There are books that entertain, and then there are books that settle somewhere in your body and refuse to move—Hunger by Choi Jin-young is firmly the latter, a slim novel that opens with a shocking act and only grows more unsettling from there. If the premise alone—compared to Parasite as a kind of dark, romantic counterpoint—sounds extreme, the reality is even harsher. This is, at its core, a tale of absolute misery. And it’s almost a relief that the book is so brief, because lingering in its world for too long would be difficult to bear.
Get your copy of Hunger from my independent online bookstore today!
The story begins with Gu’s death, though the cause is initially unknown. Dam, his lifelong counterpart in a relationship defined by separation and reunion, is inconsolable. The idea of losing him—not just emotionally, but physically through burial or cremation—is unbearable. So she makes a choice that is as horrifying as it is, in her mind, logical: she will consume him, ensuring they are never apart again.
Short answer: Yes—but do it with intention, professionalism, and an awareness of the ecosystem you’re participating in.
Longer answer: I believe authors reviewing other authors’ work can be a genuinely good thing. We’re part of a shared creative community, and thoughtful engagement helps readers discover books while also raising the level of conversation around storytelling. That said, how you review matters just as much as whether you review.
On my own blog, I keep my literary criticism constructive. I talk about what worked for me and what didn’t, but I frame those “didn’t” moments as areas where something could have been stronger—not as the author doing something wrong. That distinction matters. It keeps the focus on craft rather than tearing down the person behind the work. If a book ultimately wasn’t for me, I’ll still highlight the kinds of readers who would connect with it, because every book has an audience—even when I’m not it.
What would you give up to finally belong somewhere—and would you recognize the moment it stopped being your choice? Make Me Better is an unsettling, slow-burn descent into the seductive promise of community, where healing and control blur until they’re indistinguishable. Fans of Wife Shaped Bodies, The Unworthy, or Sorrowland will find something deeply familiar—and deeply disturbing—here.
Get your copy of Make Me Better from my independent online bookstore today!
At the center of the story is Celia, a woman whose longing for connection overrides her sense of self-preservation. She doesn’t just develop crushes—she builds entire imagined lives around men she barely knows. When she recognizes how precarious that pattern is, she redirects that intensity toward the idea of motherhood. A baby, after all, would be hers in a way no one else ever has been. That same vulnerability makes her the perfect target for something like Kindred Cove.
In this contributor interview, William M. Chippich—author of the upcoming novel Nevermore: The Heir, The Witch, and The Fool and contributor to Beautiful and Terrifying—shares the literary influences, writing habits, and creative philosophy that shape his character-driven fiction.
William M. Chippich brings a deep love of character-driven storytelling to every page he writes, whether he’s crafting the darkly atmospheric short story “Three or Four Miles, Mostly Flat” for Beautiful and Terrifying:Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny or building the richly imagined world of his forthcoming novel, Nevermore: The Heir, The Witch, and The Fool. In this interview, he reflects on the writers who first shaped his imagination, the discipline and creativity behind his process, and the themes of love, hope, and the unknown that continue to guide his work. From comic book legends and literary classics to the quiet rituals of everyday writing life, Chippich offers thoughtful insight into what it means to tell stories that truly connect with readers.
William M. Chippich, contributor to Beautiful and Terrifying and author of the upcoming Nevermore: The Heir, The Witch, and The Fool is pictured at Dunnottar Castle in Scotland.
Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today. A: My earliest influences were writers like Stan Lee, Chris Claremont and John Byrne of Marvel comics. The great comic book writers of that era are very overlooked. Stan Lee in particular made comic writing and stories legitimate. After that, everything from Mary Shelley to Steinbeck, Hemingway, and too many classics to name. Guys like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Christopher Moore are definitely stand outs for me as well. Every one of these great writers build amazing worlds, but I think the real influence on me were their characters. They make fantastic, fictional beings seem real to people. You love them, you hate them, you feel for them. That’s the real magic of these greats.
Seven years after a prom night tragedy, a group of former friends reunites at a lakeside cabin—and quickly proves that time hasn’t made them wiser, kinder, or even remotely interested in leaving the past behind.
Get your copy of Not Your Final Girl from my independent online bookstore today!
In Not Your Final Girl, Mikayla Randolph builds a setup that feels immediately familiar: estranged high school friends, a remote cabin with no cell service, and a long-simmering grudge waiting to boil over. Darcy, weighed down by guilt and depression, and Ashley, whose controlling cruelty defines nearly every interaction, anchor the story’s emotional center—if it can be called that. Around them is a cast of characters who, quite frankly, seem to actively dislike one another. Trust is nonexistent, and affection feels like an afterthought.
The most unsettling thing about Mercy Hill by Hannah Thurman is how easily it convinces you that everything happening might, in some warped way, be justified—right up until it isn’t.
Get your copy of Mercy Hill from my independent online bookstore today!
Set against the crumbling infrastructure of a state-run psychiatric hospital in North Carolina at the turn of the millennium, Thurman’s debut follows the four Cross sisters—JJ, Caro, Mimi, and Denise—who have grown up on the grounds of Mercy Hill under the rule of their formidable mother, Lisa Cross, head of psychiatry and self-appointed savior of the institution. From the outside, it’s a story about mental healthcare in America and the slow dismantling of public systems. From the inside, it’s something far more intimate and far more disturbing. Because what this novel is really about is a mother who conscripts her children into her life’s work.
The past doesn’t stay buried in The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean—it claws its way back, dripping with grief and unfinished business. Set against the shadowy sprawl of Hong Kong’s infamous Kowloon Walled City, this Gothic-tinged novel blends folklore, memory, and vengeance into a story that lingers long after the final page. With its May 5, 2026 release, Dean once again proves she’s operating in a space all her own.
At the center of the novel is Mercy Chan, a woman with no past—or at least none she can remember. Washed ashore with nothing, she builds a life for herself in Kowloon as a ghost talker, mediating between the living and the dead. It’s a fascinating premise, but what makes it work is the texture of Mercy’s world. Despite the grime, the danger, and the ever-present spirits, there’s an unexpected sense of familiarity here—a kind of eerie coziness that settles in as Mercy navigates her routines among the haunted alleyways.
There’s a moment early in Honey by Imani Thompson—out May 5, 2026—when a tiny, impulsive act spirals into something irreversible, and from that point on, the novel never loosens its grip. This is a dark, provocative debut that knows exactly what it’s doing, luring you in with something almost playful before revealing just how far it’s willing to go.
Get your copy of Honey from my independent online bookstore today!
Just like its title, this book is delicious. Yrsa’s first kill is so sweet in its construction—unplanned, quick, and disturbingly easy. What makes it even more compelling is that it’s not really the act itself that kills the man, but her decision not to intervene once things go wrong. It’s petty. It’s spiteful. And it’s chilling in the way Yrsa immediately recognizes the opportunity in front of her and simply… lets it happen. That moment sets the tone for everything that follows.
Demons of the Night is a horror novel that asks: who gets to decide what is good and what is evil? It follows Docia, a young woman whose parents have gone to great lengths to hide the truth about who she really is. They want her to be a “good Christian woman” and believe secrecy is the only way to protect her. But their plan is about to backfire.
The cover of Demons of the Night was designed by my friend, author and artist Lance Savage, who created a fictionalized version of Holy Hill to reflect the novel’s dark atmosphere. Visit Lance’s website to see more of his work.
Docia longs for independence, for a life beyond her family’s overprotection. She wants normal experiences—friendships, romance, freedom. When Blane appears at a church lecture on demons, Docia is intrigued. But he’s there for the wrong reasons, and she quickly realizes that the life she desires may require confronting truths her parents have worked so hard to conceal. As the story unfolds, Docia must grapple with her identity, her morality, and the question of whether she can define herself outside the rigid framework her family imposes.
The first time something feels off in Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka, it’s easy to dismiss—just like Tennessee Cherish does. A faucet left running. A misplaced object. A strange sense that something isn’t quite lining up. But as the novel unfolds, that quiet unease starts to loop in on itself, building into something far more deliberate—and far more unsettling—than it first appears.
Get your copy of Accumulation from my independent online bookstore today!
Set to release on May 5, 2026, Accumulation follows Tenn, a former documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom, who relocates with her family to the kind of dream house that’s supposed to signal a fresh start. Instead, it becomes the backdrop for a slow, creeping unraveling. Her husband is largely absent, her children begin behaving in increasingly disturbing ways, and the house itself seems to resist settling into anything resembling normalcy.
