Sting of Thorns is Book 2 in the Dark and Otherwordly series, with Poison and Honey (read my review here) being the book that started it all. This is a series that does need to be read in order but one that is entirely worth starting from the beginning.

Poison and Honey introduced us to Otherworld, a portal world where royals rule, and people from Earth are abducted into servitude or worse. Leigh has been in Otherworld for a while searching for her sister and working covertly to bring those to safety who have been abducted. She's accomplished her goals and is prepared to take responsibility for her actions and accept whatever punishment the Queen chooses to doll out. Surprisingly, while Leigh was thrown in the dungeon and tortured for information, the Queen has different plans in store for her. Charged with returning to the human realm in search of a special sword, she and Dredarion have an awkward time ahead of them as he believes that everything Leigh did was a lie.

This book is every bit as good as the first! Brand once again devises an exciting world and characters to get lost in for a few hours. Dredarion in Leigh's world, without a clue and completely out of his element, is so satisfying to see. He needs something to take him off guard and that certainly does. Not to mention a little gratifying comeuppance as he sees the true "mud people" that his world looks down upon. We also get to meet Leigh's friends that have bolstered each other in this Otherworld coup and they bring a lot of laughs and camaraderie. There are so many layers being built upon and new truths to uncover.

Once again, I found that smidgen of horror in her writing that I loved! Poison and Honey had the zombie bear but Sting of Thorns has a terrifying race against the clock—the heart vine seed. Placed inside a cut on Leigh's finger, the vine gradually grows under the skin, up the arm, and to the shoulder where it will slowly strangle her heart if not stopped. With thorns that stab from the inside out, the heart vine is the Queen's guarantee that Leigh will find the mystical sword and return it. Gruesome and delightful for this horror fan but oh so harrowing for our heroine! Definitely makes for a compelling and eventful page-turner!

Kristen Brand's writing is immersive and imaginative. While the world-building might have been a bit easier this time Earthside, it's no less detailed and inventive. Once again, the end of the book comes way too quickly and the wait is on for the next in the series but the good news is...it's coming fast! The Cruelest Curse is set for release in November!


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A dark night. A desolate convent on an empty island. Thus begins this compelling story of three vastly different girls as they are taken from their familiar lives to begin anew with the Sisters of the St. Gertrude Convent. Told from the perspective of Durra, a Moor who has always struggled to find a place in which her dark skin did not feel conspicuous, we venture to the island of Die Wächter. Together with Emily, a slave girl, and Leida, the daughter of a farmer, this trio was sold by the men and supposed protectors in their lives and delivered to St. Gertrude to make their home.

Durra's struggle and unfortunate lot in life has transformed her into a clever, perceptive protagonist. While Emily has plenty of cheek, she's quite rash and impetuous. For someone who was a slave, she comes across as spoiled and a bit bratty. Leida, the farmer's daughter, is quite bland in comparison, and while kindhearted, is easily swayed by Emily. Although the trio each come from very different backgrounds and experiences, finding themselves in the same predicament, they form somewhat of a sisterly bond almost from the start.

The convent is a dark and terrible place at odds with the friendliness of the nuns and experiencing it from Durra's eyes makes it larger than life. It's an eerie place where the walls are permeated with cryptic carvings and bloody tapestries of gruesome creatures joined in battle. The sisters, while seemingly friendly, are curiously all vegetarians, eschewing any type of meat, and they are strangely all young and pleasing to the eye. As St. Gertrude is the patron saint of cats, within the convent they also find a multitude of cats that the sisters themselves are charged with caring for. To add to the strangeness, the girls are told to be inside their rooms before nightfall and so they do not leave, their door is barred. Not the only ones to be locked inside, the Sisters' room is perplexingly bolted shut as well. Outside the convent lurks darkness filled with howling creatures and unknown dangers.

At only 250 pages, Sisters of the Moon is a speedy read. Chimerical in nature, claiming a decided genre for this one is difficult. While there are obvious horror elements, there are also elements of fantasy, suspense, mystery, and yes, even a historical morsel intertwined throughout. More than just a fable of sisterhood and triumph of the feminine, this good-versus-evil plot is a slow-burning shifter horror tale at heart. Don't let the YA appearing cover deceive you—there are shadowy secrets around every corner and a much darker side of the Sisters of St. Gertrude to discover.


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Simple yet unyielding prose creates a foreboding experience as Piper leads the reader on a merry monster chase through the tunnels of Manhattan and deeper underground in this short novel. Cultists in the darker subterranean aspect of the city streets are extolling the return coming of the Worm—who promises that the "wounds of this world" will be undone and those who wait for him will be remade. What truly awaits in the empty place is an indifferent expanse of space and time.

Protagonist Monique couldn't be a better example of the prevalent Lovecraftian theme of the outsider; a character who by circumstances out of their control finds themselves standing on the outskirts of society. Her marginalized identity and life experience make her a singular narrator for traversing this cosmic culture. The world has not been compassionate to Monique; For her, life has been gritty, arduous, and unkind. Her journey is heartbreaking and authentic as she continues uncovering and examining her path. Piper coaxes and molds it as it concludes in an emotional crescendo of an illogical and impossible landscape. Lyrical and lasting, this one leaves its mark.


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Dark Celebrations has taking beloved and memorialized holidays and given them a uniquely dark twist. The collection comprises of twelve short stories centered around one of the holidays, from the adoration of Valentine's Day to the perhaps lesser Hallmarked holidays like Labor Day. Each of the stories focuses on a teen-to-twenty-something protagonist windmilling their way through the new challenges that the holiday unexpectedly provides.

My favorite of the collection was "Hungry Ghosts". Given a list of ten tips for surviving the Hungry Ghost Festival with advice like the always rational "Do not wander after midnight" and "Do not turn around if a voice calls you from behind.", Lara and Ray have arrived in China for a vacation together. Instead of making her feel closer to Ray, Lara feels unfulfilled by her relationship. When a strange boy appears on their path, leading them to a river instead of back to town as promised, the ghosts of China are more tangible than expected. This story has a great anecdote about respecting cultures and traditions that aren't your own.

I was also surprised to enjoy "Independence Denied". I don't find myself often satisfied by Lovecraftian stories, but this one was entertaining. In the midst of a variety of natural disasters, Brad, an assistant to a team of marine biologists tracking sharks, spots sea animals—including Mandy, the shark—spinning in a churning vortex. In the midst, he sees an octopus-headed winged behemoth but only for a second. That second was enough to get the attention of Delilah Love, another assistant in the office, and follower of what can only be an Elder God, come from the depths.

Whether your chosen flavor of horror is zombies, werewolves, mummies, or even mermaids, Demmer has a story here for you. Each has a wonderfully eerie spell to be cast as Demmer gleefully runs amok on your favorite holidays.


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