I just finished my 20th book out of 75, a little off track for my goal but the last couple of books have been pretty dense. I’ve really been focusing on the horror genre this year and have definitely found that while I like reading horror, it’s hard to convey jump scares on paper versus on the screen. Instead, slow burns and gory novels have had me the most scared, think Stephen King or Nick Cutter. Even so, for the first 5 months of 2025, I’ve found some pretty good reads! Keep in mind, not all will be in the horror genre 🙂
SOME SPOILERS INCLUDED!!!!
- The Sundowner’s Dance: Todd Keisling
- The Sundowner’s Dance was an interesting take on parasitic alien life. I didn’t find myself scared while reading the book, but was very drawn to the main character (Jerry) and his struggle with anxiety. As someone who also struggles with anxiety, seeing it depicted in an elderly man was very interesting. I don’t even remember the last book/movie/TV show that I’ve seen which showed someone dealing with anxiety later in life. I also found myself comparing the alien life to a panic attack. Both feel debilitating and the main character struggles with both during the course of the novel. My highlights included the older age of the main character, the internal battle with anxiety while simultaneously fighting an external battle against a cult and ETs. My back to reality moments were the relationship between Katherine and Jerry (especially later on in the book… Kat’s motherly instincts definitely were not very realistic but maybe we can blame that on the worms?) and Arthur’s choice of Jerry as a successor. Overall, I rated this a 4 out of 5.
- Weyward: Emilia Hart
- This book was female empowerment wrapped in a hug. I could not put this book down! I really resonated with the characters feeling ‘othered’ from the rest of society, especially Violet. Heads up, this book does deal with triggering themes (abuse, sexual assault) so be aware before picking it up. From my perspective, the book does a good job of dealing with these difficult subject matters. This isn’t a long read, nor a particularly dense one, but it does have beautiful imagery and left me feeling confident and connected to my womanhood. 5/5!
- Come Closer: Sara Gran
- Here’s the horror I was talking about. Slow burn and psychological. This is a book about a woman who slowly becomes possessed. This possession felt… more personal. Deeper. More suffocating. The first-person narrative adds to this experience. I would summarize this book as ‘hopeless’. There’s no rhyme or reason, no haunted house or graveyard adventure gone wrong. Just a woman who loses everything, just as powerless as the reader. As far as books that make you think and feel, I rated this a 5/5.
- The House in the Cerulean Sea: TJ Klune
- And we’re back to the warm fuzzies! Similar to Emilia Hart’s Weyward, TJ Klune does a great job of taking difficult and hot button topics and characterizing them as human. This book reminded me of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children without the eyeball eating monsters but there are still monsters in this book. The Antichrist, who makes an appearance as 6 year old Lucy is not one of them; the monsters in this book are ignorant townspeople, driven by a “see something say something” doctrine. I enjoyed the love story the book depicted, and I’m a sucker for the ocean. This is a book I’d read if I’d just had my heart broken, or moved to a new place. You can easily keep it surface level and it serves as a wonderful comfort book, or you can dig into the themes of government control, segregation, LGBTQIA+. 5/5
- Bride: Ali Hazelwood
- If I had to pick a romance trope, it would be enemies to lovers. Bride doesn’t disappoint! It reminded me a little bit of Kristin Cashore’s book Fire. Originally, the main character’s name being Misery threw me off but grew on me, and the love scenes were good enough that I could mostly ignore the anatomical depictions that, looking back, I realize make sense because werewolf men probably wouldn’t have human genitals. Regardless, this has a fun plot twist and has a good set up for a second book! 5/5
Loralai Fields 