Friday, November 27, 2020

YA/MG Horror Spotlight November 2020

The Ladies of Horror Fiction team is putting a spotlight on Young Adult and Middle Grade horror each month. Below we are featuring the books that were released in November as well as what our team has been reading and reviewing.

Young Adult New Releases

This Is Not a Ghost Story by Andrea Portes

I am not welcome. Somehow I know that. Something doesn’t want me here.

Whatever this is, it is saying to me in a voice that cannot be heard but only felt:
Get out.

Daffodil Franklin has plans for a quiet summer before her freshman year at college, and luckily, she’s found the job that can give her just that: housesitting a mansion for a wealthy couple.

But as the summer progresses and shadows lengthen, Daffodil comes to realize the house is more than it appears. The spacious home seems to close in on her, and as she takes the long road into town, she feels eyes on her the entire way, and something tugging her back.

What Daffodil doesn’t yet realize is that her job comes with a steep price. The house has a long-ago grudge it needs to settle… and Daffodil is the key to settling it.

Expected publication: November 17th 2020 by HarperTeen | Amazon | Goodreads

Young Adult Books Reviewed

This month Emily reviewed Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater. Be sure to check out her review (“I thought this was an interesting spin on Swamp Thing”).

Our November readalong selection was Horrid by Katrina Leno. You can check out Jen’s review (“I’m a fan of Katrina Leno’s writing, and I love how she was able to infuse that imaginative quality into Horrid.”)

Middle Grade Books Reviewed

Hide and Seeker

Alex read and loved Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon. Don’t miss his 5⭐ review (“This is Daka Hermon’s debut and all I can say is that if she continues to write (and I hope she does!) and her books are even half as great as this one then sign me up every single time – she blew me away with this book!”)


Have you read any of the books we read or reviewed this month? Let us know what YA or MG books you have read recently!


Jen is one of our LOHF admins. Jen manages the technical side of the Ladies of Horror Fiction website. She also keeps a spotlight on middle grade and young adult horror each month.

You can also find Jen on her blog Book Den, Twitter as @bookden, Instagram as @bookdenjen, on Goodreads, and Letterboxd.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

What We're Reading #73

We are excited to share three recent reads with you today and hope you find a new favorite book! Don’t forget to click either tag above to find more good books ♥

Beneath A Bethel by April-Jane Rowan

Every youth of Elbridge remembers their Floris, the holy ceremony where their teeth are pulled out with pliers. It marks their ascension into adulthood and their right to have new porcelain teeth, ones that are embedded with magic, that grant the ability to make wishes.

Angora’s Floris will be upon the banks of the Eldwen river, the communal ceremony befitting his station. However he longs to remember his ceremony for the splendour of the Bethel, wreathed in candle light, drooping flowers and holy hymns.

Seeking to fulfil his dream leaves him the victim of violence and an outcast from society, living on its fringes until a chance meeting brings him to the heart of the Masters Guild, the place teeth are made. Learning secrets he never thought he’d be privy too, he eventually discovers the dark cost of their tradition.

Beneath A Bethel is a dark horror fantasy, set in a harsh, snow-covered city that hides its brutality with pageantry. 

Amazon | Goodreads

Audra’s Teaser Review

This was a quick, one-sitting read, and I found myself thoroughly immersed in the world Rowan created. It is a fully realized fantasy, with interesting details like a tea shop where the tea you drink fills you with the emotion that you ordered off the menu. The tone is slightly elevated and reads like a fairytale, which works perfectly, juxtaposing the light and magic with some truly horrific moments.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Emily’s Teaser Review

The world in this book was so intriguing, and I would love to see a prequel or sequel if one ever exists. If you’re into horror / dark fantasy / fairytale-esque stories, I highly recommend picking up Beneath a Bethel!

Read Emily’s entire review at Goodreads.

The Flower and the Serpent by Madeleine D’Este

Mysterious disappearances, a battle for the spotlight and terrifying nightmares. It’s just another day at Beacon Hill High School.

Auditions for Macbeth are over, and on the bus ride home, a mysterious driver gives sixteen-year-old Violet and her friends’ three strange predictions:

One of the girls will shine like a star.
One will invite darkness into her breast.
One will depart forever.

Please, how cliché. Besides, Violet clearly knows that she’s the star.
But when she isn’t cast as Lady Macbeth and strange things begin to unfold, and the eerie predictions begin to come true, Violet can’t help to wonder which one will apply to her.
Determined to be the one that will shine like a star, Violet will do whatever it takes to get the leading role – no matter the horrifying consequence.

Modern day Shakespeare meets supernatural mystery with this nail-biting young adult horror by Madeleine D’Este.

Amazon | Goodreads

Alex’s Teaser Review

I enjoyed this story and the petty rivalry between classmates. I loved the history and the supernatural aspect involved. I will be reading more from Madeleine D’Este!

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant

When the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses.

They didn’t expect actual mermaids. They certainly didn’t expect those mermaids to have teeth.

This is the story of the Atargatis, lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the bathypelagic zone in the Mariana Trench…and the depths are very good at keeping secrets.

Amazon | Goodreads

Cassie’s Teaser Review

I absolutely love this, and have actually read it a couple of times since the first. A full length book was released after I read this first novella, and I immediately purchased it. I brought it with me on vacation and it freaked me OUT!

Read Cassie’s entire review at Let’s Get Galactic.

Thank you for joining us today! We hope you found something to add to your tbr list. Please share your recent reads with us in the comments below.

If you are a LOHF writer and have a book you’d like us to consider for a review please visit our review submission page here.

Laurie is one of our LOHF Admins. Laurie creates our review posts, coordinates review requests, oversees the Ladies of Horror Fiction directory, and manages our LOHF Goodreads group.

You can find Laurie on her blog Bark’s Book Nonsense, on Twitter as @barksbooks, on Instagram as @barksbooks, and on Goodreads.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Thanksgiving 2020: Isolation Horror

Thanksgiving is synonymous with family. But this year, things are looking different, and it might mean you won’t venture to the airport during what is generally the busiest travel week of the year (a crowded airport in 2020—now THAT’S a horror story). It’s sad to set aside family traditions like dinner around the table, a rousing round of Clue, and placing bets on who will fall asleep first during the annual viewing of A Christmas Carol. But, family time isn’t always warm and cozy. If you’re only experiencing all that family tension and drama over Zoom this year, you might sigh in relief.

So, whether you love your family togetherness time or prefer to tolerate them in small doses, here’s a list of isolation horror to get you in the mood for spending the holidays alone, or perhaps to make you thankful for all the times you were able to celebrate as a family.


The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

Reminiscent of House of Leaves by way of Annihilation and the Upside Down from Stranger Things, this novel follows newly divorced Kara as she moves in to her uncle’s museum of curiosities. When she discovers a hole in the wall and a hallway that shouldn’t physically exist, what lies beyond the locked door at the end will reveal a strange new reality that wants to keep her there.

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun

This is a strange tale about control, most specifically not being able to control your own body and being at the mercy of anyone around you—no matter whether their intentions are good or not. Think Misery by Stephen King, but more psychologically damaging. It feels very claustrophobic, dealing with the internal struggle of a man who is paralyzed and at the mercy of his less-than-kindly mother-in-law.

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okarafor

In this far-future post-apocalyptic tale, a young woman escapes as the only survivor of her African village after a genocidal attack. She wanders the desert alone and gives birth to a daughter whom she names Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” It then becomes Onye’s destiny to end the genocide of her people. This fantasy novel covers a lot of ground and offers a unique blend of Afrofuturism.

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

This period horror tale set in 1937 follows Jack, who is down on his luck and agrees to join in on an Arctic exploration. Once they get to the barren and frigid spot, they slowly begin to realize that they might not be as alone as they originally imagined. This one is best enjoyed by a warm fire or with a cozy mug of tea!

Goodreads | IndieBound | Amazon

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

If you’ve only got time for a short tale, make this one your pick. This 33-page post-apocalyptic novelette follows an explore who returns to a climate ravaged Earth, home to no one anymore—or so they think. Who (or what) was left behind on Earth, and what are they now?

Goodreads | Amazon

From Daylight to Madness by Jennifer Anne Gordon

Gordon is an author who delights in isolation. This book (and its sequel When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk) follow Isabella, a woman grieving the loss of her child who is sent to a “hotel” (read “asylum”) by her husband to convalesce. Stuck in this isolated place with no hope of escape, she begins experiencing strange things, but are they drug-induced hallucinations or something more supernaturally sinister?

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson

I couldn’t put together this list without mentioning the queen! Jackson’s work often features themes of isolation, whether it is in setting or in psychological mindset. Castle has a bit of both, with sisters Merricat and Constance living a secluded and ostracized life in their family’s mansion. Quirky with dark gothic underpinnings, this one rewards reading and rereading.

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

Audra

Audra and her horror hound, Ouija, help manage the Ladies of Horror Fiction Instagram page. When not ghost hunting or rollerskating, she also contributes articles and helps maintain the website.

You can find Audra on Instagram as @ouija.reads, Twitter as @audraudraudra, and Goodreads.

Monday, November 23, 2020

December 2020 Readalong Selection

Our Goodreads group has spoken! Each month the members of the Ladies of Horror Fiction Goodreads group vote on our next readalong book.

The readalong selection for December is:

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

Amazon | Goodreads

The readalong will start on December 1, and discussions will take place throughout the month of December. You must be a member of the Ladies of Horror Fiction Goodreads group to participate. Everyone is welcome to join!

The discussion thread is open for early chatting: December 2020 Readalong: The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson. Be sure to check in and let us know you are joining us. Once the readalong starts, be sure to use spoiler tags for those who are still reading!

If you have any questions, please let us know. We look forward to reading with you next month!


Jen is one of our LOHF admins. Jen manages the technical side of the Ladies of Horror Fiction website. She also keeps a spotlight on middle grade and young adult horror each month.

You can also find Jen on her blog Book Den, Twitter as @bookden, Instagram as @bookdenjen, on Goodreads, and Letterboxd.

Friday, November 20, 2020

#LOHFMovieNights: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

On the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month, we will be hosting watch parties of horror movies starring and/or directed by women!

Tonight at 8 PM EST we are hosting our next #LOHFMovieNights with We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018) Directed by Stacie Passon on Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party).

In Shirleyville, Vermont, during the sixties, sisters Merricat and Constance, along with their ailing uncle Julian, confined to a wheelchair, live isolated in a big mansion located on the hill overlooking the town, tormented by the memories of a family tragedy occurred six years ago. The arrival of cousin Charles will threaten the fragile equilibrium of their minds, haunted by madness, fear and superstition.

Visit us on @lohfiction Twitter 15 minutes before the movie to get the link or DM @ladiesofhorrorfiction on Instagram.

Please note you must have an account on Netflix to join in. For more information on using Teleparty, visit the Teleparty site.

We hope to see you tonight!


Jen is one of our LOHF admins. Jen manages the technical side of the Ladies of Horror Fiction website. She also keeps a spotlight on middle grade and young adult horror each month.

You can also find Jen on her blog Book Den, Twitter as @bookden, Instagram as @bookdenjen, on Goodreads, and Letterboxd.

Thursday, November 19, 2020

7 Books You Should Save for After Dinner This Holiday Season

Who else looks forward to holiday food all year long? 🙋

I’m a big fan of a huge holiday feast, and love cooking my favorite dishes each year, living off of leftovers for days afterward. Stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows… I guess you could eat these things year-round, but they just taste better when there’s a little bit of chill and festivity in the air!

I especially love curling up after a big dinner with a spooky book, snuggled under the covers while turning the pages of the latest story to give me nightmares, my belly full of home cooked deliciousness.

That said, there are a few books that I’d recommend reading way after your food has been digested! They’re incredible reads and some of my favorite books, but they all contain a little something that might make your stomach turn, which probably won’t sit well with all the turkey & pumpkin pie fighting for belly space!

I can’t recommend these books highly enough, but don’t say I didn’t warn you! 😉


To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger

Ever wonder what carrion tastes like? The main character of Sara Tantlinger’s debut novella does, and it’s that basic premise about the desire to consume dead flesh that skyrockets this one to the very top of the list. From vultures to very graphic scenes I won’t be spoiling for you in this article, To Be Devoured isn’t for the faint of heart – or the weak of stomach!

An established poet in the horror genre, Sara’s gift with words doesn’t extend only to her poetry; despite the more bloody parts, this is one of the most viscerally beautiful books I’ve ever read.

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

Food Fright by Nico Bell

Food Fright introduces us to Cassie Adler, a high school girl who just wants to fit in with the popular crowd. When an opportunity to ingratiate herself with the cool girls presents itself, Cassie makes a decision to participate in a prank that will come back to haunt her in the most terrifyingly delicious way possible.

I absolutely love a good horror creature, and the ones that Nico Bell creates in Food Fright are unforgettable. I don’t want to spoil how great they are by telling you about them before you go into it, but trust me: they’re unlike anything you’ve ever read about before!

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

I love historical fiction, and I love retellings, so it’s no surprise that reading The Hunger by Alma Katsu was a great experience for me. In that same historical retelling vein, she’s also released The Deep this year, involving the Titanic!

The Donner Party in general is probably a topic best discussed in places other than the dinner table, and this supernatural spin on the infamous migratory group of American pioneers in the mid-1800s is no exception. Although it’s more of a slow burn than you might expect from a book involving cannibalism, the building dread is enough to unsettle anyone’s tummy!

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

Benny Rose, the Cannibal King by Hailey Piper

Extend those Halloween feelings past October with Benny Rose, the Cannibal King! With the third book in Unnerving’s Rewind or Die series, Hailey Piper introduces us to a group of teenagers in a small town in Vermont. The new girl in town, Gabrielle, thinks she’s being invited to join new friends in a night of Halloween fun, but the other girls have a little jealous payback in mind.

Benny Rose is such a terrifying villain, and the way that Piper vividly describes the grisly details throughout the story are stomach turning, and I mean that in the very best way possible! The Cannibal King’s menu of choice wouldn’t be my first pick, but to each their own, right?

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Tender Is the Flesh is one of the most graphic books on this list, but it’s also one I can’t stop recommending to anyone who will listen. Originally published in 2017 by Argentinian author Agustina Bazterrica, it was translated to English this year by Sarah Moses and is brutal in its depiction of a society where the consumption of humans seen as “lesser” is made acceptable, known primarily as “special meat”.

In addition to gore, this one also has a lot of violence and things that could be triggering for some people, so practice caution when reading – both after dinner, and beyond!

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

The Ravenous by Amy Lukavics

I have such a deep fondness for YA horror, and am always happy to find more books to add to my recommendation list. The Ravenous is a story about a family that looks perfect from the outside, but is hiding something sinister beneath the surface.

I love family drama in my stories, and the things the five sisters in this one go through are pretty rough. When the youngest of the five dies and comes back a little hungrier, the other girls are faced with a difficult question: how far would you go to protect someone you love?

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

The Beauty by Aliya Whitely

In the Valley of the Rocks, a small community of men gather at night to listen to the storyteller’s tales of those who are no longer among them. A post-apocalyptic novella set in a future where all women on earth are killed by a virus, The Beauty is hard to nail down in an easy synopsis, and best to go into without knowing too much. The story and imagery are unlike anything else I’ve read, with a more heavy lean into the sci-fi side of horror fiction than some of the other books on this list – but still so deserving of a read!

I’d particularly avoid reading this one right before dinner if you’re planning on eating any dishes served with mushrooms. You’ll see what I mean!

Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon

Cassie is one of our prolific contributing reviewers and helps with interviews and website content.

Find her online at her blog www.letsgetgalactic.com, Twitter as @ctrlaltcassie, or over at her Etsy store, where she has amazing original art prints, cross stitch kits, bookmarks, coloring & activity books, and more!

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

What We're Reading #72

We are excited to share three recent reads with you today. We feature a gothic horror novel, a novella about a woman with horrifying secrets, and a story where an urban legend comes to life!

We hope you find your new favorite book and don’t forget to click either tag above to find more good books ♥

Mexican Gothic

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind. 

Amazon | Goodreads

Audra’s Teaser Review

Moreno-Garcia has crafted not only an excellent horror novel, but just an all-around damn excellent novel—one of the best I’ve read in quite a while. But don’t get it twisted though—this is a capital H Horror novel, Gothic horror in rarefied form. There is a moldering mansion, a smart and glamorous heroine, dark family secrets, and even an atmospheric mist-filled graveyard, all set in the Mexican countryside in 1950.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

The Strange Tale of Miss Victoria Frank by Kelly Evans

Nikola Tesla, the visionary genius, is lecturing in New York City when he falls for Victoria, the mysterious young woman he sees night after night in the front row. The woman intrigues him; her curiosity is as great as his own, and her interest is wide-ranging.

But there’s something she’s hiding, a family secret so horrendous no one speaks of it. When Tesla finds out, he has a decision to make: listen to the inner voice warning him to stay away, or abandon his morality and help her with her own terrible science.

Amazon | Goodreads

Alex’s Teaser Review

The Strange Tale of Miss Victoria Frank packs quite a punch in ~100 pages.

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Audra’s Teaser Review

In just a brief 100 pages, this novella whisks you away to the turn of the century with a historical fiction/horror mashup that’s truly electrifying.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Pretty Marys All in a Row by Gwendolyn Kiste

Pretty Marys All In A Row by Gwendolyn Kiste

You’ll find her on a lonely highway, hitchhiking at midnight. She calls herself Rhee, but everyone else knows her by another name: Resurrection Mary. And when she’s transported home each night to a decrepit mansion on a lane to nowhere, she’s not alone.

In the antique mirror, call her name three times, and Bloody Mary will appear. Outside, wandering through a garden of poisonous flowers is Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary, a nursery rhyme come to gruesome life. Downstairs is another jump-rope rhyme—Mary Mack, forever conscripted to build her own coffin. And brooding in the corner with her horse skull is the restless Mari Lwyd.

They are the Marys, the embodiment of urban legend and what goes bump in the night. Every evening, they gather around the table and share nightmares like fine wine, savoring the flavors of those they’ve terrified.

But other than these brief moments together, the Marys are alone, haunting a solitary gloom that knows them better than they know themselves. That’s because they don’t remember who they were before—or even if there was a before. And worst of all, they don’t know how to escape this fate.

That is, until a moment of rage inspires Rhee to leap from the highway—and into the mirror with Bloody Mary. Suddenly, the Marys are learning how to move between their worlds, all while realizing how much stronger they are together.

But just when freedom is within their reach, something in the gloom fights back—something that isn’t ready to let them go. Now with her sisters in danger of slipping into the darkness, Rhee must unravel the mystery of who the Marys were before they were every child’s nightmare. And she’ll have to do it before what’s in the shadows comes to claim her for its own.

Amazon | Goodreads

Cassie’s Teaser Review

This was my first book by Gwendolyn Kiste, although I also own And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, which has also been widely hailed as an excellent work of fiction by the author. I’m in love with her writing, and with the way she’s been able to create such a unique new world for so many old characters in Pretty Marys, many of whom I remember from my own childhood.

Read Cassie’s entire review at Divination Hollow.


Thank you for joining us today! We hope you found something to add to your tbr list. Please share your recent reads with us in the comments below.

If you are a LOHF writer and have a book you’d like us to consider for a review please visit our review submission page here.

Laurie is one of our LOHF Admins. Laurie creates our review posts, coordinates review requests, oversees the Ladies of Horror Fiction directory, and manages our LOHF Goodreads group.

You can find Laurie on her blog Bark’s Book Nonsense, on Twitter as @barksbooks, on Instagram as @barksbooks, and on Goodreads.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Help us Choose Our December Readalong

Each month we post a poll for our Goodreads group members to select the next month’s readalong book. The December poll ends Nov 18, 2020 11:59PM PST. If you haven’t joined our Goodreads group yet, be sure to join up and vote!


The December readalong will take place over in our Goodreads group throughout the month of December.


Jen is one of our LOHF admins. Jen manages the technical side of the Ladies of Horror Fiction website. She also keeps a spotlight on middle grade and young adult horror each month.

You can also find Jen on her blog Book Den, Twitter as @bookden, Instagram as @bookdenjen, on Goodreads, and Letterboxd.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

What We're Reading #71

We have three recent reads to share with you today! We feature an anthology of ghoulish delights, a haunting tale about a woman trying to make sense of her past and a collection of dark little gems.

We hope you find your new favorite book and don’t forget to click either tag above to find more good books ♥

Graveyard Smash, Women of Horror Anthology Vol. 2

Step through the prettiest cemetery gates you’ve ever seen and experience tombstone raves and widow’s dances, Japanese snow-spirits, Aztec bruja and temple goddesses, vengeful ghosts, djinn and cannibals, vampire hunters, plague bearers, graverobbers, and terrors beyond reason. Read through the night as the dead rise from boneyards all around the world!

FRIGHTGIRL SUMMER RECOMMENDED READING!

Amazon | Goodreads

Audra’s Teaser Review

What I loved about this collection was the sheer range of the stories. From the graveyard to Hades to a temple in Mexico and beyond, these stories will take you on a wildly horrific ride all across space and time. I loved the diversity of characters and tropes that the writers took on.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly

Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly

An utterly propulsive and unpredictable psychological thriller from stunning new talent T. Marie Vandelly

For the lucky among us, life is what you make of it, but for Dixie Wheeler, the theme music for her story was chosen by another long ago, on the day her father butchered her mother and brothers and then slashed a knife across his own throat. Only one-year-old Dixie was left alive, infamously known as Baby Blue for the song left playing in the aftermath of the slaughter.

Twenty-five years later, Dixie is still desperate for a connection to the family she can’t remember, so when her childhood home goes up for sale, Dixie sets aside all reason and moves in, re-creating a macabre decor with her family’s salvaged furniture. But as the ghosts of her family seemingly begin to take up residence in the home that was once theirs, Dixie starts to question her own sanity and wonders if the evil force menacing her is that of her father, or a demon of her own making.

In order to make sense of her present, Dixie becomes determined to unravel the truth of her past and seeks out the detective who originally investigated the murders. But the more she learns, the more she opens up the uncomfortable possibility that the sins of her father may belong to another, and, perhaps most tragically, to Dixie herself. As bodies begin to pile up around her, Dixie must find a way to expose the lunacy behind her family’s massacre and redeem what little remains of her soul.

Amazon | Goodreads

Alex’s Teaser Review

Holy chalupas another 5 star read! THEME MUSIC sits at just under 400 pages and I finished it in a matter of hours. I could NOT stop myself! It’s the story of Dixie Wheeler, whose mother and brothers were butchered by her father before he ran a knife across his own throat when she was 18 months old. It’s 25 years later and she’s moved BACK into that house.

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Lucid Screams by Red Lagoe

Mythical creatures, inner demons, and fear are a few forms in which monsters present themselves. When confronted by such savage beasts, the vulnerability of humanity is often exposed. Will we rise above, or will we succumb to our inevitable demise? These sixteen horror stories by Red Lagoe explore the supernatural as well as human horror associated with grief, guilt, severed relationships, and severed limbs.

Amazon | Goodreads

Laurie’s Teaser Review

Lucid Screams is a collection of short stories that is a nice mix of tragedy, grief, and creeping dread-fests with enough dark humor thrown in there in the middle so you won’t have to worry about falling into a pit of despair and in need of rescue.

Read Laurie’s entire review at Goodreads.


Thank you for joining us today! We hope you found something to add to your tbr list. Please share your recent reads with us in the comments below.

If you are a LOHF writer and have a book you’d like us to consider for a review please visit our review submission page here.

Laurie is one of our LOHF Admins. Laurie creates our review posts, coordinates review requests, oversees the Ladies of Horror Fiction directory, and manages our LOHF Goodreads group.

You can find Laurie on her blog Bark’s Book Nonsense, on Twitter as @barksbooks, on Instagram as @barksbooks, and on Goodreads.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

November 2020 LOHF New Releases

Each month the Ladies of Horror Fiction team posts all of the books we are aware of that will be releasing during that month. If you are involved in the process of publishing a horror book written by a female author, please reach out to us and let us know so we can help to spotlight the book’s release!

Boneset & Feathers by Gwendolyn Kiste

You don’t know their fire is coming until it’s too late. That’s exactly the way the witchfinders like it. As an isolated enchantress, Odette knows this too well–she lost nearly her whole family to the last round of executions, barely escaping with her own life. All the magic she could conjure wasn’t enough to protect her mother and sister, a burden that leaves a despondent Odette practically wishing she’d burned with the rest.

Now it’s five years later, and as the last witch left from her village, Odette has exiled herself to the nearby woods where she’s sworn off all magic, hoping instead for quiet and for safety. But no witch has ever been permitted a peaceful life.

It starts with crows tumbling out of the clouds and spectral voices on the wind that won’t leave her alone. Then there are those midnight visits to the graveyard that she can’t quite remember in the morning and the strange children following her everywhere she goes. Odette wants to forget magic, but her magic doesn’t want to forget her. Meanwhile, the former friends she left behind in the village are cowering together, hiding from the ghostly birds they believe she’s sent to torment them for abandoning her. But that’s only the beginning of their problems, as Odette soon discovers their worst nightmare is about to come true–the witchfinders are returning. And this time, the decree is clear: to burn the witch that got away.

With the men drawing nearer to the village, Odette must face the whispers from the dead and confront her fear of her own growing power if she wants any chance of stopping the army of witchfinders determined to rid the countryside of magic once and for all.

Published November 3rd 2020 by Broken Eye Books | Amazon | Goodreads


From the Neck Up by Aliya Whiteley

The new collection of beautiful, strange and disarming short stories from the award-winning Aliya Whiteley, deftly unpeels the strangeness of everyday life with her trademark wit. Witness the future of farming in a new Ice Age, or the artist bringing life to glass; the many-eyed monsters we carry and the secret cities inside our bodies.

Fascinating, and unlike any other writer working today.

Published November 3rd 2020 by Titan Books | Amazon | Goodreads


Dead Rockstar by Lillah Lawson

Stormy Spooner is at her wits’ end. Careening towards bitter after a nasty divorce, she sometimes wonders what her life is becoming. 

After unearthing a cryptic set of lines from a dusty album cover, Stormy tries the impossible: to resurrect Phillip Deville, enigmatic former frontman of the Bloomer Demons. Stormy’s love for her favorite dead rockstar knows no bounds…but it was all supposed to be a joke. 
 
When she answers a knock on her door the next day and finds herself face to face with the dark-haired rock god of her every teenage fantasy, her entire world is turned upside down.

Turns out, she’s awakened more than just Philip, and Stormy will have to do battle against a cast of strange characters to keep herself and her new undead boyfriend safe.

Published November 3rd 2020 by Parliament House Publishing | Amazon | Goodreads


Blood of the Sun by Dan Rabarts, Lee Murray

There’s been a gang massacre on Auckland’s Freyberg Wharf. Body parts everywhere. And with the police’s go-to laboratory out of action, it’s up to scientific consult Pandora (Penny) Yee to sort through the mess. It’s a hellish task, made worse by the earthquake swarms, the insufferable heat, and Cerberus’ infernal barking. And what’s got into her brother Matiu? Does it have something to do with the ship’s consignment? Or is Matiu running with the gangs again? Because if he’s involved, Penny will murder him herself…

Matiu can taste the chaos in the air. All they’ve done so far is keep it at bay, but now the streets are shuddering in protest. Things are pushing up against the veil like floodwaters. The coming days promise to be dark, but there’s a bright side. He’s got this flash new car, Penny’s been too busy working to bug him, and Erica keeps scheduling their probation meetings over her lunch hour…

Join Penny and Matiu Yee for the family reunion to end all family reunions, as the struggle between light and dark erupts across Auckland’s volcanic skyline.

Published November 4th 2020 by Raw Dog Screaming Press | Amazon | Goodreads


Go Down Hard by Ali Seay

What if a victimized woman decided to be a silent guardian angel for other women and turn the tables on predatory men? What if she stumbled into the hunting grounds of a cocky serial killer while looking for her own private murder den? What if a confident killer met his match in the form of a jean-clad, whiskey-swigging stranger in an hour glass-shaped package – and she made him want things – things he’s far too superior to want?

When predator meets predator, the only question is: Is the attraction they feel to bed one another… or kill one another?

Meg isn’t expecting to catch Jack red-handed with his most recent victim. Jack isn’t expecting Meg to come busting through his front door while chasing her current prey. Now that each recognizes a fellow killer, what urge will win – kiss or kill?

Expected publication: November 13th 2020 by Grindhouse Press | Amazon | Goodreads


This is the story of Mercy Dove.

This is a story of secrets.
They hide in the wainscoting where the paint flakes, they slip behind the silk wallpaper. They whisper to the Mistress under cover of nightfall. She knows little else; they are her comfort and her curse.

This is a story of corruption.
Of the mind, and the flesh. It sits thick in the air, gathering in corners, loitering at keyholes. Adhering to all who visit, it leaves with them, trailing from their coattails.

This is a story of scandal.
Infamy, seduction, and lust. It hovers like a murder of crows, circling the grounds waiting for the invited; the unwitting.

Take a seat; the curtain is about to rise…
Let us begin at the end.

Expected publication: November 13th 2020 by Platform House | Amazon | Goodreads


The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper

New York City, 1990: When you slip through the cracks, no one is there to catch you. Monique learns that the hard way after her girlfriend Donna vanishes without a trace.

Only after the disappearances of several other impoverished women does Monique hear the rumors. A taloned monster stalks the city’s underground and snatches victims into the dark.

Donna isn’t missing. She was taken.

To save the woman she loves, Monique must descend deeper than the known underground, into a subterranean world of enigmatic cultists and shadowy creatures. But what she finds looms beyond her wildest fears—a darkness that stretches from the dawn of time and across the stars.

Expected publication: November 15th 2020 by Off Limits Press | Amazon | Goodreads


This Is Not a Ghost Story by Andrea Portes

I am not welcome. Somehow I know that. Something doesn’t want me here.

Whatever this is, it is saying to me in a voice that cannot be heard but only felt:
Get out.

Daffodil Franklin has plans for a quiet summer before her freshman year at college, and luckily, she’s found the job that can give her just that: housesitting a mansion for a wealthy couple.

But as the summer progresses and shadows lengthen, Daffodil comes to realize the house is more than it appears. The spacious home seems to close in on her, and as she takes the long road into town, she feels eyes on her the entire way, and something tugging her back.

What Daffodil doesn’t yet realize is that her job comes with a steep price. The house has a long-ago grudge it needs to settle… and Daffodil is the key to settling it.

Expected publication: November 17th 2020 by HarperTeen | Amazon | Goodreads


When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk by Jennifer Anne Gordon

Critically acclaimed Author Jennifer Anne Gordon’s conclusion to The Hotel Series, with the sequel to From Daylight to Madness.

It one startling moment in the late summer of 1873 a tragedy fell like summer sun on the gray jagged shores of Dagger Island. Francis loses everything he thought his life was, and what it could have become. His heart breaks and his feet run, all the way back to his childhood home, he reaches for a past that may not exist.
He is there, in the little house in Dorchester Neck. A place haunted with missing time. He feels the comfort from walls that lean in too close, but then …He feels the trauma that ripped his life in two and in a blink of an eye he is back at the hotel. He can feel the memories fade as the cold fingers of winter wrap around him. He does not know how he got there, or indeed if he ever left.
Francis has lived his whole life veiled in the memories that are more alive than his present. The current days fade away before he can hold on to him. Everything he was or thought he could have been is gone. He realizes he may be a monster, and the person he has fallen in love with may not even exist. Francis holds onto the memories he thinks are real …until he is almost consumed by them.
Francis is isolated in a world of mesmerism, with his tormentor and healer Doctor Hughes.
Francis is a guest in this hotel with his past, his present, and who he believes to be his future. Isabelle. His world is a labyrinth … he feels her hand in his. The fingers intertwine and there is nothing left but her …
She is a memory, a ghost, and a hallucination.
He can almost remember the moment when his father’s glass shattered into his face…he can almost remember who he was before he was broken in two.
He can almost remember…
He can almost…
He can…
He…

Expected publication: November 19th 2020 by Livre Maison | Amazon | Goodreads


Dead Eyes by EV Knight

On June 4, 1966, “Dead-Eye” Dave Darrow murdered and mutilated a group of teenagers at his family’s home. His sister’s disappearance, his subsequent escape from the asylum, and a slew of deaths and missing persons surrounding the home have given birth to some wild local theories.

Twenty years later, Lisa Thompson needs to finish her exposé on the infamous Darrow story to ensure her full ride scholarship to U.C. Berkley’s School of Journalism. But the problem is, she doesn’t have a killer ending. The girl moving in to the Darrow’s old place could be Lisa’s lucky break. But new blood in the house and Lisa’s research awaken something or someone evil and murders begin anew in spectacular fashion.

Will Lisa uncover the truth within the Darrow house, or will she and her friends die trying?

Expected publication: November 26st 2020 by Unnerving | Amazon


We Are Wolves edited by Gemma Amor, Laurel Hightower, and Cynthia Pelayo

Expected publication: November by Burial Day


Jen is one of our LOHF admins. Jen manages the technical side of the Ladies of Horror Fiction website. She also keeps a spotlight on middle grade and young adult horror each month.

You can also find Jen on her blog Book Den, Twitter as @bookden, Instagram as @bookdenjen, on Goodreads, and Letterboxd.

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