregation—that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation—the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments—that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.

Through extraordinary revelations and extensive research that Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded as "brilliant" (The Atlantic), Rothstein comes to chronicle nothing less than an untold story that begins in the 1920s, showing how this process of de jure segregation began with explicit racial zoning, as millions of African Americans moved in a great historical migration from the south to the north.

As Jane Jacobs established in her classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, it was the deeply flawed urban planning of the 1950s that created many of the impoverished neighborhoods we know. Now, Rothstein expands our understanding of this history, showing how government policies led to the creation of officially segregated public housing and the demolition of previously integrated neighborhoods. While urban areas rapidly deteriorated, the great American suburbanization of the post–World War II years was spurred on by federal subsidies for builders on the condition that no homes be sold to African Americans. Finally, Rothstein shows how police and prosecutors brutally upheld these standards by supporting violent resistance to black families in white neighborhoods.

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited future discrimination but did nothing to reverse residential patterns that had become deeply embedded. Yet recent outbursts of violence in cities like Baltimore, Ferguson, and Minneapolis show us precisely how the legacy of these earlier eras contributes to persistent racial unrest. “The American landscape will never look the same to readers of this important book” (Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund), as Rothstein’s invaluable examination shows that only by relearning this history can we finally pave the way for the nation to remedy its unconstitutional past.]]> 368 Richard Rothstein 1631492853 Elle 0 to-read 4.44 2017
author: Richard Rothstein
name: Elle
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51152447 The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.

“As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which do not.”

In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.]]> 544 Isabel Wilkerson 0593230256 Elle 0 to-read 4.51 2020
author: Isabel Wilkerson
name: Elle
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 33917107
On November 9th, millions of Americans woke up to the impossible: the election of Donald Trump as president. Against all predictions, one of the most-disliked presidential candidates in history had swept the electoral college, elevating a man with open contempt for democratic norms and institutions to the height of power.

Timothy Snyder is one of the most celebrated historians of the Holocaust. In his books Bloodlands and Black Earth, he has carefully dissected the events and values that enabled the rise of Hitler and Stalin and the execution of their catastrophic policies. With Twenty Lessons, Snyder draws from the darkest hours of the twentieth century to provide hope for the twenty-first. As he writes, “Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism and communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.”

Twenty Lessons is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.]]> 127 Timothy Snyder 0804190119 Elle 0 to-read 4.28 2017
author: Timothy Snyder
name: Elle
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40538681
Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers not only its own citizens, but all of humanity. It is a story that has long remained in dispute, clouded from the beginning in secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation.

Midnight In Chernobyl is an indelible portrait of history's worst nuclear disaster, of human resilience and ingenuity and the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will - lessons which, in the face of climate change and other threats - remain not just vital but necessary.

Now, Higginbotham brings us closer to the truth behind this colossal tragedy.]]> 538 Adam Higginbotham 1501134612 Elle 0 to-read 4.34 2019
author: Adam Higginbotham
name: Elle
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 37794149
Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

A fascinating space opera debut novel, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure.]]> 448 Arkady Martine 1529001587 Elle 0 to-read 4.07 2019
author: Arkady Martine
name: Elle
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32758901 All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.]]> 144 Martha Wells Elle 0 to-read 4.08 2017
author: Martha Wells
name: Elle
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61190770 The Handmaid's Tale, Squid Game and Watchmen

Welcome to Chain-Gang All-Stars, the popular and highly controversial programme inside America's prison system. In packed arenas, watched by millions of live-stream viewers, prisoners compete as gladiators for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

Fan favourites Loretta Thurwar and Hamara 'Hurricane Staxxx' Stacker are teammates and lovers. Thurwar is nearing the end of her time on the circuit, free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares for her final encounters, as protestors gather at the gates, and as the programme's corporate owners stack the odds against her - will the price be simply too high?]]> 367 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 0593317335 Elle 0 to-read 4.11 2023
author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
name: Elle
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40864002 ASIN B08H831J18 moved to the more recent edition

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?]]> 151 Becky Chambers Elle 0 to-read 4.20 2021
author: Becky Chambers
name: Elle
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42046112 MEMORY MAKES REALITY.

That's what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It's why she's dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

At once a relentless page-turner and an intricate science-fiction puzzle box about time, identity, and memory, Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious, mind-boggling, irresistible work to date.]]> 329 Blake Crouch 1524759783 Elle 0 to-read 4.14 2019
author: Blake Crouch
name: Elle
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 236772741 A conqueror’s blade brought them low, burning their libraries, killing their lords, and extinguishing their eldritch magic.

But defiant against the new order stands the House of Teeth and its last living members: beautiful Marozia, the heiress to the House, and her cousin, the uncanny Lady Agnes.

Though she has not spoken a word in seven years, Agnes is the true carrier of the House’s legacy. And she has her orders. She must recapture the secrets of death magic and avenge her family’s fallen honor. She must arrange the betrothal of her beloved cousin Marozia to Liuprand, heir to the conqueror’s throne, for access to the forbidden library in his grotesquely grand castle.

Revenge burns in Agnes’s heart but so do stranger passions—and it is Liuprand, the golden prince, who speaks to her soul. This passion is as treasonous as it is powerful, poisoning the kingdom’s roots and threatening to tear the already shattered realm in two.

For Agnes’s final order is the gravest: She must not fall in love.]]> 560 Ava Reid 0593722590 Elle 2 owned, spooks
Overall just didn’t find this story too enticing. I kept waiting for it to end. I would’ve liked it a lot more if the pregnancy plot was scrapped. I probably would’ve avoided this book if I knew how prevalent it was, but I went into this decently blind.

Not my cup of tea.]]> 3.54 2026
author: Ava Reid
name: Elle
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2026
rating: 2
read at: 2026/09/07
date added: 2026/09/08
shelves: owned, spooks
review:
God, this book was a nightmare as someone that hates reading about anything pertaining to pregnancy and motherhood. Lots of other sensitive content in this book, but I personally didn’t struggle with it as a horror reader.

Overall just didn’t find this story too enticing. I kept waiting for it to end. I would’ve liked it a lot more if the pregnancy plot was scrapped. I probably would’ve avoided this book if I knew how prevalent it was, but I went into this decently blind.

Not my cup of tea.
]]> 244709943 A debut Gothic horror set in 1870s Brazil—a tale of creeping suspense in which a young pregnant woman finds herself unable to escape her lover’s isolated family home, and a family’s deal with the devil goes terribly wrong.

1877, Pernambuco, Brazil: Raised in a deeply religious household, Madalena knows Dante’s Inferno by heart and fears her mother’s reaction as much as she fears God. When she falls pregnant with a child conceived in sin, her mother issues a threat: marry or surrender the baby. Madalena is confident that the father, the dashing Leandro Neves, will do right by her and propose. But just as she is about to tell him about the baby, a violent storm sends their carriage careening off the road.

Madalena awakens in Leandro’s sprawling, secluded home, under the care of the mysterious and larger-than-life Doctor Lobo. Leandro is there . . . but he is no longer the charming poet she knew. He’s silent. Obsessed. Always watching.

Strange perfume haunts a locked room. Pages vanish from books. Jewels lie untouched in a forgotten wardrobe. And mirrors begin disappearing after Madalena sees something—or someone—ghastly in the reflection.

Leandro is unraveling. Doctor Lobo may be hiding something even darker. Trapped in a decaying house of secrets, Madalena must uncover the truth before the men around her destroy her, and before the hell she fears becomes the one she’s living in.]]> 304 Isabela Livino Elle 4 spooks 4.16 2026
author: Isabela Livino
name: Elle
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2026
rating: 4
read at: 2026/09/06
date added: 2026/09/06
shelves: spooks
review:

]]> 242376245 One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…

His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than he answers.

Theo visits the local coffeehouse, where ninety-two pencil portraits hang on the walls, portraits of the people of Golden done by a local artist. He begins purchasing them, one at a time, and putting them back in the hands of their “rightful owners.” With each exchange, a story is told, a friendship born, and a life altered.

A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted novel about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another.]]> 400 Allen Levi 1668236516 Elle 0 to-read, owned 4.33 2023
author: Allen Levi
name: Elle
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/06
shelves: to-read, owned
review:

]]> 250728865
The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game.]]> 388 Matt Dinniman 0593820274 Elle 0 to-read, owned 4.34 2021
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Elle
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/06
shelves: to-read, owned
review:

]]> 153747 "It is the horrible texture of a fabric that should be woven of ships' cables and hawsers. A Polar wind blows through it, and birds of prey hover over it."

So Melville wrote of his masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history. In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby-Dick is also a profound inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.

This edition of Moby-Dick, which reproduces the definitive text of the novel, includes invaluable explanatory notes, along with maps, illustrations, and a glossary of nautical terms.]]> 720 Herman Melville 0142437247 Elle 0 to-read, owned 3.55 1851
author: Herman Melville
name: Elle
average rating: 3.55
book published: 1851
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/06
shelves: to-read, owned
review:

]]> 244964052 “No author working today comes close to Jeff Strand’s perfect mixture of comedy and terror.”—Cemetery Dance

The game you can’t stop playing… even if it kills you.

Fun Times at the Bloodbath may be the most insanely violent video game ever designed. The only thing more addictive than playing is the chaos it unleashes. Currently, only a select few have played the beta version, and it’s to die for… literally.

Players are instantly addicted to the point of death: one man dies of dehydration, a woman brutally murders her husband with a meat cleaver after he unplugs the console, and others violently defend their right to keep playing and harm anyone who gets in the way.

Margo’s brother is one of the game’s victims, and she is determined to uncover the game’s creators and prevent anyone else from succumbing to its addictive grasp. As she discovers the sinister plot behind Fun Times at the Bloodbath, Margo tries to warn people before it launches to the general public. But with threats to herself, her family, and anyone who helps her, she’s right to be scared…

When Fun Times at the Bloodbath launches nationwide, the United States is plunged into chaos, and the rest of the world is next. As the carnage spreads, Margo and others impacted by the game’s toxic hold infiltrate the company and shut it down before it’s game over for everyone.]]> 240 Jeff Strand 1639512365 Elle 3 arcs, owned, spooks 3.5/5 stars 4.09
author: Jeff Strand
name: Elle
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2026/09/06
date added: 2026/09/06
shelves: arcs, owned, spooks
review:
3.5/5 stars
]]> 230422720
They were all murdered by the same man.

He hunted them online, masquerading as an eligible bachelor. Then he played the perfect gentleman, a thick layer of charm and a thousand-watt smile hiding the fact that his first dates end in shallow graves.

He’s gotten away with murder three times now.

The only thing that might keep him from killing again? The women he murdered.

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye might be dead, but they’re not gone. They’ve found each other. And they won’t rest until they find a way to stop him.

The haunt is on.]]> 289 Noelle W. Ihli 1496761243 Elle 4 spooks, owned 4.10 2022
author: Noelle W. Ihli
name: Elle
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/12
date added: 2026/09/06
shelves: spooks, owned
review:

]]> 254345960 A chilling thriller, perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gardner, exploring the dark side of police culture and family trauma.

Bree knew that life married to a beat cop would be tough, especially in the crime-infested city of East Bernheim, but she believes they will be fine living in the Burner even after she has their first child. Family life is manageable until one day crime follows them home, threatening their safety.

At a loss of how to keep his family safe and keep his job, Jake agrees to stretch their finances and move an hour away, to a bigger house in a somewhat better neighborhood. Their life seems to improve until Bree, heavily pregnant with their second child, begins to hear voices and suffer strange dreams. And then when tragedy strikes on the job, Jake enters a spiral of guilt and grief that degrades his grip on reality.

Bree, isolated and struggling, must protect her children from the one person she thought would always keep them safe. She and Jake are haunted in every way, and not just by whatever is lurking inside the house. A thriller that tackles toxic masculinity in police culture and trauma, Every Fall will have you on the edge of your seat.

Content warnings: postpartum depression, spousal abuse, infidelity, violence, opioids, and death.]]> 351 Angela Douglas 1067810730 Elle 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Angela Douglas
name: Elle
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 201335514 A Spooky Paranormal Cookbook with Delightfully Creepy Meals, Eerie Destinations, and Spine-Tingling Ghost Tales
Discover tantalizing recipes, spine-tingling stories, and historic photos from the most notoriously haunted locations across America in this fun and fascinating cookbook. Paranormal investigator and Kindred Spirits co-host Amy Bruni leads you through eerie hotels, haunted homes, hellish hospitals, and spooky ghost towns, giving you stories and a recipe from each place.

Whether you're in the mood for Lizzie Borden's meatloaf or want to serve up spooky prison stories along with sugar cookies from Alcatraz, Food to Die For is your guide to ghoulish gastronomy.

One of America's favorite ghost hunters, Amy Bruni takes you to mysterious hotels, eerie ghost towns, and possessed pubs in this delightfully sinister collection of stories and recipes. Each of the nearly 60 locations in Food to Die For 

Vintage photographs and charmingly creepy stories rooted in historyA noteworthy recipe associated with the people or placeFull-color, captivating, and hauntingly styled food photos to inspire a killer kitchen experienceThis terrifyingly tasty cookbook will bewitch anyone

Has a taste for the paranormal and a hunger to try new foodsLoves history, travel, and culinary curiositiesEnjoys entertaining guests in unique and memorable waysWould get goosebumps making a recipe written 300 years ago 

History buffs, thrill-seekers, and foodies will all get shivers seeing the past come to life with every enchanted recipe and delicious tale from Food to Die For.]]> 281 Amy Bruni 1400245591 Elle 0 to-read 4.16 2024
author: Amy Bruni
name: Elle
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62216903
Soon he’ll learn there are worse fates.

After a brutal accident, John awakens in the dilapidated Crimoria Convent under the care of thirteen unconventional nuns. Grievous injuries trap him within the borders of the ruined sanctuary and its strangely successful vineyard. When his body starts healing faster than nature allows, John’s questions quickly pile up.

A pair of Church auditors arrive to look into the convent’s finances. It’s obvious the pair are unwelcome guests, but John has bigger concerns. The order’s annual ritual draws near and John begins to discover things that make him wonder if any of them are truly safe in the hands of the Sisters of the Crimson Vine.
“A taut braid of repressed desires, implied deviance, and eldritch horror. McMillan coyly lures us to a finale as repulsive as it is compelling.” – Stoker award-winning Jamie Flanagan, co-writer of The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass

“In her masterful debut novella, Sisters of the Crimson Vine, P.L. McMillan cultivates dread like a fine wine. The more we sip, the deeper we sink into this insidious tale grown from the seed of Jackson’s “The Lottery” planted in a Lovecraftian terroir and harvested in Ari Aster’s Midsommar. Like the title characters’ famed libation, you will not be able to stop reading once you imbibe. A drunken sense of imbalance and uncertainty remains with you until the very end. Lovers of the occult will be pleasantly satiated by P.L. McMillan’s gothic offering.” – Stoker award-winning EV Knight, Three Days in the Pink Tower

“Sisters of the Crimson Vine by P.L McMillan is folk horror at its very best. The visuals, tension and mood created then intermixed with undeniable dread and mystery rides the very edges of illumination and darkness. P.L explores themes of religious hypocrisy and the power of women and sacrifices made to survive. She expertly subverts older tropes into something terrifying and new. This book is as vivid and twisted as any Aster movie.” – Brenda S. Tolian, Blood Mountain


“Sisters of the Crimson Vine is a perfectly paced suspenseful story that will make you want to savor every word. Invoking the ominous folk horror atmosphere of the Wicker Man and Midsommer, P.L. serves an unsettling tale of the supernatural bond between women and nature and the power and price of living free from patriarchal dominance.” – Joy Yehle, author and host of The Burial Plot horror podcast]]> 110 P.L. McMillan Elle 0 to-read 4.11
author: P.L. McMillan
name: Elle
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59582255 Disturbing. Original. Terrifying. The 'master of horror' is back with the chilling tale of what lurks in the walls of an abandoned hospital. The perfect Halloween read.

In this abandoned hospital, pain lives on... and it wants revenge.

St Philomena's military hospital has been abandoned for over three years. Now Lilian Chesterfield, who works for one of the most successful building companies in England, is in charge of developing it into a luxury housing complex.

But as soon as she and her colleagues start work in the Jacobean-style mansion, their dream turns into a nightmare. They hear screaming from wards full of empty beds. They hear doors slamming and find cutlery scattered over the kitchen floor. Then they see faces peering at them from the mullioned windows.

Lilian is pragmatic – she doesn't believe in the supernatural. But just when she's put her mind at rest by scouring the mansion from top to bottom and finding nothing, a former patient of St Philomena's arrives with a warning. The hospital is haunted. And it is haunted by something a thousand times more terrifying than ghosts...

Perfect to read at Halloween and for fans of The Haunting of Hill House, The Shining and The Woman in Black.]]> 326 Graham Masterton 1801104018 Elle 2 spooks, ebooks 3.37 2022
author: Graham Masterton
name: Elle
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2026/08/25
date added: 2026/09/03
shelves: spooks, ebooks
review:

]]> 256274082 "Don't let him in."

Widow's Bay meets Haunting Adeline in this standalone dark gothic horror romance from the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of Blood Orange, Grave Matter and Realm of Thieves.

When Iris Galloway inherits her great-aunt's cottage on a remote Scottish loch, the terms are live there one year, and it's hers.

She doesn't know about the disappearances yet, nor does she know about the handsome man who swims in the loch at night, who watches her cottage from the dark water, and who appears at her door very wet, very naked, and asking to come in.

Meanwhile, the locals warn her about a murderer on the loose, the police are in over their heads, and her aunt's letters say to keep the salt lines around the house and the doors locked after sundown.

And never, ever invite him inside.

But Iris has spent her whole life being careful.

And this wicked stranger is going to ruin her for it.

Bonetide is a dark gothic romance that’s tinged with horror. While this book starts off almost like a cozy gothic mystery, it does pivot later into darker territory. Which also gets a little weird. If you’re here for the cozy, know that it doesn’t stay cozy. If you’re here for the dark romance, know that it’s coming. Please see inside the book or author's website for the content warnings. ]]> 496 Karina Halle Elle 0 to-read 4.09
author: Karina Halle
name: Elle
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/09/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 244967613 TIME ONLY MAKES THE NIGHTMARE MORE REAL.

Something lives under Willa’s bed. As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read. Now thirty-two, Willa is a reclusive but successful painter until a bombshell news report exposes her identity as the controversial survivor of the unsolved Rapture Mystery Slayings, a small-town tragedy that splashed across headlines during her senior year of high school. Six teenagers died in the woods while Willa walked free, and everyone thinks she killed them.

When an old classmate calls about a funeral, Willa reluctantly travels to her sleepy hometown, where the possessed forest that stole her friends looms. The trees whistle for her attention, but she knows better than to listen. And the unexplained knocking from the shadows in the basement of her decaying childhood home is honestly the least of her problems.

As her past pulls her back to the place she swore she’d never return, Willa is drawn toward the monster she left behind—and becoming the villain her hometown has always believed her to be.]]> 320 Emily Zinnikas 1250454786 Elle 3 arcs, owned
I wanted to see more about the monster under the bed, and the basement. The idea of both were intriguing but ended up being underwhelming and underutilized. I didn’t love the segment with Nathaniel either. The execution of this book and all of the different ideas didn’t come together very well for me. All of this being said, it did still manage to hold my interest and the vibes were creepy. Definitely still an enjoyable read even though I did have some complaints with it.

Won this book in a GR giveaway, but all opinions are still my own. ]]> 3.90 2026
author: Emily Zinnikas
name: Elle
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/09/01
date added: 2026/09/01
shelves: arcs, owned
review:
I’m pretty conflicted on this one. I liked the writing and the premise was fantastic but I feel as though there were too many things in this book and not enough was fleshed out.

I wanted to see more about the monster under the bed, and the basement. The idea of both were intriguing but ended up being underwhelming and underutilized. I didn’t love the segment with Nathaniel either. The execution of this book and all of the different ideas didn’t come together very well for me. All of this being said, it did still manage to hold my interest and the vibes were creepy. Definitely still an enjoyable read even though I did have some complaints with it.

Won this book in a GR giveaway, but all opinions are still my own.
]]> 34369803
As a young actor at an elite conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same characters onstage and off – villain, hero, temptress – though he was always a supporting role. But when the teachers change the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into real life.

When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless...]]> 422 M.L. Rio 1785656473 Elle 5 cherished, owned, ebooks
This was still a lovely read the second time around, and I actually had forgotten some details which made for an even better rereading experience.

Such a perfect autumn read and it gives me the same feeling that The Secret History does. I may need to add this to my recurring rereading list.]]> 4.25 2017
author: M.L. Rio
name: Elle
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2026/09/01
date added: 2026/09/01
shelves: cherished, owned, ebooks
review:
I hadn't read this book since 2019, so I figured now was the perfect time for a reread.

This was still a lovely read the second time around, and I actually had forgotten some details which made for an even better rereading experience.

Such a perfect autumn read and it gives me the same feeling that The Secret History does. I may need to add this to my recurring rereading list.
]]> 232885735 IT WAS EVERYTHING THEY WANTED. AND MORE THAN THEY BARGAINED FOR . . .

Adam and Jess move into a new house—a rambling Victorian villa at the very top of their price range—with their three young children. Before long Adam discovers a door hidden behind a fitted wardrobe, concealing a secret room . . .

Inside Adam discovers a collection of forgotten a wallet, an expensive watch and an old mobile phone. Jess thinks they should simply throw them away. But Adam resists. He is fascinated by these items and how they came to be inside the hidden room.

But like the house, Adam has his secrets too. And soon he will find himself setting in motion a series of events that will place his family in terrible danger . . .]]> 416 T.M. Logan 1538771896 Elle 3 3.58 2026
author: T.M. Logan
name: Elle
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2026
rating: 3
read at: 2026/08/31
date added: 2026/08/31
shelves:
review:

]]> 246972871 She summoned him for luck. He wants her for eternity. An inventor and a star-born beast collide in this hauntingly dark romantic fantasy by USA Today bestselling author I.V. Ophelia.

In the bioluminescent, star-worshipping city of Astraea, inventor and occultist Lucia Fairfax harvests a particular currency from the shadows—luck itself—drawn from a dimension she calls the Otherside. But when her latest ritual fails and her husband dies tragically, her carefully cultivated fortune bleeds dry.

Lucia’s desperate to restore her power, but her next ritual goes catastrophically wrong, summoning something far more Altair, a cosmic entity born of an ancient constellation. He is both human and not—impossibly seductive, unnervingly sentient, and the key to restoring what she’s a way to the Otherside.

Crossing into Altair’s realm is the most dangerous thing Lucia has ever done—and the most irresistible. There, she unravels the intoxicating secrets of the Otherside, the disturbing truth about her abilities, and the terrifying depth of his hunger. But with each revelation, escape slips further from reach. Trapped between worlds, Lucia must confront a devastating Love, desire, and ambition all have their price. And Altair is eager to collect.]]> 314 I.V. Ophelia 1662534612 Elle 0 to-read 3.67 2026
author: I.V. Ophelia
name: Elle
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/08/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 252096452 A wellness retreat turns deadly when a violent storm churns up grief and betrayal…and murder reveals a shocking truth.

Surrounded by lush rainforest high in the Cascades, Echo Ridge Sanctuary is the picture of calm and isolation. Visitors flock there to better their souls. But some souls are too fractured to fix—and after murder rocks its tranquil grounds, the luxury wellness retreat descends into chaos.

Tai chi instructor Jade Vega, reeling from a recent betrayal, accepts her aunt’s offer to teach at Echo Ridge, hoping to unplug and heal. Guest Naomi March, grief-stricken after one daughter’s death, seeks similar solace with her other daughter by her side.

But the sanctuary’s promise of serenity shatters when two more guests arrive. Jade’s former best friend and business partner appears, and her new fiancé is the one man Naomi’s family has never been able to forgive.

When a violent storm traps them among the towering evergreens and suspended walkways, there’s more to fear than just wind and rain. Secrets, paranoia, and revenge abound—and a killer lurks somewhere in the shadows.]]> Audrey J. Cole 166254278X Elle 4 arcs, spooks
I love books with this kind of plot. They're like a guilty pleasure of mine. This had a good bit of drama in it that had me guessing the motives of every single character. I liked that the author was able to paint every character as unreliable.

While this book kept me thoroughly entertained, I personally found the reveal to be pretty obvious. I don't think it was necessarily a bad thing though since I was still interested to see the reasoning behind it. There were also moments after I locked in on my choice for the culprit that had me second guessing myself.

Predictable? Maybe. Enjoyable? Absolutely. I'll definitely pick up another book by this author again in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.]]> 4.26 2027
author: Audrey J. Cole
name: Elle
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2027
rating: 4
read at: 2026/08/29
date added: 2026/08/30
shelves: arcs, spooks
review:
3.75/5 stars rounded up

I love books with this kind of plot. They're like a guilty pleasure of mine. This had a good bit of drama in it that had me guessing the motives of every single character. I liked that the author was able to paint every character as unreliable.

While this book kept me thoroughly entertained, I personally found the reveal to be pretty obvious. I don't think it was necessarily a bad thing though since I was still interested to see the reasoning behind it. There were also moments after I locked in on my choice for the culprit that had me second guessing myself.

Predictable? Maybe. Enjoyable? Absolutely. I'll definitely pick up another book by this author again in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
]]> 231904111 360 Andrew K. Clark 1958228974 Elle 0 to-read, spooks 4.32
author: Andrew K. Clark
name: Elle
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2026/08/30
shelves: to-read, spooks
review:

]]>