Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Dreamland by Olivie Blake: Hollywood gothic horror wrapped in occult secrets

Hollywood dreams have always come with a price, and in Dreamland, Olivie Blake imagines that price as a centuries-old curse lurking behind one of the film industry’s most powerful dynasties. Blending gothic horror, occult mythology, and sharp social commentary, Blake crafts an atmospheric novel filled with unforgettable ideas—even if its ambitious storytelling doesn’t always land as cleanly as its vision deserves.

Anya Morris has spent years believing she’s destined for something greater than working part-time in her family’s store while enduring her mother’s constant dismissal of her acting ambitions. When an unexpected invitation arrives from the de Witts—one of Hollywood’s most influential and enigmatic film families—it seems like the breakthrough she’s been waiting for.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Gothic horror and generational curses collide in House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama

Daphne Fama’s House of Monstrous Women is a lush and terrifying gothic horror novel set in 1986 Philippines, where revolution outside mirrors the quiet rebellion unfolding within a house that may as well be alive. Set against the backdrop of the People Power Revolution, this novel layers political upheaval with supernatural dread in a way that feels both intimate and epic.

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Radios hum with news from Manila as protests rise and a dictator’s hold begins to crumble—but inside the labyrinthine Ranoco home, another kind of battle is taking place. The connection between the two is unmistakable: both are revolutions built on desperation and the dream of escape. The hopelessness that Alejandro feels about the People Power movement echoes Hiraya’s belief that she can never escape the legacy of her cursed family.

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