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melanielocke · 1 year

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Book recommendations: horror

Horror & fantasy romance ended up in a tie in my poll. I chose to do horror first mainly because the book I'm reading right now will be on the fantasy romance first and I need to finish it first.

I have been reading some horror lately. It's not my most read genre, but I have a big enough pile that I could pick out the ones I think are really good. Most of these aren't necessarily so scary it keeps you up at night, but they can be eerie, very atmospheric, dark and occasionally very messed up. I'll mention the type of horror and what kind of scary elements are in there. All of these are YA, I don't have many adult horror books on my shelf.

I'll start with House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Iris is the youngest of the three Hollow sisters. When they were young, the three sisters disappeared from a busy street. It should have been impossible, but there was no trace of them. A month later they reappeared, changed, and with no memory of what happened to them. Iris has tried to forget what happened, and stay away from the weirdness that followed. But when her oldest sister Grey goes missing, Iris and middle sister Viv go looking for her. If they want to find Grey, they will have to uncover the mystery of the past.

This book is creepy and has a rather horrifying twist near the end when you learn what really happened in the past. I think this is one of the scarier books on this list, but it's done really well, with monsters chasing Iris and her sister around and an eerie parallel world

Rep: bi main character, lesbian side character; Korean side character

Other books from this author: The Invocations (horror, coming early 2024); Our Chemical Hearts (contemporary), a semi-definitive of worst nightmares (fabulism)

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Two hundred years ago in small Oregon town Sparrow, three sisters were accused of witchcraft. Stones bound to their feet, they were thrown into the harbor and drowned. Ever since then, the sisters have returned once a year as ghosts. They each possess one young girl in town and kill one boy.

The town has long accepted their fate and Penny is no different. But then Bo Carter enters the town, unaware of the danger he's just stepped into. Penny can't trust him, but she wants to save him from the danger just the same.

This book has one big twist. It's not super scary perse, nor is there any gore, but very atmospheric and that's where this author excels. Would recommend it for people who aren't used to reading horror.

Winterwood is the next book by Shea Ernshaw

Once again set in a small, isolated town in Oregon, this book follows Nora Walker, a girl descended of a line of witches. She is connected to the Wickerwoods, dangerous haunted woods that only she can enter during full moon to collect lost things.

In the middle of winter, with the power out and all connection to the outside world lost, Nora finds a boy in the Wickerwoods. Oliver went missing from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago. By all accounts, he should be dead and yet she found him. Oliver has no memory of what happened the past weeks.

Nora quickly bonds with him, but realizes she has to uncover the mystery of what happened to him and how he could survive so long in the woods. And it soon turns out Oliver was not the only boy who went missing.

Much like the Wicked Deep, this book excels in its atmosphere and the way it portrays a very creepy forest. It has an interesting plot twist, though not as strong as the one in the Wicked Deep. It's not keep you up at night scary, and also has a lot of focus on the romance.

Other books from this author: Long Live the Pumpkin Queen (Nightmare before Christmas book); A History of Wild Places; A Wildnerness of Stars

Next: Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

This book is set on the isolated island of Sawkill rock, where girls have been going missing for decades, stolen away by evil no one has dared fight... until now.

Marion is new to Sawkill rock, trying to escape the tragedy that befell her family

Zoey's best friend was the last girl to disappear, and she is determined to find out what happened, and if Val has anything to do with it

Val is the queen bee, the daughter of the richest woman on the island. But she has a dark secret.

This book was not entirely what I expected when I bought it, but I loved it. This one is rather creepy, I think, though not what would keep me up at night (to be fair, movies are more likely to keep me up than books due to being scary). It creates an isolated atmosphere, but another strong point in this book is the relationships between the three girls and the development there. Marion and Zoey become friends and team up to uncover the mystery when Marion's sister disappears. Zoey hates Val. But Marion might have feelings for Val.

Rep: Sapphic relationship, Zoey is Black and asexual

Also by this author: Furyborn trilogy (epic fantasy); Extasia (horror); Winterspell (Nutcracker retelling)

House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig

This is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses

Annaleigh is one of twelve sister. Or, she used to be. Four of them are dead due to strange accidents, and people are saying her family is cursed. Annaleigh becomes more and more suspicious that her sister's death were no accidents.

Then, her sisters start sneaking out, going to glittering balls and dancing the night away. Annaleigh does not know if she can come with them or stop them, because where are they really going and who are they dancing with?

If Annaleigh does not find out what happened to her sisters soon, she might be the next one to die.

It's been long enough that I do not remember exactly what happened in this book, but I do remember that it was eerie and there was an interesting plot twist when Annaleigh finds out where they really go dancing.

The book stands on its own, but there will be a companion coming out this year, House of Roots and Ruin, which follows one of Annaleigh's sisters

Also by this author is Small Favors

I read this solely because someone told me it would make a good comp title for the book I'm querying, and this is a retelling of Rumplestiltskin.

Ellerie is the daughter of a beekeeper in Amity Falls, a small town surrounded by mountains. They're very isolated and have to go on supply runs to a bigger city to make sure they have what they need. But during a supply run, all people on it die. More and more strange things start happening, slowly building up. Monsters in the woods, people acting strange.

Ellerie finds herself in a race against time to save herself and the people she loves before her town goes up in flames.

This book has a kind of strange pacing. The last part has a lot happening, but before then it's all a very slow build up. Most of the incidents with monsters, Ellerie does not witness, she hears about it second hand. She befriends a strange boy who has come to town as a trapper, catching animals in the forest to sell their hides. He won't give her his name, making me instantly suspicious, but their relationship builds up for such a long time that I was constantly questioning if he could be trusted or not.

My biggest criticism of this book is that I could not tell you when it was set. It took me a while to figure out it was America, though the religious small town feels very American to me, but I couldn't tell you the time period. Likely historical. But when? Who knows, certainly not me.

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

Mars and his twin sister Caroline have always been inseperable. But that summer, Caroline went to Aspen summer school alone. Mars no longer felt welcome there due to his gender fluidity. But when Caroline dies unexpectedly, Mars decides to take her place at the camp to feel more connected to her. It does not go as expected, and Mars quickly remembers why he stopped going. But he befriends Caroline's old friends, a group of girls called the Honeys because of the bees they tend to. But he soon finds something is seriously wrong in the camp, and it might very well have caused his sister's death.

This is a book about grief for a large part, and I think inspired by the author's own grief for his sister. I especially loved the way the Honeys were characterized in this book, and their friendship with Mars, and the story is also about a very femme queer person being accepted within a group of feminine girls.

Rep: gender fluid MC; queer side characters

Also by this author: Reverie (contemporary fantasy); Be Dazzled (contemporary); Beholder (horror, coming in October)

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

The Dead and the Dark is a paranormal/horror mystery set in a small town in Oregon. Because apparently Oregon is where all the spooky paranormal mystery things happen? I don't know, it seems to be a popular location

Logan's two dads host a ghost hunting show together, and have traveled to this town, which is also their hometown, for the new season. But teenagers are disappearing and there might be something really spooky going on here, and Logan has the feeling her dads are keeping secrets from her.

Ashley is a girl who has lived in this town her entire life, and her boyfriend was the first to go missing. Now, Logan is her only hope to find him.

This is a sapphic story as well as a paranormal mystery, but the emphasis is more on the mystery, I think. There are ghosts in here and a pretty sinister and quite creative explanation for what is happening in this town and why.

Rep: sapphic relationship, main character has gay dads

Last on this list is Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

Trans boy Benji is on the run from a cult. A fundementalist sect that unleashed Armageddon, killing most of the population. They believe that one chosen one will end the world for them and they made the ultimate bioweapon to do this.

Benji is rescued by the teens from the ALC, a queer youth center, and their leader Nick. Benji is immediately drawn to Nick, he's slowly changing into a monster capable of destroying the world and Nick knows.

Still, Nick allows him to stay with them as long as he can control the monster and use it to fight on their behalf.

This is I think the goriest book on this list, with lots of details on the ways Benji is slowly transforming into a monster. It's written by an autistic trans man. Benji is trans, while Nick is autistic. There is a lot of creepy fundamentalist religion in this book, as Benji was raised in the cult and their whole idea is that they should kill everyone not part of their world with their bioweapons.

Also from this author: The Spirit Bares its Teeth (coming September)

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @beyondlifebeyonddeath @ikissedsmithparker

#book recommendations #horror #ya horror #hell followed with us #andrew joseph white #the honeys #ryan la sala #small favors #house of salt and sorrows #erin a craig #winterwood #the wicked deep #shea ernshaw #sawkill girls #claire legrand #house of hollow #krystal sutherland #the dead and the dark #courtney gould

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chapter-title-tournament · 9 months

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Round 1, Match 3

The Rock Speaks (Sawkill Girls, Claire Legrand)

Assassination is a Slow Dance (The Speaker, Traci Chee)

#chapter title tournament #round 1 #tournament poll #sawkill girls #the speaker

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sarceansurvivor · 26 days

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forever obsessing over books that aren’t popular enough to have their own tag

#bookish #booklr #bookworm #the tenth girl #girls with sharp sticks #malice #sawkill girls #the siren #burn our bodies down #invitation only #hotel for the lost #a danger to herself and others #house of hollow #horrid #the lost causes

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lgbtqreads · 2 years

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Fave Five: Sapphic YA Horror

My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee Rules for Vanishing and These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand The River Has Teeth and The Restless Dark by Erica Waters Bonus: Coming in June 2023, You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

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#A Lesson in Vengeance #Claire Legrand #Erica Waters #Kalynn Bayron #Kate Alice Marshall #Kayla Cottingham #My Dearest Darkest #Rules for Vanishing #Sawkill Girls #These Fleeting Shadows #Victoria Lee #You&039;re Not Supposed to Die Tonight

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brightbeautifulthings · 1 year

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Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand & The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

WHY:

YA Horror

Girls fighting monsters & bigotry

Claustrophobic small towns

wlw romances

#sawkill girls #claire legrand #the dead and the dark #courtney gould #ya horror #horror fiction #readalikes #horror

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the-unforgotten · 6 months

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started sawkill girls

so far I like the prose and pacing

#seagoat says shit #seagoat says things #seagoat reads things #books #sawkill girls #sawkill girls claire legrand

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partyongarthhousemd · 1 year

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girls hunger.

and we're taught, from the moment our brains can take it, that there isn't enough food for us all.

#sawkill girls

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galaxy-cupid · 2 years

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giggling and kicking my feet in the air whenever someone mentions an obscure and unknown thing I like

#miss peregrine book #sawkill girls #i am not okay with this #miss peregrine's home for peculiar children #miss peregrines home for peculiar children #criminal minds

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alinaandalion · 2 years

Quote

I'll tell you what I've lost, she wanted to say, and then open up her chest so they could see the hollow pit where her heart used to live. It was stuck in a state of collapse, this pit--a tiny organ-shaped singularity, sucking down the bleeding ravaged bits of who she used to be.

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

#quotes #sawkill girls #claire legrand

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aroaessidhe · 1 year

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witchy sapphic books & my crystal moth bookmark design!

#My bookmarks #The lost coast #Summer of salt #Labyrinth lost #All our hidden gifts #The scapegracers #Sawkill girls #... sawkill isn't that witchy exactly but it does have moths on the cover

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mistwraiths · 2 years

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3 stars

Sawmill Girls was a weird book for me. It was entirely too much and not enough at the same time. I both liked it and didn't like it, and in general unsure how I really feel about it.

In the beginning, I was very much like what the hell is happening. It was a fairly strong beginning but pretty quickly, it drops a bit from there. Why? Because we know fairly soon what the monster/evil is, what it's doing, where it is, who is helping it, and why it is doing what it is doing. That takes half the fun out it. The other what is going on with the girls is also alluded to early and then explained more later.

The writing was good but there are times where the metaphors and prose go a bit too far. You read some sentences and you're like what? However, the horror aspects and creepy vibes are throughout the book and are well done. The pacing however is oddly really slow. People are DYING, there's evil afoot, and even when the girls kind of find out about it there's really no action going on?? A lot of the book just contains walking, talking about things, and feelings which is okay but the plot kind of just hangs there above until it is SUDDENLY TIME.

I would have liked more explanation I think about how a sentient rock could grant people power? Like what's that about. Is it like nature's defense mechanism? It seemed to care though so again... what's that about? Zoey and Val have lived on the island for a long ass time, why did it have to wait for Marion first or wait so long?

The reveal of some kind of weird cult that monster hunts and seems not only incredibly disgustingly sexist but also seems to act overboard with that and act nearly sexual about (sniffing a girl and moaning?? touching a girl's blood and smearing it on their face??) was eye rolling. Because it comes out of freaking left field and it's not explained very well. If these three women fight and bleed and make the monster come, are they guaranteed to win??? What if he just eats them??? Like there's no back up plan if he wins???

Also why does the monster eat only girls? What's with that? And requires girls to host him? That dude who smeared blood on his face, why couldn't the monster just kill him? Shouldn't a monster be able to kill anyone???

I did like Zoey and Marion. I did like Val too, her story I actually thought could have been more interesting and full of tension. Especially since in the beginning it definitely feels like Val likes what she does or at least doesn't give a single care at all. But later, she fears for what will happen to her and I guess flips sides but it feels a little hard to follow. But I liked how the girls have complicated relationships and feelings surrounding each other. That felt well done.

Also, how did Val who is being controlled by the monster and then is made its full host or whatever, able to be blessed or whatever with the Rock's powers??? Like wouldn't the monster be able to tell?? To me it makes no sense and like most things in this book it isn't explained.

I will say that the diversity and the representation in the book is really nice.

The ending was good as well. Overall, it wasn't bad but it's not GREAT.

#claire legrand #sawkill girls #steph's book review #steph reads #book review

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allyqwrites · 2 years

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Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/five stars

Coming of age, young adult fiction, horror, fantasy, lgbtq representation

Overview: The island of Sawkill has a history of girls go missing, never to return. There is a deep evil leaching off the island, stealing girls, and growing stronger in the shadows. An unlikely trio-Marion: the new girl on the island weighed down by grief and loneliness, Zoey: who has never felt she belonged in the suffocating small town, and Val: the beautiful, privileged queen bee of Sawkill - must fight against this evil to save the people of Sawkill.

I’m not usually one for horror, but this book was captivating from start to finish. The kind of book that sinks it’s teeth in you and doesn’t let go. The prose is beautiful, and the story is suspenseful and engaging. I loved the unlikely connection between the three girls and their determination and resilience. This book always has wonderful sapphic representation AND ace representation which was a very pleasant surprise. It’s so hard to find good asexual representation in books and this book did an excellent job of it!

The only reason this has 4 instead of 5 stars is personal preference that’s, as I said, horror isn’t my favorite. It was a incredible, satisfying book and I highly recommend it.

#sawkill girls #book blog #book review #lgbtq books #literature #allyqtalks

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queerlit · 2 years

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Six Spooky Queer Novels

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Photo Source Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. But she's hated magic ever since it made her father disappear into thin air. So while most girls celebrate their Quinceañera, Alex prepares for her Deathday―the most important day in a bruja's life and her only opportunity to rid herself of magic. But the curse she performs during the ceremony backfires, and her family vanishes, forcing Alex to absorb all of the magic from her family line. Left alone, Alex seeks help from Nova, a brujo with ambitions of his own. -- Amazon

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle L. Gómez

Photo Source The winner of two Lambda Literary Awards (fiction and science fiction) The Gilda Stories is a very lesbian American odyssey. Escaping from slavery in the 1850s Gilda's longing for kinship and community grows over two hundred years. Her induction into a family of benevolent vampyres takes her on an adventurous and dangerous journey full of loud laughter and subtle terror. -- Goodreads

The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Photo Source Caitlín R. Kiernan is a master of her craft of dark fantasy-sci-fi horror and The Drowning Girl is an excellent place to start with her books. India Morgan Phelps — aka Imp — begins her first person story by telling the reader that she is schizophrenic and that she’s aware of her own unreliability. This, of course, calls into question the entirety of the book that follows. But this is not a story that asks you to guess whether the supernatural elements are real or whether they are just a product of Imp’s mental health status. Instead, it’s an investigation of how the paranormal — Imp’s encounter with a mysterious figure — interacts with mental illness. This post-modern creepy, if not outright scary story, also features a lesbian relationship between a cis and a trans woman! -- Autostraddle

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters

Photo Source Shady Grove inherited her father’s ability to call ghosts from the grave with his fiddle, but she also knows the fiddle’s tunes bring nothing but trouble and darkness. But when her brother is accused of murder, she can’t let the dead keep their secrets. In order to clear his name, she’s going to have to make those ghosts sing. -- Goodreads

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Photo Source Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find. Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is. Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets, and a mouth full of lies. Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now. -- Goodreads

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Photo Source Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it ﬁrst appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting inﬂuence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps. -- Goodreads

#Labyrinth Lost #Zoraida Córdova #The Gilda Stories #Jewelle L. Gómez #zoraida cordova #Jewelle L. Gomez #The Drowning Girl #Caitlín R. Kiernan #Caitlin R. Kiernan #Sawkill Girls #Claire Legrand #The Picture of Dorian Gray #Oscar Wilde #spooky #queer novels #queer books #my list #BIPOC AUTHORS

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screechwhisper · 2 months

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Just finished Sawkill Girls...

Im a changed person

#aaaaaa #i love that book so much #sawkill girls #val x marion #personal

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sock-footed-reader · 4 months

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"Sawkill Girls" - Claire Legrand

⤷ RATING:

⤷ STARTED: November 2, 2023 ⤷ FINISHED: November 7, 2023

[WARNING: Spoilers below the break!]

“Screw that book,” said Val. “It was written by men.” She held out her free hand to Marion. “We’re rewriting it.” ⤷ CLAIRE LEGRAND, "SAWKILL GIRLS"

This book swallowed me whole and left me astonished, honestly. The original reason I chose this book was it was on a list of books with asexual representation, but then I kept reading and I fell in love with the characters and I just... I'm still thinking about it even now.

The reader is first introduced to the three female protagonists: Marion, Zoey, and Val. Marion, Marion, Marion... she's the rock in her family since her father died. I will say that there wasn't a whole lot of grief on her part regarding her father's death, but I suppose that's a given when there's a LITERAL MONSTER trying to feed off on innocent girls.

For some reason, I'm very picky with my female protagonists. I hate saying that because it feels narrow-minded, but these three girls were so utterly captivating that I felt it. I felt Marion's grief, Val's wish to have freedom, Zoey's agony over being broken. Couple this with a bunch of men trying to kill them and you get angst!!!

Don't even get me started on that ending, either. I had to reread TWICE because I was so scared of Marion not coming back. Her path of discovering herself throughout the book was so inspiring.

And Val.

For some reason I'm a little in love with the morally-gray characters in movies, books, shows. I don't know why they're so appealing to me, and I don't know if I would argue that Val is a morally-gray character herself (there are a lot of factors that play into this, such as her mother, the "creature", etc.) but seeing her struggle eternally was an interesting experience. I enjoyed being able to read the thoughts of who everyone thought was the "antagonist" (in regards to the rest of the characters). The development of her relationship with Marion ached. I was continuously hoping for my girls to get their happy ending.

And Grayson. I think it's safe to say we all fell in love (platonically) with Grayson. I know I did.

I'm not a huge fan of horror or thrillers, but this intrigued me and I would definitely read it again. While most of my review did focus on the development of the characters and their relationships with one another, the whole creepiness factor of it was interesting. I really enjoyed the one-pagers from the Rock's perspective between chapters, the incorporation of the creepy books/languages and the secret rooms. I was internally screaming at and for Zoey and Marion during those chapters where they're searching for clues.

I didn't note down any of my favorite parts like I did Solitaire, since this book was a borrow from my local library. Regardless, "Sawkill Girls" was a 5/5 stars for me. I severely enjoyed the read and will definitely reread in the future!!

“Screw that book,” said Val. “It was written by men.” She held out her free hand to Marion. “We’re rewriting it.” ⤷ CLAIRE LEGRAND, "SAWKILL GIRLS"

#booklr #book review #bookworm #sawkill girls #books and reading #goodreads

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