The real curse isn’t magic; it’s the crushing weight of your own unrealised potential. Olivie Blake’s Gifted & Talented takes the dysfunctional family saga and injects it with a dose of magical realism, corporate backstabbing, and the specific kind of melancholy that haunts former child prodigies. The novel follows the three Wren … Olivie Blake’s Gifted & Talented Review: A Magical Succession StoryRead more
BOOK REVIEWS
Beautiful, Once by Mia Dalia Review: An Apocalypse Story That Bites
When utopia calls the universe, the universe calls back Beautiful, Once by Mia Dalia Review: An Apocalypse Story That Bites Are you ready for the apocalypse? If not, you’d best be getting ready. Mia Dalia knows how the apocalypse will happen. She knows how it’s going to go down. But … Beautiful, Once by Mia Dalia Review: An Apocalypse Story That BitesRead more
2025 Middle Grade Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot: Full Reviews & Ratings
The best Middle Grade horror doesn’t just scare kids. It helps them process real pain. The Middle Grade Bram Stoker Award category remains young. The Horror Writers Association launched it only recently. But the preliminary ballot for 2025 already shows an impressive range. Young Blood has been rating and ranking … 2025 Middle Grade Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot: Full Reviews & RatingsRead more
Killarney Lake Massacre Review: Why This Splatterpunk Novel Hits Harder Than Its Urban Legend
Gore with a pulse. Nunchaku with a point. Splatterpunk meets mother-daughter drama in Kumar Sivasubramanian’s Killarney Lake Massacre, a horror novel that subverts urban legend conventions with absurd humour and genuine emotional weight. When Nandini ventures into the woods to debunk the myth of Sally Pencilneck, a supernatural killer wielding nunchaku, … Killarney Lake Massacre Review: Why This Splatterpunk Novel Hits Harder Than Its Urban LegendRead more
Bar Fridman-Tell’s Honeysuckle: A Flower Girl’s Gilded Cage needs final edirt
Bar Fridman-Tell’s Honeysuckle: A Flower Girl’s Gilded Cage A Review of the Dark Botanical Fantasy Taking Root in Readers’ Minds The most unsettling stories often start with the gentlest of premises. In her debut novel Honeysuckle, Bar Fridman-Tell presents a premise that could be plucked from a child’s sweetest daydream: a … Bar Fridman-Tell’s Honeysuckle: A Flower Girl’s Gilded Cage needs final edirtRead more
Alpha: Review: Julia Ducournau’s Latest Lacks Raw Ferocity
Love and negligence collide in Alpha, a sombre, visually stunning family horror. Expectation is a brutal critic. For a filmmaker like Julia Ducournau, who arrived fully formed with the incendiary Raw in 2016, the weight of anticipation becomes almost impossible to manage. That debut, a cannibalistic coming-of-age story, announced a director unafraid … Alpha: Review: Julia Ducournau’s Latest Lacks Raw FerocityRead more
Dead Silence Book Review: A Strong Sci-Fi Horror Novel
A Haunted Spaceship, A Desperate Crew, and the Terrifying Reality of Corporate Greed Have you ever wondered what happens to the people society leaves behind when they are pushed to the absolute brink of survival? Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes answers that question beautifully. This sci-fi horror book takes the … Dead Silence Book Review: A Strong Sci-Fi Horror NovelRead more
Defensive Wounds by James Everington: A Collection That Changes You
Your home is safe. Your mind is not. James Everington has a habit of misplacing your expectations. (along with T shirts, yeah it still hurts James) His previous collection, Falling Over, introduced a writer who prefers the unsettling angle, the quiet moment that turns strange. With Defensive Wounds, his second collection from … Defensive Wounds by James Everington: A Collection That Changes YouRead more
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher: A Gothic Horror That Crawls Under Your Skin
The horror doesn’t jump. It settles in. And by the time you feel it, it’s already under your skin. Wolf Worm sits comfortably in the top tier of Kingfisher’s work. It shows an author who has refined her craft, who knows exactly what kind of horror she wants to write and … Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher: A Gothic Horror That Crawls Under Your SkinRead more
Beyond the Final Girl: 16 New Horror Books by Women Who Refuse to Look Away
Beyond the Final Girl: 16 New Horror Books by Women Who Refuse to Look Away We spend a lot of time talking about who dies in a horror story. The trope list is long: the first to have sex, the one who runs upstairs instead of out the front door, … Beyond the Final Girl: 16 New Horror Books by Women Who Refuse to Look AwayRead more
Drone by Dan Howarth Review: Rural Horror at Its Most Relentless
The sound is driving them mad. The silence is even worse. Dan Howarth writes with a specific kind of fury. It is the sound of a steamroller on asphalt, relentless and flattening. For fans of horror fiction, being caught beneath it is a privilege. His latest novella, Drone, proves he is … Drone by Dan Howarth Review: Rural Horror at Its Most RelentlessRead more
The Brentford Trilogy (All 9 of Them): A Resplendent Robert Rankin Retrospective
Robert Rankin called it a trilogy. He wrote nine books. He was right to do both Robert Rankin’s Brentford is a strange place. On the surface, it’s a quiet West London suburb. Below that surface, it’s a cosmic battlefield where aliens land, popes return from the dead, and the end … The Brentford Trilogy (All 9 of Them): A Resplendent Robert Rankin RetrospectiveRead more
The 2025 YA Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot: Every Book Ranked and Reviewed
The 2025 YA Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot: Every Book Ranked and Reviewed The 2025 YA Bram Stoker Award preliminary ballot is out, and it is a stronger list than most years. Ten books. Four spots on the final ballot already confirmed. And a clear frontrunner that arguably deserves to … The 2025 YA Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot: Every Book Ranked and ReviewedRead more
Unshod Cackling and Naked by Tamika Thompson: 13 Short Stories That Refuse to Behave
Continuing my series of reviews that fell victim to my darkest depression days, today I bring back from the dead Tamika Thompson’s Unshod, Cackling, and Naked. In time for the release of her excellent debut novel, The Curse of Hester Gardens. And on the day we publish a fascinating interview … Unshod Cackling and Naked by Tamika Thompson: 13 Short Stories That Refuse to BehaveRead more
Nowhere Burning Review: Catriona Ward’s Brilliant Premise, But Blurry Execution
The concept burns bright. The novel, unfortunately, smoulders. The prose is beautiful. The thematic ambition is undeniably massive. The execution simply falls flat. Some sanctuaries demand a price in blood, and this one simply asks for too much of your patience. Nowhere Burning Review: Catriona Ward’s Brilliant Premise, But Blurry … Nowhere Burning Review: Catriona Ward’s Brilliant Premise, But Blurry ExecutionRead more