Tag: horror

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

Queer horror has definitely had a resurgence this year, and House of Hunger is one of my favorites of them all. There’s a sprawling estate with plenty of secrets inside and a vampiric regime that preys on impoverished women. Henderson has perfected the gothic atmosphere, combining the horrific, an analysis of desire, and a sweeping narrative that ensnares the senses. Following heroine Marion, as she applies for the position of bloodmaid, and discovers the truth behind the illustrious houses of the North, this novel delves deep into its corrupted heart. House of Hunger comes packed with a gruesome twist that you won’t want to miss!

Trigger warnings: blood, death, violence, gore, murder, torture

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A Dowry of Blood by S.T Gibson

An exquisite reimagining of Dracula’s Brides in the form of an open letter from the first bride Constanta; A Dowry of Blood is an achingly haunting and beautiful novel that spans centuries in the life of its narrator. S.T Gibson devises an evocative narrative, chronicling the quiet descent from love into violence over many years. This queer polyamorous vampire novel has re-debuted this October through Orbit and what better time to read it than the Halloween season. Everything about this is exquisite, a combination of sapphic yearning at the opera, found family, and a moving exploration of relationship abuse.

Trigger warnings: Emotional abuse, blood, death, murder, abuse

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Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

Continuing the trend of retellings, Juniper & Thorn is one of my favorites, a gothic horror retelling of The Juniper Tree that just released this year. Honestly, Ava Reid is THE author for fantasy and the gothic, and they always manage to deliver an impeccable story that ticks all the boxes. Juniper & Thorn is a phenomenal story full of monsters that await you down dark hallways and the ones within. Its examination of survivorhood, defiance, and the monstrous is something I will carry with me for a long time. If any gothic horror is going to stick with you, it’s going to be this one.

Trigger warnings: violence, emotional abuse, gore, blood, death, murder, body horror, cannibalism, eating disorder (bulimia), vomiting (graphic), sexual assault, antisemitism, xenophobia, drug use

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The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

The Death of Jane Lawrence has been aptly compared to Crimson Peak, with a narrative so mind-boggling it completely threw me over. Set in a dark version of Post-War England, we follow the bright and practical Jane Shoringfield as she makes a marriage of convenience centered around a bargain she won’t be able to uphold. This is one of the most brilliant and unnerving books that I have ever read within the horror genre. Starling weaves a startling story with layers that cannot be fully parsed with just one glance and one that I continue to think about to this day. It’s gothic horror with a historical layer and a side of discontent.

Trigger warnings: Blood, gore, medical procedures, drug use, child death, death, gaslighting

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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

An instant recommendation of mine is always going to be Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This is comped as Rebecca meets The Yellow Wallpaper, and honestly, nothing could be a more accurate comparison. A gothic that burns slowly and then doesn’t catch its breath until the very end —complete with a twist that still keeps me up at night, Mexican Gothic is a great venture into gothic horror. Moreno-Garcia is one of my all-time favorite writers, with an insane capacity to genre-shift and spin the stories that stay with you. Mexican Gothic is arguably her most well-known novel, and for good reason. It’s got a creepy family estate, and a horrific family legacy to unpack before its smashing conclusion.

Trigger warnings: Violence, death, body horror, sexual assault, sexism

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This is coming a bit late into the season so I’ve already had the chance to revisit a few of these and try some new reads. The books above remain my absolute favorites of what the gothic has to offer, and if you try and like any, be sure to reach out and let me know. Every single one of these authors has other works I have adored, and I cannot recommend delving into their backlist, especially if you liked any of them. Currently, any and all of Jennifer McMahon’s books are on my upcoming reading list, as well as a few of Paul Tremblay’s horror novels. Both authors have provided a fascinating dive into the horror genre and I hope to read more before the season is out!

Review: House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

August 18, 2022March 25, 2025 RobinLeave a comment

The advertisement in the paper seems almost written in blood. It comes on behalf of the illustrious houses of the far north, where wealthy nobles live for the finer pleasures of human blood, relying on young women known as bloodmaids to supply it. Happening upon this strange advert is Marion Shaw, a young woman desperate to leave her current circumstances, yet with no hopes of doing so – until now. When a taster deems her blood an exquisite and rare taste, Marion is taken north to be presented as a potential new bloodmaid, where she finds herself the newest member of the notorious House of Hunger. Drawn into the dark world of which Countess Lisavet rules, Marion is quickly swept up in her allure and a hopeless desire to please her. The walls of the house cannot hide everything, and when an expulsion of the head bloodmaid reveals a pattern of past bloodmaids gone missing, Marion learns that deep within the house, lies something truly wretched.

House of Hunger is the unforgiving gothic horror of my dreams, soaked in blood and depravity. One look at its premise, and I could feel in my soul that this was going to be an instant favorite. With vivid descriptions and luscious prose, Alexis Henderson paints an alluring picture of a desolate house set on a sprawling estate and the noble families for whom the taste of blood still holds sway. Where desperate young women plucked from poverty are traded comfort in exchange for the endless supply of blood they can provide. Right from the get-go, this novel scorched a direct path to my heart, assisted by a devastating gothic atmosphere that slowly captured an essence of disquiet, building like a horrific symphony I could not look away from. Of course, no gothic horror is complete without its resilient leading lady, and Marion Shaw is certainly that, a sensational protagonist to follow as the truth behind the house of hunger is unveiled. Entangled in a hypnotic seduction with Countess Lisavet and set off by an unsettling discovery, Marion’s journey was everything I could have possibly asked for, fraught with disillusion and a descent from unwavering devotion into violence. Henderson did an amazing job balancing why someone in Marion’s position would be willing to enter into a bloodmaid contract, and how the wealthy took advantage of these women, that in their eyes, were easily expendable. Coupled with intensifying house politics, the claustrophobic feel of the narrative, and the revelation to the inner workings of the houses, this story takes a depraved and horrifying final bow. House of Hunger is everything I could possibly want in a horror novel, a fearsomely dark tale with a corrupted center.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing this arc.

Trigger warnings: blood, death, violence, gore, murder

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Review: The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

July 28, 2022March 24, 2025 RobinLeave a comment

On the outskirts of England lies a secret society, a line of supernatural beings known as book eaters that consume books as food, retaining all of their content and knowledge. Threatened by their ever dwindling numbers, book eater women are raised into a life of marriage contracts and childbearing. In spite of this, Devon Fairweather, the sole daughter of an old clan, has grown up curious, but with the birth and subsequent seizure of her firstborn daughter, Devon realizes the truth of her circumstance. When her second son is born a mind eater, a darker subset of book eaters with a hunger for human minds, Devon vows not to make the same mistake and flees with him. Freedom is not all it is cut out to be, and as Devon and her son Cai attempt to live among humans, she is forced to do horrifying things for them to survive. Against her will, Devon is drawn deeper into the inner workings of her kind, until remaining free becomes a matter of unspeakable sacrifice.

The Book Eaters is a decadent dark fantasy novel alight with imagination and a fierce kind of devotion. Debut author Sunyi Dean draws together a contemporary gothic horror narrative centered around the power of stories and breaking free from a restrictive upbringing. It’s an altogether fitting title for a book that I aptly devoured in just one evening. With a striking atmosphere that evolved with Devon’s recount of her past, I fell in love with the imagery presented and the progressing themes of loss, patriarchy, and control. I wholly admire the emotional journey this book guided me on, quietly leading me through Devon’s descent into disillusion and ferocious fight for her and her son’s freedom. Narrative structure, in turn, is what really set this up for success. The flip between the past and the present was delicately done, slowly revealing Devon’s history and its influences on her current thoughts and actions. Dean’s use of epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter worked in the same fashion, lending themselves to the larger issue of how the stories we are exposed to can shape our capacity for possibility. How love lends itself to sacrifice and restricting imagination becomes control. The topic of motherhood is subtly investigated on behalf of Dean, as Devon comes to accept that love doesn’t have to be another form of control and she becomes more ruthless in the face of her son’s survival. While it was a smaller subplot, Devon’s evolving relationship with Hester and her own sexuality really sealed the deal for me on this one. Book eaters may consume texts to survive, but at the center of this debut is a testament to the role of stories in shaping our minds. Devon’s character arc illustrates beautifully the impact of new experiences on broadening our opportunities and view of ourselves. Beautifully constructed and deeply moving, The Book Eaters is a feast of a novel, interlocked with a quest for agency, transformation, and ultimately identity.

Thank you to Edelweiss for providing this arc to review

Trigger warnings: Body horror, gore, explicit violence, domestic abuse, violence against children

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Review: Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

May 24, 2022March 24, 2025 Robin1 Comment

Marlinchen is a witch, youngest of three daughters to a cursed wizard, living out her days in a city transforming from magic to industry. Last of the true witches in all of Oblya, she and her sisters cling to their gifts, which are little more than entertainment to the general populace and an asset to their father. Sequestered within the walls of their home, Marlinchen spends much of her free time placating the unending appetites of their authoritative father and utilizing her gifts to discern the truth from her clientele. The evening brings escape, as Marlinchen and her sisters creep into the city to partake in its revels and observe the captivating ballet theatre. These nighttime escapades offer salvation, but when Marlinchen captures the attention of a ballet dancer just as lost and isolated, her visits to the outside world become less uncommon. Entangled between the rage and hunger of her father, and her own desires, Marlinchen is caught in a snare, and the cost of freedom may be far more monstrous than she ever imagined.

When I heard that Ava Reid had written a gothic horror retelling of The Juniper Tree, there was nothing I wouldn’t do to read it at the soonest possible chance. Having absolutely worshiped her adult debut, The Wolf and the Woodsman, this novel promised to ruin me without remorse as much as its precursor. True to the fact, Juniper & Thorn is utterly gruesome, vividly capturing a darkness and horror that lingers down dark halls and underneath floorboards waiting for the prime moment to sink in its teeth. Reid is masterful at their craft, seamlessly blending horror and fantasy together in a story completely grotesque and illustrative of a blooming rose clouded among thorny brambles. Every sentence in this novel is striking, with imagery and prose that threatened to devour me whole. In time with the story, lore and fairytales play an important part in the main narrative, intersecting the vein of Marlinchen’s character development and the understanding of her own situation. These sporadic fairytales were definitely some of my favorite parts of the whole book, getting after the core themes and relationships between the main characters. At this point, Reid’s capability for writing complex relationships is unquestionable, particularly ones that are nuanced and not simply good or bad, yet those you cannot help but love all the more. Three characters that come to mind are Marlinchen and her sisters Undine and Rose, as they endured years of abuse at the hands of their father, and impacted one another in continuously damaging ways. In turn, Marlinchen’s love interest Sevas was entirely endearing and latched on to my heart as the two attempted to escape their situations. A captivating gothic horror with a brutal design, Juniper & Thorn is imbued with memory, an examination of abuse, and survivorhood in all forms.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc to review.

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Review: The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

November 5, 2021March 24, 2025 Robin2 Comments

The crumbling manor at Lindridge Hall hides a deadly secret, one that will be unearthed when its new mistress steps over the threshold. Jane Shoringfield is nothing short of practical, and having reached the end of her living period with her guardians, decides that the most logical way forward will be to secure herself a husband. The chosen candidate for this transaction is the reclusive, yet handsome, doctor Augustine, whose profession may provide her with the very independence that she requires. Augustine agrees to this marriage of convenience, on the agreement that Jane never set foot in Lindridge Hall, his family estate just outside of town. Nonetheless, on the night of their wedding, a chance storm leaves her stranded and Jane is forced to return to the manor. When she arrives, she finds the demeanor of her husband gone, and in its place a frightened and paranoid man unable to discern reality from fiction. Morning comes, and Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows deep within her bones that something is horribly wrong with her husband and the house she now occupies. A profound fear only magnified by her continued stay within the manor’s walls.

Placed within the realm of Crimson Peak, Rebecca, and Shirley Jackson, The Death of Jane Lawrence is an impressive gothic horror novel that fucked with my mind in the best way possible. Set in a dark version of Post-War England, packed full of supernatural and spooky vibes, this is one of the most brilliant and unnerving books that I have read all year. Part of the journey with this novel is in just how much it upends what is understood at any given moment. I started this off scared of the Crimson Peak comparison, and that feeling really never went away because of how often the book turned all of my expectations on their head. The first section is ominous, hung over with impending dread that is drawn out like poison from a wound upon the first occurrence with Jane and Augustine at the manor. This was reminiscent of so many Gothic novels of the past, that sudden shift in tone from an incident, that traverses through to the end of the narrative. There was an unsteady ground between Jane and Augustine present in the first half, as both characters were hiding secrets from the other. Altogether, I loved not really knowing who to put trust in, as I fell into the book’s rhythm to be entirely unpredictable. Past the first half of the novel is where the atmosphere twists into something slightly enigmatic. This is where I puzzled with the text a bit more and was left completely shattered by the end results. A tangled web that I endeavored to take apart in order to make sense of it all. While I will say this section could have been pared down, at that point, it was like the top of a rollercoaster and I was just along for the rest of the ride. In every respect, Caitlin Starling has created a haunting tale, charged with callbacks to iconic gothic fiction of days past. The Death of Jane Lawrence is an eerily brilliant novel that bends reality and twists the mind towards its breaking point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings: blood, gore, violence, death, animal death, medical procedures

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Review: Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

October 26, 2021March 25, 2025 RobinLeave a comment

The gated community of Arcadia Gardens may seem perfect, but within the confines of the neighborhood, a poisonous truth begins to fester, threatening the very serenity promised to its inhabitants. At surface level, adoring housewife Sophia couldn’t ask for a more perfect circumstance. Her life in Arcadia Gardens, her house, and her increasingly absent husband provide her with everything she could possibly imagine. Still, there are things that beg to be questioned, like the strange lock of hair decidedly not hers, or the sliver of bone expertly placed in her knife block. It seems that things might not be as splendid as they seem, and when Sophia goes digging she unearths something that could destroy her seemingly perfect life in seconds.

Comfort Me With Apples is a fantastically dark thriller that delighted and surprised me in unexpected ways. With a bit of The Yellow Wallpaper vibe interspersed throughout this strange mystery, Valente crafts a story made to be questioned at its core. A slowly decaying fruit of a novel that becomes harder and harder to ignore. While not everyone will love the twist of the knife designed, nor the lack of an accurate Gone Girl comparison, those that enjoy being unsettled will love where this novel takes them. Catherynne Valente has always excelled in her prose and Comfort Me With Apples demonstrates that clearly, with gloriously strange, and utterly imaginative language. The rules of the gated community, partnered against the actual storyline cultivates a sense of unease that preys upon the mind until right up at the end. An atmosphere that becomes increasingly more and more ominous. Where the story takes an unanticipated turn, is in the biblical elements included. These surprised me more than I thought they would, but thought they ultimately flushed out the commentary and made the reveal at the end all the more horrific. It really makes me want to go back and read the story all over again to see where the paving was laid. A lot of people have already commented on the incorrect marketing surrounding this book, and while I don’t think this was anything like Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver, or Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, the domestic thriller and fantasy vibe is definitely present here. The only thing that really irked me with Comfort Me With Apples was the length. There was a lot of build-up in the first two-thirds of the novel, and then the confrontation at the end left me with so many questions that could have been avoided had time been taken to draw out the reveal. Key opinion with this one: I just wanted more. Catherynne Valente certainly knows how to write an idyllic story with otherwise sinister undertones, however, something that will be perfect for the upcoming Halloween season.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc to review.

Trigger Warnings: death, murder, gaslighting

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Review: The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

August 3, 2021March 25, 2025 Robin2 Comments

Sometimes a family can be a lesbian, her girlfriend, and her two ghosthunting dads, and I think that is truly beautiful. The editor for The Dead and the Dark described it as “like Riverdale, but good,” and they are absolutely right about it. In a quiet town in Oregon on the edge of nowhere, the tragic disappearance of a young boy marks the beginning of a descent into upheaval. Enter into the chaos TV’s resident ghost hunting duo, Brandon and Alejo, returning to their hometown of Snakebite after many years in hopes of solving the disappearance. Joining them in this endeavor is their daughter Logan, who has never felt more out of sorts than she has upon her arrival in the strange town. With more teenagers winding up missing, and still no answers in sight, Logan begins to take matters into her own hands as she enlists the aid of an unlikely stranger. Someone who just might help her discover what lurks behind the shadows.

Upon starting The Dead and the Dark, I began to feel myself slowly unwind as I was led deeper into its tangled web of secrets. Secrets that built up inside my mind until they threatened to crash down the very foundations that had been so delicately composed. All this is an elaborate way of saying that this book not only architectured an intricately layered horror story, but managed to make me cry in the process. A feat that has never been easily attained in my book. Courtney Gould’s inquiry into grief and loneliness is certainly one that evokes emotion and left me with not much else to do but grapple with all that had been expressed. The novel’s subtle exposition of a darkness taking root in a small community, and the ramifications associated with giving such a darkness voice, was such a powerful component throughout. I’ve found that horror grounded in truth will always triumph over everything else and never fail to leave an impression on me. Which is perhaps the strongest part of this debut, and had me thinking for days afterward about the meaning behind it all. Going into this, all I really had in the back of my mind were two things: sapphics + ghosts, and dammit if either of them weren’t flawlessly represented in all parts of the novel. The ghost hunting girlfriend representation the world was waiting for and we all deserve. From the cover alone, I should have known this book would give me everything I needed. A look into an eerie town and the secrets it contains, and a visualization of the resentment that often follows people from place to place. I loved the deep dive into family dynamics and the commentary on how unresolved trauma can adversely impact the relationship between parent and child. Throughout the sinister undertones, that remained apparent and was touched on well. The twisting nature and Stranger Things vibe of this will certainly draw people in, but much like the darkness at work within the town, they will stay entirely for one messy ghosthunting family.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc to review.

Trigger warnings: blood, violence, murder, attempted murder, drowning, funeral, death of a main character, homophobia, homophobic language, hate crimes

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