Tag: HorrorBooks

Posted in Thrillers

Welcome Brave Bookworms

Posted on by Mama

Oh good… you made it. 🖤

Welcome brave bookworms!

Come closer. Mind the creaky floorboard and the suspicious draft that definitely isn’t a ghost. I happily invite you into my cozy macabre book club corner, where the blankets are soft, the tea and coffee are hot, and the plot twists hit harder than a bump in the night.

Here, we whisper about thrillers, obsess over morally grey characters, and absolutely judge fictional decisions like we’d survive five minutes longer (we wouldn’t). I’ll be sharing book reviews here—no ratings, just honest thoughts and my personal take on each story. It’s a safe space for dog-eared pages, late-night reading binges, and that delicious little chill that runs down your spine when a story gets too good.

So fluff your pillow, dim the lights, keep your flashlight close because the night is young, and the stories are waiting.

Meet you after dark.

💀Your cozy-macabre book bestie

Posted in Horror, Thrillers

We Used to Live Here

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2026/01/27/3788/

Title: We Used to Live Here


Author: Marcus Kliewer


Genre: Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Mystery


Number of Pages: 308


My Rating: 💋💋


Book Summary:


As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it” (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).

My Thoughts:

This novel had an interesting premise, hence the reason I suggested it for our first read in my ladies book club I have with some friends. A twist on a home invasion that prey on social anxiety and niceties. A strange family in your house that just won’t leave. How do you handle it? What do you do? Sounds like a good read, right?

I thought so until I delved into this book. Because this book wasn’t that at all. To be honest, I’m not sure WHAT this book was about.

I can definitely say it had some spooky moments where it makes you wonder what exactly it is your dealing with. I truly love paranormal stories for sure. Horror novels are a staple in my reading to be sure, but this book wasn’t even horror in my opinion.

The opening chapters were completely intriguing and captured me until it started to, what I personally felt, was just lengthy descriptive bloat. It always felt like there were moments that would lead to something more and then just…die off. It was highly frustrating and disappointing.

The main character, Eve, was infuriating at times. She sometimes acted so helpless and overly dependent on her partner that she can’t function. I sometimes wondered how she even left the house with her crippling anxiety. I would have preferred her partner, Charlie, as the main character. She, at least, would have been more intriguing, brave and possibly fight more the Eve did.


I’m not sure this book really knew where it wanted to go, but instead hit on all the classic horror tropes: A dark creepy basement that seems bigger then it should, A woman in a hospital gown that is too thin for comfort, A strange swarm of ants following an unknown trail to SOMETHING, A creepy toy, Strangers showing up at your home and won’t leave, doppelgangers, a house labyrinth, strange “occult” symbols, and the list goes on. Sadly these all swam in the pool, but the connections never linked up in the slightest.


I can honestly chalk this up to a failed attempt at a home that interconnects a series of parallel universes. However there were so many details that just ended in dead ends or pure useless information. What’s worse is that the novel urges you to continue reading, it almost hints at a larger, potentially more interesting world beyond Eve’s perception/anxiety spiral. Almost promising explanation and revelation. Sadly there is nothing.


I did like the splattering of “documents” that were included, which I thought was creative, however I wish the author would have stuck to the home invasion story. Truly could have done an incredible thriller based on those “documents” alone. Using them to give a back story for the strangers.

All in all I’m giving this two baci. I felt like the author got a bit lost while writing this or maybe it was an adaptation from a short story. I don’t know, but it had so much potential and it really fell flat.

I don’t recommend this one and this one will be put into the donation pile. Hopefully the next person finds it better then I did. Not sure I’ll read anything else by this author, but you never know!

Sorry for the harsh review.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next review which will be the novel The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop.

Ciao!

Posted in Horror

Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/mini-book-review-scary-book-of-christmas-lore-50-terrifying-yuletide-tales-from-around-the-world/

Title: Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World


Author: Tim Rayborn


Genre: Horror, Christmas, Nonfiction, Folklore, Mythology


Number of Pages: 144


Book Summary:

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen…but do you recall the most petrifying Christmas figures of all? Not all children fear just a lump of coal in their stockings. Discover the terrifying Yuletide fables that have horrified kids for generations. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake. This lighthearted song is a bit more ominous in the context of other Christmas traditions. From beasts that threaten to cook children into stew to sinister crones who snatch little ones from their beds, you won’t find any dancing sugar plums here. Outside of the heartwarming Christmas tales we all know and love, there are an abundance of frightening stories to chill all who hear them to the bone. Discover folklore from all corners of the world, These tales are sure to leave you wishing for the Grinch. Whether you are a fan of history and folklore, you love learning about different cultures, or you just want to give a holiday gift that will bring the joy of Christmas to that lucky someone (just kidding), The Scary Book of Christmas Lore is for you. ’Tis the season! Is it beginning look a lot like Christmas, yet?

My Thoughts:

I’m not going to lie, but this one caught my attention immediately when I was looking for some Christmas reads on Bookoutlet.ca. I can’t tell you how fascinated I am with the darker folklore surrounding Christmas or Yuletide for some. It’s mesmerizing and I think it intrigues a lot of people to know what folklore other countries believe. Honestly the most well known minion or companion (depends on how you look at it) of Santa’s is Krampus.

Come on, we’ve all heard of that one!

However, as intrigued as I was to read this book, I have to say that it had some interesting facts about terrifying traditions, holiday demons and so on. BUT I do have a few gripes about the book.

I found this book contained a lot of “may” or possibilities of unsure, which made me feel like it lacked research or just covering it’s bases in case the information was incorrect. Ultimately making me feel like I wasn’t learning some of the true history regarding the legend.

Another annoyance I found was the author’s attempt at humor or interjecting his own thoughts or opinions, sometimes even political ones. Which came off badly and made it seem that he just needed to add words to the page for length. I would have preferred a shorter chapter than the added “commentary”.

I did enjoy the book for what it was and learned about some interesting characters I’d never heard of before. Some were even quite terrifying, and I definitely have a few new favs – Perchta, Türst, Sträggele, Grýla, Winter wolves, Jólakötturinn – the Yule cat, just to name a few.

So if you do come across this little book, I strongly suggest you take it with a grain of salt, but definitely could have been written and put together a little bit better.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next mini review!

Ciao!

Posted in Horror, Novella/Short Story

Ghost Camera

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2025/11/26/book-review-ghost-camera/

Title: Ghost Camera


Author: Darcy Coates


Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Short Stories, Fiction


Number of Pages: 341


My Rating: 💋💋


Book Summary:

They’re Always Watching…

When Jenine finds an abandoned Polaroid camera, she playfully snaps a photo without a second thought. But there’s something wrong with the image: a ghostly figure stands in the background, watching her.

Fixated on her.

Moving one step closer with every picture she takes.

Desperate, Jenine shares her secret with her best friend, Bree. Together, they realize the camera captures unsettling impressions of the dead. But now the ghosts seem to be following the two friends. And with each new photo taken, a terrible danger grows ever clearer…

THE HORROR HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN.

Full of rich bonus material, Ghost Camera contains even more chilling tales from USA Today bestselling author Darcy Coates, including:

  • A woman survives a plane crash in a remote arctic tundra, accompanied only by a stranger who seems fixated on something moving through the blinding snow.
  • A house stands empty. Hungry. Waiting for the children drawn to it like moths to a flame.
  • A woman finds a shoebox filled with old VHS tapes. They have a note attached: “Don’t watch. You’ll regret it.”


My Thoughts:

I finished this novel near the end of October, so I’ve been putting off this review a bit.

I should have read the description more closely when I looked at this one on Bookoutlet.ca, because when I read it quickly, I expected the vast majority of this novel to be about two friends who now have to deal with a haunted camera or ghost camera. It sounded intriguing and I figured the bonus stories would be closer to the end of the book. Boy was I incorrect.

I will credit the author for being majorly creative and I did find some of the other stories to be far more intriguing and much better written than the novels title story. In my opinion, I found Payment for the Dead, Death Birds, Untamed Things, A Box of Tapes creepy, eerie and all around captivating. I wish these stories were longer to be quite honest or even their own novels. I would have loved to have dived in deeper and gotten more nitty gritty and detailed.

However, the title story Ghost Camera was….lackluster at best. It felt a bit rushed, especially at the end and the character development was okay. I will say the friendship between the two girls was very well written and something I feel felt like was a genuine friendship you would come across in the real world. However, the story felt a little boring to be honest. I feel like it could have been extremely unsettling if it had been longer than exactly 100 pages.

Now let’s discuss the short stories I did enjoy briefly, shall we?

Payment for the Dead was about a man who falls on hard times and takes a job as a grave digger with a man named Pieter. Working in the cover of night, digging up bodies for cash just to get by and to provide for his family, especially during Christmas. This job paid double and occurred without warning. He was later informed that he stood in a child’s grave and the parents paid the witch outside of town to have their son back….

Creepy right! I won’t spoil it entirely, but it was so good!

Death Birds was about a doctor who is working his shift at the hospital when he notices a these supernatural birds or ‘Death Birds’ as they are known. According to the story, they show up with death is about to occur and they feast on the dead bodies. There was an unusually large number, hundreds if I recall in this one location….the hospital. They called in extra staff (nurses, doctors, etc) because they were expecting a large flood of patients due to some catastrophic event, however what they didn’t expect was it to happen right there at the hospital…

DUN DUN DUUUUUUN…INCREDIBLY WRITTEN!

Untamed Things was part of the excerpt on the back of the novel and frankly they did a pretty good job at a short description. This is about a woman who survives a plane crash and discovers there is only one other survivor. The woman claims to have experience in the frigid mountains that they landed in and fixated on moving forward so they don’t get caught by the creature following them. Eventually a rescue team finds her in the nick of time, but her companion is no where to be seen…

OOO, honestly so creepy and had me at the edge of my couch reading it!

A Box of Tapes was another excerpt on the back of the novel and once again, well done for a quick short description. A woman moves into a new home, in a new town with her daughter. She finds a box of old VHS tapes and attached is a warning note not to watch them. Curiosity killed the cat and she begins to watch the videos, disturbing imagery and unnerving events are depicted. What’s worse is that things begin to happen in her home and around her daughter which makes her begin to question and investigate what really happened within the tapes….who is that creepy woman? What is happening to her? Is she really seeing the woman in the woods?

To say this was so unsettling is an understatement, it is literally everyone’s worst nightmare! Incredibly well written and should have been a novel all on it’s own.

Sadly though, those were the saving graces of this novel. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend reading this book personally and I had such high hopes for this one. However, I am not saying the author isn’t talented, like I said the few short stories I did enjoy in this were intriguing and you can tell she is a wonderful writer. So I have a few other novels on my TBR list by her that I will eventually get to. But sadly, for me, Ghost Camera kind of missed the mark.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next review which will be the novel Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. This one I recently finished.

I’ll also be doing, what I am going to call, Mini Book reviews. It’s the first in the series and these will be books, magazines, etc that I finish quickly. So look out for Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World by Tim Rayborn.

Ciao!

Posted in Horror, Thrillers, Young Adult

The Haunting

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/book-review-the-haunting/

Title: The Haunting


Author: Natasha Preston


Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Young Adult


Number of Pages: 354


My Rating: 💋💋💋💋💋


Book Summary:

Haunted by the past . . .

Penny’s trying to forget about her ex, Nash. His father was arrested for the brutal murder of four teenagers on Devil’s Night last year. Penny’s parents have forbidden her to have anything to do with Nash or his family. It’s hard not to think of what happened as spooky season gets underway–but she’s trying.

That stops when she goes to the Halloween store with her friends to find a costume. What she finds instead is ripped from a horror movie: a girl from school bleeding out on the floor of a dressing room. Stabbed.

Is a copycat killer on the loose? The adults are saying no. But Penny knows better.


My Thoughts:

I’m not going to lie, I really enjoyed this one and it was a quick read for me. I truly didn’t want to put it down. The twists and turns, not to mention I absolutely loved the quick pace of the story. It didn’t give you much downtime, which I personally love in a novel.

I am well aware of the mixed reviews that the author, Natasha Preston, receives for her novels, but come on! Her stories are fast-paced, dark psychological thrillers, the settings are always vivid as if you are there with the characters and definitely emotionally charged. Her endings are definitely something to be desired, but I really don’t mind. I just wish she would maybe include an epilogue, but I digress.

Let me get back to my review here before I completely derail. The characters were emotional, intriguing and traumatized in their own ways.

Penny is our protagonist in this story and immediately you are drawn to her. She is determined, curious, emotional and definitely traumatized. She is still emotionally entangled with her ex, Nash and despite parental restrictions and a whole town ostracizing Nash and his sister, she eventually teams up with him to uncover who is behind the copycat killings. But events start to escalate and it seems she is the main target. She often acts on teenage impulse and emotions, which was written pretty well. Her tenacity drives the plot, though I had to admit it was sometimes frustrating.

Nash, the “troubled” ex-boyfriend is ostracized due to the sins of his father, but he tries to find normalcy and peace among the chaos. Nash becomes Penny’s investigative ally and despite his hesitation to get involved. The town throws him on the suspect list almost instantly, but could he do this? Penny doesn’t believe so and you can tell that he too is still emotionally entangled with Penny, but really doesn’t know how to go back to the way it was. In the end, it does cost him.

Nash’s sister Grace is also a “main” character, but she is more in the background for most of the story. I’d consider her part of the narrative, but less prominent. She is also shunned by the town and you can clearly sense hurt when she is first introduced. However, she definitely lands on the suspect list for the town very early….Like father, like daughter?

Penny’s rag-tag group of friends are also minor characters in their story line, but great additions. Adi is Penny’s best friend, her ride or die if you will. She is there with her fun attitude and supportive nature. Zayn is caring and often checks in – helping Penny throughout the novel. Omar is the goofball, horror aficionado and brings more of a light vibe throughout the novel.

The Haunting delivers a fast-paced, 90’s teen slasher vibe. While the character development wasn’t intricate in any way, the main focus seemed to be on Penny and Nash. Everyone else was more face value….for the most part. No spoilers of course! I felt like this moved the story along, solidifying the teen slasher atmosphere and mystery that comes along with it; ‘Who is behind all of it and Why?‘ I was okay with not having this as a in-depth and emotionally engaging read.

I wanted something more “light” and a bit, in my opinion, campy. I enjoyed it, I must have if I finished it so quickly! I personally like Natasha Preston as an author and I’m sure I’ll be reading more of her in the future. But please, can we maybe get an Epilogue in the next novel?!

Currently reading The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley and to be honest, I’m almost finished.

Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next review!

Ciao!

Posted in Horror, Mystery

The Graveyard Shift

Posted on by Mama

Original post from my Mom blog here – https://mamaonthemove1.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/book-review-the-graveyard-shift/

Title: The Graveyard Shift


Author: Maria Lewis


Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller


Number of Pages: 317


My Rating: 💋💋💋💋💋


Book Summary:

Tinsel Munroe is the host of The Graveyard Shift – a late-night radio show where she and her loyal listeners celebrate the sounds of cult cinema. She has busted her ass to carve out this section of the airwaves and nothing will keep her from reaching her prime-time dreams…

That is, until someone gets murdered live on air.

She’s freaked out by the horrible incident. Her true crime-obsessed sister Pandora is fascinated by it. Detectives assure them the killer will soon be caught.

Yet with a growing, macabre audience that likely includes the killer, Tinsel begins receiving strange messages. Her home and her workplace suddenly aren’t the sanctuaries she once thought they were.

And the bodies won’t stop dropping, with the killer or killers striking in increasingly gruesome ways. In order to survive, Tinsel is going to have to listen to more than just the airwaves…


My Thoughts:

Frankly I loved this thriller which was clearly written for fans of all things in the horror genre. It begins on Halloween night (OBVIOUSLY!), and of course you have the classic reference to Michael Meyers (from the legendary movie Halloween) right off the bat. The novel is packed with plenty of horror movie references and culture.

Even though it’s a thriller, the novel is a very light, easy and a captivating read. And I love the fact that it wasn’t intentionally trying to scare you, but keep you on your toes instead. I enjoyed that there was quite a lot of dialogue and banter between the characters, which in turn made me love them all the more. I felt that you got to see more of their personalities this way.

Now that I’ve blabbed on, let me get into the nitty gritty.

We have the badass main character, Tinsel Munroe, who is a horror film buff and host of a late-night horror themed radio show – The Graveyard Shift. During her Halloween show, she was taking viewer calls, when suddenly a fan was brutally murdered on live air, her screams and last breaths broadcasted for everyone to hear. Unaware of the reality, Tinsel chalked it up to a Halloween prank until the cops show up the following day to reveal the awful truth.

While the detectives continue to investigate and work the case around Melbourne, people who are linked to the film industry keep dying and the body count keeps rising. It seems that Tinsel and the film industry are at the center of it all, but why?! It’s the nagging question throughout the entire novel. Tinsel is saddled up with Detective James for protection, which they develop a mutual attraction for one another. But he’s honest with her about the case whenever she asks. Their relationship becomes close….very close and quickly.

However, the investigation becomes stagnant and Tinsel decides to take things into her own hands. Luckily, Tinsel in all her spunky personality has an equally tenacious sister named Pandora. Pandora is a true crime blogger with a few connections and they are in a race against the clock to find the killer.

Frankly, you can’t help but love the characters each in their own ways, even the side characters are fun and lovable. Tinsel is a spunky, retro-style, horror loving radio host with sass and drive that makes you root for her the entire book. Pandora is a mom with tenacity, a hunger for all things true crime and a zest for life, especially when it comes to keeping her sister alive in hers. Detective James is masculine, strong and seems to have a no none sense demeanor, but you quickly learn that he’s a big softy with a fun, easy going personality.

I know when I read other reviews, people felt like the romance aspect deterred from the main story, however I quite liked the little breaks from the thriller. To me it depicted a potential real life scenario, which I guess if you want a full on and action packed thriller, then you probably wouldn’t enjoy that aspect. However, I did. Someone’s life can’t be all doom and gloom all the time, there has to be a little bit of sunshine sometimes, right?

The only thing that did bother me, but not enough for me not to give this five Baci, is the face that she was often left at the studio alone with only one security guard and no late night producer. Also that her sister Pandora would put her phone on airplane mode during the night. Considering the nature of her work, which was true crime blogging, and the fact that her sister was endanger of a psychotic killer, you would think it would stay on in case of an emergency. I get not wanting the phone to wake your kiddos, but there is vibrate mode for a reason!

The ending was quite predictable once all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. There was a bit of a shocker, which I won’t spoil but let’s just say, that one was a little unnecessary to add in at the end.

Nevertheless, I loved this novel and if I could have been locked away for a few days, I probably would have finished it in that time. I really didn’t want to put it down, but my little baby girl needs my attention more then a novel. I truly recommend it to anyone who needs a light read and trust me you will fly through it. I felt the author was inventive in the story telling that I really can’t be mad about. Also, a little romance sprinkled in didn’t hurt! But fair warning, you will either love or hate this book, there isn’t an in-between. But if this type of novel intrigues you, give it a shot!

Hope you enjoyed the review! On the go at the moment is The Last Laugh by Lynn Freed and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. So look for those reviews in the near future!

Ciao!