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🎃 Reader beware, you may leave here with a love for horror and a full tbr 🦴

All Time Favorite Horror Books

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Ashly

ash.reads.horror

ash

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🎃 Reader beware, you may leave here with a love for horror and a full tbr 🦴

All Time Favorite Horror Books

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Hi all! I’ve been doing some planning and thinking this long weekend and I wanted to work on content ideas for my Bindery! I’ve finally got my tiers figured out and am eager to share ideas with you all!

Please see the info below to find out what tier interests you the most! And these perks are not final—I will definitely add more ideas in the future. Just know this is a starting ground!

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For my Free Members here are some of the perks you’ll have access to!

Monthly/yearly wraps up. You’ll get to see all the books I’ve read each month and my thoughts, along with a favorites of the year post!

Weekly themes. Every week I’ll post a theme/trope/subgenre of horror and provide some books for your reading pleasure!

Author Interviews. As long as the wonderful authors keep agreeing to Q&A’s I’ll happily keep giving you all insight into these wonderful author’s lives, thought processes, and more.

Film/show/game thoughts. Sometimes I dabble in things outside of horror fiction such as watching shows, movies, and games. I’ll use this space to update you all on what I’m watching/playing!

And all free members will still have access to our monthly bookclub.

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Now the perks for my Inner Sanctum.

Director’s Cut Reviews. A deeper look into my thoughts and reactions to the books I read. This will cover a much deeper review than I post on booksta.

Monthly curated guide. Each month I’ll post an overview of what I’m looking forward to most in the book/movie/gaming world. I’ll also post what I plan to read—please note I am a mood reader and can veer very far off course.

Cursed archives. A fun behind the scenes, monthly photo dump. Here you may see the photos that didn’t make it to insta. The cute mochi (my Pom pom) pictures. And more!

Horror shorts. Not sure how often this one may surface, but every now and then I may post a horror short. A short horror story written by me. I used to dabble in writing awhile back and every now and then some ideas hit. This will be a fun place to post them.

Puzzles and templates. I’ll try to make fun crossword puzzles/word searches and send them your way. Along with monthly reading templates for you insta stories.

Reading vlog. I’ll film some exclusive reading vlogs and post them for my inner sanctum to see!

Yearly reading challenge. Inner sanctum members will gain access to an exclusive reading challenge to complete over the year!

Please comment any other perk suggestions down low! I’ll be sure to add more.

Bindery Update: Tiers and Perks


Nov 29, 2025

As Bindery members, you get early access to horror books to be on the look out for this upcoming month! February has a ton of amazing titles! These are the ones I’m most excited for.

See the full list here 👉🏻 Bookshop

Ps. Please stay warm and safe this weekend to all who are affected by Winter Storm Fern ❄️ I’m supposed to get hit with some type of wintery weather—the jury is still out on what’s to come.

My most anticipated books releasing in Feb ❄️

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glen

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Ten years ago, Lila Devlin was an A-list actress with a movie star husband and a beautiful baby girl, Josie. When Josie was kidnapped out of her home and never seen again, Lila’s previously pristine public image twisted into that of an Unfit Mother. Driven mad by the hungry press, incompetent cops, and relentless true crime–obsessed “fans,” she disappeared into anonymity. 

Now, Lila Devlin returns to LA with a grand vision for a radical new skincare brand to reinvent herself and honor Josie’s legacy. She's prepared to move into the next chapter of her life with forgiveness in her heart, when an encounter with a parasitic blogger ends with him dead. Lila suddenly discovers forgiveness isn’t nearly as satisfying as a body hitting the floor.

With the help of her devoted publicist Sylvie, Lila begins a relentless, blood-soaked hunt through LA. Giving her skincare the edge it needs, they introduce a secret ingredient—revenge-sourced—from the bodies piling up. But as the company’s success skyrockets and Lila begins unraveling the truth behind her daughter’s kidnapping, her murderous side hustle threatens the life she’s painstakingly rebuilt.

Greedy by Callie Kazumi

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They will kill me soon, Edward Cook thinks. And when the Yakuza are unable to collect what he owes, Ed realizes, theyʼll go after his wife and child next. Broke, desperate, and unemployed, he stumbles upon an unusual ad: Chef wanted! Private chef for a high-profile businesswoman. One million yen per day.

Ed accepts the job. He hasnʼt earned any Michelin stars, but he knows his way around a kitchen. Leaving his life in Tokyo behind, he departs for an opulent estate in the mountains owned by the enigmatic and reclusive Hazeline Yamamoto, a disgraced socialite with a predatorʼs smile and an exacting palate. Hazelineʼs world is one of taste, connoisseurship, and experimentation—she is a certified gourmand. But when you can afford filet mignon for every meal, you begin to seek out the strange and forbidden.

The closer Ed gets to Hazeline and the brighter future that she promises—if he remains loyal—the nearer he is to realizing the chilling truth about her altruism. In this shadow world of unimaginable wealth, there are worse monsters than two-bit gangsters. The wind blowing through Hazeline’s home carries the sound of screaming, and Ed finds himself feeding all kinds of beasts.

Mama Came Callin by Ezra Claytan Daniels

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A gripping graphic horror novel set in the Florida bayou, following a young biracial woman as she uncovers her estranged father’s role in a grisly hate crime. 

Kirah was born from an improbable interracial relationship that, in central Florida’s infamous Asurupa County, defied all the odds. But her idyllic childhood was shattered by an urban legend come to life. The “Gatorman” was a nightmare on the lips of kids and grown-ups alike all the way back to Jim Crow: a monster with the body of a man, the head of an alligator—and a taste for Black children. That’s who crawled into Kirah’s window when Kirah was just five years old. According to the police, it was Kirah’s own father who put on that gator mask and tried to kill her.

Twenty years later, Kirah works hard to build a life unburdened by the traumatic events of her childhood. Just when it seems like she’s managed to find her stride, her dad, fresh out of prison, crashes back into her world with a chilling message: “He’s coming for you.”

Finally forced to face the hideous family history she’s been avoiding, Kirah sets off to discover where, and who, she truly came from. And the more she learns, the more disturbing the whole picture becomes. Turns out there’s a lot more to the Gatorman than Kirah thought, and even worse: he isn’t through with her just yet.

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell

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Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband Wilfred and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their own happy home together: born a merchant’s daughter, she will now be lady of the manor.

But their new home quickly proves far from ideal. The garden is a wilderness, the estate is struggling financially, there are whispers about the mysterious death of a servant many years before while their young son, Freddy, seems unusually fixated on the strange wooden figures – so-called ''silent companions'' – that were once owned by his ancestors.

When Wilfred''s charismatic brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, bringing a very different account of the family’s past, Belinda begins to question what her husband has told her. What really lies behind the sad history of the house?

And are Belinda’s children truly safe here?

Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer

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When Camille Deming isn’t cooking, cleaning, or homesteading in her picture-perfect country farmhouse, she’s posting about her tradwife lifestyle for her online followers. She takes inspiration from other tradwives on social media, aspiring to be like them, but Camille’s missing a key component: a baby. And contrary to what she posts online, things with her husband, Graham, have been strained. Pressured by her eager followers, Camille fears that without a baby, her relationship will suffer and her social media will never grow out of its infancy.

When Camille discovers a mysterious, decrepit well in the wheatfield behind her house, she makes a wish for a baby. Afterward, she has unsettling experiences that she convinces herself are angelic in nature, and when she’s visited one night by a strange creature, her wish comes true.

Camille’s pregnancy announcement gets more engagement than anything she’s ever posted—so what if Graham’s reaction is lukewarm? Camille’s life is finally falling into place. Never mind that her pregnancy is developing freakishly rapidly and she’s suddenly craving raw meat. Being a traditional wife is worth it.

The Ravine by Maia Chance

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Harlow has almost everything she ever wanted: a passionate marriage, an adorable stepson, and a fresh start at her husband Gregor’s boyhood home on the water. If only she could get pregnant, her happiness would be complete.

But soon after they arrive on the misty, tree-cloaked island, Gregor starts to change—and Harlow is shaken by his odd connection to their neighbor Kirsten, a luminous tradwife influencer.

Then, deep in a wooded ravine, Harlow finds evidence of an unspeakable murder—or thinks she does. Desperate to know what’s real and what’s only in her mind, she tracks down rumors of missing girls and bloody rituals, and begins to suspect that her marriage, too, hides a menace she never saw coming.

Each day the feeling grows: the safest thing she can do is run. But from what, Harlow can’t even begin to imagine.

Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward

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Riley and her brother Oliver set off in the pitch-black night, fleeing their troubled home. They are heading for Nowhere―an abandoned ranch, once the playground of its former eccentric movie-star owner, now a haven for runaways.

What awaits could be the freedom they crave.

But this mysterious clan guards dark secrets, and the scorched grounds hold the ghosts of the past. Riley quickly realizes that while she and Oliver may have escaped the devil they knew, something darker lurks in the burnt shell of Nowhere.

Something which asks a terrible price for sanctuary…

What book are you looking forward to this February?

February Horror Books To Look Out For 👀


7 titles featured

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Are zombies coming back?

For me personally, they never left. Zombies in media have definitely played a huge factor in my horror journey. Train to Busan, Resident Evil, The Walking Dead, and more are all media that I've loved.

In honor of the release of This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers, I wanted to dive deeper into a few zombie novels that I have either loved or are high on my tbr.

This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers-(currently reading)-Pitched as The Breakfast Club meets 28 Days Later, the book follows a group of teens that barricade themselves in a highschool during the zombie apocalypse. Warning, this one does dive into some heavy themes such as abuse and thoughts of suicide.

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey (read)--This one follows a world plagued by a fungal zombie apocalypse. It involves a teacher, a young girl, and the military in a journey for a cure.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (read)--In an alternate history, black girls are forced to attend a school to become "attendants" who protect white society from the undead. This book tackles racism and classicism.

One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford (tbr)--This one is a post apocalyptic novel that follows a scientist who hides her undead husband in hopes for a cure.

And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin (read)--Not a typical zombie novel. This is an apocalyptic novel that focuses on a hallucinatory virus that leads you to see everyone around you as monsters.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead (tbr)--This one follows a group of people clearing out underground manhattan of zombies and rebuilding civilization.

World War Z by Max Brooks (tbr)--A history of the zombie apocalypse told as a post war historical document.

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay (tbr)--A tense novel following a rabies-like virus. It focuses on a pediatrician who races to help her friend who is eight months pregnant and has been bitten by an infected. She must get the vaccine quick if she wants to save both her self and her unborn baby.

Agnes At The End Of The World by Kelly McWilliams (read)-- A young girl escapes a fundamentalist cult only to get throw into a pandemic in the outside world.

What’s your favorite zombie novel/movie?

Zombie Books to Devour


9 titles featured

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It’s time for another DIRECTOR’S CUT REVIEW. Today I’m talking about The Caretaker!

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Book: The Caretaker

Author: Marcus Kliewer

Page Count: 320

Genre: Horror

Subgenre: Grief, Rituals, Anomalies, End of the world

Series: No

Setting: Michigan

Other Works by This Author: We Used To Live Here

Comps: Observation Duty (game) meets Lock Every Door

My Rating: ✨✨✨✨✨

Release Date: 4/21/26

Quick Summary: A woman strapped for money takes a house sitting job that promises to pay well. However, the duties she must perform have a lot riding on them. If she does not follow the rites correctly, something sinister may be unleashed.

My Thoughts: Kliewer does it again 🙌🏻 This author truly knows how suck a reader in and get them to stay until the very last page. The tension in this book had me on the edge of my seat. There were so many scenes where I wanted to jump in and make Macy focus on the task at hand.

Speaking of Macy, let’s talk about her character. She’s had a hard time ever since her dad’s accident. She’s been taking care of her sister who has some issues but is a good kid overall. I really liked Macy. Don’t get me wrong, she drove me crazy sometimes. Like I needed her to finish the darn rites. But she had a very strong voice and I loved how much she cared for her sister.

Just like We Used To Live Here, this book delivers on scares. There were several scenes that had me spooked. You can’t trust anyone in this book. I loved that this book reminded me of Observation Duty. It actually has a similar premise to a short story I’m writing for an anthology this year, and was a great inspiration! My story will also focus on a woman getting trapped in a dangerous job while caring for a loved one. But that’s where the similarities will end!

If this one was not on your radar I highly recommend adding it! It relaxes 4/21/26. You all get an early access to my thoughts on this book! My goodreads and insta thoughts will come closer to the pub date per request of the publisher!

DIRECTOR’S CUT REVIEW—The Caretaker


3 titles featured

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I kicked off this year reading the fantastic Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegel Spratford.

You can find my review HERE, but I wanted to take this space to dive a little further on my own personal Horror journey.

I'm often asked "What's the scariest book you've ever read?" And this is a very valid question. But it's also a loaded question as well, because what is scary to me may not be scary to you. This is because horror is subjective.

What scares me? I think what gets under my skin the most is bleak horror. When there's no hope. One book that does this well is The Ruins by Scott Smith. It's a survival horror about four friends that take a vacation to Mexico and wind up getting stuck in some ancient ruins. One by one the characters are picked off, with hope dwindling with each life lost. While the characters annoyed me in this book, the hopelessness really got to me.

Where did my love for Horror start? Let's take a journey into the past. As stated in my Instagram post, watching my dad play Resident Evil One really stuck with me as a kid. The scene with the giant snake truly traumatized little me. Looking back on it now, it makes me laugh. Everything was so cringy. The graphics weren't great and the dialogue was corny. But its a classic for a reason and I still love it dearly. "You were almost a Jill Sandwich!"

Another instance was when I was flipping through the channels, looking for something to watch. Stephen King's IT was on television. My young, innocent mind believed that someone would truly make a movie involving kids playing Tag Your It...So you best believe I was in shock when I see a clown holding balloons, inviting children to float. Then blood spewing out of the sink all over Beverly's bathroom. You best believe I hit the guide button on that TV remote and figured out that it was rated R. I ran to my room in terror as my mom laughed at me. And yes Child's Play did the same thing to me too. Who knew a movie involving a doll was actually a slasher in disguise.

So what made me stop being such a scaredy cat? Honestly, I think playing Resident Evil 4 made me start appreciating horror more. I slowly started building myself up, until I could handle movies like Sinister (WHICH PHEW terrified me a lot). Final Destination also terrified me. To think that near death experiences had become a death sentence had me on the edge of my seat. And death definitely gets creative when taking back what it's owed.

I love chasing that rush I feel when watching something scary. I love looking in the background for something subtly creepy (i.e. Haunting of Hill House ghosts in the background). I feeling my heart race as I wait for the jump-scare to pop up on the screen, or the fake out to cue the scare when I least expect it.

So what books got me into reading horror?

Well of course Stephen King kick started me. Now you may think I'm going to mention The Shining. While that is a FANTASTIC book of his and an all time favorite, Misery was one of my first and favorite works.

When I joined bookstagram, my world was opened to all kinds of horror novels. I never knew so many horror books/authors existed.

Some of the wonderful books I've discovered and will forever recommend are as follows:

Come Closer by Sara Gran

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Below by Laurel Hightower

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

Mary by Nat Cassidy

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

Bat Eater and Other Names by Cora Zeng

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Slewfoot by Brom

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

Eynhallow by Tim McGregor

...and so many more books!

I love that Horror has a little bit of something for everyone.

Love Romance? How about a gothic horror with a dash of romance on the side?

Love Thrillers? So many horror books toe the line of thrillers.

Love History? There are so many historical horrors out there to try out.

Your favorite genre has a place in horror. There is a horror book out there for everyone! Want a rec to get you kickstarted? As for a rec on my profile page.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk lol.

Why I Love Horror


15 titles featured

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🐺 🌕 Werewolf horror for your wolf moon 🌕 🐺 Ahh, look up at the sky. See that beautiful full mo

🐺 🌕 Werewolf horror for your wolf moon 🌕 🐺 Ahh, look up at the sky. See that beautiful full moon? 🌕 Are you craving for a book that has you howling for more? These books all feature werewolves of dog like transformations. 🌕 The Hounding 🌕 Howl 🌕 No One Lives In Alva Anymore 🌕Such Sharp Teeth 🌕Mongrels 🌕Cycle of The Werewolf 🌕Good Dogs 🌕The Wehr Wolf 🌕Those Across The River 🌕Grey Dog 🌕When The Wolf Comes Home #fullwolfmoon #horrorbooks #werewolfhorrorbooks


11 titles featured

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✨January 2026 Horror Book Releases ✨

It’s time to kick off the new year right with some new horror
✨January 2026 Horror Book Releases ✨ It’s time to kick off the new year right with some new horror

✨January 2026 Horror Book Releases ✨ It’s time to kick off the new year right with some new horror books coming out this January. A full list can be found below and also in my bookshop.org shop! 🎊Books featured 🎊 The Bloody Brick Road- Maude Royer Solomon Kane: Suffer the Witch by Shaun Hamill The Wind Witch Murders by Casey Dunn I, in the Shadows by Tori Bovalino Pig Wife by Abbey Luck The Truth of Carcosa by Jacob Rollinson A Box Full Of Darkness by Simmone St James Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph Eminence Front by Rebecca Rowland Hemlock by Melissa Faliveno Night Terror by Vincent Ralph Ballad of the Bone Road by A.C. Wise Funeral Song by Carly Racklin Humboldt Cut by Allison Mick I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200 by Robert Brockway On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Schofield This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi A Veritable Household Pet by Viggy Parr Hampton Happy Reading! #horrorbooks #2026horrorbooks


19 titles featured

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