Thursday, January 28, 2021

YA/MG Horror Spotlight January 2021

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 January as well as what our team has been reading and reviewing.

Young Adult New Releases

Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

Don’t Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

Stay up all night with this modern day Rebecca! Perfect for fans of Truly Devious—a haunting story about a new girl in an old town filled with dark secrets . . . that might just kill her.

People say the house is cursed.
It preys on the weakest, and young women are its favorite victims.
In Louth, they’re called the Dead Girls.


All Bram wanted was to disappear—from her old life, her family’s past, and from the scandal that continues to haunt her. The only place left to go is Louth, the tiny town on the Hudson River where her uncle, James, has been renovating an old mansion.

But James is haunted by his own ghosts. Months earlier, his beloved wife died in a fire that people say was set by her daughter. The tragedy left James a shell of the man Bram knew—and destroyed half the house he’d so lovingly restored.

The manor is creepy, and so are the locals. The people of Louth don’t want outsiders like Bram in their town, and with each passing day she’s discovering that the rumors they spread are just as disturbing as the secrets they hide. Most frightening of all are the legends they tell about the Dead Girls. Girls whose lives were cut short in the very house Bram now calls home.

The terrifying reality is that the Dead Girls may have never left the manor. And if Bram looks too hard into the town’s haunted past, she might not either.

Expected publication: January 26th 2021 by Delacorte Press | Amazon | Goodreads

Middle Grade New Releases

Root Magic by Eden Royce

From debut writer Eden Royce comes a wondrous historical ghost story set in South Carolina in the 1960s—an unforgettable tale of courage, friendship, and Black Girl Magic.

It’s 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won’t stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven—and their uncle, Doc, tells them he’s going train them in rootwork.

Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of her family for generations—especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family’s true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs…and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it’s going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through.

Debut author Eden Royce arrives with a wondrous story of love, bravery, friendship, and family, filled to the brim with magic great and small.

Published January 5th 2021 by Walden Pond Press | Amazon | Goodreads

Alone by Megan E. Freeman

When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She’s alone—left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.

With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten.

As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie’s most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie’s stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?

Expected publication: January 12th 2021 by Simon & Schuster/Aladdin | Amazon | Goodreads

Karma Moon: Ghost Hunter by Melissa Savage

While staying in a haunted Colorado hotel for her father’s ghost-hunting television series, Karma Moon must battle her anxiety, interpret the signs of the universe, and get footage of a real ghost–you know, the usual.

Karma Moon is a firm believer in everything woo-woo, as her dad calls it. So when she asked her trusty Magic Eight Ball if the call asking her dad to create a ghost-hunting docuseries was her dad’s big break, it delivered: No doubt about it. Because the universe never gets it wrong. Only people do.

Karma and her best friend, Mags, join her dad’s Totally Rad film crew at a famous haunted hotel in Colorado over her spring break. Their mission: find a ghost and get it on camera. If they succeed, the show will be a hit, they can pay rent on time, and just maybe, her mom will come back.

Unfortunately, staying at a haunted hotel isn’t a walk in the park for someone with a big case of the what-ifs. But her dad made Karma the head of research for the docuseries, so she, Mags, and a mysterious local boy named Nyx must investigate every strange happening in the historically creepy Stanley Hotel. Karma hopes that her what-ifs don’t make her give up the ghost before they can find a starring spirit to help their show go viral–and possibly even get them a season two.

With Melissa Savage’s quirky cast of characters and spooky setting underlaid by a touching and relatable struggle against anxiety and grief over her fractured family, Karma Moon–Ghosthunter is bound to charm and delight.

Expected publication: January 19th 2021 by Crown Books for Young Readers | Amazon | Goodreads

The In-Between by Rebecca Ansari

Cooper is lost. Ever since his father left their family three years ago, he has become distant from his friends, constantly annoyed by his little sister, Jess, and completely fed up with the pale, creepy rich girl who moved in next door, who won’t stop staring at him.

So when Cooper learns of an unsolved mystery his sister has discovered online, he welcomes the distraction. It’s the tale of a deadly train crash that occurred a hundred years ago in which one young boy among the dead was never identified. The only distinguishing mark on him was a strange insignia on his suit coat, a symbol no one had seen before or since. Jess is fascinated by the mystery of the unknown child—because she’s seen the insignia. And, she tells Cooper, he has too.

It’s the symbol on the jacket of the girl next door.

As they uncover more information—and mounting evidence of the girl’s seemingly impossible connection to the tragedy—Cooper and Jess begin to wonder if a similar disaster could be heading to their hometown. Thus begins an unforgettable adventure about the forgotten among us and what it means to be seen.

Expected publication: January 26th 2021 by Walden Pond Press | Amazon | Goodreads

Young Adult Books Reviewed

This month Emily read and reviewed Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova. Be sure to check out her review of Labyrinth Lost (“This was an intriguing start to a series, and I can’t wait to read book 2.”)

Emily also reviewed The Companion by Katie Alender. You can read her review of The Companion (“I liked The Companion overall…I would check out another book by this author.”)

Middle Grade Books Reviewed

This month Jen read and loved Root Magic by Eden Royce. Be sure to check out her review of Root Magic (“I loved the characters, the family, the friendships, the emotions, the horrors. It checked all of my middle grade boxes.”)

Toni reviewed Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldredge this month. Don’t miss her review of Evangeline of the Bayou (“The story was charming and creepy. I really enjoyed my adventure with Evangeline.”)

Jen also read and reviewed The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby. You can read her review of The Mulberry Tree (“My creepy tree loving self is so happy to have read it. It’s one I’m definitely passing on to my kids.”)


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, January 27, 2021

What We've Been Reading #81

We’ve reached the midpoint of our week here and you know what that means, don’t you?! We have new reading recommendations from the Ladies of Horror Fiction team. This week we have an eclectic mix of darkly comical horror, cosmic horror and a free audiobook collection of creepy stories that you can download.

Don’t forget to click either tag above to find more books worth your time ♥

Food Fright by Nico Bell

Food Fright by Nico Bell

High school junior Cassie Adler just wanted the bullying to stop. She thought gaining a spot on the varsity soccer team would whip up instant friends, but it isn’t until the popular girls need Cassie’s help that they acknowledge her presence. Cassie reluctantly agrees to participate in a prank that turns sour fast. Now with blood on their hands, she and the popular girls race to cover their tracks. But something savage knows what they’ve done, and it’s hungry for revenge. Can Cassie redeem herself before it’s too late, or will her deadly sins ketchup to her?

Book 7 in the Rewind-or-Die series: imagine your local movie rental store back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, remember all those fantastic covers. Remember taking those movies home and watching in awe as the stories unfolded in nasty rainbows of gore, remember the atmosphere and textures. Remember the blood.

Amazon | Goodreads

Audra’s Teaser Review

OK, I know it sounds weird, but just imagine a story that combines high school, soccer girls, home-ec, witches, ghosts, and anthropomorphized food that is out to kill. Then you’ll have Food Fright. This is my favorite entry in the Rewind or Die series that I’ve read so far!

Read Audra’s entire review at 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.

Amazon | Goodreads

Cassie’s Teaser Review

Overall, this is a novella absolutely packed with layers, and it’ll be a much loved addition to the shelf of any fan of cosmic horror – or even for folks like me, who have less experience with the genre, but are looking for a book that’ll completely blow them away before the 2020 ends!

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

Emily’s Teaser Review

The Worm and His Kings was one of my favorite horror books from last year! This story is dark, lonely, and fascinating. It’s an intense read, and it was a little confusing for me at times, but I really loved it.

Read Emily’s review at Goodreads.

Audra’s Teaser Review

Cosmic horror is something I’ve not delved too deeply in (mostly because of an aversion to Lovecraft) but as evidenced by this novella, there is still much to explore in this genre and it can be otherworldly, strange, gooey, and representative of diverse voices.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Come Join Us By The Fire Season 2

Come Join Us by the Fire Season 2 is the second installment of Nightfire’s audio-only horror anthology, featuring a wide collection of short stories from emerging voices in the horror genre as well as longtime fan favorites.

The collection showcases the breadth of talent writing in the horror genre today, with contributions from a wide range of genre luminaries including Laird Barron, Indrapramit Das, Shaun Hamill, Daniel M. Lavery, Matthew Lyons, T. Kingfisher, Seanan McGuire, Nibedita Sen, and Nightfire’s own Cassandra Khaw and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Free on Google Play

Laurie’s Teaser Review

I highly recommend giving this audio a listen. It’s free on GooglePlay and will likely be added to Spotify like the previous one was so you have nothing to lose but a little bit of your time.

Go give this lovely gift a listen. I’m pretty certain you’ll find something here to love.

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.

Monday, January 25, 2021

The 10 Books that Have Influenced Me - Toni's Edition

Picking ten books that have influenced me is really difficult. I have sat here for an hour looking at my bookshelf. So I am going to be a rebel and talk about 13 books that have influenced me.

This list is in no particular order. Each and every one of these books have influenced me or affected me in some way over the last few years.


  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë – The first time I read this book I was a young angsty goth. The idea of a love that does not die but stretches into eternity just thrilled me to no end. However, this is a good lesson in a book not aging well. I recently re-read it with the LOHF and it wasn’t like I remembered it.
  • We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – It may seem cliché but I love it. I have loved it for many many years.
  • The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter – I have always love the way that Angela Carter can take something like a fairytale and make it even more disturbing then the original.
  • The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman – In this edition there are other stories of hers but I read The Yellow Wallpaper when I was in college (the second time). At the time most of my horror was SK, dean Koontz and of course the gothic writers. This is a story which still effects me in a profound way.
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – This book made me realize that beauty is not always beautiful.
  • Benny Rose The Cannibal King by Hailey Piper – This was the 80s all wrapped up in a book. The creature features that I had grown up with. LOVED IT!
  • Little Paranoias by Sonora Taylor – There is a story in this collection that hasn’t left me. This story has it’s own spot in my brain.
  • Love For Slaughter by Sara Tantlinger – I love poetry. I love how people can take words and make them into these beautiful and brutal passages. Sara was one of the first horror poets that I read.
  • The Apocalyptic Mannequin by Stephanie M. Wytovich – Beauty and heart break. This is a poetry collection that I go back to time and time again.
  • New Music for Old Rituals By Tracy Fahey – This is the perfect example of how folklore influences horror and vice versa. The Black Dog is one of my favorite stories from this collection.
  • How to Recognize a Demon has Become your Friend By Linda Addison – What I love about this collection is the mix of prose and verse. In this collection it is pure magic.
  • The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste – Beauty, horror and decay. When I read this novel my heart broke and I felt all the things. It was the best combination of horror and beauty in one book.
  • Black Magic Women Edited by Sumiko Sualson – If you look at my instagram or my blog you will notice that I reference this anthology multiple times. It is a treasure trove of authors that I can guarantee the mainstream hasn’t heard of. From Nuzo Ohno the queen of African horror to Rhonda Joseph Garcia whose story Left Hand Torment was one of my favorites. This anthology is amazing.

There are a lot more than just these 13 books that have influenced me. However, these are books that I can’t shake off. They have burrowed into my gray matter and taken up residence. I am okay with that.


Toni is one of our LOHF Admins. Toni hosts the Ladies of Horror Fiction podcast, manages our guest posts, and oversees community outreach and communications for the LOHF team. You can also find Toni on her blog The Misadventures of a Reader, Twitter as @Toni_The_Reader, and Instagram as @toni_the_reader.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

What We've Been Reading #80

Wow, can you believe we’ve done 80 of these already?! Pats fellow team members on the back for being such diligent and lovely readers. Today our team members are sharing three recent and recommended reads. We have another eclectic mix of dark fiction and hope you’ll find something to love!

Don’t forget to click either tag above to find more books worth your time ♥

Trampled Crown by Kirby Kellogg

Valerie Barnes is tired. Tired of wrangling snarky teens through their math lessons, tired of helicopter moms with no respect and even less kindness, and – most importantly – tired of hearing about Canary Lane High’s upcoming homecoming dance. She’s been planning it for months and promises, if only to herself, to give the kids a night they’ll never forget.

But when strange things start happening and people’s lives are threatened in the days before the dance, that promise becomes more ominous than ever. Even the administration is getting antsy, and fingers are pointing to Valerie. With time running out and stakes getting higher, it’s up to Valerie to keep her students safe, clear her name, and figure out who’s been threatening all of their lives.

Book 10 in the Rewind-or-Die series: imagine your local movie rental store back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, remember all those fantastic covers. Remember taking those movies home and watching in awe as the stories unfolded in nasty rainbows of gore, remember the atmosphere and textures. Remember the blood.

Amazon | Goodreads

Audra’s Teaser Review

This Rewind or Die entry takes on high school homecoming . . . , and I know you’re having flashes of all those horror prom movies with buckets of blood and prom queens rising from the dead, but this novella has a different story to tell.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Tracy’s Teaser Review

The Rewind or Die series from Unnerving continues to deliver the kind of books I need to read right now. Trampled Crown by Kirby Kellogg scratched that 90s “I Know What You Did Last Summer” itch and I had a good time with this novella.

Read Tracy’s entire review at Sci-fi & Scary.

The Deep by Alma Katsu

The Deep by Alma Katsu

From the acclaimed and award-winning author of The Hunger comes an eerie, psychological twist on one of the world’s most renowned tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic and the ill-fated sail of its sister ship, the Britannic.

Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the Titanic from the moment they set sail. The Titanic‘s passengers expected to enjoy an experience befitting the much-heralded ship’s maiden voyage, but instead, amid mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, find themselves in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone. While some of the guests and crew shrug off strange occurrences, several–including maid Annie Hebbley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim–are convinced there’s something more sinister going on. And then disaster strikes.

Years later, Annie, having survived that fateful night, has attempted to put her life back together by going to work as a nurse on the sixth sailing of the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship to support British forces fighting World War I. When she happens across an unconscious Mark, now a soldier, she is at first thrilled and relieved to learn that he too survived the tragic night four years earlier. But soon his presence awakens deep-buried feelings and secrets, forcing her to reckon with the demons of her past–as they both discover that the terror may not yet be over.

Featuring an ensemble cast of characters and effortlessly combining the supernatural with the height of historical disaster, The Deep is an exploration of love and destiny, desire and innocence, and, above all, a quest to understand how our choices can lead us inexorably toward our doom. 

Amazon | Goodreads

Alex’s Teaser Review

Alma Katsu has once again crafted an intricate story rich with so much history and distinct characters with THE DEEP.

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Hexis

Hexis by Charlene Elsby

I’m not relentless. “Relentless” makes it sound like there’s something called “relent” and that I’m lacking it. In that sense, I’m not relentless, but perhaps I’m unrelenting. I could relent if I wanted to. But he always has to die. I mean “always” in two senses: at all times and all of the time. I can’t kill him all of the time. That would take too long. But all of the times I did, I did. I’d do it again. I could relent if I wanted to, but instead I’d do it again. If he’s different, then he’s the same and if he’s the same, he’s got to go. If he were different and not the same, then there would be two things and I’d only have to kill one of them. If only I only had to kill one of him. What a life I would live, if only I only had to kill him the one time. But death doesn’t always do him in.

Amazon | Goodreads

Laurie’s Teaser Review

Hexis is dark and painful and it is sometimes even darkly humorous and it tells SO many truths about being a woman in this world we live in.

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.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

What We've Been Reading #79

Today our team members are sharing three recent and recommended reads. We have a fine mix of stories to share with you! There’s a fun bug filled book, a beautiful gothic tale and a Halloween collection (psssst it’s always Halloween around here!). We hope you find something you’ll love!

Don’t forget to click either tag above to find more books worth your time ♥

infested by Carol Gore

Infested by Carol Gore

Swarms of powerful mosquitoes sucking victims dry. Insatiable horseflies feasting on living flesh. Huge roaches with a ferocious bite. No tent is safe at the Green Swamp Zip-Line Adventure and Campground.

Camp manager, Casey Lovitt, and entomologist, Dr. Phillip Edwards, must go up against powerful business interests and cover-ups from the local sheriff’s department to stop the deadly infestation. And with the busy tourist season fast approaching, time is running out. Will Casey and Phillip stop the onslaught of hungry bugs, or will the bodies continue to pile up among the long-buried secrets of the Green Swamp?

Book 2 in the Rewind-or-Die series: imagine your local movie rental store back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, remember all those fantastic covers. Remember taking those movies home and watching in awe as the stories unfolded in nasty rainbows of gore, remember the atmosphere and textures. Remember the blood.

Amazon | Goodreads

Audra’s Teaser Review

The story gets to everything that I like to see in short horror stories. It has a great protagonist, an interesting twist I didn’t see coming, and plenty of gory action. I cared about what happened to the characters and was equally excited to see some crazy bug death. A fun read!

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Helena by Claire L. Smith

On the outskirts of London, 1855, mortician and funeral director Helena Morrigan struggles with her limited finances and the heavy burdens of her past. Desperate to secure herself, she takes up residence in an aged house closer the graveyard, closer to the lost souls that sense her torment and are determined to take her place in the mortal world.

As she tries to tame and free the ghostly figures around her, she becomes acquainted with the owners of the home, the recently orphaned siblings, Eric, Audrey and Christian Tarter.

Yet, the souls she wants to save are on edge as a horrific serial killer runs rampant, giving Helena a boost in business and suspicion. Against her best efforts, Helena is suddenly thrown into a bloody mystery where new and old friendships are tested, innocents are maimed and a horrific family secret that threatens her chance at a peaceful existence and her existence itself.

Amazon | Goodreads

Alex’s Teaser Review

This is Claire L. Smith’s debut and it is haunting, beautiful, and fast-paced! 

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Audra’s Teaser Review

What I most appreciated about this novella was its mixing of the conventional and the completely unique. If you love Gothic tales, this one will appeal to you in both substance and style, but it will also surprise you.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Cassie’s Teaser Review

Smith’s writing is lyrical and evocative, immersing the reader in the dark atmosphere of Helena’s world. Lush language and beautiful descriptions with a heavy reliance on similes made up the meat of the writing, making this a really luxurious and almost poetic reading experience – perfect for the Gothic vibes of the story. I found Smith’s written voice both compelling and enchanting, and I’m really looking forward to reading more of her work in the future – which is convenient, since she’s announced a new book coming out this year!

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

Halloween Season

Halloween Season by Lucy A. Snyder

Halloween is the most wonderful part of the year for many of us. For dedicated fans, the season begins when the leaves start turning autumn colors and doesn’t finish until Hallowtide ends in November. With it comes a whole lot of fun: scary movies and stories, haunted houses, seasonal sweets, spooky decorations, costume parties, and of course trick or treat. But Halloween is also a deeply spiritual time for some; it’s an opportunity to remember and honor loved ones who have passed on.

Master storyteller Lucy A. Snyder has filled her cauldron with everything that Halloween means to her and distilled it into a spell-binding volume of stories. Within these pages you’ll find thrills and chills, hilarity and horrors, the sweet and the naughty.

One of the best things about Halloween is you don’t have to be yourself. So go ahead and try on a new mask or two… you may discover hidden talents as a witch, a pirate, a space voyager, a zombie fighter, or even an elf. This is the perfect collection to celebrate the season of the dead or to summon those heady autumn vibes whenever you like. You may even find a couple of tales that evoke a certain winter holiday that keeps trying to crowd in on the fun.

In the worlds within this book, every day is Halloween!

Amazon | Goodreads

Laurie’s Teaser Review

Halloween Season is an eclectic collection of short stories and a poem or two. The stories aren’t all focused on or around Halloween but they’re all interesting and some are darkly comical (my favorite) so they’re definitely worth a read any time of the year!

Read Laurie’s entire review at Bark at the Ghouls.

Alex’s Teaser Review

Halloween Season is a fun collection of short stories and a few poems, each with a different theme and exploring different terrors. As the synopsis indicates, there are a couple of Christmas stories thrown in… because as we know, Christmas is always being shoved down our throats before Halloween even happens!

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

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, January 12, 2021

Help us Choose Our February Readalong

Each month we post a poll for our Goodreads group members to select the next month’s readalong book. The February poll ends Jan 12, 2021 11:59PM PST. If you haven’t joined our Goodreads group yet, be sure to join up and vote!


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


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, January 7, 2021

January 2021 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 woman author, please reach out to us and let us know so we can help to spotlight the book’s release!

Bloodline by Jess Lourey

Bloodline by Jess Lourey

Perfect town. Perfect homes. Perfect families. It’s enough to drive some women mad…

In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting.

And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village.

The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows.

Her fiancé tells her she’s being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth.

Published January 1st 2021 by Thomas & Mercer | Amazon | Goodreads


The Push by Ashley Audrain

The Push by Ashley Audrain

A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do.

Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.

Published January 5th 2021 by Pamela Dorman Books | Amazon | Goodreads


Root Magic by Eden Royce

Root Magic by Eden Royce

From debut writer Eden Royce comes a wondrous historical ghost story set in South Carolina in the 1960s—an unforgettable tale of courage, friendship, and Black Girl Magic.

It’s 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won’t stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven—and their uncle, Doc, tells them he’s going train them in rootwork.

Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of her family for generations—especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family’s true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs…and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it’s going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through.

Debut author Eden Royce arrives with a wondrous story of love, bravery, friendship, and family, filled to the brim with magic great and small.

Published January 5th 2021 by Walden Pond Press | Amazon | Goodreads


Shiver edited by Nico Bell

Shiver by Nico Bell

Grab a cozy blanket, pour some bourbon in your hot chocolate, and gather around the fireplace. It’s about to get chilly! This un-brrr-lievable anthology presents 30 spooky stories exploring the depths of madness and terror unique to the cold. Whether it’s a chilling twist on the final girl trope, a mysterious Japanese spirit knocking on a cabin door, or something sinister born out of urine soaked snow, this frigid collection is packed with tales that will send a shiver down your spine. Get ready. A blizzard is coming.

Expected publication: January 11th 2021 | Amazon | Goodreads


Alone by Megan E. Freeman

When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She’s alone—left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.

With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten.

As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie’s most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie’s stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?

Expected publication: January 12th 2021 by Simon & Schuster/Aladdin | Amazon | Goodreads


The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories by Mariana Enríquez

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories by Mariana Enríquez

Following the “propulsive and mesmerizing” ( New York Times Book Review ) Things We Lost in the Fire comes a new collection of singularly unsettling stories, by an Argentine author who has earned comparisons to Shirley Jackson and Jorge Luis Borges.

Mariana Enriquez has been critically lauded for her unconventional and sociopolitical stories of the macabre: populated by unruly teenagers, crooked witches, homeless ghosts, and hungry women, they walk the uneasy line between urban realism and horror. The stories in her next collection are as terrifying as they are socially conscious, and press into being the unspoken — fetish, illness, the female body, the darkness of human history — with unsettling urgency. A woman is sexually obsessed with the human heart; a lost, rotting baby crawls out of a backyard and into a bedroom; a pair of teenage girls can’t let go of their idol; an entire neighborhood is cursed to death by a question of morality they fail to answer correctly.

Written against the backdrop of contemporary Argentina, and with resounding tenderness towards those in pain, in fear, and in limbo, this new collection from one of Argentina’s most exciting writers finds Enriquez at her most sophisticated, and most chilling.

Expected publication: January 12th 2021 by Hogarth Press | Amazon | Goodreads


In Darkness, Shadows Breathe by Catherine Cavendish

Carol and Nessa are strangers but not for much longer. In a luxury apartment and in the walls of a modern hospital, the evil that was done continues to thrive. They are in the hands of an entity that knows no boundaries and crosses dimensions – bending and twisting time itself – and where danger waits in every shadow. The battle is on for their bodies and souls and the line between reality and nightmare is hard to define.

Through it all, the words of Lydia Warren Carmody haunt them. But who was she? And why have Carol and Nessa been chosen?

The answer lies deep in the darkness…

Expected publication: January 19th 2021 by Flame Tree Press | Amazon | Goodreads


In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

An audacious novel of feminine rage about one of the most prolific female serial killers in American history–and the men who drove her to it.

They whisper about her in Chicago. Men come to her with their hopes, their dreams–their fortunes. But no one sees them leave. No one sees them at all after they come to call on the Widow of La Porte. The good people of Indiana may have their suspicions, but if those fools knew what she’d given up, what was taken from her, how she’d suffered, surely they’d understand. Belle Gunness learned a long time ago that a woman has to make her own way in this world. That’s all it is. A bloody means to an end. A glorious enterprise meant to raise her from the bleak, colorless drudgery of her childhood to the life she deserves. After all, vermin always survive.

Expected publication: January 19th 2021 by Berkley | Amazon | Goodreads


Karma Moon: Ghost Hunter by Melissa Savage

While staying in a haunted Colorado hotel for her father’s ghost-hunting television series, Karma Moon must battle her anxiety, interpret the signs of the universe, and get footage of a real ghost–you know, the usual.

Karma Moon is a firm believer in everything woo-woo, as her dad calls it. So when she asked her trusty Magic Eight Ball if the call asking her dad to create a ghost-hunting docuseries was her dad’s big break, it delivered: No doubt about it. Because the universe never gets it wrong. Only people do.

Karma and her best friend, Mags, join her dad’s Totally Rad film crew at a famous haunted hotel in Colorado over her spring break. Their mission: find a ghost and get it on camera. If they succeed, the show will be a hit, they can pay rent on time, and just maybe, her mom will come back.

Unfortunately, staying at a haunted hotel isn’t a walk in the park for someone with a big case of the what-ifs. But her dad made Karma the head of research for the docuseries, so she, Mags, and a mysterious local boy named Nyx must investigate every strange happening in the historically creepy Stanley Hotel. Karma hopes that her what-ifs don’t make her give up the ghost before they can find a starring spirit to help their show go viral–and possibly even get them a season two.

With Melissa Savage’s quirky cast of characters and spooky setting underlaid by a touching and relatable struggle against anxiety and grief over her fractured family, Karma Moon–Ghosthunter is bound to charm and delight.

Expected publication: January 19th 2021 by Crown Books for Young Readers | Amazon | Goodreads


Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

“She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own.”

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa­­–a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks–alone, except for her fox companion–searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

Expected publication: January 19th 2021 by Tor.com | Amazon | Goodreads


The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead – and to try and identify their killers – in this beguiling new tale from the queen of Gothic fiction, Laura Purcell

As the age of the photograph dawns in Victorian Bath, silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another… Why is the killer seemingly targeting her business?

Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back.

Expected publication: June 1st 2021 by Penguin Books | Amazon | Goodreads


Liar: Memoir of a Haunting Kindle Edition by E.F. Schraeder

Liar: Memoir of a Haunting Kindle Edition by E.F. Schraeder

Who doesn’t crave a little escape? Dreaming of small town life and rural charm, Alex and Rainey find a deal on an old rustic home they can’t resist. But soon after Rainey moves, her preoccupation with weird local history and the complications of living alone in the woods take a toll. Alex worries that the long nights and growing isolation are driving her stir crazy. When the Sugar House is damaged and Rainey goes missing, Alex doesn’t know where to turn. Was it a storm, vandals, or something worse? What happened at the Sugar House? The only thing worse than wondering is finding out.

Expected publication: January 23 2021 | Amazon


Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

Don’t Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

Stay up all night with this modern day Rebecca! Perfect for fans of Truly Devious—a haunting story about a new girl in an old town filled with dark secrets . . . that might just kill her.

People say the house is cursed.
It preys on the weakest, and young women are its favorite victims.
In Louth, they’re called the Dead Girls.


All Bram wanted was to disappear—from her old life, her family’s past, and from the scandal that continues to haunt her. The only place left to go is Louth, the tiny town on the Hudson River where her uncle, James, has been renovating an old mansion.

But James is haunted by his own ghosts. Months earlier, his beloved wife died in a fire that people say was set by her daughter. The tragedy left James a shell of the man Bram knew—and destroyed half the house he’d so lovingly restored.

The manor is creepy, and so are the locals. The people of Louth don’t want outsiders like Bram in their town, and with each passing day she’s discovering that the rumors they spread are just as disturbing as the secrets they hide. Most frightening of all are the legends they tell about the Dead Girls. Girls whose lives were cut short in the very house Bram now calls home.

The terrifying reality is that the Dead Girls may have never left the manor. And if Bram looks too hard into the town’s haunted past, she might not either.

Expected publication: January 26th 2021 by Delacorte Press | Amazon | Goodreads


The In-Between by Rebecca Ansari

The In-Between by Rebecca Ansari

Cooper is lost. Ever since his father left their family three years ago, he has become distant from his friends, constantly annoyed by his little sister, Jess, and completely fed up with the pale, creepy rich girl who moved in next door, who won’t stop staring at him.

So when Cooper learns of an unsolved mystery his sister has discovered online, he welcomes the distraction. It’s the tale of a deadly train crash that occurred a hundred years ago in which one young boy among the dead was never identified. The only distinguishing mark on him was a strange insignia on his suit coat, a symbol no one had seen before or since. Jess is fascinated by the mystery of the unknown child—because she’s seen the insignia. And, she tells Cooper, he has too.

It’s the symbol on the jacket of the girl next door.

As they uncover more information—and mounting evidence of the girl’s seemingly impossible connection to the tragedy—Cooper and Jess begin to wonder if a similar disaster could be heading to their hometown. Thus begins an unforgettable adventure about the forgotten among us and what it means to be seen.

Expected publication: January 26th 2021 by Walden Pond Press | Amazon | Goodreads


Family Solstice by Kate Maruyama

Family Solstice by Kate Maruyama

The Massey family loves their house. It’s been in the family for generations, and the land on which it sits has been with them even longer. In the summer everyone comes through to visit and the house is alive with family friends, barbecues and lobster boils. But come fall, the mood shifts as all of the kids start training for their turn in the basement.

Expected publication: January 30, 2021 | Amazon


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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