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Thursday, July 2, 2026

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Poisoned Pen Prize Pack

Today I have two books for 1 winner. In fact, I will be offering two books for one winner for at least the next 5 weeks (probably more). This week I am featuring 2 titles that are perfect for libraries but I did not have time to fit them into my review schedule. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

  1. You need to be affiliated with an American Library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
  2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
  3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
  4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.
Last week's winner was from Gary from IL. Now on to this week's giveaway. 

Poisoned Pen is an imprint of Sourcebooks that focuses on horror. They are putting out a solid slate of titles for horror readers all year long. Like Sourcebooks proper, every single one of their books is a perfect add for public library collections. They think about the reader experience first, full stop. And at libraries this is important.

I don't have time to review all of their books myself though. Last week, I featured a giveaway of The Burn Line, one of their title coming out this summer. But today, I want to feature 2 more, titles I did not personally review but which I am urging you to order for your libraries. I will present them in release order below.

Book cover image for Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold. Click on the image for more info.
First up Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold:
One isolated cabin. One cheating boyfriend. One plan to get even.

When Nora, Ruby, and Cham discover that they've each been dating the same man, what starts as outrage quickly spirals into a plot for revenge. Together they hatch a plan to lure their boyfriend to a romantic getaway in a secluded cabin at the top of a snow-covered mountain.

Only what was meant to be harmless payback soon takes a chilling turn when their not-so-adoring boyfriend is found dead in the cabin.

Stranded and snowed in, the women begin to look at each other with increasing suspicion. And as tensions rise, hidden motives come to light. To survive, each woman must confront her own demons as they fight to uncover if one of them is the killer, or if something else lurks in the freezing wilderness, waiting to pick them off one by one.
I did read and review Arnold's debut How to Survive a Horror Story last year here. Arnold is a great readalike for your fans of Craig DiLouie, Christina Henry, Darcy Coates, and Simon St. James to name a few. Obviously you have an audience for Arnold. 

Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold comes out soon-- July 14th. Make sure you have out already on order.

Book cover image for And the Sea Gave Up The Dead by William Friend. Click on the image for more info.
Second, a lesser known author but one you should definitely have in your collections. And by the Sea Gave Up the Dead by William Friend:
For fans of Jennifer Thorne's Diavola and We Have Always Lived in the Castle comes William Friend's latest stunning novel following a young woman's return to her family's crumbling chateau to stay with her aging aunt - but grief, mystery, and something undead haunts her family, and soon, a dark history will repeat itself.

"In the woods... between the trees..."

Morwenna knows she needs to visit Bethan. Her aunt is wasting away in the family's crumbling chateau by the French seaside, where she's lived alone since the mysterious disappearance of her husband. The locals claim Bethan is responsible, though Morwenna knows her aunt is simply declining and in desperate need of company.

Grief lives in that house, and Morwenna has avoided it for years. Until a disturbing phone call from Barbara finally pushes her to act. So she packs up her children and new partner to stay for a week.

But the chateau changes people. Old magic has seeped into the ground. The village remembers what happened at the grand old house, centuries ago. They remember who died, and what came back. Soon, this place will leave its mark on Morwenna's family. And she cannot escape the feeling that, unless she learns the truth about what happened to her uncle, something ancient and evil will rise, and a dark history will repeat itself at the chateau.

This book has some stellar blurbs here. It is for fans of Grief Horror, Gothic Horror, and Sea Soaked Horror (a current big trend).  And by the Sea Gave Up the Dead by William Friend comes out on August 18th so you have time to add this to carts.

Those are the 2 books for 1 winner for this week. Thanks to Sourcebooks for the ARCs. 

Enter now and you are entered going forward. Going forward I have many of the THE MOST ANTICIPATED HORROR coming out in the next few month going out to my winners. You have to be in it to win it.

Before I go, also check out today's post on RA for All which is about the second half of 2026 ARC Party podcast preview. 

Good luck!

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