Well, That Was an Interesting Snakebite

 

TITLE: Breathe In, Bleed Out

AUTHOR: Brian McAuley

PUBLISHER: Poisoned Pen Press

PUBLISHING DATE: September 2, 2025

PAGES: 304   

SOURCE: ARC 

FROM GOODREADS: 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.

MY THOUGHTS: I love a good slasher book, and this is one of the best I've read in a while. And those who know me know I'm terrified of snakes so if I found a snake scene interesting and unique, that says something.

Hannah is coasting through her residency high on prescription drugs and fueled by nightmares of her fiancé Ben's death. She makes a potentially catastrophic mistake at work one night when leads her to having some time off which happens to coincide with a spiritual retreat set up by her best friend, Tess.  Ever since Ben's death, Hannah has been avoiding her friends and after some convincing, she agrees to accompany Tess and three other college pals to Joshua Tree.  However, Hannah soon learns this was not a good time to stop her medication cold turkey.  Is someone out to kill everyone at the retreat or has Hannah's demons finally caught up with her. 

This book was so much fun and perfect for spooky season.  It's compared to Midsommar and Scream, and having seen both of those movies, I would say it lives up to those comparisons.  Hannah's friends are a mixed group of personalities and attitudes, and I have to admit, I was actually cheering on some of the deaths which happened.  I also really liked Hannah in the beginning, but towards the end, realized she was not necessarily the victim she had been playing for over a year.  Guru Pax was an interesting character and one of my favorite characters ended up being Kimi, Pax's assistance.

Breathe In, Bleed Out is a great addition to my slasher collection.  I can easily see it playing out on the big screen and my only real complaint was the number of twists thrown out at the end.  They came so fast they kind of gave me whiplash for a moment.  I will definitely be reading more from this author.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

Everything Must Go, Including the Demon in the Attic

 

TITLE: Play Nice

AUTHOR: Rachel Harrison

PUBLISHER: Berkley

PUBLISHING DATE: September 9, 2025

PAGES: 336   

SOURCE: ARC 

FROM GOODREADS: Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parent’s messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped Alex of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house. 

After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, the presence in the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.

MY THOUGHTS: This is third book I've read by Harrison, and I have two others on my shelves. I have to say this one solidified her as a must-read author and I'm anxious to pick up some of her backlist.

The book opens with the reader meeting Clio, one-third of the Barnes' sisters.  Clio is a stylist and influencer who had a rocky childhood living with her mother until her father gained full custody and definitely started spoiling her and treating her like the baby of the family.  Clio's mother Alex, who dies pretty early on in the book, moved into a house following her divorce which she claims is possessed by a demon.  She tried for years to get rid of the demon but really only ended up getting rid of anyone who cared about her because everyone thought her crazy and insane.  She even wrote a book about the experience which the sisters have promised each other to never read.

When Alex dies, the sister inherit the house, and Clio sees this as a great way to learn more about her money and flip the home into something fabulous to chronicle on her Instagram.  However, soon after moving in, strange things start happening and Clio's mental health, starts spiraling.  Just how many demons is the Barnes family hiding?

I really enjoyed this book and found it easy to get into.  I love Harrison's writing and while I can't explain her, her writing style definitely has a unique vibe.  I really didn't care much for Clio, or any of the family for that matters, but I was invested in learning what made them the way they are.  Harrison not only tackles the supernatural in this book, and trust me, her demon loves to play games, but she also tackles family trauma and sisterhood dynamics.

If you are looking for a spooky read with a side of dysfunctional family, this might be the book for you. I felt the ending came on a tad bit rushed which is my only issue with the book.  Oh, and Clio's father - he is definitely a piece of work wrapped in a pretty, albeit fake, package.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

Summer of Horror - "We Are the Thing That Others Fear"

 

I am participating in an informal event created by my friend Tammy over at Books, Bones & Buffy and she is doing a book cover love feature. I am so sad that the Summer of Horror is ending.  Of course, I start spooky season reading in September so you will still see some horror here at Booker T's Farm.  Today I am sharing some awesome covers for one of favorite horror creatures - vampires!  I am splitting them into ones I have already read and then ones I have on my TBR.

First up, the ones I've read:

Here are four I read last year.  I really loved all of them except Night Wing, which was a buddy read, and not as good as I wanted it to be. I recommend Suffer the Children to everyone now.

I've read Salem's Lot twice and really enjoyed it although it isn't my favorite King.  Dark Roots is the first in a series I really need to get back to and Until Summer Comes Around has complete Lost Boys vibes.

I had to add Bunnicula because it was one of my first vampire books and I love it to this day.  In the Valley of the Sun has a different edition with an awesome cover but I didn't feature it because this book did not work for me.

Books on my TBR:

Mr. Barb bought me a copy of Carmilla two Christmas' ago and I still haven't picked it up.

I am pretty sure I first saw Vampire Junction on Tammy's blog, and I can't believe I haven't read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter yet, and I even own two copies and an arc

I'm really hate seeing Tammy's special feature end.  I'm so glad I was able to participate some and can't wait for Summer of Horror 2026!

Better Limit Your Screen Time

 

TITLE: 13 Months Haunted

AUTHOR: Jimmy Juliano

PUBLISHER: Dutton

PUBLISHING DATE: August 12, 2025

PAGES: 384   

SOURCE: ARC 

FROM GOODREADS: Piper Lowery, a public library clerk in charge of liaising with the local middle school, can tell right away there’s something strange about the new girl in eighth grade. Avery Wallace won’t touch any kind of technology, not even the computers at the library, and her mother comes to school with her every day, refusing to leave her side—not even when Avery uses the restroom. 

And then there are the rumors, the whispers Piper hears from kids in the hallway and parents around Avery’s mother is a witch. Her sister and father were killed by something supernatural. A strange virus killed them. 

Seeing how isolated and lonely Avery is, Piper befriends her but quickly realizes it might just be the worst decision she’s ever made. Because there’s something dark inside Avery Wallace, and it’s spreading . . .

MY THOUGHTS: I have had this author's debut release sitting on my shelves since it was released.  I don't know why I chose to read this one first, but I have no regrets and now feel better about circling around and picking up the other.

When the book opens, a young man is attending a family even and discussing his upcoming thesis for college surrounding viral videos.  He learns of a relative he has no memory of who had some strange phenomenon occur to her and sets off to find her.  Enter Piper and her husband.  Piper starts telling the story of when she was a small-town librarian fresh off college graduation and meets a young 8th grader, Avery, and her mother at the local middle school.  Piper befriends them but she soon realizes there is more to Avery than meets the eye.  She is unable to be alone, and her mother follows her everywhere. Avery is picked on in school which makes Piper want to help her even more.  What the reader eventually learns involves possible witchcraft, a cursed computer program and lots of 80's references. This is a far as I will go in order to avoid spoilers.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was fast-paced and unlike many other horror book topics I usually gravitate towards. I liked Piper as a character and although you really have to suspend your disbelief the more the book progresses, it is horror so sometimes you just have to expect that.  I loved all the 80's references, especially regarding music and Napster, and was truly invested in what was happening to Avery.  I will say that while the ending was satisfying, afterwards there was kind of a second ending involving the young man and his thesis which I didn't feel was needed.  But that is just a personal preference and shouldn't impact anyone's overall enjoyment of the book.

Overall, if you enjoy horror and 80's nostalgia, I would highly recommend this book.  One spoiler (I guess I lied) - the dog lives.  And he is a very good boy!  And yes, I had to find the answer to this question about 40% into the arc before I could proceed.  Hey, I wonder if I could convince publishers to put a little tiny pawprint on the cover beneath the title to indicate pet friendly content.  They could "x" it out if the content contained animal abuse.  Just a thought.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

Feed Your TBR - The Way It Haunted Him

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

June 9, 2026

FROM GOODREADS: Michael Stein arrives at the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies battered and broken after the death of his boyfriend seven months prior. Blaming himself for the accident that killed him, Michael has come to the Institute to complete his boyfriend's dissertation as part of his effort at repentance. While Michael's own past leads him to condemn superstition as a way to mask prejudice and old-fashioned beliefs, his boyfriend's research argues that the folktales told in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe were based in truth, and that demons and other creatures walked the earth, wreaking havoc on peoples' lives.

Instead of the Institute's infamous archivist, Michael is met by his grandson, Jacob Schechter, who has taken over the archive after his grandfather's death. A firm believer in the existence of the supernatural, Jacob explains that the archive plays host to a coterie of household demons. Michael insists that he is a skeptic, but strange and frightening occurrences plague his research, causing Michael to question both his sanity and his view of the world.
 
To cope with his guilt, grief, and the terrifying shadows following him, Michael must reckon with the events leading up to his boyfriend's death—and his role in it—by trusting the enigmatic Jacob to help uncover the truth. As untangling the mysteries of the past bring Jacob and Michael closer together, their respective secrets threaten to tear them apart. Because Michael is not the only one with darkness on his conscience, and if he and Jacob discover the truth of each other, only one of them may survive the fallout.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I ran across this cover yesterday and believe it was recently announced.  I immediately added it to the wish list after reading the synopsis and knew I wanted to share it this week.

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

Book Haul - August 2025

 

I've decided it is kind of easier to do a book haul once a month and then when I start back with my Farm News updates, I can include books that I might have bought or borrowed from the library.  So, these ones will mainly be ARCS I have received.  Similar to last time, I am linking the book titles to their Goodreads page so you can get more details on them, but I will try to at least include a release date here. 

Sundown Girls: L.S. Stratton/01-27-26
The Johnson Four: A Novel: Christina Hammonds Reed/02-03-26
The Hitch: Sara Levine/01-13-26
The Tortoise's Tale: Kendra Coulter/11-04-25

Roots of My Fear: Edited by Gemma Amor/09-09-25

These Familiar Walls: C.J. Dotson/04-14-26

Teenage Girls Can Be Demons: Hailey Piper/09-16-25

Midnight Somewhere: Johnny Compton/12-09-25

Murder Most Haunted: Emma Mason/10-07-25
A Ruff Royal Christmas: Karen Schaler/09-30-25
All's Well That Ends Well: Vivian Kasley/10-31-25
Murder at Holly House: Denzil Meyrick/10-07-25

There you have it - a little bit of everything.  Until next time thanks for visiting Booker T's Farm.

Summer of Horror - There Will Be Blood

 

I am participating in an informal event created by my friend Tammy over at Books, Bones & Buffy and she is doing a book cover love feature. This week I am focusing on books with "blood" in the title.  I know a few of these are more thriller than horror but they are still either books I've read or have on my TBR. 

These four are actually books I've read.  I absolutely loved The Weight of Blood and recommend this Carrie retelling to anyone who loves horror.  I read Bloodlines and a lot of the remainder of the series years and years ago and actually enjoyed it more than the other popular vampire series at the time, Twilight.

These are books which are actually on my active TBR.  I also managed to feature Blood on her Tongue for last week's topic as well.  

At least three of these are older novels and I am sure many of familiar with Clive Barker's Books of Blood.  I believe I have a vintage copy of Blood Snarl somewhere in my house which I really need to find as well. Nightblood is a Paperback from Hell book, so I hope to get to it someday. 

So, there you have it!  I will be able to squeeze one more of these in before the Summer of Horror ends next Friday and I think I'm going out with a bite and showcasing vampire books.  Make sure you stop by!