By Yes, I have been reading horror and sci-fi. The sci-fi was a Project Hail Mary re-read after having watched the movie (which is amaze amaze amaze). I did not mean to read this much horror this year but I have been enjoying it. I have put these books in order from least favorite to most favorite. I have realized I enjoy reading the horror that is not just for the jump scare, horror with a purpose. Do you read horror? Have you ready any of these books? If so, let me know what you think of them in the comments.
Synopsis: Judeth Cole has always had certain uncanny abilities. But when she arrived at Solidago – her grandfather’s estate by the sea – she was forced to keep them secret. There she lived a harsh life under his rule and the haunting legacy of her late grandmother, Aurelia. Until the fateful day she ignited a fire with her magic. It was the last time she saw her family alive.
Seventeen years later, she’s living in Seattle as Jude Clark, and failing at life, when she makes a last detour through her favorite bookstore, selecting a book to read as she waits to die. But when she pulls it from the shelf, an invitation to her for a clandestine midnight meeting slips out.
Jude is quickly swept up into a world of secrets and magic, discovering a circle of powerful new companions led by the mysterious, enigmatic Arla. The source of their magic, Arla tells her, is a goddess, trapped and bound, that they call The Fathom. But Jude swiftly realizes Arla wants this power all to herself, and that she’s willing to kill for it.
Terrified, Jude turns to Levi Orman, the handsome bookseller who’s seen her at her worst. With his help, she begins a research journey that leads her from the crystal waters of the Mediterranean to the icy waves of the Greenland Sea and back to Solidago, the house she swore to never return to. With the Fathom threatening to break free and Arla on the hunt, Jude must finally face her past to save her future.
Ava Morgyn’s Only Spell Deep is a novel that takes readers on a journey into a dark, glittering world of magic, a place where power should never be caged and misplaced trust can have deadly consequences.
I did not know this was a horror read when I picked it up. I thought I was going in for urban fantasy and it was that but there a ton of horror elements as well. If you read this book, trigger warning for SA.
This was not my favorite book, I felt that the main character let the first half of the book happen to her and it really annoyed me. This is not something I will reread again.
Synopsis: Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.
A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger – only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.
Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken … and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.
Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.
I loved this book so much. Trigger warning if you read this book for religious trauma. I had been wanting to read this book for a while and I’m so glad that I finally did. The author also did the art for this book and it’s worth having a physical copy.
I loved this book, the main character really works to achieve her goals. She is disadvantage in her place in the world but she tries, she pushes the boundaries.
This book does contain magic, torture, death. The story is very well written and moves well through the intertwined plot lines.
Synopsis: In the darkest days of the Dark Ages, the people of France faced both the Black Plague and desperate gangs of men who wandered the depopulated countryside looting and raping. Tomas, a disgraced knight, is one of these men. When he and his group of hardened men come across a farm where they can find a meal, they also encounter a girl orphaned by the Plague. An unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Tomas that the disease is only part of a greater, more significant cataclysm — that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven.
Is she really blessed, or is it delirium? As hell unleashes its fury and the true nature of the girl is revealed, Tomas finds himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, sinners and saints, and a damnable struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.
This is the best horror book I’ve read this year and it is definitely worth the hype. 5/5 starts. That being said, this book gets a trigger warning for everything.
I’ve read reviews where this book is considered a grim dark fantasy and while I do think it has some of those elements, it’s really more of a historical fiction with fantastic horror elements. This is very much a hell is empty and the devils are here book. The best description I have heard is that this book is The Road crossed with Canterbury Tales and I can totally see it.
This book has monsters, and devils, an anti-hero, along with moments of light in a time that seems like the end of days. I 100% suggest this book, it lingers.
If you are looking for where to pick up copies, please shop local or support indie bookstores through Bookshop.org.
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McGee Travel Tales 