Every Woman Knows This by Laurel Hightower is a collection of short stories that will have you feeling rage, sorrow, or a strong mix of both for the things women deal with every day. 

I had read a few of these when they appeared in other collections, but many of them were new to me. 

While I absolutely love the light Laurel sheds on the female experience in this collection, I also hate that each of these stories were so relatable. Every tale was wonderfully unique, but were each tied together in rage. 

I absolutely loved and hated each of these, especially all of the Vignettes of Womanhood! Some of my top favorite tales include:

Here are my thoughts on each. 

Starting off with this absolute stunner of an opening sentence, “There’s a certain kind of smile that is not safe to return- every woman knows this.” This tale takes us on a journey so familiar to many. But this tale has a lovely theme that reels us along through the ending. 

This was such a perfect story to go first in this collection. I was already fired up with the very first sentence! 

Still enamored by the magic of Christmas, this man continues to make the same wish year after year in order to keep the magic between him and his wife alive.

This tale had such a warm beginning! When things changed, I thought it may be headed in one direction but was shocked to see it go another way! What an ending! 

Determined to find a book she had in childhood, this woman has returned to her family home to search. But she’s not just searching for the book itself, it’s the answer to a question she has that she hopes the book can answer.

What a great gothic horror vibe this one had! I was so invested in this woman based on her childhood experience. Even though this was the second time I encountered this tale (the first read when it was included in Gothic Blue Book VI), I still couldn’t help but wish for a happy ending for her. 

An absolutely brutal short filled with the anger that comes with things we have to bear. 

While giving birth, a woman is terrified of the midwife’s arrival as this midwife isn’t human. But it can’t be avoided, the midwife is coming to steal her scream. Little do they know what the being plans to do with it. 

I absolutely loved the path this one took! I can’t say anything else without the risk of spoiling!

A woman struggling with body issues, especially while pregnant, obsesses over herself, always thinking she’s too big. But that anxiety comes back for her, refusing to let her pass this on to her daughter.

Heartbreaking in so many ways! This is a great cautionary tale to go easy on yourself before it’s too late. 

This passage hit me so hard! Going through infertility for four years, this sums up the anger perfectly:

An intense reflection on perfection and holding things that aren’t yours to carry. 

Refusing to choose one path, this goddess is determined to be everything to everyone. She even refuses to choose a name as she wants her people to name her. She is warned against this, but she tries anyway.

What a perfect tale for precisely what it’s like to try to be everything for everyone. Pouring from your cup constantly and not having people pour back into yours. It always ends in burning anger. 

Discovering a submarine that had risen to the surface after being lost at sea many years ago, this duo investigates. What they find inside is nothing like they imagined.

This tale was terrifying! Between the enclosed space, the darkness, and the water, I was already spooked! Then add in being alone and feeling something move? No, thank you! Ocean Horror always freaks me out, and this one gave me goosebumps! 

I’m not even a parent yet, and this one hits so hard. I already worry about my husband randomly just not breathing while sleeping…

When the Starman appears to her for the first time, she’s just a kid. She’s afraid of the being, but as she gets older she learns he was there to protect her. But faced with a tough decision, she soon fears that she will end up on his bad side.

This is such a good gut-punch horror tale! Your heart will go out to this woman at every stage of her life.

Finding out that she has a talent for mimicking others, this woman assumes their personalities to get unwanted attention away from them. But the horror is that she never knows how far it will go each time she assumes an identity. 

Ooofh, this story. Just the fact that you can see this actually happening is the worst. Women deserve better. 

Such a relatable tale about not having processed how we’re doing and just saying “fine” when someone asks.

Bringing a woman in after viewing a gruesome crime scene, these detectives aren’t sold that she was the one that did the crime. But if it wasn’t her, who would it have been?

They’re about to find out…

This story is all-around amazing. I’m obsessed with the premise and the ending especially. Centered around a small thing that sets off a variety of emotions in women, most often rage, this tale reads all too similar to everyday experiences. 

At a bar watching a woman become increasingly uncomfortable with a guy, this main character is rooting for her to find her spine. Meanwhile, she’s also being pestered by a guy that won’t take the hint and leave. Like the girl she was watching, she ends up leaving with him. 

I love how dark this one gets, and so quickly too! The whole tale had my blood boiling. 

I wish every adult would read this short heart-wrenching tale. It’s just dripping with terror, but it also has a glimpse of hope. 

A woman with a unique calling runs The Goodbye House where she allows visitors to come see if a goodbye calls to them. But one day, someone arrives very late at night and it changes everything. 

This tale had such a neat premise! At first, you’ll love the idea, but just like the main character, you begin to see the negatives. 

What a gut punch of a tale! The final three sentences… My gosh.

After the death of a mother, this family is shocked to see her back again. But she’s certainly not herself.

I was having so much fun with this one! But then she said why she was back… ugh!

A sorrow-filled tale that is the perfect ending for this collection! 

There’s a certain kind of smile that is not safe to return- every woman knows this.
— Every Woman Knows This

The next morning, exhausted and staring at the blood in her panties, she screamed into the mirror.
“You bitch! You worthless, sneaking bitch,” she snarled. “Three days late. For what, for fun?” Her lips curled into a snarl, and she stared at the enemy. Her body. Her stupid, betraying body.
— The Little Head 

I should have followed them. Maybe to stop what happened, or even just to know, to see it for myself. Instead I sat on the top step and waited for someone older than me to come and tell me what my new truth was.
— Starman 

“Do you remember, Detective, the absolute worst time someone told you to smile?”
Helena’s breath caught in her chest. She did, with vivid clarity. She didn’t need to look at Max to know he was confused; it wasn’t a thing men dealt with.
— Though Your Heart Is Breaking

Helena watched, fascinated, as his eyes rolled back in his head, his mouth stretching impossibly wide. The skin strained, pulled tight. A nauseating crack as both jaws broke at once, and the man’s face split from his lips back to his ears.
The top of his head flipped open, like a mangled Venus fly trap. His scream tapered off into a gargle, then even that went silent as he slid to the floor.
— Though Your Heart Is Breaking 

He follows me. Not like a puppy, because puppies are fucking cute and who wouldn’t want one ambling after them, all big paws and ears? No, this guy follows me like a strip of toilet paper, soiled and embarrassing and bizarrely hard to shake.
— Hooking Up

Laurel is the queen of gut-punch horror. Each of these tales really got under my skin in more ways than one.

A must-read for all. 

Linghun by Ai Jiang is a haunting tale filled with sorrow where the living tries to reconnect with the dead, no matter the cost. 

A tale told in three main perspectives, we meet Wenqi, Mrs., and Liam who are living in a small neighborhood called HOME, which stands for Homecoming Of Missing Entities. In this neighborhood, people inside the homes can summon the dead. 

Most people will do anything they can to get one of the houses to see their loved ones again no matter the cost… but not every living person wants to be there, and not every dead person wishes to return to ‘haunt’ the space. 

On this journey, we follow – 

Wenqi – A young woman who has lost a brother. Her family moves into HOME to try to see him again, but she is tired of everything revolving around someone who is no longer there. She just wants to leave the neighborhood. 

Mrs. – A neighbor across the street from Wenqi’s family who is still holding on to hope that her husband’s ghost will arrive after so many years. But even so, she is still processing her life with him. 

Liam – One of the lingerers who lives out on the lawns of the homes with his parents. He is immediately drawn to Wenqi when she says she wants to leave and soon lets her know that he would like to leave as well. 

This author did an amazing job organizing the overall storyline. I couldn’t put it down as I needed to see what would happen for each of the characters next!

It was so interesting to be dropping into this neighborhood right along with Wenqi. Readers get to learn more about the place as she does, seeing just how rotten it is at its core. 

I really enjoyed this read, even with the darkness. And boy was there darkness! The scene at the auction was something of nightmares that you can absolutely see happening in the real world. While most of the other darkness hung heavy around families and their dynamics, and desperation to hold onto things that need to be released. 

Candle holders sit in the middle of tables, some lit, some extinguished, with the wax dried and collected on the copper platter resting below. I run my finger along the books in the history section and skim through each title, though I’m not quite sure if this is the place to look. A chandelier dangles between each bookcase, offering dim light that flickers occasionally, and there is matted carpet with Victorian designs that seem to fade with each step.

On the shelves sit books with old, broken spines, worn covers, and marked-up pages that have been dog-eared, creased, or ripped out all together. The new books have glossy covers, tight binding, and clean, crisp pages, but none are more contemporary than the old beaten-up versions.

This town worships the dead, but it has no respect for the living.

This tale reads in a similar fashion as playing the Saran Wrap ball game around the holidays, but a wicked version as some of the treats we uncover along the way are sweet or interesting, while others are chilling or upsetting. Then once we hit the center, we’re left with questions. 

Buckle in before picking this one up! It’s a fun yet dark ride of reflecting on what grief can do to people!

The Trees Grew Because I Bled There by Eric LaRocca is a horrifically beautiful collection of short stories centering around grief and internal struggle.

I first read each of these stories when they first came out in The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales and absolutely loved each of them. The creativity here is just astounding.

Here are my thoughts on each story from reading the second time around!

A young man is nervous to join a group of children out in the street, but his ill father encourages him. 

A heartbreaking story of loss and grief. This one paints such a strong scene in your mind! It was just as gut-wrenching the second time, and I still couldn’t help but imagine The Black Parade. 

When a woman still reeling in grief and struggling with thoughts of burning is asked to watch her niece, she’s nervous. When her niece is dropped off, the dark thoughts really dial-up. 

This one will make you clench your jaw the entire time while reading! Such intense dark thoughts and terrifying scenarios. 

Writing on a forum, this person writes about what she and her partner become after horrible news from a doctor. 

This story is equal parts beautiful and tragic. Your heart will shatter just in time for the bits to be stomped on. 

Giving this man anything he asks for, this woman decides that she has had enough once she has reason to stop.

This is such a wild story with so many little one-liners that pack such a big punch. This is truly one of the most haunting tales I have ever read. 

Approached by a couple while at a park with their son, one man thinks the situation is odd but the other is oblivious. When their child goes missing, they realize they were set up. Now they must play along or risk never seeing their son again. 

This story is absolutely terrifying. The fact that this could very easily happen when you’re just out and about, minding your own business… 

Approached by a man that seems to be clairvoyant, this father is asked to make an impossible decision. But when he second guesses, he sets off a chain of terrible events. 

Would this have all played out if the two men never met? Or did the conversation force the situation? 

Stuck in a position where she needs to be the caregiver of her elderly mother, this woman thinks of any option to not be in this situation. But when she has a change of heart, is it too late?

This story is heartbreaking on so many different levels! 

On a hike, this son struggles with what is to come and whether or not he should tell his secret to his father after all these years. 

This tale is so beautifully uncomfortable.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spy the clock on the wall-the unofficial referee of our back-and-forth. Only five minutes left. I’ve been keeping something from him for the past forty minutes, but it’s slowly creeping up my esophagus and pushing against my gritted teeth. I push it out in one breath:
“My sister wants me to look after my niece tomorrow.”
– Bodies Are For Burning

I wonder if it’s because each thing that loves us leaves behind a small stain.
– The Strange Things We Become

I suddenly regard them, not as if they were human beings, but rather as if their bodies were the undisturbed archaeological sites of ancient tombs- the secrets they must protect in their darkest recesses, the unrevealed confessions lying dormant inside them like the jeweled remains of long-since deceased Pharaohs.
– You’re Not Supposed To Be Here

Each story in The Trees Grew Because I Bled There will get under your skin and float through your bloodstream. This collection is just so creative!

Eric will never cease to amaze me with the way he blends beauty in even the darkest moments.

The Circus of Hungry Clowns by Caesar Ruell is a chilling and action-packed novella centered around clowns, nefarious plans, and sheer determination.

Standing in line outside the big tent, this kid is practically vibrating from excitement over the clowns he’s about to see. His father is being supportive but can’t help but worry about the names and appearances of the clowns. 

Once the show begins, people start to laugh hysterically at the simplest of things. The father is laughing as well but he’s also analyzing things that he can’t quite wrap his head around, like the rubber knives that somehow stuck into wood. Just when he tries to puzzle out one thought, it seems to slip away from him. 

That’s just the beginning of this nightmare… soon this father is facing certain death as he tries to get himself and his son out of there. 

My goodness. The little glimpses readers get through the father’s thoughts were the perfect hints at what was coming later on. But even so, readers won’t see the full picture until it’s all laid out. 

I absolutely loved the fun but slightly off beginning of the tale that very quickly turned to terror.

It was so much more obvious to Joe now just how hollow this circus truly was. It had none of the typical, wholesome, big top trappings that he’d read about in books and newspapers. No highwire acrobats, juggling, balloons, or even music.

This was SO MUCH FUN! I loved being able to pick this up and get totally sucked into the tale. It was nerve-wracking to know that something was going to go sideways, but like most of the crowd, readers will be in awe of the special effects and such occurring in front of them, totally clueless at first as to what is really going on.

This is a must-read for horror fans, especially those that love carnival horror!

In Old Tales Reborn by J. C. Michael, as the title says, this collection of tales are sure to ring familiar, but are chilling on a whole new level! 

I couldn’t wait to see what this collection would bring! As I read, a few things did indeed seem familiar, such as the girl boarded up with her parents as they tried to avoid the plague, the use of summoning by setting coins on graves and walking around them, and the ghostly hitchhiker… I loved how some of these legends were familiar but with more darkness! 

Per usual, here are my notes on each:

Kicking off the collection with a wonderful foreword, J. C. tells readers what got him into horror before diving into what to expect from this collection.

After reading this, I was even more excited to dive in! I LOVED this line specifically, “I’d rather that the blend between old and new makes it hard for you, the reader, to tell where the old stories end, and my new stories begin.“

After a little blowout with his wife, this awful man goes to the bathroom and runs into an older man that cautions him to treat his wife better. The young man immediately gets angry, but the old man presses him to let him speak the tale of Kitty. but after the story, will the young man heed the warning? 

The tale of Kitty was so unsettling. The perfect local legend with lots of possibilities and unanswered questions. 

When breaking into a house to rob a collector goes sideways, the collector gives the robber a chance to do a couple of tasks for him rather than him calling the police. The robber agrees, not understanding what he’s about to get himself into. 

This collector was such an intriguing character! I want to know more about him and his journey to grow his collection. I loved all of the tales and legends he told as well! 

Stopping in for a meal after a long workday, this woman is annoyed to be approached by a man that can’t seem to take a hint. Later, he challenges her to a race she can’t refuse. 

This was so unsettling. Being a female reading this, it brought up so many memories of instances where a man just wouldn’t leave me alone. I could certainly relate to the main character being annoyed at how quickly and often she smiles to soften the exchange. 

A man who just wants to keep sending emails gets frustrated with his kid and tells him to just go out and play…

A gut-wrenching tale that reminds people to slow down and spend time with loved ones before they can’t any longer. 

Going out on a ghost tour after picking up a flyer while at a pup, these two women have very different experiences. One is loving the tour and one thinks something is wrong. Only after they arrive back at the pup where they started do they learn more. 

This was such a fun story until it turned extra creepy! I love going on ghost tours myself. What a blast this story was! 

While away on a work trip, this man reads a book about local legends and the. Winds up listening to stories from the Green Lady. Then she hits him with a terrible ask. 

This poor man. With his life in shambles, it’s no wonder he found himself in this situation. That ending though!!

A boy wanders and discusses all the beings he sees on his walks. But he really just wants one thing. 

My gosh, realizing what story this one was linked to was a gut punch! This poor kid. 

When a woman goes to apologize to an old man who had stopped by to make sure things were alright at the ruins, she learns the local tale of what used to be a grand home. But then she starts to tell the old man of all the things that line up in her life and the story. Spooked, that feeling doesn’t last long as the door opens and something of nightmare arrives.

I loved the build-up with this one. The story within a story was so eerie and horrible!

Lured in by the legends of a haunted place, two kids try to spend the night. But their evening gets interrupted. 

Oh my gosh. The things teenagers do… this is definitely something I would have done as a kid. This was so spooky, but that ending was especially terrifying. Humans just can’t help but be curious. 

A grumpy man at Christmas remembers his childhood Christmas with his grandmother, filled with stories about family. He’s got a special something running in his veins. But was it all just a tale?

Phew, this one was wild! 

A salesman has lost his edge and is tired of the hustle. While on a trip to make a sale, he picks up a hitchhiker for the first time, changing his destination. 

Oh man, when the plot here clicks in readers’ minds… 

You know I used to read a lot of horror, and watch horror movies too, but not now. You see sometimes horror is what you don’t see. It’s the what might have been and the bits you don’t know. It’s the missing piece of the jigsaw.
— Go Out And Play

“Why are people so quick to condemn those who believe? To poke fun? Many people have encountered spirits throughout history, but the modern world ridicules those of us that see them now.” He moved closer. “Yet thousands more believe in a God that has never been seen, and that is simply accepted as faith.”
— The Immortal Dead

Because when the Devil tells you to keep a secret, only a fool would betray his trust.
— To Put A Price On Love

The seeds of doubt were now sprouting through the fertile soil of Ben’s thoughts like the first shoots of daffodils in spring.
— Closing the Deal

A must-read for fans of horror short stories! I highly recommend reading this one late at night to let the tales settle in your brain right before you drift off to sleep. Happy nightmares! 

Tales from the Southern Fried Crypt by Ronald Kelly is a collection of stories that will give you the creeps! Whether it’s from thinking about plate-sized ticks or being hunted by an alligator, this collection is pure nightmare fuel.

My gosh, this collection is so darn good. I loved how each one stands on its own, but also that there are some wonderful tie-ins here and there that connect many of them. Each tale is one that is so easy to fall right into!

Per usual, here are my thoughts on each tale!

Reuben heads into the swamp in search of a brother he doesn’t expect to find alive. He knows the dangers, so he isn’t too surprised to find himself facing death as well. But he’s determined to stand his ground.

What a tale to begin the collection! The thought of being stuck in this underwater cavern was absolutely terrifying! While reading, you can just about hear the echoes of the water on the surrounding walls. 

A dying man states that he needs to purge his soul before diving into a tale of his journey from enslavement to a better life, at least until he starts to see the cracks in the picture-perfect life. 

These poor families! They both deserved so much better. 

Out on a quest at night to find a rare spider, this rich man scoffs at the tales his guide shared with him. His guide helps him find the spiders he seeks, but he also plans to show him spiders he didn’t ask to see. 

I first read this tale in The Web of La Sanguinaire collection and it was just as eerie the second time around! Man, I hate spiders! 

Determined not to be run out of business by another tour organizer, this man goes to a voodoo shop for help. His plan works, but he doesn’t know who he messed with. 

This was such a great tale of jealousy and desperation! Both of their tours sounded like so much fun! Bummer that they couldn’t work things out. 

When people start showing up dead, looking like all of their blood was sucked out of them, this deputy knows exactly who to go talk to…

This story captures so many awful creatures that will make your skin crawl! This tale would be such a killer creep show feature! But one I would dread watching! Gosh, the ticks…

Every Saturday night, people came from all over to get some of Mee-Maw Doucet’s cooking. But this Saturday is about to be the last night. 

Phew, this tale packs so much into it! You’ll be rooting for Mee-Maw to do what needs to be done. 

Convinced she will be able to find the legendary creature out in the bayou, this young girl convinces her friends to go with her at night to search. But will they find the creature or will they be the next to go missing after trying? 

This was such a tense tale with lovely little bursts of young love and determination. 

Fed up with the curses that these siblings have had to endure thanks to the sins of their parents, one man goes to Mojo Mama to demand she release them from the torment. Little does he know, the torment is just beginning. 

This poor family! I’m not sure which curse was the worst! Each time we learned of a new one, I cringed. 

Rushed to find a film to put on for the second feature at a drive-in, this man chooses one he wasn’t sure about. As it starts to play, things quickly take a dark turn and the viewers demand it get turned off. 

What a wild tale! It was a blast to see who would try to run away from the screen next!

Desperate for a pit stop on their way back home after being sent on a detour, this family is thrilled to see a spot coming up. When the little girl hears a cat, she is told she can go outside but must stay on the porch. Of course, she doesn’t listen. 

A classic tale of letting your curiosity get the best of you! This took an absolutely terrifying turn! 

His heart played a symphony of dread as he felt himself sinking. A crushing pain gripped his lower body as an eighteen-foot demon began to haul him to the very depths of hell.
But, unlike the hell of his upbringing, it was not one of fire and brimstone. This hell was a decidedly liquid one, as cold and black as the womb of a dead woman.
— Beneath Black Bayou

I had an absolute blast reading these tales.

Even if I can never forgive Mr. Kelly for putting the image of huge ticks in my brain… this is a collection I would recommend to all horror fans, but especially the ones that enjoy creature features!

Insomnia by Kelly Covic is a collection of short stories that cover terror, grief, and so much more.

As this was Kelly’s first step into the darkness (she also writes romance under the name Kelly Moran!), I thought this collection was awesome! I look forward to seeing what she does next.

Don’t make any assumptions with these tales! You may feel that each one is leading you down a specific path, but you will be mistaken… Each tale is so atmospheric while centering on very different settings. We had a few of my favorite types of short stories here as well; tales that give you a shock at the very end!

My favorites from the collection include:

Per usual, here are my thoughts on each story –

Two women wind up locked in a room together in a vacant mansion. No one heard them yell and there was no cell service.  Forgetting the first rule of being stuck in a spooky place, they split up as one decides to go look for another exit while the other waits at the door… 

I kept waiting for something to jump out around each dark corner that was explored here. The ending was so much more terrifying than the dread of a jump scare! 

Moving into an old home, this mother is thrilled for a fresh start and looks forward to restoring the house. The teenage daughter isn’t as happy. But that changes when she finds trunks of old clothes in the attic that she immediately gets into. 

This story was so much fun! Once the teen started trying on clothes, it was a blast to see what she would find next. A classic tale of letting your curiosity get the best of you! 

Searching for a quiet moment, this disgruntled woman wanders to a park bench for her break from work. Sitting down next to an old man, she is rendered speechless when the man begins to speak. 

What a beautiful and chilling tale of life and loss. This one will have readers step away with a different outlook just like the woman in the story. There’s also a bit of spookiness to it that pops in at the very end!

Still coping with the loss of his wife, this man had moved to an isolated location with his daughter to heal. But one day, the daughter tells him that her imaginary friend mentions that Mommy said hello. At first, he thinks she needs to go see someone to talk to and help her understand. But then odd things begin to occur. 

Starting out as a sad tale, the terror quickly set in and packs quite the punch!

When her roommate’s rent is overdue, this woman struggles to remember the last time she her. Going into her room, she sees scattered notebooks and can’t help but read a few passages. 

What a sad story! My mind immediately jumped to conclusions here… Was there a closet in the room? The ambiguity is equally amazing and frustrating! 

While sitting on a pier, a woman is approached by a man that asks for her help. She agrees right away. 

What a sweet and heartfelt tale, but yet another with a fun additional layer mixed in that you don’t see until the very end! 

When a woman decides to face one of her childhood fears late one night, she learns that her fears were justified.

A short and very atmospheric tale!

Mourning the loss of their grandmother, these kids write a letter to their grandmother, hoping to see her again.

A perfect short story of grief and loss, but also hope!

Thinking she is going to have a normal Thursday, things change for this woman in the blink of an eye. Then she’s forced to go through the series of events that come after.

Another grief-filled tale, but from a unique perspective. This one will have you feeling super grateful for all that you have after reading!

Flipping her long brown hair over her shoulder, she crossed her legs and studied the older man’s profile. He sat hunched over a bit, like his load had been too heavy to bear for too long.
— The Park Bench

Rumor had it, as gossip does in small towns, that Alexandra Drake was a witch, and not a good one. Anyone who set foot near that road, the one sheltered and hidden by hundred year old sequoia and pine trees, would never return to tell the adventure. At least, not with all their wits. As a child, she’d get as far as the boundary line, and run back.
— Thank You For Coming

It took a couple of years to make it a home. Kids, and finger-paint, and a baseball-sized hole through the basement window would do that. It wasn’t about rose-scented potpourri or a perfectly manicured front lawn. It was about the chaos inside. It was, indeed, a great home.
— Idle Thursday

What a collection of chilling tales that will definitely linger in your mind like a fog! This is a must-read for fans of lighter horror that enjoy super descriptive writing styles.

The Vile Thing We Created by Robert P. Ottone is a tale centering around everyday life elements like work, relationships, and starting a family. But it’s a life where not everything is what it seems …

Right at the start, I wanted to mention that Robert added a note to his lovely introduction that stated:

As I am at a very tricky spot in life when it comes to infertility and pregnancy, I checked with the author himself as well as a few friends, to see if I should hold off on this one. As the votes were split, I decided to go ahead and dive in. After reading the book, I think I should have waited as I struggled with a bit of this. But that just means I’ll need to re-read it one day down the road when I’m in a different headspace! But even so, I enjoyed a lot about this book!
 
-----

When Lola and Ian drop off dessert that Lola had baked for a birthday party, they look around to see that all of their close friends whom they hadn’t heard from in a while were there. Previously thinking they had the perfect life filled with lots of laughter, sex, and fun, Lola and Ian soon feel like they are missing out because they don’t have a kid like the rest of their friends.

Logically, they know this isn’t a reason to have a kid. But their fear of FOMO wins out.

With the news of the pregnancy, things start to change. They think it’s for the better, but that all changes again once the baby arrives.

The first half of the book focuses mainly on the relationships and build-up. As soon as the baby arrives, the book takes a sharp turn into horror.

Unfortunately, I struggled a lot with the first half of the book as I’m a bit too close to the topic. The author says it himself, but I would also very strongly recommend that expectant mothers hold off on this one.

But the second half of the book, now that had me totally invested! There is so much going on inside these pages! I really enjoyed not being able to guess at what was to come! Just when I thought I may know, things got darker and darker, leading up to an explosive ending I did not see coming.

And let me tell you… there is one scene with bugs that REALLY got into my brain. I pictured that far too realistically while reading.

Suddenly, she felt it. At first, she thought it was just some gas on its inevitable journey south, but instead, it lingered in her belly. She panicked, and she then felt it again. “Oh my god…” she said, the shower pouring down on her, rinsing her hair. She held her stomach and felt it again. The baby was kicking.

He tried to spin and get a better look, but every time he did, the breathing shifted just out of his line of sight. Eventually, he was able to catch a glimpse. He wished he hadn’t.

In the gloom, she heard only his giggling. It assaulted her ears as it, like her own screams, reverberated in the dark.

A must-read for fans of slow-burning and layered horror centered around everyday life but then later with a twist of the supernatural. Just tread lightly if any of the content warnings make you nervous.

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is a story of grief, anger, and generational trauma that won’t remove its claws from the backs of the women in this bloodline.

Alejandra is struggling. She has a privileged life when it comes to classic things like the family and the house, but that’s where the picture-perfect reflection ends. Within her mind, there’s a storm that won’t settle. Finally hitting a breaking point, Alejandra goes to therapy. But there, she learns that this wasn’t all just in her head. There is a real danger, and it has set its sights on her and her children.

Will Alejandra be able to sever the cord of this generational curse once and for all, or is her bloodline doomed to keep repeating the horrors of the past?

Set up in a way that jumps from the current mother struggling with the demon to each of her ancestors throughout the years since the curse began, we slowly learn why each mother seems destined to meet a horrible end after an unhappy life.

I will caution readers, the first half of this book was difficult to read as it is very raw and will leave readers feeling miserable if you’re one that puts yourselves in the character’s shoes. But eventually, the story starts to come out of the darkness as Alejandra becomes stronger and the focus shifts to determination and hope!

For years she abandoned herself to be a willing sacrifice to please everyone around her, and now nothing existed within her anymore. Even her own hand was not a hand at all, but a blade she used to carve her heart for anyone who asked for it.

I’ve come to learn that thoughts often get in the way of intuition. You have to turn the dialogue down and listen to the music of your soul.

Words could eviscerate or they could be a miracle.

This deeply distressing tale is an amazing example of real-world horror mixed with the paranormal.

Get ready with your tissues and a stress ball (or a stiff drink!) to prepare for the rage some of this will induce, and dive into this story. Just make sure you have calmed your inner demons by the time you hit the last page so you don’t bring the cursed one back to life!

Agony’s Lodestone by Laura Keating is a disquieting story of a family looking for answers after the disappearance of their sister. Filled with fever-dream-like sequences and terrifying thunderous booms of the waves crashing in caverns below, this tense tale will have you so nervous to see what’s coming next!

This family has almost given up on finding answers after so many years. But when the youngest brother arrives back in town, saying he found a lead, the three siblings get together and go to the location where their sister was last seen.

Unfortunately, they’re not alone. A film crew that recently wrote off the youngest brother is there as well, racing to find answers first. Once both groups enter the forest, they quickly learn that things are not normal or safe.

Shifting between the past and the present, each step gets us closer to seeing both what happened and why the siblings each carry a burden of guilt, as well as what’s going on now and what must be done next.

It was a Friday afternoon, but the light had a Sunday morning quality, dreamily pressing against the drawn living room curtains and playing at the dusty hem with long, golden fingers.

“I may not know showbusiness, but I don’t need to be a proctologist to know an asshole when I see one, either.”

The ground further up the service road was deeply uneven, pocked with holes wide enough to snag a foot, maybe break an ankle in. Soon the way began to fade until there was only a memory of a road. The terrain was so rutted it was as though someone had dragged an enormous plow along it; years of winter run-off carving a network of leaf-choked streams and puckered scars in the crusty earth.

What was currency, any currency, but an exchangeable form of time?

Reading this book is like sitting in the woods alone, hearing the snap and cracking of nearby branches, just waiting for something to pop out of the darkness.

Horror fans that enjoy the unsettling with a big focus on family and not a lot of answers, this is one for you!