July 2023 Reads!

Well hello again bookish friends. Now I don't know about you, but for me July has been a pretty epic reading month. At the time of writing I have read 17 books, and I thought I'd quickly go through them for you. What I liked, what I didn't and what I'm going to relentlessly recommend everywhere for the foreseeable future. We'll fly through them in chronological order, please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought of these!

I definitely want to start by giving honourable mentions to my current reads, which I'm sure I will have finished by the time this is posted- these are: The Neighbours by Ania Ahlborn- in which a man moves in with his estranged childhood best friend.. things are weird. Playground by Aron Beauregard- I plan on doing a full detailed review on here for this twisted little book, for now- if you know you know.

Bunker Dogs- Gage Greenwood 4/5

I kicked off July with the absolute banger that is "Bunker Dogs," by Gage Greenwood. Horror bookstagram has been absolutely raving about this book, and I completely understand why! Cassie's relaxing babysitting night, crashes and burns when bombs begin to explode and planes begin to surround the house. Luckily, the family is filthy rich. Unluckily, she's now trapped in a bunker with a terrified little boy... and they're not alone. 

The Dead House- Billy O'Callaghan 2/5

This one is a super quick ghost story, it has a lovely coastal setting and a consistent tense and eerie backdrop of disquietude. Mike and Maggie's housewarming party goes VERY wrong when the guests summon "The Master," using a Ouija Board. The narrative style was what didn't do it for me here, but that's just a preference of mine. The plot is intense, and coming in at under 300 pages... what have you got to loose? Definitely give this one a go if you're looking for a unique ghost story.

  After Midnight- Richard Laymon 4/5

"Redial," is such a simple word, but it means so much more in Richard Laymon's absolute fever dream "After Midnight." I don't even know how to begin explaining this car crash of a plot, so let me just say.. EVERYTHING imaginable goes wrong. The main character, and narrator is detestable, and it's very fun to read from her point of view (think Joe Goldberg) as she tries to wriggle out of the mess that she landed herself in. I would particularly recommend this one to any thriller readers who may be trying to ease their way into the horror genre, as Laymon dances on the line between the two here. 

The Girl Next Door- Jack Ketchum- unrated

I chose not to rate The Girl Next Door. Heartbreakingly based on a true story, a group of boys torture their new next door neighbour. Ketchum's writing is undeniably brilliant, but I just can't bring myself to recommend or endorse this whatsoever. It is triggering in every sense of the word, and SHOULD ruin your week. This is available on kindle unlimited for those who dare.

Mosaic-Catherine McCarthy-3/5

Thank you Dark Matter Magazine for providing me with an ARC. You will fly through this in a couple of hours. Robin specialises in restoring stained glass windows. When she is hired by a mysterious man to work on a mysterious window in a mysterious church, she's all too happy to take on the challenge... what could go wrong right? RIGHT?  The plot twists are TWISTY in this one, and although I did call the big one at the end, I very much enjoyed the build-up. 

Merfolk- Jeremy Bates- 4/5

Just so I'm completely transparent, I did initially rate this five stars. I read it one sitting, it really absorbed me and I thought it was perfect. Upon reflection it was very very good, but not quite a five star read. Very addictive however. Wanna know why? Cannibal mermaids. That's all I'm gonna say. It's on kindle unlimited, and it's slipped under the radar for too long! Read. It. NOW!!

The Bell Chime- Mona Kabbani 3/5

An absolutely bizarre, topsy-turvy, completely bonkers fever dream. Laced with disturbing nightmares and very weird going-ons, a whole series of events is kick-started when a woman finds a missing poster of herself, with a picture she's never seen before. Definitely consider going in blind for the full effect.

Hidden Bodies- Caroline Kepnes 4/5

Joe Goldberg returns in the second instalment of Kepnes' "You," series, and he doesn't disappoint. After committing his fourth murder (big milestone) and finding a new girlfriend, life is good. Until that girlfriend (who is a scam artist) steals his valuable books and runs away. Yes sure, Joe could be mad at himself for giving her a key to the shop, but instead he's just mad at her.. and will not rest until he gets his revenge.

The Rotting Within- Matt Kurtz 4/5

If you come home and want to curl up with a book, and just relax... don't pick this one. It is STRESSFUL. A woman escaping her shitbag abusive ex, stays at her estranged grandmothers BnB with her two kids. It is on kindle unlimited and it is creepy, complete with a monster in the walls, two old crones and so fast paced, you may get whiplash.

The Winter People-Jennifer McMahon 5/5

Rightful winner of the Boston Globe best book of the year, Winter People has joined The Bad Place by Dean Koontz as one of my favourite books of all time. A dual timeline with a subtle backdrop of absolute terror- which implodes into utter chaos at about 70%. Would you like a plot summary? WELL TOUGH. Go in blind. I promise you'll love it.

Let's Go Play At The Adam's- Mendal W. Johnson- unrated

Having already read The Girl Next Door in July, I apparently decided I really hate myself, and picked up this one. It's notoriously disturbing and I can confirm it's worse than you think. This was out of print for YEARS. A babysitter is held captive and tortured by a group of unruly children. This goes places that even V.C Andrews is scared of.

Shepherd of the black sheep- Kristopher Triana 4/5

This teeters on the edge of extreme horror and is perfect for readers wanting to ease themselves in before reading some Aron Beauregard. This is an excellent slow-burn mainly psychological horror about the repercussions of a child murder on a little girl and her grandfather. This is available on kindle unlimited and is an excellent commentary on grief and loss.

Boys in the valley- Philip Fracassi 4.5/5

I read an e-ARC of this, and immediately went and pre-ordered myself a paperback. This was SO brilliant, there's a hype around it for a reason, A horrific, tragic and depraved chain of events is set in motion after an exorcism takes place at St Vincent's Orphanage. This is VERY character driven and that truly makes it even more heart-breaking than it already was. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Monstrilio- Gerado Samano Cordova 2/5

I'm sorry, I know this is well-loved, but I appear to be in the minority. If Frankenstein was written by Samanta Schweblin, this would be it. A grieving mother keeps a piece of her son's lung, which she feeds and nurtures until it becomes sentient, I won't go into massive detail, but those who've read it will know there's two parts to it, that individually are good, but together feel disjointed and clusmy.

Near The Bone- Christina Henry 2/5

An isolation horror blended with a creature feature. Mattie lives away from all civilisation with her abusive husband. For me that is the real sense of horror. The creature feature here didn't work for me at all. Its relentless hunting of Mattie and sudden appearances went unexplained and that frustrated me. The book is very character-driven, and that's what saves it.

Pearl- Josh Malerman- 4/5

I consider myself a relatively seasoned horror reader, but Josh Malerman scared the hell out of me here. How? A telepathic pig. Enough has been said. You'll never feel guilty about eating bacon again.

The Cursed Among Us- John Durgin 3/5

All the nostalgic 90s goodness you could need in a short little book. Howie and his friends accidentally uncover the secrets of the black heart killer anc unleash an evil like no other in this terrifying horror thriller that radiates Stranger Things energy.

And that brings us ,my friends to the end of July. My favourite book of the month was without a doubt "The Winter People," by Jennifer McMahon (I'm already excited for My Darling Girl to come out in October). I won't say it's my least FAVOURITE, because the writing is skilful, but the least PLEASENT was The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, followed closely by Let's Go Play At The Adams', for obvious reasons. Please don't hesitate to let me know any of your thoughts on any of these books via comment or instagram dm (@georgesreads) I'm always down for a bookish chat! Adios until next time.