Like a lot of people - including Caroline Bicks, author of Monsters in the Archives, I have been reading Stephen King since I was 11 or 12 years old, and I loved reading about her time studying his archives and the connections she draws between not only his work and Shakespeare but also his work and her own life, especially some childhood fears. 

I read mostly horror, so, as much as I enjoy a lot of what I read, I rarely find myself wishing I were part of the world of the book. But in The Creek, the Crone, and the Crow, Leah Weiss has created not only a world I would be happy to inhabit, she has created characters I would like to know and a mystery I would like to investigate.

The heroine in A Vow for Breaking by L.M. Riviere is Sloane McIntyre, a sharp, smart, poor young Irish woman from Boston who has inherited a demon as a constant companion - whether she wants him or not - and thanks to her witch ancestor, he doesn’t have much choice either.

Come Sing for the Harrowing by Dan Coxon brings all the folk horror it promises in its title (and the title of the first story) and its cover art. It also brings body horror, cosmic horror, the supernatural, and ROCK AND ROLL! and addresses topics like mental illness, generational trauma, and body dysmorphia. And they say horror is not “real” literature.

Cross Stitch Cabinet Of Curiosities by Grace Isobel is full of patterns inspired by items that may make up a cabinet of curiosities.

The title told me Snarky Crochet by Lisa Ha was a book for me, and the introduction confirmed it. Her irreverent, punny patterns, she says, are to make gifts for people you don’t like - but you don’t want them to know you don’t like them.

The Last Witch by C.J. Cooke is a thrilling and infuriating historical horror novel based on the true story of the victims of the infamous witchfinder Heinrich Kramer who wrote the famous Malleus Maleficarum, a textbook on how to identify and deal with witches.

In Japanese Gothic, Kylie Lee Baker masterfully weaves together the story of a Samurai girl from 1877, a college boy from 2026, the ghost and folk stories they hear, and the memories they hold into a haunting tale of loneliness, love, and grief wrapped in a supernatural mystery that is impossible to put down. 

You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews is a haunted house, domestic suspense, psychological thriller from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, and, yes, it's as good as that sounds.

Much like the narrator in “Her Skin Was a Grim Canvas” could not merely wear clothes, there is no such thing as merely reading a Gwendolyn Kiste work. The stories in The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own have to be savored, lived in, passages - and even whole stories - read again to relive the language or extract more meaning or wallow in the emotion - be it fear, horror, dread, grief, humor - on the dark side, of course. 

Hollow by Karina Halle is a Gothic dark fantasy romance retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with witchcraft and some elements of dark academia.

The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton is a feminist Gothic horror with some historical Mormon folklore that takes place in 1882 Salt Lake City, and, yes, it’s as interesting as it sounds. 

The Curse of Hester Gardens by Tamika Thompson is not your typical haunted house story. Hester Gardens is an entire neighborhood/housing project that is haunted not only by poverty, drugs, and gun violence, but also by at least one spirit.

When I read the title - and saw the cover art - of Mothman Is My Boyfriend by McCayla Coyle, I thought I’d be reading a cute, breezy, potentially clever light romantasy  - like a G-rated version of one of Chuck Tingle’s infamous cryptid eroticas. 

This is not that. 

The Hong Kong Widow by Kristen Loesch is a haunting Gothic tale that follows one woman who is trying to put the ghosts that have haunted her, literally and metaphorically, since she was a child, to rest.

Sarafina is the fourth book I have read by Philip Fracassi, and it is definitely my favorite so far.  Unlike many from my part of the United States (the "South"), I have never been a big Civil War buff, but the promise of supernatural witchiness encouraged me to read this, and now I encourage you to do so.

We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower is an interesting mix of post-apocalyptic coming-of-age story with pagan mythology and a touch of romance. 

Curse you, Clay McLeod Chapman! I really wanted to feel nothing but contempt for Winston Kemper, and while his victims remind each other that he does not deserve our compassion, in so doing, they remind us why he does.

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn takes a satirical look at Hollywood, fame, beauty standards, paparazzi and anyone in the sphere around fame, including bloggers and podcasters, but it’s also a tale about how grief can break someone and how far one will go just to relieve that ache, however temporarily.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen, but what I got was an immensely readable, funny look behind the scenes at a reality dating show interspersed with message board interactions and personal letters that made it feel even more real - even with the added titular character of a Lady Sasquatch.