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Horror Book Reviews & Recommendations

Showing posts with label Fairytale Retelling. Show all posts

  The ocean can be a scary place with its dark, deep, and unknown depths.   According to Oceana.org, more than 80% of the ocean remains unex...

The Deep by Alma Katsu

Weird shit happens on the Titanic and true to history, this version sinks too. A maid survives the sinking and after a brief stint in an asylum, decides to go on its sister ship turned medical hospital, The Britannic, with absolutely no medical training because why the hell not? Is Annie the maid crazy or is there something supernatural going on here?  At least we won't have to argue that Jack could have fit on that door with Rose.


tidepool by nicole willson

Sorrow's brother Henry disappears, so off she goes to the small seaside town of Tidepool to find out what happened to him. First off, who names their kid Sorrow? That's just setting her up for failure, and that's before the bodies start washing up looking like chew toys for giant ocean monsters. This is the kind of book where you constantly scream at the protagonist to get the hell outta dodge, but instead they say "You're not my mom" and stay.


Flowers for the sea by Zin E. Rocklyn

Stuck on a boat surrounded by air and sea monsters, survivors of a flooded kingdom are struggling to exist. One of them, a woman named Iraxi, is extremely pregnant and, like most pregnant women, doesn't really want to be pregnant anymore except for very different reasons. She resents everyone, including her unborn er, thing. The ship reeks, the people reek, and being pregnant also reeks. 

 Read my review of Flowers For The Sea here.


it calls from the sea

This anthology is part of Eerie River Publishing's It Call From series with "twenty brutal tales of horror from the deep blue sea." There's killer kelp, menacing mermaids, elder gods, family curses, and all things in between. 

Read my review of It Calls from the Sea.


the kelping by Jan Stinchcomb 

The Kelping by Jan Stinchcomb is number nine in Unnerving's Rewind or Die series. Those of you expecting a horror-filled flesh-eating mermaid tale might find it a little tame. What's inside these 67 pages is a more insidious tale of mermaids infiltrating a sleepy little seaside town. 

Read my review of The Kelping here.
Saltblood by t.c. parker

People are shipped off to an island with a Faraday cage prison to reflect on being trolls on social media. It's a peaceful place, except for—you know—the whole evil monster bit.


The Devils shallows by Debra Castaneda

Salt marshes are weird places anyway but add an urban legend about the Slough Devil and it's extra weird. Adam doesn't believe in monsters, but that's okay, the monsters still believe in him. 


sea witch by Sarah Henning

Now we get to the Little Mermaid retellings. C'mon, I had to toss a few in. 

Set in 1860s Denmark, Evie (the witch) meets a mermaid with the face of her dead friend. They fall for a couple of princes and Evie has to help her new friend keep her legs. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?


To Kill a Kingdom by 
Drown by Esther Dalseno 
Sticking more closely to the original by Hans Christian Andersen, this one is dark as it should be. No singing or friends named Flounder. Matter of fact, a girl has no name...nor does anyone else. It's just The Little Mermaid or The Prince.  

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Continue the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge

Finished your journey beneath the waves?

The Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge is designed to help horror readers explore every subgenre, from haunted houses and witches to ecohorror, gothic fiction, and supernatural terror.

Choose your next prompt, discover a new favorite author, and keep building the ultimate spooky TBR.

Still chasing the unknown? Try these eerie prompts next:

🌿 Feed Me, Seymour — Ecohorror where nature turns deadly.
🏰 Crumbling Castle — Gothic horror with isolated settings and creeping dread.
😈 Let's Summon Demons — Supernatural horror full of possession and ancient evil.
🌕 Howl at the Moon — Creature horror featuring cursed transformations and savage monsters.

Just remember... sometimes what's beneath the surface is best left undiscovered.

There's something timeless about werewolves. Maybe it's the transformation beneath a full moon. Maybe it's the struggle between ...


There's something timeless about werewolves.

Maybe it's the transformation beneath a full moon. Maybe it's the struggle between humanity and instinct. Or maybe it's the terrifying realization that the monster hunting you could be someone you know.

Welcome to "Howl at the Moon," the werewolf prompt in the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge—a year-round reading challenge celebrating every corner of the horror genre.

For this prompt, you'll read a book featuring a werewolf or shapeshifter. Whether you prefer brutal creature features, atmospheric folk horror, or urban fantasy with wolf shifters, this list has something to satisfy every horror reader.

If you're searching for the best werewolf horror books, shapeshifter novels, or stories filled with cursed wolves and moonlit terror, these books deserve a place on your TBR.

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New to the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge? You can join at any time and work through the prompts at your own pace.



Why We Love Werewolf Horror

Werewolves have been stalking folklore for centuries, but modern horror has transformed them into one of the genre's most enduring monsters.

Werewolf stories often explore:
  • The loss of control
  • The monster within
  • Full moon transformations
  • Pack loyalty and betrayal
  • Ancient curses
  • Survival against impossible odds

Whether the wolves are tragic, monstrous, or somewhere in between, they remind us that sometimes the greatest danger comes from within.



20 Werewolf Horror Books for the Scaredy Cat Reading ChallengeBook covers for The Wolf's Hour, Wolf Land, The Wolfman, Sharp Teeth

 by Robert R. McCammon

This WWII alternate historical drama has a little bit of everything: Nazis, spies, werewolves. Can't decide whether to read horror or a spy thriller? The Wolf's Hour means you don't have to choose. 

 by 

The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo

Marlow Higgins is Dexter with hair. His wolfen dark passenger is sated by killing but he only chooses those who do harm. When a serial killer stalks his town, he goes after the killer but it doesn't go quite as planned. 

Side note: Nicholas Pekaro found out his book would be published and was killed three days later in the line of duty as an NYPD Auxillary policeman. 

Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

In a world taken over by werewolves, what is a love-sick dog catcher to do? Especially when his crush is a lady werewolf who has left her pack. Sharp Teeth is unique in that it's written in free verse. 
Book Covers for Mongrels, the Last Werewolf, Wolf Hunt, Cycle of the Werewolf
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

Mongrels follows young Toby and his family as they travel across the American South in this coming-of-age tale. Always on the outskirts, Toby's tale subverts the typical werewolf tropes. 

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
Jacob Marlowe is the last of his kind. After 200 years, he's ready to end it all but fate and love have other plans. 

 by Stephen King 

A killing every full moon plagues this Maine town. (It's always freaking Maine isn't it?) Cycle of the Werewolf was adapted into the film Silver Bullet later on. 

Wolf Hunt by Jeff Strand 
Transporting a werewolf cross-country. What could go wrong? The first of three books, Jeff Strand's special brand of humor brings a darkly humorous addition to the werewolf genre.  



Love urban fantasy?
There are SO many shifter books out there but here are a few of my favorites.

Book Covers for Throw me to the Wolves, Sisters of the Moon, Moon Called, Misfit Pack, Clean Sweep
Throw Me to the Wolves by lindy ryan

Cursed by a witch who murdered her entire family, Britta heads back home when the witch's remains are found in the house where it all began. 

Sisters of the Moon by Alexandrea weis

Taken to an abbey on a deserted island, Durra is told this odd place is now her home. Tending to the nuns and their many cats, Durra starts searching for answers about the abbey and the creatures she hears howling outside her window. 
 


Moon Called  by Patrica Briggs

Mercy Thompson is a Volkswagen mechanic and a coyote shifter. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf that she loves to taunt. The first of thirteen books, Moon Called has shifters, gremlins, vampires, and more. 

Misfit Pack by Stephanie foxe

Attacked in the park one night, Amber finds herself changing. Bitten wolves are looked down upon, even if they didn't choose it.  She and two others, against their will, bind themselves together to form a new pack.  However, Amber has to fight in the Trials to keep the title of Alpha, or her pack will be disbanded. This five-book series will have you rooting for the underdog.

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Running a Victorian B&B is no joke in a normal world, but what happens when your clientele is more than human? The first of a five-book series, this world has magic, intergalactic monsters, and a bit of romance.


Is red more your color?
 Check out these fairytale retellings.book covers for The Girl in Red, Of Snow and Scarlet, Curse of the Wolf King, For the Wolf
The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

This post-apocalyptic take on Little Red Riding Hood casts Red not as a damsel in distress, but as someone who might just eat you up herself.


Of Snow and Scarlet by Katherine MacDonald

A white wolf saved Andesine as a child. After the wolf turns out to be an omega hiding from his former pack, Andesine finds herself returning the favor and getting caught in the middle of something much bigger than herself. 

Curse of the Wolf King  by tessonja odette

This twisted fairytale is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, not Little Red Riding Hood, but there's still a wolf involved. Gemma is captured by a Fae King, and to gain her freedom, she will help him break his curse. But when the curse is broken, he'll return to his wolf form. Is it worth it?

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten 

As the second daughter of the queen, it's her turn to be sacrificed to the Wolf of the Woods. Not everything is as it seems, though. This tale melds Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast for a slow-burning fantasy romance. 
book covers for Sisters Red, Wolf Skin, For the Wolf

Sisters Red by 
Wolfskin by 
Red Wolf by 

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Continue the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge

Finished your werewolf read?

The Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge is designed to help horror readers discover new authors, explore different subgenres, and build the ultimate spooky TBR.

From haunted houses and witches to ecohorror, ocean horror, demons, and gothic fiction, there's another terrifying prompt waiting for you.

If you enjoyed these shapeshifter tales, sink your teeth into:

🧙 The Witching Hour — Witch horror filled with spells, curses, and folklore.
🌲 Grimm Dark — Dark fairy tale retellings inspired by old legends and myths.
😈 Let's Summon Demons — Supernatural horror where evil takes possession.
🌿 Feed Me, Seymour — Ecohorror where nature becomes the predator.

Just remember...

The next howl might be closer than you think.

Publication date: November 23rd, 2021 Links:  Amazon  |  Goodreads A  shape-shifting spirit haunts a family in England during the depths of ...




Publication date: November 23rd, 2021


A shape-shifting spirit haunts a family in England during the depths of winter.
A woman must locate a snowflake for a magical trickster to save her frozen true love.
A witch knocks upon a young man’s door to take his life on Christmas day.
A small boy meets a faerie housed within a snow drop.

Once upon a time stories travelled from place to place on the tongues of merchants and thieves and kings alike. Under the blanket of night they were exchanged between children, and passed on to their children, and their children after them. Details were altered from one generation to the next until thousands of tales existed where once there were few.

In the spirit of these age-old stories comes Once Upon a Winter, a seasonal anthology of folk and fairy tales from 17 authors across the globe. It covers the Gothic, the romantic, the whimsical, the frightening and everything in-between, and features both intriguing twists on classic tales and exciting original stories.

The first of four planned seasonal anthologies from Macfarlane Lantern Publishing, Once Upon a Winter is sure to have a story for just about everyone. Grab your copy in time for Christmas today!

Inside this anthology:

The Biting Cold by Josie Jaffrey
The Match Girl by Rebecca F. Kenney
Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Bharat Krishnan
A Pea Ever After by Adie Hart
The Snowdrop by H. L. Macfarlane
Silverfoot’s Edge by Ella Holmes
The Storm Hags by Caroline Logan
The Boggart of Boggart Hole Clough by Jake Curran-Pipe
Around the Hawthorne Tree by Jenna Smithwick
The Best Girl this Side of Winter by Laila Amado
The Snow Trolls by S. Markem
Lord of the Forest by Katherine Shaw
Queen of the Snows by Joyce Reynolds-Ward
Long Meg and the Sorcerer’s Stones by M. J. Weatherall
The Frost of Mercy by A. J. Van Belle
Wintercast by R. A. Gerritse
You Can’t See Me by Kate Longstone 

Read now


I absolutely adore folktales and fairytales, whether they are variations of the original stories, simply influenced by the classic tales or completely brand new imaginings. I didn't hesitate to say yes to Once Upon a Winter. What's even more exciting is that Once Upon a Winter is the first of four planned seasonal anthologies from Macfarlane Lantern Publishing. Obviously, this one starts with the colder season of the year and all the stories within containing the cold bite of winter's wind and snow.

As with all anthologies, there are stories that will resound more with the reader over others, which is the beauty of an anthology. While there were a couple of the stories that didn't work so well for me, the vast majority did. The atmosphere of the stories varies from sweet and romantic like "The Snowdrop" by H. L. Macfarlane, in which a boy meets an unexpected faerie friend, to the humorous "The Snow Trolls" by S. Markem where the edict is "Don't eat the yellow snow" and then there are those much, much darker, which are always going to be my personal favorites. 

That's not to say I still didn't enjoy the other stories. "A Pea Ever After" by Adie Hart is a feminist tale that is on the lighter side of the retellings in the anthology but I loved this take on The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. A fairy godmother has gathered four princesses together to compete for the hand of the prince. It was a welcome change to see smart, capable princesses that had no need of rescuing. In fact, the princesses had no interest in marrying the prince at all. Not that he's not perfectly handsome or refreshingly educated or even remarkably kind and funny because he is, they just aren't interested or have better things to do with their lives. 

Once again on the darker side of things is "Silverfoot's Edge" by Ella Holmes. In this tale, a trickster freezes a woman's love in a small pool and tasks her with finding one special snowflake in the midst of so many. This story starts in winter but spans the following months as well. It's everything that I love about fairytales. There's the peril of her loved one, the riddle to solve, a clearly defined baddie, and a determined and cunning heroine.  Not to mention that the little-folk creatures sent with her to "weigh" the snowflakes—the only way she'll know she's found the correct one—are adorable. My favorite passage of the entire anthology is here: 
        
        My mother once said to me love is an edge you will fall over, and she was right. 

        I think about it often as I walk the woods. She is dead and shrouded in the earth, and I feel her with every bare-footed step throughout the dirt. 
Landing among my favorites as well were two others in the collection: "The Best Girl this Side of Winter" with its undead, poisoned claws, and impossible quest and Katherine Shaw's "Lord of the Forest" which introduced me to the Leshii, a Slavic forest protector spirit. Don't let the fluffy bunnies on the cover fool you, there are wolves within these pages. 

If you love the stories by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen, there's a story here for you. Unlike the aforementioned authors, this anthology sees a more diverse authorship being primarily comprised of female and LGBTQ+ authors from various countries. Grab yourself a copy and a fuzzy blanket and expect a little magic for those long dark winter evenings. 

Publication date: July 18th 2021 Links:  Amazon  |  Goodreads Flirting with evil will be the ruination of her soul. Goodness is much easier ...


Publication date: July 18th 2021


Flirting with evil will be the ruination of her soul.

Goodness is much easier to corrupt than it is to hold on to. And for Natasha, a woman reeling from the pain of losing a loved one, evil is all the more tempting. Luck or misfortune spirits Natasha away to the foreign Court of Velaris in a quest for a suitor but instead secures her a place among Velarian royalty. Craving revenge, Natasha makes use of this opportunity to enact her plans as she navigates the lush court where aristocracy is a double-edged blade. But when she befriends her soon-to-be husband Mikhail, the Beloved Prince, Natasha makes a deadly mistake. She captures the attention of the debonair Darkling Prince; a villainous man meant to ascend the Velarian throne.

Enamored, the Darkling Prince charms Natasha, and soon the two feel a forbidden emotion captivate their stoic, scabrous hearts. But with the existence of a violent rebel group capable of cataclysmic damage, there is little time for love. With war brewing amidst the enigmatic kingdom, the royals must become all the more cunning and devious if they wish to triumph over their adversaries. What draws the insidious line between right and wrong when it comes to a battle of survival? For Natasha, nothing is too far, too light, too bloody, too evil.

Soon, the only reflection Natasha sees in her mirror's beveled glass is that of an Evil Queen. Often, the cost of survival is more frightening than the beasts of death. But that's what gives the Queen of Shadow's beauty an edge: she wears her darkness adorned about her throat like the grandest of all diamonds, ebony, and bloodred in shade

Read now
  

Publication date: July 20 2021 Links:  Amazon  |  Goodreads F or as long as sixteen-year-old Adele can remember the village of Oakvale has b...



Publication date: July 20 2021

For as long as sixteen-year-old Adele can remember the village of Oakvale has been surrounding by the dark woods—a forest filled with terrible monsters that light cannot penetrate. Like every person who grows up in Oakvale she has been told to steer clear of the woods unless absolutely necessary.

But unlike her neighbors in Oakvale, Adele has a very good reason for going into the woods. Adele is one of a long line of guardians, women who are able to change into wolves and who are tasked with the job of protecting their village while never letting any of the villagers know of their existence.

But when following her calling means abandoning the person she loves, the future she imagined for herself, and her values she must decide how far she is willing to go to keep her neighbors safe.

Read now
 
 
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who walked through the dark woods to grandmother's house. Oh, you've heard this story before? I guarantee you haven't heard this version of the story, for you see—in this story, the little girl is the wolf.

This was such a lush and spellbinding version of Little Red Riding Hood. A dark, deep wood encompasses the village, barely kept at bay by those who live there. Only the careful eye of the watch who stand guard with torches keep the threatening woods from encroaching further, or so they believe. There's another watcher in the woods, however. Adele thought she has her life all planned out until she discovers her true fate and everything she thought she knew changes overnight. Thrilling, pulse-pounding danger awaits Adele in the woods and she is uniquely equipped to meet it. Risks and uncertainly await Adele every day and she's forced to make decisions that change her destiny and those of the villagers. 

Blood and savagery are about and it's not only the wood's monsters who are fearfully made.  Rachel Vincent has crafted an environment where deviating from the norm is dangerous, and where secrets must be kept to survive. This is witch-burning territory and it only takes a word to incite the villagers viciously into action. Like the dark woods, Vincent's world is perilous and full of wonder. This is a tale of fur and teeth, haunting and harrowing. 
 
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