Only The Darkest Reads

REVIEW REQUESTS

I am open to reviewing both upcoming and backlist titles.

Please email me at onlythedarkestreads (@) gmail.com if you have a title you would like me to consider.

Physical copies are greatly appreciated and would be my preference, but I am also open to digital copies in epub or mobi format. If your format doesn’t allow me to change font size and style I will not be able to review your book. I have poor eyesight and this lack of adjustment makes it impossible for me to read.

For upcoming releases, please try to send me a copy at least a month before pub date. You and I both want me to review your book before it comes out! Since I’m in Canada, please assume a 2-3 week delivery window for physical copies.

My reading genre preference is horror or horror adjacent. Which means supernatural thrillers, speculative fiction, dark fantasy/sci-fi as well as non-fiction (that leans into the macabre) are all fair game.

I am fair and honest and try to accept titles that have the best chance at being a style match for me. If I am not connecting to your title I will not post a bad review on Instagram or Twitter. If I will not be finishing your book, I will contact you to let you know. I will not rate or review titles I DNF.

While I’m not a professional reviewer I have an English Specialization degree and a Publishing certificate. My whole post-secondary education is around books and reading, with focused attention to substantive editing and production.

I still strongly believe in star ratings and here is how they work:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Perfect style match. A new Cass classic I would revisit, recommend and gift a friend. Not often given out.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Really great book! Maybe had an element that didn’t work for me. Still a title I’d recommend and gift.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Why do people think 3s are a bad review? I liked the style but not the plot. I liked the plot but not the style. Just not a great match for my preferences, and likely not one I’ll remember long after reading. Would recommend to the right person.

⭐️⭐️ - Serious structural and/or style issues that made it hard for me to get through. I didn’t like it. At all.

⭐️ - Rarely given out. I’m sorry if you get one of these, but there’s probably a rotten core to this book if you get what I mean.

I don’t need trigger warnings! So please don’t tell me what’s in your story aside from back cover copy.

Thanks for your consideration,

For someone who doesn’t have and doesn’t want children, I sure do read a lot of intense parenting horror stories 😂.

After happening upon a children’s birthday party they weren’t invited to, Lola and Ian decide to have a baby as an attempt to reconnect with their old friends. While happy with their current lifestyle, they wonder if they are missing out on this experience.

When pregnancy and parenthood prove to be more difficult than expected, cracks start to form in the foundation of their relationship. Are they evil for not feeling a loving connection with their child? For missing the life before he came? Or is there something wrong with this seemingly perfect boy?

The character building in this story was incredible. Lola and Ian are charismatic and relatable (who hasn’t gone through an identity crisis, ha) and the tension of something being very wrong builds in a very propulsive way.

There is a supernatural element to the story that I personally could’ve used more of, but this book is brisk even though it’s over 400 pages.

If you want a creepy look at the extremes of parenthood I’d definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to Robert Ottonefor providing me with an arc of your book.

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: January 14, 2023

I’m sure we all have a handful of authors who are go to’s. You know when a new novel is coming out. You read everything they put out. Grady Hendrix is one of mine. Even if I didn’t love one (or two 😅) of his releases, I know I’m in for a good time.

I think How to Sell a Haunted House is my new favourite of his books.

After the tragic death of their parents, Louise and her estranged brother Mark need to sell their family home. Filled to the brim with memories… and puppets they can’t come together with how to get it done. Mark wants to dump it all. Louise wants to preserve their parents favourite things. The puppets have an idea of their own. Chaos ensues.

This book is unhinged. I encourage you to go into this one as blind as possible. You will think you know where this book is going, and I assure you: there is NO FUCKING WAY you do.

I got very emotionally attached to these characters, I was so angry and sad and frustrated with what was happening to them. Having dealt with the loss of my grandmother last year, and working with my family to split up her life’s belongings, this story just hit me deeply.

And in true Grady fashion this book is just so relentlessly funny. At first I thought this book might be too goofy for me, because puppets are truly goofy shit, but by the time we get to Mark’s story I was fully on board with the life of puppets and their capacity for pure unadulterated evil.

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: Oct 25, 2022

I’m just going to say it. I think this book is the most overlooked horror novel of 2022. Philip Fracassi has written a fucking stunner.

In search for a quick payday, a group of criminals concoct a plan to kidnap a child for some ransom money. A carefully curated plan that seems to be going smoothly. Until they get the boy, Henry Thorne, back to the hideaway: a derelict cabin in the middle of the woods.

Theres something waiting for them in the cellar below. Something more terrifying than the baddies that kidnapped him, and it’s reaching out to Henry. Telling him they are not welcome here. That they need to leave before it’s too late. Mother wants them gone.

This book combines some of my favourite things: Spooky kids! Violence! Revenge! Gross siblings! Eldritch horror! Grief! Bucketloads of grief. Like, so, so much grief.

The sense of dread and tension I felt the entire time I was reading this book is unrivaled. I needed to finish this one quickly so I could breathe again.

Thank you so much to Skyhorse Pub and NetGalley for an arc of this title.

3.5/5 Stars

Pub Date: rereleased Oct 11, 2022

If you’ve had the previous pleasure of reading a Catriona Ward novel, you know her ability to create a living world.

Every page of Little Eve breathes. You can smell the briny waves lapping against the lichen covered rocks. You can feel the dampness seeping out of the castle walls. The bite of a snake clamping down on the webbing between your thumb and forefinger, and the poison slithering through your veins.

It’s all atmosphere, and I enjoyed spending time in its pages.

The only problem here is that I’ve read the Last House on Needless Street and Sundial. You can see Ward developing her style and storytelling in these pages, and how far her writing has come since Little Eve’s initial release.

Comparing her novels to each other is maybe not fair. This book is still wonderful! But I expected a more impossibly knotted plot that gets tighter as I pick at it’s ends.

If you’re looking for a dual timeline, super moody cult thriller though you should definitely pick this one up.

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sept 27, 2022

I’ll start out by saying that Leech is not going to be for everyone. It’s complex and dense and takes its time. I read a few chapters here and there between other books until I hit the midway point and finished it in a day. I absolutely think the pace is worth it as the world Leech is building is fucking wild.

Get ready for a book full of the uncanny. We’re talking squirmy eyeball parasites, loaded familial drama and strife, spooky twins(!!!), human hybrids, and a neural network of doctors who all share the same consciousness. And do not forget about a good ole batch of body horror, because y’all love it.

I can’t remember the last book that challenged me like this, and knowing what I know now, I’m absolutely going to reread it to find the filaments of clues that were clearly woven throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and TorDotCom for a galley of this title. Leech comes out September 27th.

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sep 20, 2022

It’s rare to see a person in Settlement Five who has all their limbs still attached. Whether a finger is missing or an entire leg , these are the visual representation of their crimes and misdoings. Atonements for their evil ways.

Every settlement has a Butcher, an inherited title that doles out these punishments. When the current butcher, Winona, refuses to maim a child, she’s brutally disposed of her role. Forcing her daughter Lady Mae to take on the mantle of the most hated person in the settlement.

The world building in this novel is terrific. It cleverly folds you into this society where this extreme form of corporeal punishment is still not a deterrent to crimes of opportunity or lack of.

It balances themes of redemption and forgiveness and isolation so well.

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Aug 16, 2022

About 15 years ago I very deeply debated going to mortuary school. As a child I went to many funerals (which it seems is unusual) and I think having many people die around you gives you an insight into life and death. Death and corpses weren’t and aren’t something to fear. Death is a guarantee. An inevitable. And voiding yourself of seeing the dead perpetuates this fear.

One issue that plagued me was the commodification of death and the expenses of funerals: The pressure of showing your fondness and love through the fanciest body box and the sanitation of our experience of a dead body.

As an always macabre leaning person I felt a real connection to Hayley Campbell’s exploration of what happens after death. The many processes of handling and dismantling, identifying and remembering a person after they’ve left their body.

This book casts a wide net, and I think is a great companion piece or introduction into the death positivity movement. It’s harrowing and heartwarming and fascinating. My only suggestion is maybe to not read the chapter on Disaster Victim Identification WHILE on an airplane like I did. 😂

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sep 1, 2022

One of my favourite books from last year was All of Us Villians, which left us readers on an insane cliffhanger, so as soon as the digital for All of Our Demise hit my inbox I had to immediately start it.

Once again we are thrown into the tournament and each of the villains perspectives. While AoUV was all action, AoOD is cunning and introspection. This book is about the relationships all of our champions have forged together.

Because of this tonal switch I did find the first half of the book to be a little bit slow, but by the time I got halfway through I couldn’t put it down. Again, I have to praise the magic system in this book, as it feels so vivid and different and the crafting of spells and curses is still some of my favourite passages in the series.

My only complaint is that I feel like the romances were a little underdeveloped, especially since one of them was incredibly well done. All in all though, I loved the conclusion, and couldn’t imagine it any other way.

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Oct 4, 2022

80s horror is packed with scream queens, final girls and supernaturally unslayable murderers who lurk through summer camps and subdivisions. Their serialized killing sprees pumped out in celluloid every few years to the delight of horror fans and horny teens.

We know the costumes, the weapons, the names. But eventually the movies stop coming and the man behind the mask is relegated to signing head shots at every genre convention that will take him.

Curse of the Reaper is a fun and campy slasher that deserves a spot on the shelf next to The Remaking and Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI.

This is a slasher about slashers. An homage to the ins and outs of the remake cycle and the spirit of the monster who lives beyond the script.

I was impressed with the variety of kills, and The Reaper’s dialogue reminded me so much of The Crypt Keeper with his endless death puns.

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sept 27, 2022

Have you ever tried Aspic, or are you instantly grossed out by the idea of savory jellies? The gelatinous vessel of meats and vegetable. A sensory trick, as your brain overcomes the texture and flavour combination. Is this good? A thing I could like?

Motherthing is an acquired taste. A sublimely weird story of desire for connection as a survivor of parental abuse. It’s about being deeply, tragically lonely and sad sad sad. And the masks we slip on for a semblance of normalcy. The weight of synthetic happiness.

As a person who has no desire for motherhood, I wondered if this book would be for me. I can say that there definitely is a lot to enjoy even without that connection. Take your time with it and savour the jellied salmon.

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: Aug 2, 2022

Oh! This book HURTS.

Each page full of pain and despair. Of the lengths people go through for their family even when all odds are against them.

It’s pitch black. It’s absolutely action packed. Heartbreaking. Powerful. Easily up there for favorites of the year.

Damn this is one hell of an achievement. This is my first book of Iglesias’s I’ve read but I’m bumping Coyote Songs up my TBR pile.

What was your favourite book this month?

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: May 24, 2022

It’s rare that a book can deliver a gut-punch before you even reach the opening lines. But while Naben Ruthnam and I do not know each other, we both lost a mutual friend in December 2021. A dear friend that this novella is dedicated to.

So nerves raw I dove into this tiny vessel. Into a story of decay and love. And I thought of the pain that shows boldly on our bodies and the turmoil that ripples invisible below our skin.

As many of you know I am a big body horror fan, and the descriptions of a withering and molting body is more visceral for its clinical detachment.

I’ve been thinking about this book for days.

4/5 Stars

Pub date: Oct 31, 2021

A Fig For All The Devils has been on my TBR for awhile. I saw everyone reading it last year and loved the simple cover design and knew I’d need to read it.

For a book that’s covering some heavy subjects (suicide, grief, abuse, neglect, poverty) it’s a brisk read that opens with a truly gnarly and gruesome scene that blew me away.

I really connected and sympathized with our protagonist Sonny who is grappling with his grief after the death of his father. Through his despair he meets the Grim Reaper who offers him a hard to resist opportunity: become his protege and successor.

While the Reaper is the embodiment of death, obviously, he’s absurdly funny and is a pretty unforgettable character. I could read a book solely about his exploits leading up to his meeting with Sonny.

If you’re looking for a quick read grief horror that’s equal parts brutal and heartwarming, you should pick this one up.

I want to thank Netgalley and Albatross Books for an ARC of this title.

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Jul 19, 2022

There’s just something about a Malfi novel that just sucks me in. His writing tempo matches my reading tempo so well, and I just fly through his novels. I wasn’t sure if I’d finish Black Mouth in time for pub date but I read the second half last night, and here we are.

Black Mouth feels like a new horror classic. Reminiscent of the big 80s coming of age novels that we all know and love and compare everything else to.

The set up you know: fate brings old friends back to their small town to try and defeat the evil that shaped their childhoods. But it’s still so fresh and new. We know the tracks but we haven’t been in this tunnel.

It’s an emotional read, and if you’re looking for a carnival horror with lots of magic and ritual murder, this one may be for you.

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this title which came out today!

4/5 Stars

Pub date: Jul 19, 2022

Do you like a slow burn?

Mary’s dream is to fade into the background. Work just enough to be comfortable and to keep to herself, and maybe not sweat through her sheets every night. But everything starts to fall apart on the cusp of her 50th birthday.

She loses her job, her rent is about to double and she gets a call from her estranged and dying aunt begging her to come home to Arroyo.

With no other options on the horizon she packs a bag and goes, because that’s what a good person would do.

But being back to her hometown stirs up some uneasy emotions as well as unsettling nightmares. Blackouts and strange visions tied to a series of ritual murders that took place nearly 50 years prior. Murders that seem to be starting again. Are these the workings of a copycat killer or something more sinister?

Mary is a difficult and unreliable protagonist. I definitely didn’t like her but she kinda grows on you. This book is thick and has a lot going on. A spooky mansion, an unsettling town, familial strife, possession, and I loved every new thread this book threw at me. I don’t even know how to mention much more without ruining some of the surprises packed in here.

This is a book that requires patience but I promise you it’s worth the time.

5/5 stars

pub date: july 5 2022

“The thing about faces, he's saying, is they're always a lie. Even before they're slathered in makeup. Faces make us

different from each other And we're not- not really. We try so goddamn hard all the time to be different, to be unique. You know what we all just really are? When you strip away the dumb expressions we all practice to try to look a certain way?

Meat.”

Genuine emoji reactions of me reading Hawk Mountain:

😬 😬 😅 😬 😬 😬 😬 😥

What would you do if you came face to face with your high school bully 15 years later?

While on the beach with his son Anthony, Todd sees an outline of a man approach. To his surprise and dismay it’s Jack, the man who made his last year of high school a living hell.

Jack is seemingly unaware of the impact he had on Todd, and demands they grab a bite and a drink to catch up. But a drink turns into him crashing on their couch to integrating himself into Todd and Anthony’s life. And now that Jack’s here it’s impossible to get him to leave.

This book was so fucking tense, every interaction through the dual timelines of Todd and Jack’s history had my guts roiling and jaw clenching. I’m remiss to say too much because there’s a moment where the story hits a switch, and I honestly could not put it down. Really, I read this in one day.

If you want a thriller with a big heaping pile of gory horror this is for you. I told you this book has an all-timer tone shift. This book gets GROSS.

I want everyone to read this, because I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.