Published September 2, 2025 by Poisoned Pen Press

It's a Midsommar night's Scream in this blood-soaked thriller set at a remote healing retreat from horror author Brian McAuley.

Hannah has been running from her demons ever since she emerged from a harrowing wilderness trip without her fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah would like to keep it that way... even if his ghost still haunts her with vivid waking nightmares that are ruining her life. So when her friend group gets an exclusive invitation to a restorative spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, Hannah reluctantly agrees in search of a fresh start.

Despite her skepticism of the strange Guru Pax and his belief in the supernatural world, Hannah soon finds healing through all the yoga, sound baths, and hot springs offered at the tech-free haven. But this peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways. As the body count rises and Hannah’s sanity frays, she’ll have to confront her dark past and uncover the true nature of a ruthless monster hellbent on killing her vibe for good.

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If you're a fan of slashers, unreliable narrators, and the kind of mystery that keeps you second-guessing —Breathe IN, Bleed Out is a wickedly fun ride. Brian McNulty delivers a fast-paced, genre-savvy novel that’s as much a love letter to horror tropes as it is a clever psychological mystery.

This book throws you into a world that feels like it was born out of a late-night horror movie marathon of Friday the 13th. You’ve got the tension between characters, the looming sense that someone (maybe everyone?) is hiding something, and the unreliability of the main character who is already seeing the ghost of her dead fiancé. 

The isolated setting adds so much creeping dread and the growing paranoia builds until you are yelling "The killer is right behind you!". Mix that with a little bit of gritty angst and dark humor. McNulty really leans into the “whodunit” energy while still delivering all the bloody, campy, adrenaline-pumping thrills you expect from a slasher. 

If you’re a fan of books that keep you guessing and characters who keep you suspicious, Breathe IN, Bleed Out is well worth your time. What really sets this apart from your typical slasher is the way it messes with your head. It’s a bloody good time — in every sense.

Published April 15, 2025 by Quill & Crow Publishing House

Carve the bones. One for the gate, one for the door, two for the mantel, and three for the floor… Hyacinth Turning knows the terrors beyond her village, the insatiable hunger of the Teeth. She listens to the sermons given by the Elders in their hare-skin masks. She watches as the heathens hang and the witches burn. They tell her to be good and quiet. But Hyacinth is neither good nor quiet. After a series of tragic events, Hyacinth finds herself hastily wedded and sent far away from all she has ever known to a settlement at the edge of the sea. Where more than just the Teeth are hungry. Another horror swims below, leviathan shadows kept at bay by offerings of flesh and bone.

But no sooner does Hyacinth take root in her new home do the Teeth and the Deep come to feed. Suspicion soon falls upon the outspoken Hyacinth, who spends more time with the outcasted Morgan Carroway than her own husband. The Elders want her burned, her husband wants her hanged, and a long-lost love claws at her dreams, but Hyacinth only wants one thing. A life and death of her choosing.

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Hyacinth Turning is sent away to a remote village near the forest and sea, where ancient horrors like the Teeth and the Deep are kept at bay through sacrifices. She’s reeling from personal tragedy, isolated in a new marriage to a man she doesn't like, and immediately flung into a new claustrophobic community ruled by folklore, fear, and blood rituals...exactly like the one she left. She’s not just unwelcome, she’s disposable. Her body, her grief, and her silence are all things to be used, suppressed, or sacrificed for the “greater good.”

Hyacinth is constantly acted upon rather than acting. She’s shipped off, married off, silenced, accused, watched, threatened… and she endures all of it, often with the emotional affect of a ghost—just a resigned shuffle through escalating misery. She’s worn down by it until she’s just absorbed into the horror. I'm sure that's the point but it doesn’t make for satisfying character development. It makes for bleak existential rot. No sharp turns. No big “aha” moment. Just damp misery, sprinkled with vague dread.

A lot of “folk horror” tries to fake the ancient, the ritualistic, the uncanny, but The Bone Drenched Woods feels authentic. The bone offerings, the hare-masked Elders, the silent submission to the Deep? It all feels like it could have grown out of some obscure corner of real folklore. It’s primal and unnerving.

L.V. Russell absolutely nails that oppressive, damp, rot-soaked feeling of being somewhere ancient and uncaring. This book is all aesthetic. The prose is undeniably pretty, damp and bloody and yet frustratingly vague. Atmosphere can only carry you so far when the plot is doing the slowest, saddest shuffle toward nowhere. If you enjoy slow-burn folk horror where nothing is explained, and everyone is miserable, this one is for you.

Published October 28, 2025 by Thomas & Mercer
 

Cutthroat NYC lawyer Mary Whelton just buried her problematic old mentor. But as she leaves the mourners and protesters behind, the press stays hot on her heels. Desperate to escape, she unwittingly barrels deep into a remote forest in upstate New York. Until a collision—with a buzzing, oozing throng of cicadas—stops her dead in her tracks.

She awakens in a crude cabin, held captive by Girl, a simple, hulking woman who mistakes Mary for her derelict mother and obsesses over a mysterious Brood. While tortured echoes from Mary’s past feed her growing sense of fear, it becomes clear that she’s destined to bear an unthinkable role in the cicadas’ cyclical reemergence. But when Girl’s grisly past comes back to haunt them both, Mary is thrust into a violent battle of wills.

Confoundingly creepy and atmospheric, The Brood peels back the hurt and pain of the female experience, laying bare the messy necessity for transformation and growth.

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Rebecca Baum is a novelist, ghostwriter, and content marketer. While her ghostwriting has served founders of global nonprofits and mission-driven businesses, Baum wades into the wonderfully troubled waters of horror with her novel The Brood. Her prior book, Lifelike Creatures, was longlisted for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation’s 2021 best debut novel set in the American South. A native of rural Louisiana, Baum feels she has almost earned the right to call herself a New Yorker after more than twenty-five years in the city. She lives in Greenwich Village with her husband and favorite karaoke partner, Gary. 

Published October 1, 2025 by Falcon Lit

 

A collection of horror-infused novelettes for mature readers who crave the macabre. Within these pages wait twisted tales of possession, ravenous monsters, vengeful demons, and deeply rooted phobias clawing their way to life.

Each story is a separate haunt on Halloween — from modern horrors to ghost-haunted histories, and a bleak future scarred by a deadly plague.

After three years working on writing projects together, Fallon and Lewis debut their first anthology with guest author Rissa Miller; Historian and Seer.

Combining their interests in horror, speculative fiction, and gritty characters, these authors twist dark fiction into reality

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Published August 1, 2025 by Savage Realms Press

 

Seeking to understand the recent deaths and disappearances in their town, a disgraced homicide detective and a group of grieving high schoolers unwittingly join forces. But what this ragtag bunch of answer-seekers find will not only force them into a fight to save themselves and their town, but all of humanity as we know it... Welcome to Cedar Mills.

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Dylan James is the author of a dozen plus short stories and poetry publications, appearing in Horror Tree’s Trembling With Fear, Moria Literary Magazine, and more. 

His nonfiction novel BROTHERS peaked at #3 on Barnes & Noble’s History Bestsellers.

His horror fiction novel CEDAR MILLS is set to be published in 2025 by Savage Realms Press.

Published February 13th 2024 by Tor Nightfire

The follow-up to T. Kingfisher’s bestselling gothic novella, What Moves the Dead .

Retired soldier Alex Easton returns in a horrifying new adventure.

After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine, but instead, as a favor to Angus and Miss Potter, they find themself heading to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp forests of their home country, Gallacia.

In theory, one can find relaxation in even the coldest and dampest of Gallacian autumns, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton knows better than to put too much stock in local superstitions, but they can tell that something is not quite right in their home. . . or in their dreams.

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T. Kingfisher returns to the eerie world of gothic horror with What Feasts at Night, the second novella in her Sworn Soldier series following the acclaimed What Moves the Dead. This novella once again follows Alex Easton, a gender non-binary former soldier with a dry sense of humor, a haunted past, and a knack for running into things that go bump in the night.

This time, Easton heads to their family's old hunting lodge in Gallacia in search of some rest. Naturally,  rest is the one thing they don’t get. The lodge is falling apart, the caretaker has died under bizarre circumstances, and the quiet feels wrong. The longer they stay, the more the atmosphere closes in: disturbing dreams, strange local legends, and plenty of superstition. Familiar faces return, including the ever-delightful Miss Potter, a no-nonsense mycologist who continues to steal every scene with her fungal fanaticism. New faces charm as well, like the sharp-eyed Widow Botezatu with her baleful looks and no-nonsense ways.

While What Feasts at Night trades some of the first book’s energy for a slower, more reflective pace, it still delivers plenty of dread. The horror here is quieter, more psychological, and steeped in folklore and PTSD. Kingfisher’s uniquely dry humor is still present, with sharp, witty banter and Easton's internal dialogue. Easton’s internal battle adds emotional depth to the creeping horror, and the camaraderie between characters brings just enough warmth to offset the gloom. 

While it’s not as fast-paced as What Moves the Dead, What Feasts at Night is haunting in its own way: moody, thoughtful, and quietly chilling. It’s another strong entry in Kingfisher’s growing collection of uniquely strange horror stories.

Published February 20, 2024 by Wednesday Books

E>nemies-to-lovers doesn't get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling in love in bestselling author Kristen Ciccarelli's latest romantic fantasy
On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

Kristen Ciccarelli’s Heartless Hunter is the thrilling start to The Crimson Moth duology, a romantic fantasy series where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch...is falling in love.

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Heartless Hunter is a romantic, fantasy tale of forbidden love, political intrigue, and rebellion. As the first installment in The Crimson Moth series, readers are introduced to a world where witches have been relegated to outcasts, hunted by those who once revered them. 

The story follows Rune, a witch in hiding under a false identity in a kingdom where magic is forbidden. By day, she plays the part of a spoiled noble. By night, she becomes the Crimson Moth, a masked vigilante aiding fellow witches escape persecution. But when a mission goes awry, she finds herself on the radar of Gideon Sharpe, the kingdom’s most feared witch hunter. To protect her identity, Rune makes a bold move: seduce the enemy. What begins as strategy quickly tangles into something far messier.

Rune and Gideon’s relationship is laced with suspicion, chemistry, and tension, hitting many of the hallmarks of an enemy-to-lovers romance. Both characters carry trauma and conflicting loyalties, and watching them unravel each other is one of the book’s major appeals. Gideon is the typical brooding anti-hero, but while Rune is a strong lead, her inner conflict isn’t given quite enough nuance to make her stand out. Their chemistry simmers, but the development of trust and intimacy feels somewhat rushed, given how high the stakes are.

Ciccarelli writes in a clear, accessible style, and the pacing is solid, so there’s rarely a dull moment. But the world-building feels surface-level. The political structure, the history of the revolution, and the rules of magic are underdeveloped, making the stakes feel less grounded than they could be. The blood magic system had potential, but it was never really explored the way I wanted it to be.

Heartless Hunter has all the ingredients for a standout romantasy: witches in hiding, a ruthless hunter, a masked vigilante, and a steamy enemies-to-lovers dynamic. I found it entertaining, but it didn't quite rise above the crowd in the increasingly crowded romantasy genre. That being said, it does set the stage for the continuation of the series.  Here’s hoping book two, Rebel Witch, brings more depth to this dangerous world.

Published May 2, 2023 by Entangled: Teen

My twin sister is the true queen of Aryd. She survives, hiding and clinging to life in the desert, while I reign as the false queen alongside the monstrous King Eidolon. There’s only one escape from this gilded prison: Reven. My Shadowraith. My heart. Only the shadows that he struggles to control are growing more sinister, more powerful.

It’s just a matter of time before they turn on him…and on me.

Even escape doesn't mean true freedom, though, when we're still on the run from Eidolon’s unstoppable armies. And when we discover there’s a traitor among us, I have no choice…I must become the queen I was never meant to be.

Because as one evil hunts me, the other loves me more than himself.

And my fate lies with both.

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Abigail Owen turns up the heat in this darker, emotionally intense sequel. The Stolen Throne picks up right where The Liar’s Crown left off, with Meren caught between who she was raised to be and who she needs to become. The stakes are higher, the danger sharper, and the emotional force between the main characters even more devastating. I'm always concerned that I won't remember enough to pick up additional books in a series to follow along, but Owen does a fantastic job of catching you up. 

Meren's personality continues to shine. Her struggle with identity, especially as someone who was born to be a placeholder for her twin sister,  feels real and unpretentious. She's done hiding. She's making impossible choices, stepping into danger, and claiming a destiny that no one ever showed her.  Her entire life has been about pretending to be someone else, so watching her come into her own is super satisfying. And Reven, our brooding shadow wraith? He remains a doozy, so full of angsty feelings. He’s torn by loyalty, by love, by the past, and that quiet control of his starts to unravel. Their chemistry is just as electric as it was in book one, maybe even desperately so now that secrets are unraveling and the stakes are climbing higher and higher. 

There's an urgency to book two that wasn't there for The Liar's Crown. The pacing is tight, with plenty of action and suspense, but what really stands out is how Owen balances that with quieter, softer moments. There are moments of vulnerability that hit just as hard as the big twists. With a lot of moving pieces to keep track of in this story, as well as more twists and higher stakes, it's nice that Owen finds the time to let things pause before the next hit comes. 

The Stolen Throne leaves everything behind, carrying us towards book three, The Shadows Rule All. This YA fantasy takes no prisoners. Do I want a happy ending eventually? Sure. But only after they’ve been torn apart, emotionally flayed, and stitched back together by choosing each other, through the wreckage.

Published June 10, 2025 by Rowan Prose Publishing, LLC;  

Sapphire Imprint
 

To believe in that other world, she must first learn to believe in herself.

The signs were always there.

The footsteps.

The cries.

The melancholy music from a faraway place.

Though Melissa Roberts lives alone, she chooses not to believe in superstitions. Locked in the rational prison of her closed imagination, she must open her mind and soul to that other place before it’s too late.

For the voices are rising.

The footsteps draw closer.

Until the music is deafening.

She must prepare herself. She must become the Straw Girl. They are coming for her.

Fans of "The Invited" by Jennifer McMahon, "The Ghost of Slackwood House" by J.T. Westbrook, and Susanna Kearsley’s "The Shadowy Horses" will enjoy Straw Girl.

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Brigid Barry is a lifelong resident of Maine. A disabled Air Force veteran and blessed parent of twins, she lives on a small hobby farm with her favorite husband and too many animals. "Straw Girl" is her debut book.

www.brigidbarry.carrd.co