This is always an efficient way to get some reviews shared, and I personally love this for when my reviews are terribly long. Sometimes short and sweet are the best way to go!
These were all read in either August or September. I’ll get some October books shared this week as well and fingers crossed that I can actually get a wrap up or TBR posted for November. Some lofty goals here.
WE TURN GRUESOME AT NIGHT – Eric LaRocca (Released September 8th, 2026 – Thank you Titan Books for the free copy)
The nightmarish second installment of a new trilogy of provocative, disruptive and brutally poetic queer horror set in a small New England town.
From the Bram Stoker Award® finalist and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, an intense, claustrophobic literary horror that is perfect for fans of Agustina Bazterrica, Mariana Enriquez and Paul Tremblay.
Ten years after the devastating massacre that occurred on Christmas morning in 2003 and the community of Burnt Sparrow, NH struggles to move forward. Meanwhile, Rupert Cromwell and Gladys Esherwood find themselves trapped in End House and suffering unbearable monotony day in and day out. When a town courier named Pierce arrives at End House and introduces Rupert to a secret organization known as The Perdido Society, Rupert discovers a deeply intricate and intensely sinister web of secrets spreading through the town. It isn’t long before more blood is spilled, shameful transgressions are revealed, and temptations are finally satisfied.
Captivating and profoundly unnerving, this is the story of two lost souls who are sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity only for them to discover that it’s quite easy to turn monstrous, to become the thing you once despised. Lyrical, nihilistic and brutally poetic, this is shocking, unflinching, must-read horror from an author at the top of his game.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars – You need to read book one, We Are Always Tender With Our Dead, first for this book to really have the impact it needs. Do you like some gore and depravity with your grief horror? No one does it quite like LaRocca does. The picture is so vivid in your mind as you read and there are some truly visceral and fucked up things that go down. For a book at just over 300 pages, this one packs a punch and I’m dying for the conclusion to this trilogy!
ROOTED – Leopoldo Gout (Released September 15th, 2026 – Thank you Tor Nightfire for the free copy)
Author of Piñata, Leopoldo Goût’s latest horror novel Rooted is a “a blood reckoning” (Marlon James) where one woman’s return to Mexico City digs away the layers of her forgotten past and the Aztec gods she awakened.
There’s nothing wrong with Aurora.
A successful art lawyer, she has returned to Mexico to celebrate a recent campaign for the repatriation of stolen artifacts―in particular a mysterious statue of an Aztec god, The Flayed One.
But Mexico City isn’t as she remembered. Nothing is. Elements of her past hint at darkness and power, and reality begins to crack and warp the streets.
There’s nothing wrong with Aurora.
As Aurora’s sanity unravels, she must pry apart her family’s secrets and accept the simplest of The Flayed One cannot stay buried.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars – Folklore and Aztec mythology, body horror, generational secrets, the sacrifices of our parents, and so much more. I loved the author’s previous book, Piñata, so I was anxious to get my hands on this one! That prologue really sets the tone for the book. It just grabs you and is full of rage and emotion and truly gruesome events.
This is on the slower side for pacing, but I personally think the build and the journey is completely worth it. If you want a fast moving horror novel, this might not be the one for you, so its worth setting expectations. I’m a sucker for folklore and mythology, so getting some Aztec Gods and rich Mexican folklore is what kept me hooked.
MONSTERA – Delilah S. Dawson (Released October 13th, 2026 – Thank you Titan Books for the free copy)
A reclusive young woman moves into what seems like the perfect apartment and is obsessively drawn to her mysterious neighbour, who keeps a lush garden and is hiding a deadly secret… Eat the Ones You Love meets Wilder Girls in this sensual, sapphic, botanical horror novella from the New York Times-bestselling author of Bloom and House of Idyll.
When Lucy McClintock moves into a dreamy Victorian in downtown Savannah after years of suffering under the rule of her overbearing grandfather, she feels like she’s won the lottery—well, outside of the creepy landlord. She soon notices a glorious green haven in the backyard and meets her downstairs neighbor, Saskia, a weightlifter who lives in a magical apartment overflowing with plant life and beautiful artwork. Naïve and lonely Lucy is drawn to strong and secretive Saskia, and as the two women grow closer, they discover they share more than just an apartment building…
A seductive, heady, sinister breathless romance and bone-chilling suspense collide in this sweet and deadly tale.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars – I’ll pick up anything by Delilah S. Dawson and she brings us another sapphic horror novella with plants. Bloom was so good and I forgot how much I enjoyed the botanical horror genre. At just under 200 pages, its hard to really dive into without spoiling things but watching the awkward early stages in Saskia and Lucy’s relationship felt so real. This is lighter on the horror, so if you’re hoping for something truly scary, then this might not be the best choice. I think it balanced well with the story but I’m always hoping for more.
THE SHIP OF DEATH – Kyle Winkler (Released September 29th, 2026 – Thank you Avon Books for the free copy)
The dice roll. Darkness answers.
House of Leaves meets Jumanji in this brilliantly original and twisted novel composed entirely of found documents, following an unwitting couple ensnared by a sinister tabletop role-playing game
Cole and Lorraine playtest board games for some extra cash as they save up to buy a home. But after a series of bizarre coincidences, and signing a strange NDA, the couple finds on their porch a mysterious indie developer’s tabletop role-playing game called The Ship of Death. The game relies heavily on the players’ imaginations, and takes up an ever-growing amount of space: in their kitchen, and in their minds. As its true sinister nature becomes clearer, and its forces capture more in its web, the boundary between the game and reality begins to dissolve. . . and the pair are instructed to possess a stranger’s soul.
Told entirely through game reports, emails, game forum posts, personal journals, and police reports, reading The Ship of Death feels like a dangerous dice roll. It’s a sleep-stealing, possession-inducing work of intense, intelligent found cosmic horror that announces Kyle Winkler as a spectacular voice in the genre.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars – I love books with other media mixed in to tell the story. This has transcripts, forum posts, journals, emails, and so much more. A couple finds a strange board game on their porch, as game testers they figured it was a new one to try out. Things get crazy, warped, sinister, and it begins to take over their lives. If you like RPG table top games, cosmic horror, and this method of storytelling, then this is the perfect book for you! My first book by Winkler and it will not be my last.
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