Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews

This Month in Horror || The Best New Horror Books Coming August 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Looking for the best new horror books releasing this month?

From gruesome creature features and terrifying haunted houses to gothic horror, vampire novels, supernatural thrillers, historical horror, and unsettling dark fantasy, this month's new horror releases offer plenty of ways to scare yourself silly.

So grab your reading list, lock the doors, and take a look at the horror books coming this month.

august 4

Meat Bees by Dane Erbach

Scarlett Sutton heads to the Smoky Mountains for a summer of family drama and a new job, but instead finds herself caught up in a true-crime mystery involving skeletonized corpses, missing coworkers, and a swarm of yellow jackets with a serious taste for human flesh. As Scarlett and her coworkers investigate a string of gruesome deaths, they discover that the mountain's biggest threat may be small, loud, and very, very angry.

the killing rules by bree despain

Harper Westbrook spends her summers like any normal teenager: cheering, falling for a boy, and killing terrible men with a throwing axe. As one of the Blood Bound, Harper has spent three years hiding a curse that gives her an irresistible bloodlust, but keeping her secret becomes much harder when the boy she loves starts investigating the mysterious death of his father, whom Harper killed in self-defense. As Grayson follows the clues into a hidden world of mythical beasts and monster-hunting men, Harper must stop him before he uncovers the truth and puts her family in danger.

august 11

Them by W.H. Chizmar

A government experiment designed to transport matter across the universe succeeds in bringing something back, but unfortunately, “something alive” turns out to be a very bad sign. When a mysterious shipping container crashes in New England, the alien creatures inside quickly turn humanity from the top of the food chain into a distant memory. Years later, a lone survivor travels through the ruins of the East Coast, searching for other humans while navigating a terrifying new world filled with monsters, isolation, and the ever-present question of whether there’s enough humanity left in anyone to save.

She Haunts Me Still by De Elizabeth

Mallory Webb heads to a former sanitarium turned college campus hoping for a fresh start, but instead finds herself cast as Juliet, haunted by the same blood-soaked wraith that killed her mother, and drawn into a mystery involving cryptic symbols, buried secrets, and a centuries-old bargain made during the New England vampire panic. As Mallory, her enigmatic director Ezra, and an understudy with an eerily similar past begin to uncover how their histories are connected, they find themselves caught in a tragic supernatural love story where Shakespeare's warning about violent delights may be less metaphor and more survival advice.

Saint Delilah by Isabelle Spotts

Delilah is dead, but she has one last thing to do before she can move on: find the man who murdered her and make sure he pays. Trapped between life and death, with terrifying creatures feeding on her suffering and her soul slowly slipping away, Delilah turns to Magda, a spirit medium, and a mysterious stranger who can see and feel her. Together, they must solve Delilah's murder before Halloween, when the veil between the living and the dead drops and she gets one final chance to walk among the living.

a plagued sea by kim bo young

When Mu-young boards a train toward an isolated seaside village during a massive earthquake, she thinks she is choosing the lesser of two evils. Three years later, that decision has left her trapped in a quarantined nightmare where an ancient plague has transformed villagers into fishy monsters, her niece is dead, and Mu-young hunts anyone who breaks isolation. But when a bureaucrat from Seoul arrives and starts stirring up trouble, the village's horrors begin to surface, forcing Mu-young to confront not only the monsters around her, but the question of whether she deserves to survive.

thorns by gregory bastianelli

When Dr. Monica Cucinotta is infected by a deadly contagion that causes thorns to erupt from the body, she is forced to leave the hospital where she has been fighting the pandemic on the front lines. As she crosses a darkened, devastated Italy in search of her loved ones, Monica encounters both the best and worst of humanity, forcing her to question everything she believes about science, faith, and survival.

august 18

Lights! Camera! Frendo! by Adam Cesare

Sabrina Alvarez goes from nobody to the star of a blockbuster movie about the Kettle Springs Massacre, stepping into the role of Quinn Maybrook, the ultimate Final Girl. But when she arrives in Kettle Springs, the town's violent history starts feeling less like movie material and more like a warning. With mysterious deaths piling up, an unhinged director calling the shots, and a community still fractured by tragedy and rage, Sabrina discovers that filming a horror movie in the town where the real horror happened might be a terrible idea.

Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith

Tippi is ready for a fresh start after escaping her controlling ex, so what better way to celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday than with a lavish horror-movie-themed party in a secluded mansion? But when terrifying messages from her supposedly cross-country ex begin appearing and party guests start disappearing, Tippi realizes someone knows the secret she was determined to take to the grave. With deception closing in from every direction and the killer possibly hiding among her closest friends, Tippi must figure out who she can trust before the night ends.

The House That Eats the Dead by Max Doty

Claire thinks her family's new suburban home is the perfect fresh start, but the house has other plans. Flowers wilt, eggs are found hollow, toys disappear, and Claire soon realizes the impossible truth: the house is hungry, and it feeds on anything that was once alive. When she discovers she can use the house's power, Claire forms a dangerous bond with it, but as its appetite grows, so does the threat to everyone around her.

The Halls of the Dead by S. M. Hallow

In Victorian London, necromancer Irene Shallcross Haley has spent her life protecting forbidden magical knowledge alongside her undead husband, St. John. But when the woman she loves is hanged for witchcraft, Irene refuses to accept death as the end of their story and attempts the impossible: resurrecting Agnes. Unfortunately, Agnes returns with an appetite for raw flesh and a malignant ghost attached to her soul, leaving Irene to restore her lover's humanity while navigating complicated feelings, avoiding the man responsible for Agnes's death, and trying not to attract the attention of the authorities.

And the Sea Gave Up the Dead by William Friend

When Morwenna takes her family to visit her ailing aunt at a crumbling seaside chateau in France, she expects an uncomfortable week surrounded by grief, old family secrets, and a village convinced her aunt had something to do with her husband's disappearance. Instead, she discovers that the house is steeped in ancient magic, the land remembers what happened there centuries ago, and something that once died may be waiting to return. As the chateau begins to change her family, Morwenna must uncover the truth about her uncle's disappearance before the dark history of the house repeats itself.

sleeping sisters by jennifer givhan

Fortuna Miércoles has moved her family across the Rio Grande in hopes of escaping a generations-old curse, but the past is not so easily left behind. When a body turns up in her backyard and a killer known as the Reaper appears to be hunting women once again beneath the ominous Sleeping Sisters, Fortuna finds herself drawn into a deadly mystery alongside Detective Jeanette Palacio, who has spent decades pursuing the ghosts of the women she couldn't save.

these walls remember by del sandeen

When estranged sisters Mickie and Delilah inherit a house in Savannah, they plan to sell it, split the money, and go their separate ways. Unfortunately, the house has other plans, especially after the sisters ignore the ominous warning not to go into the attic. As the home's dark history begins bleeding into the present and Delilah's behavior grows increasingly disturbing, Mickie realizes selling the property is no longer an option. She must uncover what lurks inside 724 Hartford Street and save her sister before the house's hunger consumes them both.

tapeworm by a.p. thayer

When Victor heads to the isolated California desert town of Superstition for his friends' annual getaway, he hopes the trip will help him reconnect with the group and figure out who he is after separating from his wife. Instead, the friends stumble into a strange and seductive vampire infestation that feeds on their desires and threatens to turn their weekend of bonding into something much more sinister. As the town's mysterious Welcoming Committee draws Victor deeper into its orbit, he and his friends discover that Superstition's hospitality comes with a horrifying price.

a (dead) thing like me by e.g. young

Hot Dog is an invisible teenage ghost with a stitched-up mouth, a love of hot dogs with banana peppers, and a desperate desire to be seen as a real girl. When a Ouija board accidentally summons her to a Florida house party, she meets Logan, a grieving artist who can see her and wants to be her friend. But something sinister lurking inside Logan's house knows Hot Dog doesn't belong among the living and is determined to drag her back into the darkness.

back for blood: never whistle at night part ii

The team behind Never Whistle at Night is back with twenty-one brand-new stories from both established and emerging Indigenous writers, proving once again that horror is very much alive and ready to bite. From psychological terror and supernatural nightmares to gruesome monster hunts, Never Whistle at Night, Part Back for Blood explores both the horrors of the unknown and the everyday horror of living under colonialism.

Marla by Jonathan Janz

Every small town has a ghost story, but King's Branch has Marla Gorman. The reclusive young woman living in a creepy Gothic house is rumored to be a prisoner, a witch, or something even stranger. When two men are murdered and Detective Carl Lancaster spots Marla at the exact moment of each death, he becomes convinced she's connected to the killings. Meanwhile, a social worker with a mysterious connection to Marla and a lonely college student are drawn into her orbit, unaware of the terrifying truth about the woman at the center of the town's legends.

ghosts of chanterlands by catherine cavendish

In 1940, Pamela Courtney is evacuated to Chanterlands, the home of her Jilly and Bunny, expecting a summer away from the dangers of war. Instead, she finds a lonely ghost haunting the room where she sleeps and a sinister secret hidden in the neglected attic of the once-grand house. But as the summer unfolds, Pamela discovers that the greatest danger at Chanterlands may not be the war raging beyond its walls, but the dark history lurking inside them.

august 21

Candlelight by d. l. Tolin

In 1986, children across Beaumont, Texas, begin disappearing without a trace, lured away by the mysterious light of candles only they can see. When fifteen-year-old Matthew Dean accidentally tears open a gateway to the world of the fae, he brings something ancient and hungry back with him, forcing his secretive witch mother to confront the history she's spent centuries hiding. As a skeptical detective investigates the growing number of missing children, reality itself begins to unravel around him.

august 25

Blood Rising by Markus Redmond

Kwadzo Okoro has helped build a new Ramanga tribe and establish the Crimson Plantation as a haven for formerly enslaved Africans and their Native allies, but freedom is anything but secure. As powerful slaveholders rally the surrounding community against them, a sun-walking vampire builds an army of her own, and Kwadzo's own blood father turns against him, the fragile rebellion is pushed toward an all-out war.

The Burn Line by Jonathan Sims

London is sweltering, the Underground is unbearable, and five strangers on one unlucky Tube carriage are about to have a very bad day. When a horrific event leaves them with fractured memories and a shared connection they can't explain, a weary driver, disillusioned civil servant, ambitious trader, overwhelmed hotel worker, and unhoused young man must put aside their differences to figure out what happened before the heat, the city, and whatever is coming for them become impossible to survive.

The Unheld by Luke Larkin

Twelve-year-old Charlie is used to a lonely life in the woods, spending her days helping her unpredictable father skin the strange animals he hunts. But when the forest's already bizarre creatures begin growing even stranger and a nightmarish beast drags her father into the wilderness, Charlie sets out to find him with the help of an occult-connected Englishman and a disgraced Northern Cheyenne policeman. As the unlikely trio prepares to face the monster, Charlie must decide whether the father who has always kept her at arm's length is worth saving.

the woods by jessica hamilton

After the devastating death of her teenage daughter, Alice moves her family from the city to a secluded bungalow beside ancient woods, hoping a fresh start will help them heal. But the house comes with a horrifying history: years earlier, a woman murdered her family after claiming they had been replaced by imposters and that her real family had been taken by the woods. As Alice's family begins to fracture and strange figures appear outside, her husband disappears into the forest and returns hours later wearing different clothes with no memory of what happened. Soon, Alice must figure out whether grief and stress are playing tricks on her or whether something ancient and malevolent is reaching out from the trees.

The Devil Knows Her Name by C.N. Vair

In the isolated Appalachian town of Burrsville, Tess Wynne has spent a century protecting her wildlife sanctuary and the delicate balance between nature and humanity after making a deal with the devil to remain in the only home she's ever known. Every autumn, the devil returns with an offer of more power, and every autumn, Tess refuses. But when a new pastor arrives and begins turning the townspeople against her while setting his sights on her sanctuary, Tess is forced to push her ancient magic toward its darkest limits.

The I Scream Truck by I.M. Eerie

John knows curiosity can be dangerous, but that has never stopped him from poking his nose where it doesn't belong. So when the neighborhood ice cream truck suddenly changes from the cheerful Mr. Dandy's to the sinister Mr. Twisty's horror-themed vehicle, John can't help but investigate. Why did Mr. Dandy supposedly retire to Florida? Why is Mr. Twisty making mysterious deliveries to the neighbors at two in the morning? The deeper John digs, the more he realizes that this new ice cream man may be serving up something much more disturbing than dessert.

netherwood by jake arnott

After moving from London to Hastings in hopes of saving their strained marriage, Justine and Adam discover a bolted door in the basement that leads to a mysterious cave containing a witch bottle. Their curiosity draws them into the dark history of the house's previous owner, a chaos-magic-obsessed musician with alleged ties to blood magic and the occult. Despite warnings to leave ancient rituals alone, Adam opens the bottle, unleashing a sinister chain of events that sends his artistic obsession spiraling into something unnatural while Justine is haunted by screams from beneath the house. As she becomes pregnant and people in town begin disappearing or turning up dead, Justine must untangle the truth from the supernatural before the ghosts of the past, and a dark sacrificial ritual, claim them both.

the night pool by lauren lee smith

In the Gold Rush town of Coloma, California, three women from very different worlds are drawn together after witnessing something terrible lurking in the Night Pool. As mining men are brutally murdered one by one and violence threatens to consume the town, Clara, Mei, and Haloke must set aside their differences and join forces against the monsters and men endangering their lives.

The sunken, the adored by Donyae Coles

When Mercy arrives in 1700 Venice as the sole survivor of a slave ship, she carries little more than a letter, a mysterious camera, and a desperate need to build a new life. Her path leads her to an anatomist, a decadent aristocratic household, and an unexpected career photographing the dead, giving her a taste of freedom and a new circle of friends. But something dark and hungry has followed her across the sea and now stalks the canals of Venice, threatening everyone Mercy has come to care about.

So, which of these new horror releases will be joining your TBR?

Whatever you choose, I hope you find something perfectly horrifying to read this month. Just remember: if your new book starts whispering or asking you to open a mysterious door, maybe that's enough reading for the night.

Happy reading, and stay spooky!

Looking for more scary reads? Browse all of my horror book reviews.

13 Body Horror Books To Make Your Skin Crawl | Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:46:00 +0000

Few things are as terrifying as changing from the inside out.

Body horror is one of the most unsettling corners of the horror genre because it takes something familiar, our own bodies, and turns it into something frightening. These stories explore transformation, infection, mutation, obsession, and the terrifying possibility that the thing we trust most can become something we no longer recognize.

From grotesque physical changes to unsettling questions about identity and humanity, these thirteen books deliver nightmares that linger long after the final page.

Welcome to "Under the Skin" books for the Body Horror prompt in the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge: a year-round horror reading challenge designed to help readers discover every corner of the horror genre.

Looking for the best body horror books? Check out 13 disturbing horror novels featuring mutations, parasites, transformations, and terrifying changes to the human body.

This post is part of the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge, a year-round horror reading event featuring prompts inspired by monsters, subgenres, and spooky settings. Browse all of the prompts to discover your next terrifying read.

New to the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge? You can join in at any time and complete the prompts at your own pace.

What Is Body Horror?

Body horror is a subgenre of horror that explores the fear of the human body changing, breaking down, or transforming in disturbing ways.

These stories often feature:

Mutations and physical transformations
Parasites and infestations
Deadly viruses and infections
Medical experiments gone wrong
Disease and decay
Monstrous anatomy

13 BODY Horror Books for the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge

Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas

A miracle weight-loss drug promises a new body—because what could possibly go wrong?

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

A grave robber finds out that sometimes dead celebrities really do make comebacks.

youthjuice by E.K. Sathue

The secret to eternal youth is probably disgusting. This book confirms it.

wolfworm by t. kingfisher

The story blends classic Southern Gothic vibes with historical fiction and elements of folklore, oh, and botflies.

Afterbirth by Emma Cleary

Pregnancy is already body horror. This book asks: what if it got worse?

you weren't meant to be human by andrew joseph white

A deeply unsettling exploration of identity, transformation, and the possibility that “human” was never the right label to begin with.

Wife Shaped Bodies By Laura Cranehill

Fungal growths, forced conformity, and the horrifying realization that being a “good wife” may involve considerably more body horror than advertised.

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

One exhausted mom discovers that motherhood may be turning her into an actual animal.

Hazelthorn C.G. Drews

Gothic horror, unsettling transformations, and the creeping suspicion that everything is about to get significantly worse.

Itch! by Gemma Amor

It starts with an itch. Unfortunately, it does not end with simply scratching it.

Queen of Teeth by hailey piper

A woman grows teeth in places where teeth absolutely do not belong. Dentistry has officially entered its villain era.

Chlorine by Jade Song

Competitive swimming, mermaid obsession, and the desire to become something other than human.

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

A woman gets attacked by a mysterious creature and discovers that anger issues can be very literal.

Continue the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge

Finished your body horror read?

Keep the scares coming by exploring more prompts from the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge. From haunted houses and witches to ecohorror, gothic fiction, and creature features, the challenge is designed to help horror fans discover new books throughout the year.

Every prompt is another excuse to add terrifying books to your TBR—and another chance to find your next favorite horror novel.

You might also enjoy:

🧙 The Witching Hour — Witch horror featuring curses, covens, and dark magic.
🏰 Crumbling Castle — Gothic horror where haunted places hold terrifying secrets.
🌲 Grimm Dark — Fairy tale retellings that embrace the horror hidden in classic stories.
🌕 Howl at the Moon — Werewolf horror exploring the monster within.

This Month in Horror || The Best New Horror Books Coming July 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 03:12:00 +0000

July is here, which means longer days, warmer nights, and a whole new crop of horror books ready to ruin your sleep schedule. Whether you want ghosts, monsters, dark fantasy, weird fiction, folk horror, or a little bloodbath with your summer reading, there’s plenty to keep your TBR pile growing.

So grab your sunscreen, lock your doors, and let's take a look at the horror books coming your way in July.

July 7
Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

When fashion influencer and grave robber Poppy Stringer is tasked with retrieving the body of flamboyant rockstar and queer icon Eddie Michaels from the medical examiner’s office, things take a decidedly unexpected turn when the corpse wakes up.

From there? A blood-soaked trip through Palm Springs, supernatural chaos, and a whole lot of fabulousness.

Brokeula by Michael J. Seidlinger

James Sugre has lived for centuries, but he’s never been this broke. After bad investments, missed crypto trends, and spending most of his time in his coffin because he can’t afford to go out, this vampire is ready to try anything to escape capitalism. So naturally, he starts a business turning humans into vampires for cash. Immortality is forever. Unfortunately, so are the bills.

The Brides by Charlotte Cross

Before Dracula, there were the Brides. Told across two timelines through letters, diaries, and psychiatric reports, this gothic retelling puts the women at the center of literature’s most famous vampire story. As love, illness, nightmares, and a mysterious man in black draw four women toward Transylvania, one question hangs in the air: There were meant to be four.

The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley

Paris, 1869. A coven of vampires runs a theater, follows a strict no-killing-too-many-people policy, and has somehow managed to keep the immortal drama onstage. But with a witch, rival vampires, forbidden attraction, ominous visions, and revolution brewing in the streets, their carefully managed eternity is about to get very messy.

Caught in the In-Between by Alyson Hasson

Two friends. One Ouija board. One massive secret that threatens to tear everything apart.

Honestly, this is exactly why we should stop playing with Ouija boards. Yet somehow, we never learn, do we?

Fun Times at the Bloodbath by Jeff Strand

The most addictive video game ever made—and the only way to stop playing is to die. When Margo’s brother becomes one of the game’s victims, she sets out to expose the people behind it before the game launches nationwide. Unfortunately, Fun Times at the Bloodbath has other plans, and soon the entire country is playing. Game over? More like game over for everyone.

All Her Ghosts by Cynthia Prith

Persephone Green doesn’t have a heartbeat—but she does have something ancient and inhuman stirring where her heart should be. When she meets the equally strange Sebastian, ghosts begin swarming around them, flowers bloom from the dead, and the two are pulled into a cross-country conspiracy involving a deserted facility, government agents, and Persephone’s deeply inconvenient mother. A supernatural road trip, a love story, and a battle over the fate of the living and the dead? No heartbeat, no problem.

July 14

Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold

Three women. One cheating boyfriend. One remote, snow-covered cabin. When their revenge plan ends with their shared ex dead, the getaway turns into a locked-room murder mystery—with the killer trapped inside. As suspicion, secrets, and the freezing wilderness close in, the women must figure out whether one of them is a murderer… or if something much worse is waiting outside. Couples' retreat? More like a killer retreat.

Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist

After a violent incident at work, Tamsin escapes to a remote cottage for a fresh start. Unfortunately, her new home is actually semi-detached, and the unsettling woman on the other side of the wall seems to be hiding something. As strange disturbances begin in Tamsin’s house and locals share disturbing stories about the property, her paranoia starts to spiral. The perfect cottage getaway is just one thin wall away from becoming a nightmare.

Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith

A horror-movie-themed birthday party at a secluded mansion? What could possibly go wrong? When Tippi starts receiving threatening messages from her supposedly cross-country ex and her guests begin disappearing one by one, she realizes the killer may be closer than she thinks—and the secret she buried may be the reason everyone is in danger. The call is coming from inside the house.

The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager

A group of academics descends into sea caves to study an ancient Cult of the Leviathan. Then the entrance collapses, trapping them underground with strange artifacts, scattered bones, and an ancient trial they never agreed to take. One by one, they’ll be forced to confront their greatest sins. Atone or die.

White Rabbit by Abigail Rose-Marie

Eleven-year-old Penelope is already haunted by her father’s disappearance and her mother’s grief when she moves into a yellow house once owned by Sylvia Plath. Then Plath’s ghost begins to appear. As poetry, memory, and reality start to blur, Penelope must figure out whether she’s being haunted by a ghost—or by grief itself. Sometimes the house isn’t the only thing falling apart.

Fear Files: Hide and Seek by Christopher Edge

Nobody knows who created the Darkive—a mysterious database of firsthand accounts documenting ghosts, paranormal entities, and unexplained anomalies. When Adam and his best friend, Sol, stumble into a strange abandoned town during a disastrous camping trip, they’re forced to play a game of hide-and-seek. The rules are confusing, the town is empty, and something is definitely hiding with them. Ready or not, here it comes.

July 15

My Monsters Ain't like yours by r.j. Joseph

Monsters are personal—but they’re also universal. This collection explores the ways horror helps us examine monstrosity, from who gets labeled a monster to what those labels reveal about ourselves. Because while our monsters may look different, our nightmares have more in common than we think. My monsters aren’t like yours. They’re worse.

July 21

Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden

When Malcolm’s dying mother makes him promise to carry her body back to her birthplace in Maine, he expects a difficult journey—not a supernatural road trip through a world waking up to collect an old debt. As violence erupts aboard the train and ancient evils emerge from their hiding places, Malcolm and Violet must get Maggie home before everything buried comes looking for her.

Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf

Sixteen-year-old Harrow Lane travels to an island that shouldn’t exist to uncover the truth about her father’s death—and the curse he accidentally gave her at birth. Then the boat sinks, something in the darkness starts laughing, and Harrow discovers that the island has rules she doesn’t understand, creatures that don’t want her there, and absolutely no way to call for help. Add in emotions with human faces, a monster made of pure terror, and the possible end of the world, and you’ve got Inside Out in hell—with significantly worse coping mechanisms.

We Sent Them Down Singing by Libby Edwardson

Thirteen years after her mother vanished, Phinnie “Skinny” Caldwell is still haunted by nightmares of the last time she saw her alive. When the man responsible, Zell Dorsey, returns to their small West Virginia coal camp, Skinny is determined to uncover the truth. But behind Zell’s charming smile lurks something far older—and far more monstrous than the devil himself. Appalachian grief, dark secrets, and oil-slicked monsters? Pass the sweet tea.

The Winter Folk by Jen Julian

Moth knows the Winter Folk are dangerous. Her mother warned her. But when she’s broke, desperate, and offered a housekeeper’s contract at Deerhaven—a secret Appalachian lodge where every winter guest is something other than human—she signs anyway. Decades later, Moth returns to the place that banished her, haunted by memories of the antlered Mr. Oslin, the friends she left behind, and the obsession that may have cost her everything.

Funerals Are for the Living by Sami Ellis

After a car crash leaves Junie Daniels with a dead sister, fragmented memories, and a mother too checked-out to plan a funeral, the cheapest grave plot she can find is in a nearby town with a dark history and rumors of even darker magic. When strange things begin happening at the cemetery, Junie and her best friend Omari investigate, only to discover that Williamsville wants both Daniels sisters. And Junie will do anything to protect her sister—even if she’s already dead.

A Fate Worse Than Drowning by Sarah L. Hawthorn

A year ago, Elle made a deal with the devil to save her sister. Now she tends a lighthouse on a desolate island, luring ships to their destruction to pay the price. But when the devil demands more—and a mysterious woman washes ashore—Elle must choose between sacrificing another ship, breaking her sister’s heart, or losing her own soul. Turns out, the devil really does come with hidden fees.

July 28

A Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan

On a remote Irish island ruled by the church and haunted by old superstitions, eccentric painter Grizela Urquhart has spent forty years as an outsider. Then a young priest is found dead with a diabolical symbol carved into his chest, crows darken the skies, and demonic whispers begin invading Grizela’s mind. As the island descends into hysteria, Grizela must protect the four young girls under her care while confronting the dark secrets lurking beneath Beanna Dubh.

It's Under the Deck by Jacy Morris

Phil discovers something dying under his deck emitting a horrid stench. When he attempts to remove the corpse, strange things begin to happen, and Phil descends into a strange pit of insanity.

The Séance Garden by Juliet Blackwell

The Hook: Professor Harper Grae studies ghosts, witches, and the occult, but she absolutely does not believe in any of them. Then a cheesy ghost tour leads her to a real murder at a nearly two-hundred-year-old mansion, where she sees something she cannot explain. When Harper discovers another woman was murdered beneath the same cypress tree almost two centuries earlier, she begins to wonder if the Perles Mansion is truly haunted. Turns out, the best way to ruin a skeptic’s day is with a murder and a ghost.

Hail Holy Queens by Chris McGinley

It’s 1887, and the nuns of an isolated Berkshire convent have enough prayers, hard work, and homemade Italian amaro to keep them busy. Then a pack of monstrous Gulo descends from the mountains and attacks the convent. After killing one of the beasts, the sisters decide the best defense is a good offense and head into the snowy wilderness to hunt the rest.

Luckily, they have help from the mysterious Long Nun, a warrior-saint from France who claims to have killed werewolves and other vicious creatures. She teaches the sisters to embrace their darker instincts and unleash their inner savages. Nuns with crossbows, monsters in the snow, and a holy war fueled by amaro? Amen.

July 29

Ripped Up the Middle in Two by Viggy Parr Hampton

New mom Sadie is already struggling with the loss of her identity, autonomy, and sleep when a walk with her three-month-old daughter reveals a secret trail in the woods. At the end is a tiny door surrounded by tiny bones. The trail only appears when Sadie is alone, and something is waiting on the other side. Because apparently motherhood needed one more terrifying thing to worry about.

Calliope Street by Josh Hanson

Jack and Avery think they’ve found the perfect fixer-upper. The strange collage of pornographic clippings in the basement is weird, but probably just part of the house’s quirky charm. Then the house wakes up. Now the walls are bleeding, the house is alive, and it demands homage. Nothing says “dream home” like a sentient house with artistic ambitions and a taste for blood.

July 30

The Wetworks Miracle by Caleb Sierra

Humanity escaped a dying world through a mysterious gate, only to end up dependent on the Root, a strange plant that provides the food they need to survive. Then a bloody accident creates a new kind of person, and suddenly the Root has something to say. It wants to give humanity a miracle, even if that miracle means transforming their bodies in ways they never asked for. The Root is listening. The Root is whispering. And apparently, the Root has plans for your body.

The summer of 2026 is bringing a seriously eclectic lineup of horror. We have ghosts, witches, vampires, Ouija boards, haunted homes, folk horror, body horror, sea monsters, mysterious bones, and at least one thing hiding under a deck.

In other words: the horror TBR is thriving.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have several books to add to my list and absolutely no room left on my shelves.

Happy reading—and remember: if something under your deck says your name, you did not hear it.

Looking for more scary reads? Browse all of my horror book reviews.

Review || I Am The Monster Under Your Bed by Emily Zinnikas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:34:00 +0000

I Am The Monster Under Your Bed by Emily Zinnikas
Published September 15th 2026 by St. Martins Press

Something lives under Willa’s bed. As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read. Now thirty-two, Willa is a reclusive but successful painter until a bombshell news report exposes her identity as the controversial survivor of the unsolved Rapture Mystery Slayings, a small-town tragedy that splashed across headlines during her senior year of high school. Six teenagers died in the woods while Willa walked free, and everyone thinks she killed them.

When an old classmate calls about a funeral, Willa reluctantly travels to her sleepy hometown, where the possessed forest that stole her friends looms. The trees whistle for her attention, but she knows better than to listen. And the unexplained knocking from the shadows in the basement of her decaying childhood home is honestly the least of her problems.

As her past pulls her back to the place where she swore she’d never return, Willa is drawn toward the monster she left behind—and becoming the villain her hometown has always believed her to be.

Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews

This Month in Horror || The Best New Horror Books Coming August 2026

13 Body Horror Books To Make Your Skin Crawl | Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge

13 BODY Horror Books for the Scaredy Cat Reading Challenge

This Month in Horror || The Best New Horror Books Coming July 2026

Review || I Am The Monster Under Your Bed by Emily Zinnikas

I Am The Monster Under Your Bed by Emily Zinnikas Published September 15th 2026 by St. Martins Press

Feature Fiction || The Hematophages: Splatterings by Stephen Kozeniewski

Published March 16th 2026 by French Press Publishing

Review || Bone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen

Published May 26, 2026 by Poisoned Pen Press

Review || What Stalks The Deep by T. Kingfisher

Published September 30, 2025 by Tor Nightfire

Review || The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

Published July 22, 2025 by Tor Nightfire

Review || The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry

Published November 4, 2025 by Berkley

Review || Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

Published April 9, 2024 by Tor Nightfire

26 Horror Books for 2026

Review || Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel

Published February 4, 2025 by St. Martin's Griffin

Review || Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

Published March 24, 2026 by Tor Nightfire

Review || Ashes of August Manor by Blaine Daigle

Published June 10, 2025 by Wicked House Publishing

Cover Reveal | Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen

Review || Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley

Published September 2, 2025 by Poisoned Pen Press

Review || The Bone Drenched Woods by L.V. Russell

Published April 15, 2025 by Quill & Crow Publishing House

Feature Fiction || The Brood by Rebecca Baum

Published October 28, 2025 by Thomas & Mercer

Feature Fiction || A Grave Duet by Kasey Fallon and Melisa Peterson Lewis

Published October 1, 2025 by Falcon Lit

Feature Fiction || Cedar Mills by Dylan James

Published August 1, 2025 by Savage Realms Press

Review || What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier #2) by T. Kingfisher

Published February 13th 2024 by Tor Nightfire

Review || Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Published February 20, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Review || The Stolen Throne by Abigail Owen

Feature Fiction || Straw Girl by Brigid Barry

Published June 10, 2025 by Rowan Prose Publishing, LLC; Sapphire Imprint

Review || My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino

Published January 23, 2024 by Page Street Kids

I Am The Monster Under Your Bed by Emily Zinnikas
Published September 15th 2026 by St. Martins Press

Published June 10, 2025 by Rowan Prose Publishing, LLC;
Sapphire Imprint