A Literary Apothecary

I think this is the most books I’ve added to my TBR since I started writing these articles! September looks like it’s going to be a very interesting month. Some authors I really enjoy are releasing books, so I’ve got an especially close eye on those. I imagine that as we ramp up toward Halloween, I’ll be adding more and more books to get into the spooky spirit.

Let’s get into the ten books I’m adding to my TBR this month!

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An Immaculate Deception

Synopsis

1877, Pernambuco, Brazil: Raised in a deeply religious household, Madalena knows Dante’s Inferno by heart and fears her mother’s reaction as much as she fears God. When she falls pregnant with a child conceived in sin, her mother issues a threat: marry or surrender the baby. Madalena is confident that the father, the dashing Leandro Neves, will do right by her and propose. But just as she is about to tell him about the baby, a violent storm sends their carriage careening off the road.

Madalena awakens in Leandro’s sprawling, secluded home, under the care of the mysterious and larger-than-life Doctor Lobo. Leandro is there . . . but he is no longer the charming poet she knew. He’s silent. Obsessed. Always watching.

Strange perfume haunts a locked room. Pages vanish from books. Jewels lie untouched in a forgotten wardrobe. And mirrors begin disappearing after Madalena sees something—or someone—ghastly in the reflection.

Leandro is unraveling. Doctor Lobo may be hiding something even darker. Trapped in a decaying house of secrets, Madalena must uncover the truth before the men around her destroy her, and before the hell she fears becomes the one she’s living in.

Why am I Interested?

I think it’s undeniable at this point that I have a bit of a special interest in pregnancy horror or horror based around the idea of being a mother. I am not a mother, and I don’t plan on becoming one anytime soon. I do find the themes that these books explore fascinating. This book especially interests me as a historical horror because there were even fewer options for pregnant women to flee unsafe scenarios. It drastically increases the tension before the book even begins.

I’m also quite interested in the setting. I don’t know anything at all about 1870s Brazil, and I’m excited to learn more about it. I’m also intrigued by the mysterious Dr. Lobo. Is he actually a doctor? Maybe he’s a kind of creature or ghost in disguise. Based on the description and the time period, I think it’s likely that there will also be some religious theming, which I always enjoy, especially in regard to the concept of sin. The dueling expectations for a woman to become pregnant, but not become pregnant in the “wrong” way, is ripe for exploration.

Precious Children

Synopsis

Dina Blake’s fourteen-year-old son, Geoff, has just died for the second time. But everything will be okay. The Blake family’s wealth has bought them thousands of clones of each of their children. These children are farmed out to loving families, but with the caveat that the bodies are always available to the Blakes.

After Geoff dies, the Blakes upload their son’s memories into Nathan, who is an unwilling host, desperate to stay with the family who loved him.

Dina’s younger daughter, Di, is terrified because she knows something her parents don’t—the memory transfer doesn’t always go as planned. The Geoff who’s been living with them since his first death isn’t the person her mother thinks he is, and the families of the bodies the Blakes steal aren’t all innocent.

When Geoff returns to life in Nathan’s body, he has to contend with Nathan’s frustrating desire to live and his unexpected ability to fight for his life. For some children to live, others must die. Dina must decide how far she’ll go to protect her children, and Geoff must find out if, and who, he’s willing to kill.

Why am I Interested?

As we well know at this point, rich people being terrible and getting their comeuppance is a particular favorite of mine across genres. I see it most often in “social climber” thrillers, and I eat it up every time. Conceptually, I really like what Precious Children is putting forth. The idea that the rich can take everything from the poor, including their own children, to continue their legacies is excellent. I can’t wait to see how these themes are explored.

I have some concerns, though. Firstly, even just reading the description is a bit confusing. The mother is named Diana and the daughter is named Di, which I could see becoming very confusing. The other element that has the potential to be difficult is the differentiation between Nathan, the body, and Geoff, the mind. This book is also quite short, coming in at only 190 or so pages. With a concept this thematically rich, that does make me a bit concerned about the depth to which this topic will be explored. The idea as well that the bodies are where the “evil” lies could also present some negative ideas about the poor “infecting” the rich.

I’m very interested to see how all of this is handled, and I can’t wait to explore it.

Kiss Slay Replay

Synopsis

It’s the picture-perfect wedding The venue is dreamy, the weather is beautiful, love is in the air—and Willa Sullivan is having a bad time. She’s excited to celebrate her best friends finally having the big wedding they’ve always wanted, but this is the first time she’s seen her ex-fiancé in months, and he brought a date. Everything feels off, like she stumbled into an alternate universe. But things start to look up when Willa meets Danny, the groom’s charming and single childhood best friend. When they sneak off together, their rendezvous is interrupted by a masked killer terrorizing the reception. Willa and Danny fight to save the ones they love and survive the night, but the killer is unrelenting. A final girl, Willa is not.

Or is she? She wakes up and it’s the morning of the wedding. She just had the most intense nightmare of her life. Only as the day unfolds, there are some uncanny coincidences that make her question whether it was really a dream, déjà vu, or something more sinister. After a horrifying turn of events, Willa comes to understand that she’s stuck in a loop of carnage and terror that she must learn how to escape or else suffer a fate worse than death—being an eternal wedding guest.

Why am I Interested?

I feel like this particular book might have been made in a lab that perfectly tailored it to my tastes. It was made for me! I love stories about weddings. They’re always so messy, dramatic, and awkward, which makes for excellent interpersonal drama. Add to that a bloody killer? Even better. And then, add to that a time loop? I can’t overstate how excited I am for that kind of story. I absolutely adored Groundhog Day when I was young. I’ve watched that movie literally hundreds of times. This premise also strongly reminds me of Happy Death Day, with the Babyface Killer. That movie was a blast.

I also tend to like Rachel Harrison’s books! I’ve read quite a few at this point: Black Sheep, Such Sharp Teeth, So Thirsty, and Play Nice. I’ve rated them quite highly, except for Play Nice, which ended up being a bit of a disappointment. This book is also categorized as a horror romance. It’s unsurprising considering that most of Harrison’s books include a budding romance of some kind, but I didn’t really care for it in Play Nice. Hopefully, it’s more like the romance in Such Sharp Teeth. I also have my reservations about the time loop. It’s something that can become boring very quickly if too many details remain the same, but I have enough faith in Harrison to get this right.

SO excited to read this one!

Driven

Synopsis

Jamie Newcross wants to disappear. His wife and baby girl have abandoned him, and his only wish is to retreat from society. Because, as it turns out, Jamie Newcross is also being haunted. Every house, condo, or apartment he moves into is plagued with ghosts—at the end of the bed or when pulling back the shower curtain. He hasn’t been able to sleep in weeks. 

But Jamie has a plan. He posts queries online and finds someone wanting to get rid of their Lion—the world’s most advanced self-driving car—a sleek, private, contained vessel that is one-hundred percent safe. Or so he thought.  

Because now, Jamie has woken up to the Lion speeding down a dark road, the hood is dented—wait, is that blood?—and the car will not respond, or stop, or let him out.  

As the miles rack up and Jamie becomes increasingly complicit in his car’s choices, he’s forced to face the tragic past he has kept buried. Driven is a taut, near-future fever-dream. Mason Coile delivers another one-sitting read that blends science fiction and psychological horror to explore loneliness, grief, and the things that make us human.

Why am I Interested?

Something about this premise is so silly and so fun. I’ve seen another semi-recent thriller book with a similar premise. I believe it’s called The Passengers? Horror is one of my favorite genres partially because it responds to the world around us changing. People have a reasonable fear of autonomous vehicles, and so horror allows us to explore those fears. I, personally, hate our current iteration of self-driving cars. My belief is that we should be developing better trains and trams instead of leaning further into the individualism of the car.

I’m very curious to find out why James is being haunted. On my first read of the synopsis, I thought he had run someone over; and while I think that might still be true for the previous owner of the car, the description seems to suggest that he’s being haunted by multiple ghosts. It could definitely still be a car crash scenario, but I’m not quite as sure. I’m also intrigued by this being called a “locked-room mystery.” I’m not certain they’re using that term correctly in the marketing, but maybe I’m wrong! I love that kind of story because the kill always has to be creative and well-thought-out. Always a good time.

Pictures of You

Synopsis

After a magical night out on the town with her boyfriend Jack, Emily wakes alone in a huge bed in a beautiful, well-lit room. But the pink ceiling, the mauve walls, and the deep, dark corners are nothing like the hotel she and Jack rented.

More worrisome yet: Emily has no memory of this place from the night before. A woman’s voice directs her to remain in bed. And beyond the end of the bed, a picture frame upon an easel—a frame with no canvas, no painting, no art.

Only . . . there is the silhouette of a person Emily does not recognize. A person emanating demand, danger, evil. And the way the woman talks . . . and the things she says . . . She’s acting as if Emily herself is the painting. The still life. The art.

Emily is as scared as she is confused. But it’s immediately clear Jack’s life is on the line with her own. And if she attempts to escape the bed and the wood frame of this nightmare masterwork, neither will survive the experience.

Emily is fierce, independent, brilliant, but to get out of this, she’ll have to think like an artist herself.

The clock is ticking. For Emily. For Jack. For being forever trapped.

Why am I Interested?

This one caught my eye because the content creators and comments I’m seeing on BookTok are extremely polarized about Incidents Around the House. Some people love it and some people absolutely hate it. Maybe I should be intrigued by that book instead, but I might as well start with a new release instead. I will say that right off the bat I hate the way this description is written, so if that’s any indication of the writing style of the novel, I will not be having a good time. Still! I’m curious enough to endure a bit of reading pain.

I, of course, am always interested in stories about artists, and this one sounds particularly deranged. An experiment where an artist locks a woman in a room she doesn’t recognize or remember… why? To study her? Make her his muse? I’m too interested to not find out. I also like the dreamlike nature of the atmosphere so far. It could be pushed into some fun, surrealist territory, which I would enjoy. We’ll see what Malerman camp I end up in at the end of it.

A Thousand Monstrous Forms

Synopsis

Artist Poppy Reed doesn’t care if others think her marriage to Celia Marie Fox, a wealthy art dealer, is impulsive. Sure, they’ve only known each other for six months, and Celia has an infamous romantic reputation, but Poppy is brimming with excitement when she moves across the country to Celia’s a formidable, isolated, and art-filled manor called Busirane.

As Poppy tries to celebrate her first weeks of marriage and enjoy her new home, Busirane seems intent on rebuffing her every attempt to settle in. Strange noises and confounding occurrences lead Poppy to believe the house is haunted, a suspicion worsened by Celia’s insistence that Poppy avoid the locked basement.

When Celia leaves for a work trip, Poppy is left alone in the house, then finds herself snowed in. Surrounded by secrets, stalked by faceless statues, and beset by bodiless whispers, she struggles to trust her wife—and her own mind. When Poppy is eventually drawn to the forbidden basement, dark truths shatter everything she thought she knew, throwing her into a desperate bid for survival.

Why am I Interested?

I just recently posted a review of Saratoga Shaefer’s Trad Wife, and I quite enjoyed that book. When I saw that she was releasing another novel this month, of course I was interested, especially considering it’s about another artist. I believe she’s a ceramic artist, which isn’t my area of expertise, but I’ve always been interested in sculptural disciplines.

This is also a fairytale retelling, Bluebeard, I believe. It’s not a story I’m intimately familiar with, though I think I know some details. The ghosts of dead wives… that’s his thing, right? Regardless, I typically enjoy the atmosphere that comes along with a fairytale retelling, and this one is steeped in winter vibes. I might have to get my hands on this in December for a cold, spooky read. The house sounds gorgeous and gothic, too. This is also a Sapphic retelling, which I always enjoy. Sounds like the perfect read for a dark, snowy night.

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Check out my review of Trad Wife here!

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Something of a Calling

Synopsis

Detective Andy Cooper is about to retire. She isn’t sure what’s next … perhaps traveling in the RV she has yet to buy, with a dog she doesn’t currently own. Perhaps gardening near the ever-shrinking patch of woods behind her house—once the cable company’s backhoe is removed.

She’ll need to do something, if only to distract herself from how empty her life has become. After the murder of her young daughter by a drunk driver. After the divorce. After the realization that all she has is her job and that she’s about to lose that, too.

Everything changes when bodies begin to turn up. Murdered, but how? Not by knife, gun, or any obvious weapon. teeth marks. Chunks missing. Like they’d been chewed on. And not by humans.

As she’s struggling to solve her final case, an unexpected new friendship seems like just what Andy needs. Where she is detached from life, Fiona embraces it. Where she is a homebody, Fiona roams. Yet the women are drawn together by a shared love of nature and wildlife. Until Andy learns the dark truth behind Fiona’s smile. A secret that threatens to unravel the world as she knows it.

Why am I Interested?

I initially had no interest in this book at all. I typically don’t like to read about cops. Sometimes, if the rest of the premise is unique enough, I’ll overlook the protagonist to dive in. I just think that having a cop as your protagonist is doing a horror or thriller book on easy mode. They already have a weapon, they often have access to databases that allow them to investigate, and they have built-in credibility, whether that’s deserved or not (I think not).

However, the cover of this book is incredibly stunning. I hate to be so shallow, but I can’t resist it. I think this is a beautiful cover, and I desperately need it for my mini bookshelf. If I can make a prediction based on the synopsis, I think that we’re doing werewolves, and I think that Fiona is a werewolf. We’ll see how correct I am in my assumptions, but just based on the blurb, I feel like I’ve read this book several times before.

The Need

Synopsis

THE NEED is a rare genetic disorder. Those who have it must consume human flesh, or die. For some The Need is power. For others it is a curse.

Talia’s been on the run with her two teenagers since the kids were babies, changing names and identities every time someone gets close to discovering her family’s tragic secret. Sam is her son, tormented by The Need, unable to stop giving in to his darkest desires, much to his mother’s chagrin. While Rosie, his twin sister,  who’s escaped her mom and brother’s genetic curse, is desperate for a life of normalcy— like a Tik Tok account, Homecoming or a kiss with her mysterious new friend Naomi. But her brother keeps eating people and frankly, it’s ruining her life. 

Vera, a former supermodel and member of New York City’s elite Armstrong family, lives a life of luxury, haute couture and eating people. Yes, unlike Talia, the Armstrongs secretly pride themselves on their genetic abnormality. But beneath Vera’s opulent lifestyle is a woman who’s ruthlessly haunted by a mistake from her past. It’s corrupted her standing with the Armstrongs, ruined her relationship with her kids and is slowly unraveling her sanity. Vera will do whatever it takes to correct it.

On the surface, these two families have nothing in common. But Talia is harboring a secret from the twins—one that will bring them crashing into the Armstrongs. And when the truth comes out, no one will ever be the same.

Why am I Interested?

I thought it was interesting to see this and Precious Children releasing in the same month! Both are stories about how the rich exploit the lower classes, in this case literally consuming them. It reminds me of the way vampires were thematically portrayed back when Dracula was first written: wealthy aristocrats that were a literal drain on society.

I like that it seems that the story is being told from two perspectives, working class and wealthy, because it creates the opportunity to explore these concepts in more depth. I’m not sure how I feel about “the Need” being genetic because it does muddy the metaphor a bit. You can’t be genetically rich, though you can be born into wealth. With the vampire metaphor, if they don’t feed on the poor they will die, but symbolically that death is the death of wealth, not necessarily the death of a person. What does the Need symbolize in the poor? I would love to find out.

Also this concept reminds me quite strongly of Bones and All, which was quite a good movie. Some people are genetically “eaters” and feel the need to consume others. It’s interesting to see a similar comp in a book like this.

Incarnate

Synopsis

Beauty doesn’t fade. It feeds.

Dorothy Wagner has spent her whole life wanting nothing more than to be seen. But after failing to make her mark (any mark, really) as an influencer, she takes a job at a company focused on cutting-edge deepfake technology. And there, in secret, is where she creates her salvation.

Isabella. An impossibly gorgeous girl who takes social media by storm. Dorothy’s code is brilliant, and Isabella seems real. So real that she garners millions of followers. Brands beg to partner with her. Everyone wants to meet her IRL. The adoration—and the cash—flows in. Dorothy is finally happy. She’s getting all the attention she ever wanted—isn’t she?

Then the cracks begin to show. Dorothy can barely stay ahead of the partnership requests, and love letters and the rabid fans filling her DMs trying to track Isabella down. All this time working in secret with all this pressure is getting to Dorothy—she can’t tell where she ends, and her creation begins. And when someone gets a little too close to her secret, a violent confrontation sends Dorothy on the run, forcing her to confront what she’s willing to sacrifice to keep her secrets.

A modern reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Alma Katsu’s Incarnate is an illuminating, haunting tale of algorithmic worship and beauty that can kill.

Why am I Interested?

I’ve been meaning to read The Picture of Dorian Gray for so long, but I’ve been putting it off because I know for a fact that I’m going to want to make some artwork related to it. I just haven’t had a moment to spare for the past few months! However, I am extremely interested in the concept. I think I have The Dorians on my TBR as well. This particular novel seems to vaguely fit into the beauty horror genre that I love so deeply. I’m also someone who is chronically on social media. Promotion through socials and posting online is actually my full-time job, so I feel like I can understand the stress and desperation that comes along with it.

This also has a dash of what I mentioned earlier in my section on Driven. Deepfake technology is scary! Especially with the rise of “AI” that makes it so much easier to change our perception of reality. AI influencers are rising in popularity, and they’re always stunningly gorgeous, thin, and feminine. It’s a reinforcement of our existing beauty standards, and it’s also terrifying. I love to see a book taking that concept and running with it. I hope that it explores this topic as comprehensively as I want to read!

Trad Wife

Synopsis

Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the “trad wife” queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of from-scratch meals and pastoral bliss, she’s an icon of modern femininity. But behind every perfect image is a secret. And in this case, the secret is a horror.

Desperate to save her tarnished career, journalist Jenny Kaplan arrives at Black Swan Farm to profile Mia. Jenny is ready to write a scathing exposé, determined to expose the deception behind Mia’s curated life. But soon, Jenny has more to contend with than staged videos and picture-perfect poses. There’s something wrong at the farmhouse. Something slithers through Jenny’s dreams, and at night, the children sing strange nursery rhymes.

She’s losing time. She’s losing her hair. She starts to worry that she’s losing her mind.

There is a horror at the heart of Black Swan, and it’s waiting just for Jenny. Trad Wife will make you question what’s real and what’s just a perfectly curated deception…

Why am I Interested?

How often do you get an opportunity to read two books with the exact same title? That alone has me interested enough to pick this novel up. I’m not as initially gripped by this synopsis as I was with Schaefer’s Trad Wife, and if I hadn’t already read that one, I likely wouldn’t be picking this one up. I just have an unshakable urge to compare and contrast these two novels’ themes and execution! Though, I will obviously be giving Langan’s Trad Wife a fair shot as its own novel.

This seems more like a standard creepy rural family story. I’m talking about media like The Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or even Wrong Turn. Those movies are probably all a bit of a stretch in terms of comps because they’re all more visceral, borderline splatterpunk movies. I imagine this will be more about tension than the gore. I also think it’s interesting that this novel is told from the perspective of an outsider, rather than the Trad Wife herself. I wonder if there will be a Stepford Wives-esque twist there.

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There you have it! A brand-new crop of horror books to lead us into the fall season. I think we’ve found some real winners here, and I’m excited to dive in. I think the list might be even bigger next month. I imagine a lot of authors want to release horror books around Halloween to capitalize on the season’s atmosphere. I can’t wait to see what we’ve got coming out next month!

Do any of these books interest you? Let me know!