‘101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered’: send help, my TBR has finally crushed me

It feels a little unusual to “review” a book that is, essentially, a collection of book reviews, and yet I can’t not give this the 5-star treatment. Sadie knocked this one out of the damn park! I can’t wait to shove this book into the hands of every horror reader I meet, but first, I need to give you some backstory.

I met Sadie on Instagram years ago, and meeting her is how I got into the horror book community and worked up the courage to start focusing primarily on my lifelong favorite themes. Horror has been my most reached-for genre since early childhood, but when I first joined bookstagram in 2016, I fell into a crowd whose mindset was “YA or bust” and I got crammed into a box I never really felt I belonged in.

If you ask anyone who’s ever transitioned from the YA online community to another bookish space, they’ll probably say the same: it’s a nerve-wracking experience. I lost so many followers when I shifted my focus, and I even received DMs from friends who basically told me, “I like you, but I’m unfollowing and/or muting you because I can’t stand seeing these scary books in my feed.” It was rough!

But every time I felt discouraged, I looked at Sadie and the little circles she moved in, and I took heart. Here was someone who was inspiring me, who was doing what she loved—using her platform to promote horror—and she had found a niche that she fit perfectly into! Watching Sadie be true to herself told me that if I was true to myself, and did what I loved without worrying about what others thought, I could find my niche, too. And you know what? I did. I feel like I have a corner carved out for me here, a place at the table that’s solidly mine, and I don’t know if I would have ever taken a chance if I hadn’t met Sadie.

I’m rambling, but the point is: I have a really special place in my heart for Sadie, so when I tell you I’m proud of what she’s accomplished here, I mean I am really fucking proud of her.

But you know what, you’re not here to listen to me gush about the author, you’re here for my thoughts on the book. 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered is an absolute treasure chest full of prized jewels of the horror genre from traditionally published and mainstream bestselling authors, all the way to self-published indie works that don’t get nearly the recognition they deserve. Whether you’re new to the horror genre or a lifelong devotee, there are titles in here that you’re going to want to add to your TBR immediately.

Luckily for me, even though I read a lot of horror titles, most of the ones in this book were still on my TBR or totally brand new to me! (Of the ones I had read, I second her recommendation for every single one: no duds here.) I even created an entire Goodreads shelf for Sadie’s picks that I haven’t read yet, and I’m challenging myself to work through that shelf over the next few years, because she hasn’t led me astray with a recommendation yet.

In case you couldn’t tell, I loved 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered a whole lot. Sadie’s writing is so fun and relatable, she speaks from the heart, and she’s really damn talented at making you want to read everything she recommends as soon as you possibly can. It’s no wonder I have a shelf full of books I bought based on her suggestions and that shelf is growing all the time. On top of everything else, the physical copy of this book is a delight: it’s beautifully formatted and has gorgeous artwork that I couldn’t stop staring at. Sadie and Page Street Publishing killed it, and I really hope there’s a sequel in the works someday!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

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— destiny ♥

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