#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: I Was a Teenaged Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

Today I have an ARC of a hotly anticipated book which I gave a STAR to in Booklist here. More below, first here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Rosemary from Queens [NY] Library Now on today's giveaway. 

I am just going to repost my May 16th draft review of I was a Teenaged Slasher with bonus info below. And the you....yes you...all of you, enter now for a chance to win this book or the many others I have piling up here in my office. Thanks to Saga Press for this specific title.

Remember, enter once and you are entered going forward. 

I am planning a multiple book, multiple winner week around the 4th of July. The 4th is a Thursday so I would be offering it earlier in the week to also coincide with my July Horror Genre Preview in LJ. 

More on that soon, but this week I have...

STAR
I Was a Teenaged Slasher
Stephen Graham Jones

Hot on the heels of the conclusion to his Indian Lake Trilogy which introduced the 21st Century’s Final Girl, Jade Daniels, Jones is back with Tolly Driver, the yin to Jade’s yang. Narrated from 17 years in the future, Tolly recounts in an engaging and brutally honest narration, the summer he was 17, 1989, in Lamesa, TX, when he killed 6 (or 12 or 14) of his high school classmates. Beginning with the fateful night he and his best friend Amber attend a house party, and leading readers through Tolly’s transformation from skinny kid with a peanut allergy to an inevitable killer, this novel lays down new ground rules for the Slasher, deeply rooting it in its established tropes, moving it in a new direction, while still making novices feel welcome. Readers will watch something original emerge before their eyes, realizing why everyone needs to be as obsessed with the Slasher as Jones is himself. Suggest to every reader who loves a perfectly rendered time and place or just wants a chilling, captivating, and thought-provoking story where every detail matters and every page is worth their time, but especially those who recently enjoyed The Pallbearers Club by Tremblay and The Eyes Are the Best Part by Kim or have missed Deaver’s seminal sympathetic killer, Dexter.

Three Words That Describe This Book: strong sense of place, dark humor, engaging narration

Further Appeal: The hardest thing about talking about this book is that you cannot talk about any of the amazing specifics. There is a twist early in the book that begins the process of how this book changes the entire Slasher genre in the VERY BEST way. It explains the entire trope as it appeared before this book, in books and movies, and move it forward. It provides the information we never knew, but it makes so much sense and you can never unknow it.

Watching this book all unfold was a joy. I bolded the word "every" as it repeated in my review when I turned n the draft and gave this note to my editor-- "please keep the 'every' repeating. I did that on purpose. I cannot stress enough how there are no wasted words here and even more, how they all matter. To the final page. It is remarkable to have something so entertaining be so well written."

Throw out every slasher you have ever read and just put this novel next to the Indian Lake Trilogy and you have the definition of the slasher genre in the 21st century. I cannot stress enough how well Tolly Driver pairs with Jade Daniels as opposite side of the same coin. Standing alone they are great and can be enjoyed without the other, but together they are masterful, informing each other and enhancing the enjoyment of each other.

The setting is also perfectly rendered-- 1989 which was the year I entered high school, so I felt the time in my bones. But also, Jones set it near the place he lived as a High Schooler in West Texas in 1989. He writes in the acknowledgments about the real spaces and how hard he worked to get it all right. You can feel that. Also the music! All the hair bands.

Tolly's narration was intimate and engaging. You knew he was going to be a teenaged slasher-- the title tells you, he tells you over and over again of the number of dead left in his wake. It is clear he is narrating from the future, in a place where no one knows who he is-- he tells you this. But you come to love Tolly, you want to protect him, you want it all to be okay-- despite knowing it will not be okay. That is masterful storytelling. Jones's unique cadence in how he has Tolly share his story will grab you and keep you hooked for the duration- even when you want to look away and not see what is about to happen.

And not only does every detail matter, but the ending was perfect-- heartbreakingly beautiful-- done

with love and care.

Amber and Tolly-- BFFSs 4EVER! That should be spray painted in the Lamesa graffiti wall. Someone in TX get on that.

Readalikes: The above books made the cut into the review. But I do need to say people who are not as obsessed with Jones or Jade Daniels should read this BEFORE starting the Jade trilogy. Maeve Fly by CJ Leede is also a good readalike here. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite an even better one though.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Youthjuice by E.K. Sathue

Today I have an ARC of a book that just came out; a title for which I have a review in the latest issue of Booklist and on the general blog here. More below, first here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Veronica from Wheaton [IL] Public Library Now on today's giveaway which is also featured on the general blog.

Youthjuice

By E.K. Sathue 

In this illicit, fast paced, and scathing satire of the beauty industry readers meet Sophia as she begins her dream job 3 months before her 30th birthday at Hebe, a women run lifestyle corporation, pushing “essential” products focused on allowing women to look as young as possible for as long as possible. When charismatic CEO Tree Whitestone asks Sophia to test their newest product, “Youthjuice,” the immediate and miraculous results suck her further into Tree’s orbit, even as their young interns are disappearing without a trace. Told exclusively from Sophia’s point of view in two time frames, at Hebe and in 2008, readers are able to see the skeletons in Sophia's past emerge, figuring out what is “going on” very quickly. But Sathue is not trying to obscure the twist here, rather she is laying bare the chilling truth, as readers sit with that knowledge, and watch the visceral Horrors unfold, without remorse. Fans of intensely unsettling stories about unlikable but captivating women such as in Gone Girl by Flynn and Maeve Fly by Leede will flock to this debut. 

YA Statement: With its focus on “healthy lifestyles” and the corporate marketing machine behind it. Youthjuice will appeal to teen girls. They will recognize themselves in the dark, sardonic, and honest deep dive into their own complicated thoughts on and connections to the beauty industry.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Dark Satire, Chilling, Body Horror 

Further Appeal: The opening line I wanted but had to cut for word length: Sathue pulls no punches in this illicitly alluring, fast paced, scathing satire of the beauty industry, a story so terrifying it will make readers second guess their own skin case routines. That is the Sound bite to handsell this book.

A few reading notes because this book is about watching the horror all unfold, knowing it is going to get worse with every page turn, but NEEDING to keep watching it spiral:

• She is part of of the “Storytelling” team. This is interesting as well. Since she is telling us the story. So unreliable and yet she tells us from start that she is. Her job is spinning it all.
• The cover gives away the “twist” but there is a reason for that. It is almost more horrofic that the reader knows from the start what is happening. Ending is CHILLING.
• This is Body Horror in the most literal of ways– it is visceral by the end. That is important to note
• “Clean living” is the cover for it all. Pushing that lifestyle at all costs. The descriptions of the food they eat it is gross. It is supposed to be. The lengths they go to are extreme even before the most visceral and literal scenes.
• By following Sophia and furiously flipping the pages– the reader is implicated in the horrors. 
• Who is Hebe? The Greek Goddess of Youth. Tells you before the story begins. Gets you into the world immediately.
• Ending is chilling. Not for Sophia’s evil choices, but the doubling down on the need of these products. Not remorse, just finding a new way to make money off the keeping women looking as young as possible market. Nothing is going to change, NO lessons are learned, and it is actually getting worse.
• But the most chilling and terrifying thing about this book overall...it is not that far from reality.
• Try applying any lotion or skin care after reading this book without feeling icky…..you can’t. Even a boring moisturizer.
• Finally, it is important tot note that this is one of the first books from Soho Press's new Horror imprint-- Hell's Hundred

Readalikes: The two above but also clearly, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. A quote from this classic is an epigraph for the book, but even if you skipped that page, clearly it is an influence.

Also, I recently read and reviewed The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller. Youthjuice is similar in what it says about the skin care industry to what The Z Word does for the corporate PRIDE machine, but Youthjuice is less laugh out loud funny and more chilling and dark. The Z Word is laugh out loud satirical. This novel, is way darker but the satire is there in spades.

Why I Love Horror the Book and a New Essay by Izzy Lee

Last week on the general blog, I announced the above deal to turn "Why I Love Horror" into a book, a real book with a major publisher. 

I added the details and context in this post.

As readers of this blog know, the Why I Love Horror posts are a huge feature of my October, 31 Days of Horror blog-a-thon. But to celebrate the book, I will have a few sprinkled throughout the summer.

Today is an example. I first met Izzy Lee through her work, specifically, her amazing comedy/horror short film, Meat Friend, which was the audience award winner at the Final Frame Film Festival during StokerCon 2022. You can watch the film here. Seriously, step away from this post, watch it, and come back. It's under 9 mins.

Welcome back. Along with films, Lee recently published a first novella, I Can See Your Lies. From the Goodreads entry: 

FOR LOVE. FOR VENGEANCE.

Fin's reality is crumbling. Her husband has abandoned her, she's now a single mom to a nine-year-old daughter, her Los Angeles home is sweltering, and she's being haunted by disturbing hallucinations that make life a waking nightmare. Are the visions a product of stress, trauma, psychosis, or something else? The answers to those questions become more clear when Fin starts digging up dark secrets connected to her mother's cold-case disappearance, a once-rising actress who mysteriously vanished in 1979. Will Fin slowly unravel the truth? Or will it remain hidden forever beneath the glitz and glamour of illusion?

This novella is getting rave reviews and I highly suggest you seek it out to add to your collections. In the meantime, I wanted to let Lee introduce herself to all of you. Here is Izzy Lee's entry into the Why I Love Horror series.

Horror is Home 
by Izzy Lee

 Horror understands me, and I, it. It’s a genre that I’ve been drawn to from a very young age, and no other comes close. Horror was there for me when adults were not, it is there for me now when my country and government is not, where I have the misfortune to live in the “land of the free,” but they really meant that it is only free for those who rule it, who look like them, who have their means. They are the ones who hold elections on what I can do with my own body, who allow their own to do terrible things to my kind and those around me, to those they cannot possibly understand because they do not have the capacity. Or they will not, they refuse it.

Horror is a place where I can go to escape from the feeling of that invisible boot against my neck, crushing out my air and my voice. It’s where I go to get away from the constant nonsense that bombards me, whether that’s an inner voice or the society raging against me because I refuse their lies. Horror’s black embrace is there for me on those dark days when the noise is too much, that cacophony that tells me that I’m not good enough, smart enough, rich enough, thin enough, talented enough, normal enough, enough, enough.

The dark velvet void is always waiting for me when I need it. This is the one place that listens when I need to cry out, sob, or even whimper to be heard, and it does not judge, because it knows I speak my truth. This special place is where others like myself go to find each other, because it’s probably the only place where we can exist without having to explain why we’re “like this.”

Horror will not tell you to feel better, to snap out of it, or try to force a cruel sense of optimism down your throat. This is not a genre that will try to sell you falsities or paradoxes, it will not proselytize. It will be real with you, it will be simply be there, it will nod to you in solidarity for having the courage to exist in so much pain, and hold out a chair for you at its vast table.

That is a comfort we don’t really find anywhere else, but the black lights burn just up ahead, if you know where to look for them. If you’re new to this particular darkness, don’t be afraid. It feels funny to tell you this, but what you fear isn’t us, it isn’t this island of misfit toys. We take the fear around us and wear it like a shroud, or a cloak. You can sometimes see it swirling in our stares.

If you want it, it’s yours, this place that is not a place, this home that is not a home. You will be welcomed, understood, and will find friendship and kindness there. But you must be open, you see, and that can be the scary part. But if you have nothing to lose because it’s all been taken from you, you’ll find a calm stillness, kind of like the eye of the storm.

Am I okay? Christ, no. But that’s fine, I’m among friends here. And simply because of that fact, I’m more okay than I would be otherwise. Granted, it’s an X-ray version of a vision of what “okay” means to everyone else. Again, I’m more than fine with this. They cannot understand horror. At times, they’re the ones who perpetrate it due to outsized feelings of superiority and outdated ideas that were never, in fact, all right.

These kinds of people don’t understand that we’re on an infinitesimal speck of rock hurtling through cosmic dust and gamma rays, and that we don’t exist for very long, if we even exist at all.

Apologies, you’re reading the rantings of someone who decided to check out all the available Nietzsche books at her local library when she was only 14. I’m actually fun at parties, if you’re into horror and like real conversations.

So no, I’m not okay, it is nearly impossible to exist in this world. However, writing this has made me feel almost okay, and for that, I’m grateful.

Horror has given me this release from the maelstrom of madness we find ourselves in. As Oliver Reed once said in my favorite Cronenberg film (The Brood), “go all the way through it.”

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil

Today I have an ARC of an upcoming book that I gave a STAR to in the April issue of Library Journal, a book that also appeared on the PW Summer Reads list as a Staff Pick. More below, first here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our two winners were: Kirsten from Hardwood Creek [MN] Library (someone who has been waiting since 2020 to win) and Joseph from Spartanburg County [SC] Public Library Now on to today's giveaway.

Over on the general blog, I have the June 2024 Horror Review Column from Library Journal, but today, I have a book that was in the April issue, And as I said above, not only did I give it a STAR but PW made is a Summer Reads Staff Pick.

Craft: Stories I Wrote For the Devil by Ananda Lima is out June 18, 2024 from Tor. From my draft review:

Lima’s debut is exactly what the title tells the reader it is going to be, a novel in stories, which “the writer” creates for the Devil throughout her life after sleeping with him at a party in her 20s. The “stories” are interrupted by unnamed chapters, told by a 3rd person narrator, who draw readers into the writer’s “real” life outside of her fiction, enhancing their connection to the writer's work as well as her struggles as a Brazilian immigrant, distant daughter, and eventual wife. The speculative stories themselves range from weird and chilling like “Antropófaga” where the main character eats “tiny Americans” from a work vending machine to emotionally devastating like “Ghost Story” where on a visit back to family in Brazil, the protagonist finds that the ghost of her older self is haunting her mother. However, it is the writer and her interactions with the Devil (rendered with both sympathy and healthy fear) throughout her life which adds a surreal hue uniting the entire volume into one of the most original and unforgettable reads of the year. 

Verdict: A captivating, alluring, and at times, illicit book that is conscious of the craft of the storytelling process without sacrificing an extraordinary reading experience similar to Fever Dream by Samanta Schwebilin, Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward and Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias.

This book provides a VERY COOL reading experience, one that stays with you and echoes, knocking around in your brain days after finishing it. I actually went back and re-read a bit because I wanted to, even though I was under deadline to finish other books. I literally felt like I had to go back. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: alluring, stories within stories, unforgettable

4th word: stylistically complex 

Thanks to Tor for the ARC that I am giving away to one of you.

Enter now and you are entered going forward (and next week I have this book!)

Good Luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay x2 Winners

Today I have a giveaway of one of the hottest books of this summer, a title I gave a STAR to in Booklist. And thanks to the publisher, I have 2 copies to giveaway to 2 winners. More below, first here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our three winners were: Lizzy from Staunton [VA] Public Library, Lauren from Northvale [NJ] Public Library, and Taylor from Brooklyn [NY] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

Paul Tremblay is a NYT bestselling author of Psychological Horror. I love his work, which means when I have to review something new by Tremblay I am extra critical. So, when you see that I gave Horror Movie a STAR you should know it is up to the excellent standard he has set. It also made the Library Reads June 2024 Hall of Fame list yesterday! Clearly I am not the only one who loves this book.

Here is my draft review and 3 words for this book.

STAR
Horror Movie
by Paul Tremblay
June 2024. 288p. Morrow, $30 (9780063070011).
First published April 15, 2024 (Booklist).

Tremblay returns with a terrifying novel about the creation of art and its effect on all it touches. Told with a strong Gen X perspective and dark humor, readers are led by, “The Thin Kid,” identified solely by his character’s name in the 1993 cult film Horror Movie, a film marked by tragedy (he is the only surviving team member). Although never released in full, the film has risen to cult status and is being rebooted 30 years later. Moving effortlessly between “Then” and “Now,” “The Thin Kid” speaks directly to readers, placing them under his spell, despite repeated warning signs not to trust him, explaining the details of the original film, its current reboot, and including sections of the original screenplay. The result, a suspenseful story that is indelibly marked by its relentless unease and disturbing revelations, about the characters, yes, but also, the readers themselves. An immersive reading experience that will forever alter the way those who encounter it watch any Horror movie, ever again. For fans of the cursed film trope like in The Remaking by Chapman or How To Make a Horror Movie and Survive by DiLouie, but it pairs even better with the menacing, intricately plotted, and unputdownable storytelling of Catriona Ward.

Three Words That Describe This Book: cursed film, disturbing, immersive

You can read more of what I have to say about the appeal of this book here. 

William Morrow sent me 2 ARCs so I am passing them on to 2 winners this week. Enter now and you are entered going forward. 

Also, a scheduling note: I will be out of town preparing for my oldest child's college graduation next week, so there will be no giveaway. But I will be back on May 30th with another book that I gave a STAR to [this one in LJ], a title that also made the PW Summer Reads list.

Good luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 3 Books for 3 Winners Representing a Wide Swath of the Genre's Appeal

Today I have a giveaway of three titles for three winners. 2 finished copies and 1 ARC. I will be picking the winners in the order the books are listed below, but the excitement here is that these books are all so different. Yes, they are all Horror, but they are of a wide range of readers. More below, first here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Jennifer from Forsyth County [NC] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaways.

As I mentioned above, I have 3 books to giveaway. I am going to start with the ARC, a YA title out July 2 from CamCat Books-- A Misfortune of Lake Monsters by Nicole M. Wolverton.  First, from the publisher description:

When legends bite back... 

 Lemon Ziegler wants to escape rural Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania to attend college―but that’s impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate the town’s lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the tradition of Old Lucy, the famed (and very fake) monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations, all to keep the tourists coming. Without Lemon, the town dies, and she can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her best friends about any of it. That includes Troy Ramirez, who has been covertly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to ruin their friendship by confessing his feelings.

When a very real, and very hungry monster is discovered in the lake, secrets must fall by the wayside. Determined to stop the monster, Lemon and her best friends are the only thing standing between Devil’s Elbow and the monster out for blood.

This is a great genre-blend, dark fantasy, horror, local monsters, and mystery, and like the very best YA, it has a great cast of characters that readers will come to adore.

I do not review YA but I love to support the authors who are putting out great YA titles here on the giveaway. Our teen Horror readers are already reading adult authors. You need to make sure you also have titles that are specifically meant for them as well though. Our age level options from MG to YA to Adult help us build readers over their entire lives. When we have excellent options, in a genre they love, at the correct age level, we build lifelong readers.

Okay, now on to the finished copies. Next winner gets Mouth by Joshua Hull a novella that has gotten a lot of buzz.  From the publisher's description:

Screenwriter Joshua Hull (Glorious) makes his longform prose debut!

After a stranger leaves him a secluded property, drifter Rusty finds himself the caretaker of a massive, tooth-filled mouth in the ground…and it’s hungry.

His situation is complicated by Abigail, a wannabe filmmaker who stumbles on the secret. Together, the odd pair set out to discover the origins of Mouth and the hidden history of its former owner, setting in motion an outlandish scheme that could endanger them all.

Hull is an author on the rise and this title is a scary read with an awesome cover. You can add this one to your collection immediately, place it face out, and then sit back and watch it go out very quickly. Thanks to Tenebrous Press for the copy to giveaway.

And finally, our third winner will get The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier, again a finished copy, this time from the author himself. From the publisher's description:

What would guilt make you do?

Hadleigh Keene died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum. The reasons are unknown. Her sister Morgan blames herself. A year later with the case still unsolved, Morgan creates a false identity, that of a troubled housewife named Charlotte Turner, and goes inside.

Morgan quickly discovers that Hollyhock is… not right. She is shaken by the hospital’s peculiar routines and is soon beset by strange episodes. All the while, the persona of Charlotte takes on a life of its own, becoming stronger with each passing day. As her identity begins unraveling, Morgan finds herself tracing Hadleigh’s footsteps and peering into the places they lead. 

This is a great "starter" title for someone who wants to give Horror a try but does not want to be terrified. It is compelling with great characters and plenty of chills. It would also make for a great book discussion title for any library book group. I read the author's previous novel, The Phlebotomist back in 2021 and also loved it. This one is brand new and getting a lot of buzz as well. You can add this finished copy to your collection right now.

So there you have it. 3 very different books, all great for public library audiences, and to 3 winners. Enter today and you are entered going forward.

But remember, not all of you will win, so please consider adding these or any of my giveaways to your collections. The point of these weekly giveaways is two-fold. First, it is very literally for me to off-load my large number of ARCs and get them into the hands of library workers to read, promote, and even giveaway themselves. But second, it is to make sure you know about as many great books as possible. I don't include a book here that I don't think you should add for your readers.

The #HorrorForLibraries giveaway is moving in hyperdrive with some of the biggest books of summer coming soon. For example, next week I am back with 2 ARCs of Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay for 2 winners, so enter now to be entered for all giveaways going forward.

Good luck.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Invaginies by Joe Koch

Today I have a giveaway of an ARC of a book I reviewed in Booklist last month. It is from one of my favorite small presses as well. More below, first here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our 2 winners were Justin from R.H. Stafford Library [MN] and Andrea demo Atlantic County [NJ] Library System. Now on to today's giveaway.

Christoph from Clash Books sent me an ARC of Invaginies by Joe Koch many months in advance of its May 21st release and I was very excited to get it scheduled for coverage in Booklist. Clash puts out a great product of excellent books with wide and easy distribution for libraries. When Christoph sends me a specific book without me asking for it, I know he understands it is perfect for library audiences. I also appreciate that as a small press, he has titles available 4 months or more in advance, which is what I need to get titles covered in the library review journals. 

You can see my full discussion of this collection here. But below is the draft review to give you a small taste of this grotesquely beautiful, thought provoking, and lyrical volume:

 Shirley Jackson Award nominee, Koch, presents a collection of 18 stories that are Weird, lyrical, and grotesquely beautiful. Featuring all of the creepy things readers would want in a Horror collection (e.g. rats, clowns, body horror), but showcased in ways readers would never expect, this is a volume that leaves both its characters and readers transformed. To describe the plot of any single story does Koch a disservice because each tale is more of a character sketch, a prose poem, or a moment in time, but as the reader moves through, they are stitched together into a book that feels like it could all be one cohesive story, and yet, clearly it is not. A thought-provoking collection that readers will experience physically, making it a great suggestion for those who like to mix their their literary fiction with visceral, lush prose, recounting stories that captivate and discomfort in equal measure, such as in Tinfoil Butterfly by Rachel Eve Moulton and The Seventh Mansion by Maryse Meijer.

Thank you to Clash Books for the copy to giveaway.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. I have a backlog of copies of some of the most hotly anticipated titles of the summer and some great small press titles as well. They are stacking up so join the giveaway fun.

Good luck!